Interesting Local History

[Nyarlathotep]

It is likely that every place has interesting bits of local history. Things that you never hear about unless you live in the area.

For example near where the Nevada State Prison at Carson CIty now stands, there once stood a saloon. The saloon was burned down in the 1860's (I don't remember the date) because it was the site where officials from the Nevada Territorial governemnt were drafting our state constitution in preparation for our impending statehood. This became a loud, drunken party which got so out of hand that it resulted in the burning down of the saloon.

I don't know how famous the 'Comstock Lode' is outside of Nevada, but it was a huge silver deposit that sort of caused a mini-gold rush in Nevada (okay, silver rush would be more accurate). The lode wasn't named for it's discoverer or anyone like that. It is named after a conman. You see, two miners (whose names escape me at he moment) discovered it and were chanced upon by one Henry Comstock. Comstock convinced the two that he owned the land upon which they found their fortune (even though he didn't) but he would let them continue in return for a cut of the loot. He would go around bragging about his 'Discovery' and it soon became known as the Comstock lode.

Anyone else know any interesting bits of local history from where they live?

[Jon_in_london]

Originally posted by Nyarlathotep
Anyone else know any interesting bits of local history from where they live?

In 1940 a german bomb fell into the high street. It when straight down to the underground station below, rupturing a water main and killing abou 60 people. A tram fell into the crater.

[Dancing David]

A lunch counter at a Wlagreen's was the site of a black sitin during the 1950s.
Murray Gell-Mann hated the heat in central illinois and supposedly spent most of the summers in the basement of the Illini Union

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by Dancing David
A lunch counter at a Wlagreen's was the site of a black sitin during the 1950s.
Murray Gell-Mann hated the heat in central illinois and supposedly spent most of the summers in the basement of the Illini Union

If I may ask, who was Murray-Gell-Mann?

[roger]

Originally posted by Nyarlathotep


If I may ask, who was Murray-Gell-Mann?

Nobel laurete who discovered quarks.

http://www.santafe.edu/sfi/People/mgm/mgmbio.html

[Kodiak]

One of America's most notorious prohibition-era gangs was the Purple Gang of Detroit. They were responsible for 75% of the alcohol brought into the U.S. during prohibition. They were also involved in the Valentine's Day Massacre and the Lindburg baby kidnapping. So formidable was the Purple Gang, that they were able to keep Capone west of US-31.

[SteveW]

I live about 10 miles from where the Jersey Devil was born. Does that count? ;)

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by Kodiak
One of America's most notorious prohibition-era gangs was the Purple Gang of Detroit. They were responsible for 75% of the alcohol brought into the U.S. during prohibition. They were also involved in the Valentine's Day Massacre and the Lindburg baby kidnapping. So formidable was the Purple Gang, that they were able to keep Capone west of US-31.

I have alwys had a sort of weird fascination with the gangsters of that era and the Purple Gang is one group that I have heard of but know very little about. Mostly because any book or documentary on the subject usually ends up focusing on Al Capone and his cronies. Do you know any other litle known facts about them?

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by SteveW
I live about 10 miles from where the Jersey Devil was born. Does that count? ;)

Sure. In my opinion, local folklore is as interesting as local history. Sometimes it's hard to tell the two apart anyway.

[Kodiak]

Originally posted by Nyarlathotep


I have alwys had a sort of weird fascination with the gangsters of that era and the Purple Gang is one group that I have heard of but know very little about. Mostly because any book or documentary on the subject usually ends up focusing on Al Capone and his cronies. Do you know any other litle known facts about them?

Web story about the Purple Gang (http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters/purple/purplemain.htm)

A book on the Purple Gang 1910-1945 (http://www.historyamericas.com/The_Purple_Gang_Organized_Crime_in_Detroit_1910194 5_1569801479.html)

[Mr. Skinny]

A little Dayton, Ohio trivia - Dayton leads the United States in patents per capita. The pop-top can, the automatic auto starter and the cash register got their start here. The Wright Brothers built their first flying machine in Dayton.

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by Mr. Skinny
A little Dayton, Ohio trivia - Dayton leads the United States in patents per capita. The pop-top can, the automatic auto starter and the cash register got their start here. The Wright Brothers built their first flying machine in Dayton.

Cool, I think the only thing ever invented in Nevada is the Phrase "C'mon dice, Papa needs a new pair o' shoes!":D

[Lord Emsworth]

The place where I was born is a small German village. But quite old. The foundation dates back to Roman times.

But the most interesting thing is that Charlemagne had some kind of summer palace there. Unfortunately the only remains is a piece of wall about one meter in width and one and a half in height.

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by Lord Emsworth
The place where I was born is a small German village. But quite old. The foundation dates back to Roman times.

But the most interesting thing is that Charlemagne had some kind of summer palace there. Unfortunately the only remains is a piece of wall about one meter in width and one and a half in height.

As a history buff, I kind of envy you Europeans. You have so many sites that go back centuries. Where I live, most sites don't go back much more than 150 years or so. Even the local indians were few in number and nomadic so they left very few traces of their presence.

Visiting Europe and seeing all of the old castles and such, is one of the things on the top of my 'Things I am gong to have to do someday' list.

[Mr. Skinny]

Originally posted by Nyarlathotep


Cool, I think the only thing ever invented in Nevada is the Phrase "C'mon dice, Papa needs a new pair o' shoes!":D
LOL. Well it helps to have a few GM plants, and lots of other industries here. In addition we have Wright-Patterson AFB which is headquarters for the Air Force Research Laboratory among other things. Oh yeah, more trivia. WPAFB is the largest employer at a single site in the entire state of Ohio. I think there are about 25,000 of us gubmint and contractor employees trying to get through the gates each morning.

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by Mr. Skinny

LOL. Well it helps to have a few GM plants, and lots of other industries here. In addition we have Wright-Patterson AFB which is headquarters for the Air Force Research Laboratory among other things. Oh yeah, more trivia. WPAFB is the largest employer at a single site in the entire state of Ohio. I think there are about 25,000 of us gubmint and contractor employees trying to get through the gates each morning.

I don't know who the biggest employer here is, but in Nevada the Federal Governement is the biggest landowner. Between the BLM, the Park Service, and the Military, the governemtnt owns something like 80% (I am not to sure of the exact numbers) of the land in the state.

[kookbreaker]

For some local (to New Jersey) there's the magazine Weird NJ (www.weirdnj.com). There's a woowoo element to some of the stories, but most of the authors are pretty rational.

The people who write in, however are wackos.

Its odd to see how every town's local teens think the abandoned house was the site of satanic rituals.

[Shane Costello]

The area where I grew up in the West of Ireland is steeped in history. Iron age fortifications are still extant, as are castles from the middle ages and up to the 16th century. A bronze age burial mound was found two miles away, as were some artefacts from that era. The name of the district I grew up in takes it's name from an early Norman palisade. Ireland is lucky insofar most of it's early history was written down by monks, so that nearly everywhere can trace it's history as facr back as early Christian times and earlier.

There are a number of mansions still standing, dating from the time when most of the population were tenant farmers. The nearest one has a very interesting history. The story goes that the estate was seized by the last landlords, the Dillons, from the earlier Gaelic chieftains, the O'Kelly's, by blackmail. The land was in the possesion of an O'Kelly widow whose only son was intellectually challenged. He was framed for the theft of some leather from a nearby tannery, a hanging offence in those days (17th century). His life was spared when his mother agreed to hand over all her possesions to the Dillons. However she then laid a curse on the new owners, vowing that the eldest son of every generation would die before their 21st birthday. Apparently the curse was realised, before the local parish priest performed an exorcism of sorts, lifting the curse before dying in a carriage accident an hour later.

The remarkable thing about all this history is that while the movers and shakers come and go, a close examination of peoples surnames (the history of which is well detailed by said monks) shows that the same people have lived around here for millenia, which is pretty remarkable I think. "Deliverance" type remarks are not appreciated!

[SteveW]

Originally posted by Nyarlathotep


Sure. In my opinion, local folklore is as interesting as local history. Sometimes it's hard to tell the two apart anyway.

I was just kidding - though I do live in NJ not too far from the Devil's farmhouse. I do think its cool that I live right down the street from where Jerome Bonaparte used to live.

As to local history, New Jersey is filled to the brim with it. Man, everywhere you go has markers. My house is on the sight of the first tavern in the town (1640) - and I think that's funny since the town is dry now.

[SRW]

Just up the road a bit from me is Castroville Ca. If you have ever eaten an Artichoke it most likely came from there. Also every year they hold an artichoke festival. Marilyn Monroe was the Artichoke queen one year.

Now there big claim to fame is a restaurant shaped like an artichoke.

Also they have the best rib joint west of Texas.

[SteveW]

Originally posted by SRW
Just up the road a bit from me is Castroville Ca. If you have ever eaten an Artichoke it most likely came from there. Also every year they hold an artichoke festival. Marilyn Monroe was the Artichoke queen one year.

Now there big claim to fame is a restaurant shaped like an artichoke.

Also they have the best rib joint west of Texas.

You bet - I used to live in Gilroy - only a year there but I did love the artichokes. Thats the only thing I miss about California. Boiled with half mayonnaise and mustard dipping sauce.

And Monroe used to spend quite alot of time up in Calistoga.

[SRW]

Originally posted by SteveW


You bet - I used to live in Gilroy - only a year there but I did love the artichokes. Thats the only thing I miss about California. Boiled with half mayonnaise and mustard dipping sauce.

And Monroe used to spend quite alot of time up in Calistoga.

Gilroy ah how long did it take to get the smell of garlic off you?

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Originally posted by Kodiak


Web story about the Purple Gang (http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters/purple/purplemain.htm)

A book on the Purple Gang 1910-1945 (http://www.historyamericas.com/The_Purple_Gang_Organized_Crime_in_Detroit_1910194 5_1569801479.html)

And a movie (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0054218) starring a young Robert Blake.

[tim]

My neighbour just 50 yards away was having some work done on his house. When they were digging the footings they found human remains.
Until this was checked out it became a potential crime scene, so we had police guarding it for a day or two.
It turned out the remains were of Roman origin, about 3rd century AD (or CE, or whatever). There were three individuals, two men, one woman. From the orientation it is believed houses in the neighbourhood, including mine, are sited on a Roman graveyard.
The remains were gently replaced from whence they came and covered over again.
We've had to install a demon scaring device, of course. I can't recommend them highly enough. Since we got it we haven't seen a single ghost or demon! :D

[LW]

My hometown is quite young (got its township in the 60s). The most visible piece of old history is our medieval church that was built in the 15th century. At the time here lived mostly Swedish-speaking farmers and fishermen. Later, in the 16th and 17th centuries most of the Southern Finland got enfeofed and a total of 31 manors were established inside the boundaries of modern Espoo.

The Uusimaa area of Southern Finland got permanent settlement quite late because the clay-based soil here is difficult to farm. It seems that the inhabitants came mostly from Sweden in early 13th century after Sweden had conquered Finland in the 12th century. There is evidence for only one village (Kauklahti) that predates the influx of Swedes, and it was established in the 11th century.

There was an earlier period of inhabitation that lasted from ~1500 B.C to ~200 A.D. Just about the only thing they have left behind is a number of old burial cairns that are dotted all over the cliffs. One of the surviving cairns is in the middle of a forest about two kilometers from where I live and I occasionally go there to share a bottle of beer with the unknown man who is buried there. (Or alternatively with Hiisi, the old dark god of everything scary that is in the forest. When cairn-building ceased, people forgot that they were graves and started to believe that they were built by Hiisi for some strange purposes. I just pour the beer on the stones and let the bronze-age spirit and Hiisi share the beer any way they choose).

[Denise]

We have the runestone debate in our state. I don't buy it myself.
http://news.mpr.org/features/199811/24_lehmanng_runestone-m/index.shtml

[Nyarlathotep]

Lots of really interesting things got posted since I left yesterday. I am enjoying reading everything everyone is writing. I always enjoy finding out the history of places I visit when I travel but I can't travel everywhere so asking people is the next best thing.

I thought of one more thing overnight too.. The town wher I was born has a slightly odd story behind it's name.

I was born in a town called Yerington. It's a relatively small town (about 15,000 people, the last time I heard). It was originally called Pizen Switch, a name that has another story behind it but it sounds like myth to me (the name supposedly coming from the local saloon being called the Pizen Switch saloon, Pizen supposedly being a corruption of the word poison, because the liquor served there was so bad, and Switch because the saloon was so shoddily built, it looked like it wqas made from switches).

THe Town changed it's name to Yerington in the late 19th century. The head of the V & T (Virginia & Truckee) railroad, which was the most prominent railroad in the area, was named John Yerington (I may be wrong about the first name). Pizen Switch lay in the path of one of two proposed routes for the V & T and they really wanted it to come through. So one of the things they did was change the name of Pizen Switch to Yerington hoping to flatter Mr. Yerington into bringing it through. Unfortunately, it didn't work and it went through Reno instead, which is why Reno is the second biggest city in Nevada and Yerington is still just a dusty little town no one who isn't local has ever heard of.

[Boo]

I live in a town named after a game show......Truth or Consequenses:eek:

It was the winter quarters of the Apache tribes from the southwest and was used as a strong hold by Geronimo.


Every year there is a Fiesta in honor of Ralph Edwards, the creator and host of the show. Many of the towns residence are patiently waiting for him pass away so we can rename the town.
The town was renamed as part of a contest, the prize being that a show would be broadcast from here.


Boo

[Larspeart]

I live in the same town as Jack Kevorkian (Dr. Death) lived in, and helped perform all of those assisted suicides.

Glenn Fry of the Eagles went to my High School.

My town is built on a swamp. Several buildings have sunk at a rate of 1/2 an inch a year for the last 50 years.

[Mr. Skinny]

Originally posted by Nyarlathotep

I was born in a town called Yerington. It's a relatively small town (about 15,000 people, the last time I heard).

Hey, ever hear this song? It mentions areas around Yerington. I can't remember who wrote it, but it's been recorded by Ian & Sylvia, John Denver, and others.


Darcy Farrow


Where the Walker runs down to the Carson Valley Plain
There lived a maiden, Darcy Farrow was her name
The daughter of old Dundee and a fair one was she
The sweetest flower that bloomed oer the range

Her voice was as sweet as the sugar candy
Her touch was as soft as a bed of goose down
Her eyes shone bright like the pretty lights
That shone in the night out of Yerrington town

She was courted by Young Vandamere
A fine lad was he as I am to hear
He gave her silver rings and lacy things
And she promised to wed before the snows came that year

But her pony did stumble and she did fall
Her dyin touched the hearts of us one and all
Young Vandy in his pain put a bullet through his brain
And we buried them together as the snows began to fall

They sing of Darcy Farrow where the Truckee runs through
They sing of her beauty in Virginia City too
At dusky sundown to her name they drink a round
And to young Vandy whose love was true



edited to substitue the lyrics that actually mention Yerington

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by Mr. Skinny


Hey, ever hear this song? It mentions areas around Yerington. I can't remember who wrote it, but it's been recorded by Ian & Sylvia, John Denver, and others.


Darcy Farrow



Where the Walker runs down to the Carson Valley plain
There lived a maid and Darcy Farrow was her name
The daughter of old Dundee and a fair one was she
The sweetest flower that bloomed o'er the plain.

She was courted by young Vandermere
And quite handsome was he as I hear
He bought her rings and lacy things
He promised to wed before the snow fell that year.

But her horse it did stumble and she did fall
Her dying touched the hearts of us one and all
Young Vandy in his pain put a bullet through his brain
They buried them together as the snow began to fall.

They sing about Darcy Farrow where the Truckee runs through
They sing about her beauty in Virginia City too
At dusky sundown to her name they drink a round
And to young Vandy whose love was true.

Nope, I have never heard the song. I know all of the places mentioned in it though. The Walker river runs through Yerington. Virginia City is much closer to Carson where I live now, in fact I try to make apoint of taking out of town visitors up there, because its a pretty well preserved 'Old West' town (though it is a bit touristy, and gets more so all the time). The Truckee runs through Reno, in fact there is a bridge over the Truckee that used to be famous because newly divorced people would (according to the story) chuck their wedding rings off of it and into the river.

Edit: Since you added the part that actually mentions Yerington I can only say: Bright Lights of Yerington town? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

It all but rolls up its sidewalks at 10 pm.

Pretty song though.

[Mr. Skinny]

It's a really pretty song. The version I'm most familiar with was by Matthew's Southern Comfort. Ian Matthews has a wonderful voice.

IIRC the John Denver version is nice also.

BTW, I edited the lyrics in my post to include the verse that mentioned Yerington directly. Looks like you were answering me when I did that.

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by Mr. Skinny
It's a really pretty song. The version I'm most familiar with was by Matthew's Southern Comfort. Ian Matthews has a wonderful voice.

IIRC the John Denver version is nice also.

BTW, I edited the lyrics in my post to include the verse that mentioned Yerington directly. Looks like you were answering me when I did that.

I guess it also provesme wrong that no one outside of the area has heard of Yerington though.

[roger]

I live in the DC area.

Nothing interesting has ever happened here.

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by roger
I live in the DC area.

Nothing interesting has ever happened here.

You poor poor man. Living everyday surrounded by all those crooks....I mean politicians. You have my sympathies.

[Jon_in_london]

Originally posted by Jon_in_london


In 1940 a german bomb fell into the high street. It when straight down to the underground station below, rupturing a water main and killing abou 60 people. A tram fell into the crater.

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by Jon_in_london



Wow.


that's all I can say. Must have been a hell of a thing to live in London in those days.

[swellman]

The Hoosac Tunnel (http://www.berkshireweb.com/mohawktrail/hoosac.html) in NW Massachusetts. One of those "forgotten wonders", considered an engineering marvel of the 19th century.

Took over 20 years, half a million tons(!) of nitroglycerin and almost 200 lives to build the tunnel.

Nowdays, even locals seem unfamiliar with it.

[KillerBob]

A short way out into Galveston Bay lies the remains of the S.S. Selma. It was one of 10-15 concrete ships built during World War I in an attempt to overcome iron shortages at the time.

It was damaged, I believe by running aground, on it's first outing. Eventually it was towed back to Galveston where it was deemed unworthy of repair. It was then towed into the bay and scuttled in shallow water. It is still quite visible today.

I believe there is another one of these concrete ships in shallow water somewhere along the East coast.




Edited to add: Hey, what do you know, here's a brief article on it in addition to a fairly poor picture.

S.S. Selma (http://www.crystalbeach.com/selma.htm)

[tim]

Originally posted by Mr. Skinny


Hey, ever hear this song? It mentions areas around Yerington. I can't remember who wrote it, but it's been recorded by Ian & Sylvia, John Denver, and others.


Darcy Farrow


Where the Walker runs down to the Carson Valley Plain
There lived a maiden, Darcy Farrow was her name
The daughter of old Dundee and a fair one was she
The sweetest flower that bloomed oer the range

Her voice was as sweet as the sugar candy
Her touch was as soft as a bed of goose down
Her eyes shone bright like the pretty lights
That shone in the night out of Yerrington town

She was courted by Young Vandamere
A fine lad was he as I am to hear
He gave her silver rings and lacy things
And she promised to wed before the snows came that year

But her pony did stumble and she did fall
Her dyin touched the hearts of us one and all
Young Vandy in his pain put a bullet through his brain
And we buried them together as the snows began to fall

They sing of Darcy Farrow where the Truckee runs through
They sing of her beauty in Virginia City too
At dusky sundown to her name they drink a round
And to young Vandy whose love was true



edited to substitue the lyrics that actually mention Yerington

Yeah, I remember that one, as sung by Mr Denver. I included it in my repertoir in the 70s. It was all I could do not to have a little catch in the throat when I sung it...............(sniff, sniff).

[Landis]

10 miles south of the town I grew up in, Ridgway Illinois, is "The Old Slave House". Many people would be suprised to learn that slavery existed in Illinois in the early 1800s. The "Old Slave House" is a large mansion set on a bluff. The slaves were used mostly for working in a salt mine. Imagine the pain of being whipped and then put back to work in a salt mine! There was one slave in particular who was the designated "Breeder". his job was to impregnate all of the young slave women so the owner could sell their babies on the slave market. He fathered over 400 children and there is a picture of him at the house.

At one point, the owner severly beat a young slave woman. The men slaves rose up in rebellion and cut off the owner's leg. After that he had a change of heart and the "Old Slave House" became part of the Underground Railroad helping runaway slaves escape to the North. Abraham Lincoln is even supposed to have spent the night in the house.

[Doubt]

Originally posted by Larspeart
I live in the same town as Jack Kevorkian (Dr. Death) lived in, and helped perform all of those assisted suicides.

Glenn Fry of the Eagles went to my High School.

My town is built on a swamp. Several buildings have sunk at a rate of 1/2 an inch a year for the last 50 years.

And it is till a hight rent area! (Royal Oak MI)

Doubt (I am from Pontiac.)

[Chris Haynes]

There is an author who made a good living telling the weird and wackly stories of this part of the neighborhood:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Speidel%2C%20William/103-9636561-2251848

I especially liked Sons of the Profits . He made quite an industry out of the local history. Even though he is now dead, his Underground Tours still take off from Doc Maynards (a bar, named after one of the more colorful characters - who at one point was walking down the street with a wife on each arm).

This is the state where the final border between the US and Canada was settled after the Pig War:
http://www.washington.historylink.org/output.cfm?file_id=5037

As it remains there is still Pt. Roberts... a bit of the US whose only connection to land is to Canada. The delays at the border wrecked havoc with the school bus:
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=pointroberts03m&date=20011003&query=point+roberts+bus

The state's other claim to fame are UFO's:
http://www.washington.historylink.org/output.cfm?file_id=5336

It is one of the weird stories here:
http://www.washington.historylink.org/results.cfm?keyword=Curiosities&searchfield=topic

Unfortunately that link doesn't include some of the others like the creating of Bigfoot hoax, the lieutenent governor who campaigned with a goat, the woman who ran a "health" clinic who literally starved her patients and the radio station that would give out information for the boot leggers in code imbedded in the children's story hour.

[Rosencrantz]

Originally posted by Hydrogen Cyanide
Even though he is now dead, his Underground Tours still take off from Doc Maynards.I don't live in or near Seattle, but I've taken the Underground Tour at least four times. It might have been five. Anyway, I heartily recommend it. Seattle's early history is hysterical. Their first mayor started the first state lottery... and coincidentally, won it. Twice.

I also love the stories about how early settlers bought toilets, yet the town did not have a sewer system. Undaunted, they just ran pipes to the water in the Sound, not realizing that what goes down must come up. The local newspaper started publishing the tidal charts on the front page.

Eventually, there was a fire and the entire town burned down, and the council decided to rebuild properly, with streets raised an extra story to accommodate the rubble and pipes. However, it took several years, so many shopkeepers built ground-level shops, and pedestrians had to climb up and down ladders to cross the street. There was even at least one fatality, if I remember correctly ("Area Man falls to death crossing street").

Eventually, when the streets were done, the shop owners closed up their sub-level floors and opened up their second stories as the ground floor. The Underground Tour goes through several of those areas, with more colorful anecdotes about those frontier times. They seem to be different every time I go -- not because they're changing, but because there's so much to tell, the same thing is never repeated.

I remember one story about how the city council decided to do a census of the working people in the early city near the Tour, what is now Pioneer Square. They came up with something like 50 "seamstresses," but only one sewing machine. These working ladies were concentrated in one particular area near the taverns where apparently they drummed up a lot of business, um, "darning." What did the council do? They instituted a sewing tax! :)

I'm trying to remember more stories from the tour, but I'm drawing a blank. I can't recommend it enough! If you're ever in the area and have a couple of spare hours, see this tour. It is delicious irony mixed with early Americana in a delightfully enjoyable setting. Just don't say you're from Tacoma, you'll get shamelessly made fun of.

[jj]

I've lived near the Ashtabula river gorge. I've lived where William McKinley was born. I've lived a mile from where Washington had his HQ for two years of the revolution while he tried helplessly to retake NYC.

[Chris Haynes]

Originally posted by Rosencrantz
I don't live in or near Seattle, but I've taken the Underground Tour at least four times. It might have been five. Anyway, I heartily recommend it. Seattle's early history is hysterical. Their first mayor started the first state lottery... and coincidentally, won it. Twice. ..

When I was in 9th grade I satisfied my Social Studies requirement by taking a new course called "Modern Geography".

I have no idea who designed this course, and I cannot go by location. I was in Curundu Junior High which was about 3 time zones east and about 35 degrees of latitude south of Seattle. One of the units was about decision making in developing a settlement into a city. We were given certain parameters... and then some timely decisions that were made.

Like "for instance"... the decision of on railroad to have its Pacific terminous in a settlement several miles south of this particular town (which happened http://www.historylink.org/_output.CFM?file_ID=1734 )... and the attempts to build a canal linking two lakes, which eventually gained access to Puget Sound (we in this particular school: http://www.odedodea.edu/data/school.cfm?dodaac=HE0421 ... noticed some similarities to where we were, which was also a large Army Corps of Engineers Project), plus the finding of coal nearby (which was sent to San Francisco, this area as a long history of supplying energy to California, http://www.washington.historylink.org/output.cfm?file_id=5158 )

As we went along with this unit, it did not take long for us to realize that it was about Seattle. And it included lots of funny stories about it too.

This museum has a series of summer history walks that also include lots of fun anecdotes by the tour leaders:
http://www.seattlehistory.org/news_calendar.cfm

How they handled some 1960's demonstration on the UW Campus: http://www.historylink.org/_output.CFM?file_ID=1223

[zakur]

There's a lot going on in Ohio this year, what with Ohio's Bicentennial (http://www.ohio200.org/) and the Centennial of Flight (http://www.centennialofflight.gov/index.cfm). So here's another historical plug for Ohio, specifically the Dayton area.

To the north of where I live are two small towns - Fort Recovery and Greenville. These two towns have significance not just in Ohio history, but in U.S. history, as well.

In the late 1700s Indians, frustrated by the increasing numbers of American settlers and goaded by British officials, frequently attacked settlers and the troops sent to quell the troubles on the Ohio frontier, then known as the Northwest Territory.

The most devastating of these attacks occurred just before dawn on Nov. 4, 1791, on the banks of the Wabash River in what is now Fort Recovery. Chiefs Little Turtle (http://users.anderson.edu/~roebuck/Little_Turtle.html) and Blue Jacket (http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/ohc/history/h_indian/people/bluejack.shtml) and renegade Simon Girty (http://www.rootsweb.com/~indian/sgirty.htm) led 1,000 to 1,500 Indians from seven tribes against American troops under the command of Northwest Territory Governor and General Arthur St. Clair. The surprised troops were overwhelmed, and 630 soldiers died in battle while 250 women accompanying the expedition were either killed or taken prisoner. This event is widely held to be the worst defeat ever suffered by the U.S. Army at the hands of native Americans.

A post-defeat investigation found that St. Clair's troops were ill-trained, ill-equipped, and totally unprepared for a surprise attack. President George Washington decided to send General "Mad" Anthony Wayne (http://www.heidelberg.edu/FallenTimbers/FTbio-Wayne.html) to the Northwest Territory to redeem the nation's reputation and secure the area for settlers. The general the Indians called "the man who never sleeps" trained his 2,600-man army intensively before traveling north from Fort Washington (now Cincinnati) to the Wabash River in 1793. En route Wayne's troops built Fort GreenVille. From there, the troops were detached to the Wabash River battleground to bury the bones of the dead and build Fort Recovery.

On June 30, 1794, the new fort was attacked by one of the largest forces of Indians that ever engaged the American army in battle. The well-trained American troops prevailed on the site of the previous disaster. Two months later, the war ended when Wayne's troops won the Battle of Fallen Timbers (http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/ohc/history/h_indian/events/bfallen.shtml). This victory led to the signing of the Treaty of GreenVille in 1795. The Indians agreed to give up their claim to all lands south of the Wabash River in exchange for $20,000 in merchandise and an annual payment of $9,500. This treaty, more than any other event, is what opened up the territory to Americans and led to Ohio's statehood only eight years later.

To the South of here, in Warren County, is a small town called Waynesville. The town is named after the "mad" General Wayne, whose troops camped on Camp Creek in 1793 on their way North. Legend is that Wayne's paymaster hid the soldier's payroll during an attack by the Indians, and that the money has never been found.

[Chris Haynes]

Originally posted by zakur
There's a lot going on in Ohio this year, what with Ohio's Bicentennial (http://www.ohio200.org/) and the Centennial of Flight (http://www.centennialofflight.gov/index.cfm). So here's another historical plug for Ohio, specifically the Dayton area....

Way cool! I've heard that the museum at Wright-Patterson AFB is excellent... oh, I found its website: http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/ .. and I love the price of admission, FREE!

When I think of Ohio I think of Marietta and the Underground Railroad. I also remember what a lovely area it is: http://www.mariettaohio.org/