GAR Hall

March 14, 2016, 12:25 pm

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Zephyrhills, Florida.
Union Civil War veterans and townspeople constructed this largest frame building in the county about 1910 as a meeting place for Garfield Post 39, Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), and a community center. The city, as requested by Women's Relief Corps 9, auxiliary to the post, gave it to Zephyr Post 118, American Legion, first veterans group to organize after the GAR disbanded.

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

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Lake Jesup

March 14, 2016, 12:32 pm

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Oviedo, Florida.
(side 1)
The Oviedo area was first referred to as the Lake Jesup Settlement. Lake Jesup's first store was built on the southern shore in 1870 by John F. Mitchell. Antonio Solary, a Jacksonville merchant, built another store with a larger wharf west of Mitchell's about two years later.

During this time Solary's Wharf was the site of the Lake Jesup post office, and mail and passengers came weekly from Sanford on the Steamboat Volusia.

Solary's Wharf served the Central Florida area until the railroad was built from Sanford in 1886, at which time the Oviedo post office, established in 1879, became the only post office for the community. (Continued on other side) (side 2) (Continued from other side) The Lake Jesup Steamboat company was incorporated in 1882 by lake area fruit growers by acquiring the steamboat Isis. This shallow-draft flat-bottomed boat sank that same year north of here in Lake George, a part of the St. Johns River.

George H. Browne, the storekeeper at Solary's Wharf, was speaker of the Florida House of Representatives in 1887.

In 1888, Oviedo orange growers formed the Oviedo , Lake Charm & Lake Jessup Railroad, with the proposed rails to end at Solary's Wharf. This line never operated, but it did serve as a ploy in forcing the South Florida Railroad to lower unfair rates for hauling fruit.

(Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Oviedo

March 14, 2016, 12:40 pm

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Oviedo, Florida.
(side 1)
In the late 1860's Confederate veterans and freed slaves from the war-devastated South began to move into the settlement called "the Lake Jesup Community," to be joined later by others from Northern states and from Sweden. One of the Swedish immigrants, Andrew Aulin, appointed postmaster in 1879, named the new post office "Oviedo" after the city in northern Spain.

About 1870 Dr. Henry Foster from New York hired local men to plant citrus groves on the shores of Lake Charm and Lake Jesup. After the great freeze of 1895 farmers began to grow celery, first in Oviedo and later in the rich muck of Black Hammock on the south shore of Lake Jesup. The two crops, citrus and celery, became the mainstays of Oviedo agriculture for many years, with celery production reaching a peak in the 1940's. (Continued on other side) (side 2) (Continued from other side) Oviedo can claim many contributions to Florida agriculture, among them introducing the Temple Orange into Florida about 1900, when Butler Boston, a local nurseryman, budded the Jamaica Orange in the groves of J.H. Lee and others.

Hunting and fishing in early Oviedo centered on "the creek"—Econlockhatchee—and "the river"—St. John's. Transportation was by boat on the river, until the Plant System railroad (Atlantic Coast Line), now the Cross-Seminole Trail, reached here in 1886, and the FC&P (Florida, Central, and Peninsular), nicknamed the "Friends Come and Push" and later the "Dinky Line", connected to Winter Park in 1894.

Oviedo was a community of 500 when Seminole County was carved out of Orange County in 1913, but had grown to 800 when it incorporated in 1925. Today Oviedo is home to thousands and a crossroads for the old and the new.

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

Fort Lane

March 14, 2016, 12:45 pm

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near Geneva, Florida.
(side 1)
The Second Seminole Indian War, 1837-1841 was fought by the United States to drive the Seminole Indians from the peninsula of Florida. From his main base at Fort Mellon (Sanford) on Lake Monroe General Jesup, Army of the South Commander, proposed to send an army of 2000 men under the command of General Eustis to the head waters of the St. Johns River in pursuit of the southward retreating Seminoles. To support this army he established supply depots a day's march apart (approximately 30 miles) along his proposed route.

Fort Lane was the first depot in this chain. It was established here on the west bank of Lake Harney on December 18, 1837 by Companies F & K, 2nd United States Infantry under the command of Major Greenleaf Dearborn of Maine. Brought by barges from Fort Mellon, the companies consisted of an average of 125 Florida militiamen, including a fifer and a drummer, according to army records (post returns). (Continued on other side) (side 2) (Continued from other side) In one of Jesup's dispatches this fort was datelined "Headquarters, Army of the South, Fort Lane, head of Lake Harney". The post returns indicate that in March 1838 having completed its assignment, the Fort Lane detachment returned to Fort Mellon.

Kentuckian, Captain John F. Lane (1810-1836), for whom Fort Lane was named, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1828. His first assignment was as a professor of mathematics and philosophy at West Point. In 1836 he committed suicide while serving as aide-de-camp to General Jesup. His death may be viewed as a commentary on the well documented effect of health and/or the ill-defined bouts with conscience to which the military was subjected.

Other officers were Lieutenants Silas Casey as adjutant J.R.D. Bennett, William Alburtis, Hannibal Day and Major Thomas Steniford.

(Forts, Castles • Wars, US Indian) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

In Honor of Rod Serling

March 14, 2016, 1:52 pm

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Binghamton, New York.
In Honor of Rod Serling, Class of 1943 creator of "Twilight Zone" award winning dramatist playwright and lecturer 1924-1975

(Education • Entertainment) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Sage Creek

March 14, 2016, 1:55 pm

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Windsor, New York.
Sage Creek named for Seth Sage, 1748-1822, captain in the American Revolution.

(War, US Revolutionary • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Routes of the Armies of General John Sullivan and General James Clinton

March 14, 2016, 1:58 pm

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Afton, New York.
Routes of the Armies of General John Sullivan and General James Clinton 1779

An expedition against the hostile Indian nations which checked the aggressions of the English and Indians on the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania, extending westward the dominion of the United States.

(Native Americans • War, US Revolutionary) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Routes of the Armies of General John Sullivan and General James Clinton

March 14, 2016, 2:01 pm

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Sidney, New York.
Routes of the Armies of General John Sullivan and General James Clinton 1779

An expedition against the hostile Indian nations which checked the aggressions of the English and Indians on the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania, extending westward the dominion of the United States.

(Native Americans • War, US Revolutionary) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Routes of the Armies of General John Sullivan and General James Clinton

March 14, 2016, 2:10 pm

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Unadilla, New York.
Routes of the Armies of General John Sullivan and General James Clinton 1779

An expedition against the hostile Indian nations which checked the aggressions of the English and Indians on the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania, extending westward the dominion of the United States.

(Native Americans • War, US Revolutionary) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Site of St. Paul's Episcopal Church

March 14, 2016, 2:13 pm

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Oxford, New York.
Site of St. Paul's Episcopal Church Erected in 1816. The first church edifice in the village of Oxford.

(Churches, Etc.) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

A Bridge to Freedom

March 14, 2016, 4:15 pm

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Niagara Falls, New York.

A Bridge to Freedom
"There was now but 'one wide river to cross'..."
In the 1800s, Western New York was one of the main ending points of the Underground Railroad. This "railroad" was a secret system of people and places that helped guide escaped slaves from the US South to Canada and to freedom.

One of the most famous "conductors" was Harriet Tubman, who often led slaves to freedom by crossing the Niagara River into Canada. She likely crossed over the Suspension Bridge that once stood where the Whirlpool Bridge is today.
This circa 1859 photograph shows the Suspension Bridge from the Americam side of the Niagara Gorge. The bridge was designed by John A. Roebling and built in 1855, supporting a railroad above and a walkway underneath. In 1897, a steel-arch bridge was built around the existing bridge. The Suspension Bridge was then dismantled, leaving the current Whirlpool Bridge you see today.

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery around 1820 on a plantation in Maryland.
She escaped slavery in 1849, and settled in Philadelphia, PA. A year later, she began guiding other escaped slaves to safety.
After slavery was abolished in the United States, Tubman made her home in Auburn, NY. She died there in 1913.

(Abolition & Underground RR • Bridges & Viaducts) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

To The River

March 14, 2016, 5:07 pm

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Niagara Falls, New York.

To The River
A new stairway with incredible scenery
These new stairs leading to the Great Gorge Railway Trail at the river's edge were completed in 2012 by expert trail builders hired by the New York Power Authority and New York State Parks.

The stairs were designed and constructed to blend with the natural landscape using stone quarried in New York State.

They provide an elegant, safe and sturdy path down into the Niagara River Gorge while preserving the natural beauty of the steep, wooded slopes.

Peter S. Jensen and Associates, Tahawus Trails, and Timber & Stone collectively crafted the new stairs, making sure that they will blend in with the natural setting of the Niagara Gorge.

Venturong down the new stairway near the Whirlpool Bridge brings you to the edge of the Niagara River.

Breathtaking vistas of the lush greenery and swirling rapids are available at several spots along the river, including at the foot of the new stairway.

The Great Gorge Railway Trail, acessible by walking down this new stone stairway, is a hiking trail of gentle incline which leads from the bottom of the Niagara River Gorge to the upstream Schoelkopf Overlook area along the Gorge Rim.

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

The Grounds of this Canal

March 14, 2016, 9:11 pm

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Niagara Falls, New York.

The Grounds of this Canal
were donated by the Heirs of the late
Hon. Augustus Porter & Gen. Peter B. Porter.
1852. In pursuance of their original design for Hydraulic purposes the work was commenced in 1853 by a Company which failed & the Title passed to the present owner Horace H. Day. by whom the structures were erected & Canal completed
July 1, 1861.
Henry L. Southard, Chief Engineer
E. W. Ensign, Contractor
A. R. Trew, Superintendent.

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

Pablo Pryor Adobe-Hide House

March 14, 2016, 11:33 pm

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San Juan Capistrano, California.
Situated below this hill, directly below the hotel, is the Pablo Pryor Adobe-Hide House. Built perhaps as early as 1790, it is possibly the oldest standing adobe in California. During the Rancho period, it was used for storing cattle hide from the mission. An Indian lookout and runner was also stationed there so he could alert the town if a pirate (Hippolyte de Bouchard) ship was approaching. The hill is also believed to have been an ancient Juaneño encampment site.

The Mission used cattle hides in many ways and they were a leading item of trade for the mission community. They were used to purchase supplies from the trading ships anchored in the harbor and thus were referred to as "California banknotes." A description in Richard Henry Dana's book Two Years Before the Mast, tells the story of what happened here in 1834: "Down this height we pitted the hides, throwing them as for out into the air as we could...the wind took them and they swayed and eddied about, plunging and rising in the air, like a kite when it has broken it's string."

In 1846, the property was granted to Emigdio Vejar by Pio Pico, the last Mexican Governor of California. It included 6,607 acres historically known as Boca de la Playa, "Mouth of the Beach," that included Doheny Park, Capistrano Beach and part of San Clemente. In 1860, the land was sold to Juan Avila who gave the house to his daughter Rosa upon her marriage to Pablo Pryor in 1864. Many generations of historic families have lived here ant it remains the private residence of Pablo Pryor's descendants today.

(Notable Buildings • Settlements & Settlers • Hispanic Americans) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

King Philipstown/Osceola

March 15, 2016, 7:05 am

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near Geneva, Florida.
(side 1)
Here, where the St. Johns River emerges from near-by Lake Harney, stands a shell mound complex significant to the history and pre-history of Seminole County. The mound has been examined by anthropologists Daniel Britton in the 1850s, Jeffries Wyman in the 1860s, and Clarence B. Moore in the 1890s, and remains today a significant archaeological and anthropological site in Seminole County. The site contains archaeological evidence supporting its use by prehistoric Orange (2000-500BC) and St. Johns (500 BC-1500 AD) cultures and later by the historic Seminole.

By the time of the Americans settlement of the area, King Philip (Emaltha) and his son, Wildcat, (Coacoochee), together with about 200 Seminoles has established a settlement here known as King Philipstown.

At the start of the Second Seminole Indian War (1837-1842) the Indians, feeling threatened by the army camp established (Continued on other side) (side 2) (Continued from other side) at Lake Monroe in 1836-37, attacked the camp on February 8, 1837. The Indians were repulsed, and by the early 1840s the army had driven the Indians from the area.

About 1850 a man by the name of Cook operated a ferry here, and the location became known as Cook's Ferry. After the Florida East Coast Railroad crossed the river in 1911, the area became known as Bridge End. From 1916-1940 the self-sufficient cypress mill town of 200 people known as Osceola flourished here operated by the Osceola Cypress Co. Daily cutting of lumber ran about 60,000 board feet. In 1926 it was described as "the principal commercial industrial community of Seminole County." The timber gone, the only relics of its past still visible are timber piling along the river bank, and on land, the square concrete block former company vault.

The area is presently known as Osceola Fish Camp.

(Native Americans • Wars, US Indian • Anthropology) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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George C. Means Memorial Bridge

March 15, 2016, 7:12 am

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near Sanford, Florida.
(side 1)
Crossing the St. Johns River at Lake Jesup impacted both travelers and the environment over the years. Prior to 1900, people and goods were almost exclusively transported on the St. Johns by steamboat, with several large wharves around Lake Jesup being served. Competition from the new roads and railroads gradually led to a decline in steamboat traffic. In 1911, Congress passed an act that protected navigation on Lake Jesup. A ferry served the Geneva to Sanford road north of the current bridge. Around 1915 the road was bricked and made 8 feet wide. In 1920 the river's channel was dredged between Lake Harney and Lake Monroe, still passing around the oxbow within Lake Jesup. The first bridge was constructed in 1927, limiting navigation to passing under the turnstile drawbridge. SR 46 was widened in 1946 and a bypass channel was dug; the draw- (Continued on other side) (side 2) (Continued from other side) bridge was replaced with a low fixed concrete span over one channel with the rest of the length across the floodplain filled with a dirt causeway. The flow of water was negatively impacted and Lake Jesup's health declined. The community tallied and requested a more environmentally sound structure. The current bridge was completed in 2010 by the FDOT spanning the area where the old causeway existed, restoring the wetlands and eliminating pollutants from former fish camps and the old roadway. The new bridge was dedicated by the 2006 Legislature as the George C. Means Memorial Bridge. Means was a Lake Jesup activist and lifelong proponent for construction of the new bridge to restore the hydraulic exchange between the river and lake. The 3,740 foot structure that bears his name accomplished this and more by being engineered for the environment.

(Bridges & Viaducts • Environment) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Historic North Side-The Chenango Canal

March 15, 2016, 12:57 pm

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Binghamton, New York.
Historic North Side The Chenango Canal Between 1837 and 1875 the canal linked Binghamton and Utica. Its general course followed the line of State St. which is built on the filled in canal bed.

(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Indian Castle

March 15, 2016, 1:03 pm

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Binghamton, New York.
Indian Castle Located near junction of Castle Creek with Chenango River. Called Otsiningo. Destroyed Aug. 18, 1779 during Sullivan Campaign

(Native Americans • War, US Revolutionary) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Historic North Side-Bingham's Patent

March 15, 2016, 1:06 pm

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Binghamton, New York.
Historic North Side Bingham's Patent Near this site is the northern boundary of the land grant of William Bingham. This was the city limit until April 4, 1890

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

Prospect Point Viewing Area

March 15, 2016, 1:12 pm

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Niagara Falls, New York.
Ice from Lake Erie flows over the falls and jams up the gorge below. An ice bridge is an accumulation of ice, which has frozen solid from shore to shore, and under which the river still flows.

In the past, the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls were frequently reduced to a trickle when ice jammed up in the American Rapids. A few times both falls completely froze over! Since 1964, the installation of the ice boom, a barrier laid across Lake Erie, slows the amount of ice flowing down the falls.

(Natural Features • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.