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The Pony Express

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Wyoming, Park County, Cody
Young Buffalo Bill Cody started his famous career with the great freighting firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell as a messenger boy. He became a spectacular Pony Express rider with the same firm and road between Red Buttes and Three Crossings, along the Sweetwater River, about 150 miles south of Cody.

(Notable Persons) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Castle Rock

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Wyoming, Park County, near Cody
John Colter, famed among the famous breed of "Mountain Men," passed this landmark late in the fall of 1807 while on business for the fur trader Manuel Lisa. Searching for Indians in order to conduct trade, he also hunted salt caves reputedly located near headwaters of this stream then known as the "sinking water."
On his journey Colter not only discovered this later named Shoshone River but became the first recorded white man to visit the upper Wind River, Jackson's Hole and Yellowstone park. His lonely trek, compounding the normal dangers of savage wilderness by mid winter passage of a broad and lofty mountain range, lives in history and legend an epic of courageous exploration

(Natural Features) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

John Jeremiah "Liver Eating" Johnston

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Wyoming, Park County, Cody
John Johnston was born of Scotch-English descent in New Jersey in 1824. Johnston, described as a 6'6", 250 pound giant , came west in the early 1840's as a tapper. He began his career in the Medicine Bow mountains of Wyoming, gradually working his way northward through the Wind River, Owl Creek, and Absaroka Mountains, then into the Yellowstone Region and Montana.
About 1850 Johnston had acquired a Flathead Indian wife, of whom he was very fond, and had built a cabin on the Little Snake River of Wyoming. One day, on returning from trapping, he found his wife and unborn child dead and mutilated on the cabin floor. They had been killed by Crow Indians.
This started a personal revenge war against the Crows, which lasted nearly twelve years. According to legend, Johnston would on occasion remove the liver from a dead enemy and take a bite of it, or pretend to, in order to make a fierce impression on his savage foes. Consequently, he received the name "Liver Eating" Johnston.
Johnston went to Colorado in 1862 and enlisted in the Second Colorado Cavalry to fight in the Civil War. He was wounded in Missouri at the Battle of Newtonia, but remained in the service until his Honorable Discharge on September 23, 1865.
The winter after the war was spent in Fort Laramie, Wyoming where he was hired to help supply buffalo and elk meat for the Army post.
Johnston worked his way north to the Missouri River in Montana where he started a wood yard, supplying firewood for the steamboats that were traveling the river in those days.
In 1868, a the mouth of the Musselshell River, Johnston and some companions defeated a Sioux war party that intended to wipe out the group of trappers and wood cutters.
In 1877 Johnston became Chief of Scouts for General Nelson A. Miles. Johnston and ten scouts were credited with saving Miles command in a battle with the Cheyenne on Muddy Creek in 1877.
Johnston became the first Marshal at Coulson (Billings) Montand (sic) in 1882, and later in 1888, the first Sheriff of Red Lodge, Montana.
In old age he developed rheumatism, and in the late 1890's would treat his ailment at the DeMaris Hot Springs, near the river just below the site of Old Trail Town. His camping spot was just beneath the cliffs that can be seen from the grave site.
In the winter of 1899 Johnston's health failed him and he was sent to the old soldiers home in Santa Monica, California, where he died January 21, 1900.
"Liver Eating" Johnston, also known as Jeremiah Johnston from the Warner Bros. movie based on his life, was reburied near the mountains he loved on June 8, 1974.
The reburial was made possible through the efforts of Tri Robinson and his seventh grade class of Lancaster, California.
The bronze statue of Johnston was sculpted by Peter Fillerup of Cody, Wyoming and donated by Larry Clark of Salt Lake City, Utah.

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Longhorn Cattle and White-Tail Deer

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Texas, Gillespie County, near Stonewall


Why do we keep these animals in this enclosure?

A small herd of Longhorns and White-tail deer are kept in this pasture so our visitors can view these prominent icons of Texas.

Longhorn Cattle

“Someone has said that civilization follows the plow. West of the Missouri, the plow followed the cowboy, and the cowboy followed the Longhorn from Texas ...”
J. Frank Dobie


Spanish Retinto (Criollo) cattle started arriving in Texas by the 1520's by explorers and some escaped or were abandoned. When the English settlers started arriving in the 1830's, some of their cattle escaped or were abandoned also. The now wild herds found each other and the Texas Longhorn emerged. This new breed survived by their cross-bred ability to thrive on marginal rangeland.

After the Civil War, a sagging Texas economy and a big demand for beef up north made the Texas Longhorn a valuable resource. Did you know LBJ’s grandfather and uncle, Samuel and Tom Johnson, had a cattle driving business based not far from here.

The Texas Longhorn is truly a Texas original!

White-Tail Deer

The white-tail deer is a long-legged, fast moving mammal. It stands about three and one-half feet high at the shoulder. Only the males (Bucks) have branched antlers which are shed, then regrown each year. The common colors are either a light dusty brown or gray with a white belly and tail underside. The young (Fawns) are born in May and June. When the female (Doe) gives birth, she hides her young and only returns to feet it then moves away. This behavior can give the impression that the fawn is an orphan when indeed it is not. Please take a moment and observe the brush in front of you. White-tail deer are known to be shy, but curious. Listen for snorting sounds: It’s the deer’s way of trying to get you to move so they can see you better.


To learn more about deer antlers and how they grow, look at the Antler Growing Calendar sign behind you in the wooden shelter.

(Agriculture • Animals) Includes location, directions, 7 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

What is the President pointing to anyway?

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Texas, Gillespie County, near Stonewall
The statue which stands before you is of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States. It was donated by A.W. Moursand, a prominent attorney and past Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioner. President Johnson wanted this statue placed on the State Park, pointing at the Pedernales River.

He once said “My first memories are of this river”. He was born and raised in the Texas Hill Country and always remained close to it by saying “I feel at home here”.

(Notable Persons) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The American Mountain Man

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Wyoming, Park County, Cody
This monument, erected by the Brotherhood of the American Mountain Men, is "dedicated to all Mountain Men known and unknown for their essential part in the opening of the American West." It consists of two busts and six plaques honoring four mountain men. The plaques are presented left to right.

In Tribute to
John Colter
First known white American explorer to enter this locale in the fall of 1807.
Probably crossing the river 1/4 mile east of this point (right), before discovering “Colter’s Hell” 1/2 mile to the west (left).
••• Born and raised in Virginia in 1770’s.
••• A valued member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Ocean, 1803-1806.
••• Among the first American “Free Trappers” in the Rocky Mountains, along with Joseph Dickson and Forrest Bancock, 1806-1807.
••• First to explore Big Horn Basin, Yellowstone Park, and Grand Teton regions, 1807-1808.
••• Immortalized by his legendary “Run For Life” escape, from the hostile Blackfeet Indians, 1808.
••• Quit the mountains in 1810, married and settled on a farm near St. Louis, Missouri. Died of disease in 1813, unheralded, but not forgotten. His final resting place has since been lost.
Erected by the John Colter Society, 1981.
A legacy for all who adventure.

John Colter
Born c. 1770 -- Died 1813
A hunter for Lewis and Clark (1803-1806) Colter remained in the mountains to trap and explore. During his great journey of discovery he found “Colter’s Hell” west of Cody, Wyoming. Captured by the Blackfeet in 1808, he was forced to run for his life. Outdistancing the entire tribe for seven miles he survived, naked and weaponless, to become a legend in his own lifetime. John Colter was the first true “Mountain Man.”

Jedediah Strong Smith
January 6, 1799 -- May 27, 1831
Born in Jerico, New York, the 6th of 14 children, Jed was destined to influence the Westward expansion of the United States as few men have done. Influenced by Lewis and Clark’s exploits he joined Ashley’s trapping expedition in 1822, soon becoming a partner and then owner in 1827. A natural leader, devout Christian and tireless explorer, Jed’s discovery popularized the South Pass crossing of the Rockies. He was the first man to travel overland to California and first to travel the coast from California to the Columbia. He survived near death from thirst and starvation, maulings of a grizzly and attacks by Arikara, Mojave and Kelewatset Indians. Killed by Comanches near Fargo Spring, Kansas, his body was never found but his legacy live on as his trails of discovery became the highways for America’s westward migration.

George Drouillard
(c. 1775-1810)
Born to a French Canadian father and Shawnee mother, Drouillard joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1803 as chief interpreter and hunter. Lewis said of him, “I scarcely know how we should exist were it not for the exertions of this excellent hunter.” While thus employed, he was possibly the first white man to trap on the upper Missouri River. In 1807, he joined Manuel Lisa’s trading expedition. During two solitary winter treks on foot to notify various tribes of Lisa’s fort on the Yellowstone, Drouillard journeyed up the Stinking Water (Shoshone River) near this spot. His explorations of this and other major rivers to the east totalled (sic) 500 miles, and he produced an important map upon which William Clark and later cartographers relied heavily.
Trapping near the Three Forks with the Missouri Fur Company, he was killed by Blackfeet Indians in May 1810.

A Tribute To
James “Old Gabe” Bridger
1804 - 1881
Mountain man, hunter, trapper, fur trader, emigrant guide, and Army scout. Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1804 and moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1812. Served as a blacksmith’s apprentice from 1818 to 1822. Came west with the 1822 Ashley-Henry Expedition. Discovered the Great Salt Lake in 1824 and visited what is now Yellowstone Park in 1830. In 1833 he became a full partner in the fur trading firm of Sublette, Fraeb, Gervais, Bridger, and Fitzpatrick. Anticipating the influx of immigrants he established Ft. Bridger to resupply and repair wagon trains. Jim served as a guide and scout for the Army until 1868. After his discharge Old Gabe retired to his farm in Missouri. However, by 1874, his health began to fail and he was blind. Jim’s only regret was that he would never see his beloved Rocky Mountains before his death. On July 17, 1881, the Lord laid Old Gabes (sic) tired body to rest and set his spirit free to return at last to the mountains he loved.

In Tribute to
Jim Bridger
Regarded most famous of the Rocky Mountain trappers and explorers who blazed the American West’s early trails of continental destiny and who frequented these environs throughout the mid-1800’s.
West 20 mile upriver towers Jim Mountain named for Jim Baker, a well known Bridger protege.
East 30 miles downriver the “Bridger Trail” crosses the “Stinking Water” (Shoshone River). This trail was established across the Big Horn Basin around 1864 by Jim Bridger (then working primarily as an emigrant and Army expedition guide). As a safer alternative route to the “Bozeman Trail” in traveling from the “Oregon-California Trail” to the Montana mines.br Jim Bridger epitomized the “Mountain Man” and his legacy endures, but only in context with many others. In all this breed never exceeded more than a few hundred. They came seeking adventure and fortune. Over half of them succumbed to the rigors of their profession -- hostile elements, animals, Indians, and starvation. Their names and remains are forever consigned -- unrecorded-to the dust of the mountains and plains where they “went under," often in violent fashion. This marker also stands in their memory.

(Industry & Commerce • Exploration) Includes location, directions, 9 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Joseph Robidoux at Roy's Branch

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Missouri, Buchanan County, Saint Joseph

Joseph Robidoux, founder of St. Joseph, was the leader of a French-Canadian fur trading family which sent men out to trade with the Indians along the Missouri River and as far west as today's Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. From his first trip up the Missouri River in 1799 at age 16 to his death in 1868, Robidoux witnessed many changes in this area. He was the first permanent settler in Blacksnake Hills and later encouraged other settlers to come to his newly established town of St. Joseph. Before he died he saw his town grow to a population of about 19,000 citizens.

The small creek which cuts through the bluffs and empties into the Missouri River near here is known as Roy's Branch. It was named for fur trader and trapper Jean Baptist Roy. Members of the French-Canadian Roy family had settled along the Mississippi River near St. Louis in the mid-1700s and were involved in the fur trade business along the Missouri River. Jean Baptist Roy was still trading in this area in the 1830s. It is not known at what point in time that the creek was named for Roy.

In the fall of 1826, fur trader Joseph Robidoux was granted permission by the U.S. Government to set up a small trading post at the mouth of Roy's Branch. Since the northwest corner of today's Missouri was the Platte Indian Territory, no settlers were allowed. However, Robidoux obtained a special permit to live and work in the Territory.

Robidoux lived at this site from the fall of 1826 to the spring of 1827. However, the land was low and flooded in the spring when the river water rose due to melting snow. As a result, Robidoux decided the location at Roy's Branch was unsuitable. In the spring of 1827, he moved a mile down river to the mouth of Blacksnake Creek.

The river bottoms at this point are called French Bottoms since a number of French families, some in the employ of Joseph Robidoux, settled. here.
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In the early 1800s, the fur trade was a very profitable business. Part of the instructions to Lewis and Clark from President Jefferson were to report on the types and numbers of fur bearing animals and their locations. They were also to find out if the Indians would trade in furs. The French-Canadians also contributed to the success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. These men were used to travel on the Missouri River and helped pull, pole, row and sail the keel boat and two pirogues up the river. They were also familiar with landmarks, many of which had been named by Frenchmen, and the locations and customs of the various Indian tribes.

(Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels • Exploration) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Montour County Courthouse

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Pennsylvania, Montour County, Danville

This property
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places

by the United States
Department of the Interior

(Notable Buildings) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.


Old Trail Town

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Wyoming, Park County, Cody
On this site in 1895, Western scout and showman William F. ("Buffalo Bill") Cody laid out the original townsite of Cody, Wyoming, which he named in his honor. Today Old Trail Town preserves the lifestyle and history of the Frontier West through a rare collection of authentic structures and furnishings. From remote locations in Wyoming and Montana there historic buildings were carefully disassembled, moved and reassembled here at Old Trail Town by Western historian Bob Edgar and friends.
Located here also are thousands of historic artifacts from the Old West and gravesitse of several notable Western figures. Among them is the grave of mountain man John Johnson, who was portrayed by the actor Robert Redford in the 1972 motion picture "Jeremiah Johnson."
Here too are the original cabins used by Old Western outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and a Wyoming saloon frequented by Cassidy's "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang." Also on this site is the log cabin of "Curley" - a Crow Indian army scout who helped guide Lt. Col. George A. Custer and the U.S. 7th Cavalry to the battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876. Old Trail Town exists today as a memorial to the unique American experience known throughout the world as the "Old West."

(Notable Buildings) Includes location, directions, 20 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Legacy of Little League

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Pennsylvania, Lycoming County, South Williamsport

Little League was founded in 1939 by Carl E. Stotz in Williamsport, just four miles north of here. Since the first year, it has operated with a singular goal: to help teach children the values of teamwork, sportsmanship, and fair play so that those values may be applied to their adult lives.

Plaza Overlook
This beautiful overlook of Howard J. Lamade Stadium, site of the annual Little League Baseball World Series, is courtesy of the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania. For several decades, the Foundation has provided support for many projects at Little League International, and continues to be one of the greatest assets in the area.

Your Walking Tour
After touring the Museum, visit all six of these outdoor "innings" on a self-guided tour of the Little League International Complex. Commemorate your visit with a memento from the Museum, or the gift shop on the stadium concourse.

A World-Class Museum
Make sure you visit us in the World of Little League - an interactive museum for all ages. Tour all six innings, and experience the World of Little League Baseball and Softball.

(Sports) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Mayfield Fire Bell

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California, Santa Clara County, Palo Alto
From 1907 to 1925 this bell was used to summon the volunteer firemen of the town of Mayfield. First used at College Avenue and El Camino Real. The bell was transferred to the town hall at El Camino Real and California Avenue in 1921. When Mayfield joined Pala Alto in 1925, the volunteer firemen were replaced by regulars and the bell was retired from service.

(Man-Made Features) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Old Russell County Courthouse

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Virginia, Russell County, near Dickensonville
This building, erected in 1792, served as the second courthouse of Russell County and is one of the earliest public buildings still standing in Southwest Virginia. Russell County was formed in 1786 from Washington County and originally encompassed the greater part of what now is Lee, Scott, Wise, Dickenson, Buchanan and Tazewell counties. The county sold the building when the county seat was moved to the town of Lebanon in 1818.

(Political Subdivisions • Architecture) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Jessee’s Mill

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Virginia, Russell County, near Dickensonville
Jessee's mill is 2.5 miles north on Jessee’s Mill Road. The first grindstone mill, mortarless dam, and millrace were built before 1794. John Jessee, Revolutionary War musician and infantryman, purchased the mill and lands in 1724. Handmade wooden machinery was installed before 1814. Grandson Andrew “Jack” Jessee built The Brick Home in 1878 and in 1890 converted the mill to three stories and automated roller process machinery. The mill closed in 1932. The Mill Creek community also included the church, school, blacksmith and general store.

John, wife Frankey Lea and some of their 15 children are buried one mile east-northeast of the mill At 36° 55' 45" N, 82° 09' 23" W. Most American Jessees are their descendants.

(Notable Buildings • Industry & Commerce) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Llano Estacado

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New Mexico, Quay County, San Jon
Sediments shed from the rising mountains to the west formed the Llano Estacado, later to be bypassed by streams such as the Pecos and Canadian Rivers and left standing in bold relief with a relatively level, uneroded caprock surface. Croplands on the plain are irrigated using”fossil” water pumped from underground aquifers.

(Natural Features) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Santa Rosa

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New Mexico, Guadalupe County, Santa Rosa
The Spanish explorer Antonio de Espejo passed through this area in 1583, as did Gaspar Castaño de Sosa in 1590. Santa Rosa, the Guadalupe County seat, was laid out on the ranch of Celso Baca y Baca, a politician and rancher in the late 1800s. It was named for his wife, Doña Rosa.

(Settlements & Settlers • Exploration) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Russell Courthouse

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Virginia, Russell County, Lebanon
The county governmetn was organized at Russell’s Fort, May 9, 1786, with the following officers: Alexander Barnett, County Lieutenant; David Ward, Sheriff; Henry Dickenson, Clerk. Justices: Henry Smith, Henry Dickenson, David Ward, John Thompson, Samuel Ritchie. The present courthouse was built in 1874.

(Political Subdivisions) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Trail of the Forty-Niners

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New Mexico, Guadalupe County, near Santa Rosa
To give gold-seekers another route to California, Capt. Randolph B. Marcy and Lt. James H. Simpson opened a wagon road from Arkansas to New Mexico in 1849. Marcy’s Road, although very popular with the Forty-Niners, still was never as well-traveled as the Santa Fe Trail. Here the route parallels I-40 to Albuquerque.

(Roads & Vehicles • Exploration) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Edge of Plains

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New Mexico, Guadalupe County, near Santa Rosa
Grassy plains meet pine dotted uplands in this transition from Great Plains to Basin and Range provinces. Plains to the east are capped by caliche, sand, and gravel which are deeply eroded into the underlying bedrock in places. To the west, faulting has produced alternating highlands and intermountain basins of the Basin and Range province. Elevation 6,500 feet.

(Natural Features) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Frances Dickenson Scott Johnson

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Virginia, Russell County, near Elk Garden
Near this site is the grave of Frances Dickenson Scott Johnson (died 1796), sister of Henry Dickenson who was the first clerk of Russell County. In 1785, while living in Powell’s Valley in Scott County, her first husband, Archibald Scott, and their four children were murdered by Indians, and she was taken captive. She ultimately escaped, and after wandering in the rugged mountains of Kentucky for nearly a month, made her way back to Russell County. She later married Thomas Johnson.

(Settlements & Settlers • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Wars, US Indian) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Confederate Memorial State Historic Site

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Missouri, Lafayette County, near Higginsville

Flags at the Confederate Home of Missouri
According to Confederate Home records, news clippings, letters, post cards and other images, the United States flag was flown routinely at the Confederate Home of Missouri. The Confederate Home board members expressed their intentions to fly the United States flag atop the large main building. "We have made a splendid beginning. Everything is paid for, and $15,000 in our inside pocket for the main building. With that much more, up she goes, with a big pole on top, and the Stars and Stripes flying big enough to be seen clear to Lexington..." (The Higginsville Advance, Sept. 25, 1891)

In a letter from a resident dated March 7, 1924, "Old Glory floats on high above our large water tower and can be seen for miles in every direction..." (Letter to Mrs. Lettie Pierce, Walla Walla, Texas. March 7, 1924, Confederate Memorial State Historic Site archives)

The Confederate battle flag was brought out for funerals and special occasions. In those instances, it was hand carried, draped on a casket or displayed on temporary stanchions.

The Kansas City Star reported the following in Jim Cummins' obituary July 11, 1929, "They will lay Jim away in the Stars and Bars tomorrow. The Stars and Stripes float over the home here, but the men who live in it still revere the Confederate flag and when one of their comrades goes to join the ranks of others who have departed they drape his casket in the southern flag."

A newspaper article from the 1920s expresses the pride of a veteran who raised the United States flag routinely. "One of the sights at the home is to see J.R. (Rocky) Moore, a member of Company B, Colonel Wheat's Division of the Confederate Army, raise the American flag each morning and haul it down at sunset. Never greater love shown in a man's face than in his when he takes Old Glory out to let the breeze caress her colors. Never greater reverence glows in any man's eyes than in his when he carefully lifts her from the staff, keeping her hem from touching the ground, and bears her away to her resting place for the night. Hero of a bitter war, enemy of the flag he how guards so carefully, Rocky Moore testifies to the goodness of Mr. and Mrs. Chambers (superintendent of the home) in making him standard bearer of the Nation's colors at the home." (Unidentified newspaper clipping, UDC scrapbook, Western Historical Manuscripts Collection, Columbia.)

[Bottom right photo caption reads]
The United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated a monument in Confederate Memorial Park in 1935 to the valor of the Confederate veterans. The United States flag and the Confederate battle flag were presented on temporary stanchions.

(War, US Civil • Man-Made Features • Patriots & Patriotism • Charity & Public Work) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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