Quantcast
Channel: The Historical Marker Database - New Entries
Viewing all 103121 articles
Browse latest View live

Evaporator Near Railroad Track

0
0
Lowell, Arkansas.

This evaporator dried apples over wooden racks with wood fired furnace heat. After drying, the peeled, sliced apples were sprinkled with powdered sulphur as a preservative. They were shipped out in big barrels by railroad cars. This work was nearly all done by hand. There was a sandbox out front for children to play in while their mothers worked. Elza Tucker, age 90 in 2009, remembers playing in the sandbox as a young child. It was operated by J. W. Kimmons at that time.

(Industry & Commerce • Horticulture & Forestry) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.


Train Depot

0
0
Lowell, Arkansas.

The St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad was established in 1881. Lowell was a village at that time. The 1889 Goodspeed's History of Benton County says greens, fruits, poultry, timber and railroad ties shipped extensively from the depot. The 1892-93 Springdale News reported Lowell shipped more raspberries than any line from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Monett, Missouri. A favorite event for Lowell teenagers was coming to the depot to see the train go by or who got off. Toby Tucker was the mail messenger for years, meeting the train night and morning. If it needed to stop, he signaled by waving a kerosene lantern, otherwise, a mail crane held the mail pouch track side where the train "snagged it" and kept moving on. Heavy incoming mail pouches were kicked or tossed off, at the precise moment, for Toby to take to the Post Office. In the 1940's, railroad officials put the depot building on a railcar and moved it to another location, possibly in Oklahoma. The boy in the photo on his bicycle is Elza Tucker, his son.

(Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Fort Cooper

0
0
near Inverness, Florida.
Fort Cooper was constructed in April 1836 during the Second Seminole War. General Winfield Scott instructed the First Georgia Battalion of Volunteers under the leadership of Major Mark Anthony Cooper to build two bastions and a blockhouse on the western shore of Lake Holathlikaha at the time of the Battle of Withlacoochee. On April 5, a skirmish broke out between the Seminole warriors and Cooper's men which led to the death of Private Zadock Cook of the Morgan Guards. From 1836 to 1842, the United States Army used the fort as a horse depot, a scouting post and a watering hole, after which time it was abandoned. In December of 1970, landowner John H. Eden Jr., sold land to the state and began working with archaeologists to excavate the Fort Cooper site. Fort Cooper was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 12, 1972. In 1977, the site opened to the public as a 704-acre state park.

(Forts, Castles • Wars, US Indian) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Fellsmere Union Church

0
0
Fellsmere, Florida.
(side 1)
Fellsmere Union Church, located at 12 North Hickory Street, is the first and oldest church in the City of Fellsmere. The Reverend James A. Liggitt, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of London, Ohio, and a property owner in Fellsmere, was quoted in his sermonette in the July 25, 1912 edition of the Fellsmere Farmer as saying there was "a strong sentiment among residents of Fellsmere, Florida for a church unity organization—a Union Church or amalgamation of religious bodies which in their present segregated state make it necessary to maintain countless churches and pastors." At the time, the Union Church movement was spreading across the United States and Canada. The Reverend Fletcher D. Baker, Doctor of Divinity, who later became the first minister of the Fellsmere Union Church, arrived in Fellsmere in October 1912, at age 68, and built a cottage at the corner of New York Avenue and Orange Street. Unfortunately, his wife, Ella Vanarsdel Baker, died the month before at age 65. Rev. Baker was born in Indiana and later moved to Illinois, where he served in the Union Army as a private during the Civil War, from 1862 to 1865, and fought at Gettysburg. He was ordained as a Methodist Episcopal minister in 1871. (Continued on other side)
A Florida Heritage Site
(side 2) (Continued from other side) On December 12, 1912, Baker, along with R.A. Conkling, Fellsmere Farms Company Demonstration Farm Superintendent, and Victor J. Hadin, local builder, were appointed to a committee to consider forming a Union Church. By January 23, 1913, there were at least 24 donors to the church, including the Fellsmere Farms Company. In a letter dated January 14, 1913, General Manager Ernest H. Every stated that the Fellsmere Farms Company donated Lots 10 to 17 in Block 77 to the Union Church. The order for lumber was placed by February 6, 1913, and the original one-story wood frame 40'x60' building with a 10'x10' square bell tower was constructed by Victor J. Hadin over the next three months. On Sunday, May 4, 1913, the Fellsmere Union Church opened its doors for its first non-denominational worship service. In August, the church was lighted with electricity. By 1914, church membership totaled 101, and in 1920, the church was incorporated. On January 6, 1926, the congregation voted to change the name of the church to the Fellsmere Community Church, and it was incorporated by this name on September 14, 1953, by church member Ernest H. W Everett.
A Florida Heritage Site


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

Old Brewster Hospital

0
0
Jacksonville, Florida.
Built in 1885 as a private residence, Old Brewster Hospital and Nursing Training School was the first medical facility to serve Jacksonville’s African-American community. Located in the LaVilla neighborhood, the hospital opened in 1901 through the efforts of the Women’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Matilda Cutting Brewster of Danielson, Connecticut, donated $1,000 in honor of her late husband, the Rev. George A. Brewster, to help start the hospital. Brewster Hospital was sponsored by the nearby Boylan Industrial Home and School, a private institution for African-American girls. One of the earliest nursing training programs in Florida, its students were welcomed by the community and made 1,230 house calls in 1901. The hospital soon outgrew its first facility, and in 1910 relocated to a different part of LaVilla. By 1931, it was located in a large brick building on North Jefferson Street in the Old Sugar Hill neighborhood. With the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Brewster Hospital closed in 1966 and reopened in 1967 as the Methodist Hospital. In 2005, the Old Brewster Hospital building was moved to its present location from its original site at 915 West Monroe Street.
A Florida Heritage Site


(Education • Science & Medicine • African Americans) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps and Station

0
0
Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
In 1912, following the drowning of a prominent citizen, Dr. Lyman Haskell and Clarence MacDonald established and trained Florida’s first U.S. Volunteer Life Saving Corps (VLSC) at this location to protect the lives of bathers on Jacksonville Beach (then Pablo Beach). On April 17, 1914, the American National Red Cross chartered this unit of lifeguards as its first American Red Cross VLSC in the U.S., and the unit served as a training model for other beaches around Florida. The VLSC celebrated its 100th anniversary of uninterrupted volunteer service at this station in 2012 after recording more than 1,500 life-saving rescues and 1.3 million volunteer hours at the site. Since 1913, three permanent VLSC stations have stood here. The present station, constructed of concrete block and stucco in the Art Moderne style, was designed by architect Jefferson D. Powell and completed in 1948. Among the traditions of the VLSC is the Annual Ocean Marathon Swim, which has been sponsored continuously by the Meninak Club of Jacksonville since 1934.
A Florida Heritage Landmark


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

The Marian Fell Library

0
0
Fellsmere, Florida.
The Merian Fell Library, the oldest library in Indian River County, opened its doors to the public on May 1, 1915 at 63 North Cypress Street, Fellsmere, Florida. Construction of the library was made possible by Marian Fell, daughter of Edward Nelson Fell (the founder of Fellsmere) through royalties she received from translating literary works of Russian author and playwright Ashton Chekov. Born in 1886, Marian Fell was educated in private schools in the United States, Paris, and Russia. Between 1912 and 1916, Scribner's published five of Marian Fell's translations, some of the first Russian literature to appear in English. The Fell family is believed to have resided directly across the street from the library, at 88 Cypress Street, from 1915 to 1917. North of the library were two grass tennis courts belonging to the Fellsmere Tennis Association, where the 1916 Fell Cup was held. The Fell Library is typical of many architecturally modest library buildings constructed in small Florida towns during the early twentieth century, and has been used for readings, recitals, meetings, social events, and children's programs since it opened. The library is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
A Florida Heritage Site


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

The Fellsmere Public School

0
0
Fellsmere, Florida.
(side 1)
The Fellsmere Public School, the first masonry school building in what is now Indian River County, was constructed during 1915 and 1916 at 22 South Orange Street. The 22,680 square foot, two-story school with a raised basement was designated by Frederick Homer Trimble, a former Methodist missionary architect who had worked in Fuzhou, China. Trimble, who began his architectural career in the United State in 1915 with the Fellsmere School, designed several building in Fellsmere and Vero Beach, and over 150 buildings in South Florida. Trimble also designed the first buildings at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. The bid to construct the school was awarded to Arthur F. Sanders, a Fellsmere contractor, on May 4, 1915 by the St. Lucie County School Board. Trimble donated the plans for the Fellsmere school but was paid $100 per month to oversee its construction. The school's construction was delayed for several months before funding was obtained from the sale of bonds. By September 1915 Sanders' crews had constructed the Fellsmere Short Line Railroad from the Fellsmere Farms Railroad north of South Carolina Avenue down to the center of Cypress Street to the school site. A special railcar built in Palatka was used to haul (Continued on other side)
A Florida Heritage Site
(side 2) (Continued from other side) materials to the school on 4x4 heart-of-pine rails spiked to 2x8 crossties. Work began on the school's foundation in October 1915, and was completed in mid-November 1915. The basement was completed mid-December 1915. On January 31, 1916, the school's cornerstone was laid under the direction of the Grand Masonic Lodge. The Fellsmere Public School was completed the same year at a cost of $40,000. The school's doors opened to 136 students on October 2, 1916. Principal Anderson A. Price, Assistant Principal Ina C. Elder, and five women teachers, Miss Jesse M. Hunter (the first teacher in Fellsmere, 1912), Miss Neva M. Hunter, Mrs. A.A. (Lula) Price, Miss Ethel Jones, and Miss Agnes Helseth provided instruction for grades 1-12. The Fellsmere School is the oldest public school building in Indian River County, and remained active as a school until 1982. It was later used as the Fellsmere City Hall and Police Station. It is the birthplace of the annual Fellsmere Frogleg Festival. In 2010, the City of Fellsmere restored the school for use as a City Hall/Government Center/Boys and Girls Club at a cost of $3.060,000. On October 19, 2010, the Fellsmere Public School building was once again re-opened to the public.

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

The Fellsmere Railroad

0
0
Fellsmere, Florida.
The standard-gauge Fellsmere Railroad was completed in 1910 with 60 lb. rail to replace the old Sebastian & Cincinnatus narrow-gauge railroad built in 1896 between Sebastian and Fellsmere. The Fellsmere Farms Company used the 10-mile-long railroad from September 1910 until May 1, 1911, for carrying logs to the Florida East Coast Railway in Sebastian and for transporting supplies, materials, equipment, and heavy machinery used for excavating drainage canals to Fellsmere. The railroad officially opened to the public on May 1, 1911, and ran four passenger trains daily with only two on Sunday, to and from Sebastian and Fellsmere. On January 23, 1913, the 12’ x 32’ Fellsmere Depot was opened for service, with Edward Nelson Fell, the founder of Fellsmere, purchasing the first ticket. The depot was built on the south side of the mainline north of the intersection of Broadway and South Carolina Avenue. By April 1915, the railroad was extended another 6 miles west of Fellsmere to Broadmoor (a now non-existent town). On June 2, 1924, the Trans-Florida Central Railroad (dubbed the “Dinky Line”) took over railroad operations. On November 30, 1952, the railroad officially ceased operations after 42 years of service.
A Florida Heritage Site


(Railroads & Streetcars) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

St. Mary's Episcopal Church

0
0
Madison, Florida.
The congregation of St. Mary's Episcopal Church was organized in 1859, but the parish became dormant during the Civil War when services were held irregularly. Twenty years later, on July 6, 1879, the congregation appointed a committee to coordinate fund raising to build a church. The church's cornerstone was laid on August 1, 1879; and the completed church was consecrated by the second bishop of the Diocese of Florida, John Freeman Young, on May 1, 1883. St. Mary's Episcopal Church is a good example of the Carpenter Gothic architectural style and is one of the oldest churches in Florida. Carpenter Gothic architecture is an adaptation of the Gothic Revival style, which was popularized in the U.S. by architect Richard Upjohn. Bishop Young was a confidant of Upjohn, and he advocated the construction of Carpenter Gothic style churches around Florida. St. Mary's Church is distinguished by a steep roof, scissor trusses, pointed arch windows and doors, and decorative stained glass. The only additions to the church since its construction have been air conditioning, memorials, and a parish hall extension. St. Mary's Episcopal Church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
A Florida Heritage Site


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

H. H. Dickson Azalea Park/Washington Street Bridge

0
0
Orlando, Florida.

(side A)
H. H. Dickson Azalea Park
Dickson Azalea Park began as a natural stream, later named Fern Creek, in a deep ravine surrounded by native ferns, palms, and oaks. It once was a watering hole for cattle herders driving their animals south. State Senator Walter Rose (1888-1958) purchased 40 acres of land here in 1916 and platted most of it for development. He set aside five acres adjacent to the creek for a park, called Senator Rose park, which he deeded to the City of Orlando in 1924. In 1933, the Civitan Club presented the City Council with a proposal to beautify the overgrown park and asked the city to re-name it in honor of Colonel Henry Hill Dickson (1849-1935). An Orlando business pioneer and civic leader, Dickson devoted his energies to the beautification of Orlando, and was instrumental in planting azaleas throughout the city. In 1935, ground was broken for restoration of the overgrown property. Local landscape architect Mulford Foster designed the scheme for the park's plants, water features, bridges and paths, and Works Progress Adminsitration labor built the park's walls and steps. Dickson Azalea Park was designated an Orlando Historic Landmark in 1991.
A Florida Heritage Site
(side B)
Washington Street Bridge
By 1926, it was clear that the deteriorating wooden bridge over Fern Creek could no longer accommodate vehicular traffic that was increasing daily as Orlando's development during the Florida land Boom moved farther east. The Orlando City Council decided to replace the wooden structure with a modern, more durable bridge. In July 1926, bids were submitted by several companies. A $10,400 proposal submitted by the Concrete Steel Bridge Company of Miami Beach was selected. Headquartered in New York City, the firm was a recognized leader in construction technology. Orlando City Engineer Morton Hagartney designed the span. The Washington Street Bridge is an especially fine example of a reinforced concrete arch deck bridge. Three 20-foot-long arches form the substructure that support the bridge's deck, and cantilevered floor beams widen to provide walkways on both sides of the bridge. Urn-shaped balusters set in panels separated by low pilasters and historically-inspired light fixtures on tapered posts give the bridge a classical appearance. The Washington Street Bridge is the only bridge of its kind in the City of Orlando, and was designated a Historic Landmark by the city in 1991.
A Florida Heritage Site


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

Cofradia Site Coquina Well

0
0
St. Augustine, Florida.
The 1990 excavation of this coquina block well revealed furniture fragments from the 1600s, a rarity among St. Augustine's artifacts. Most likely, the well was built in the early 1600s and filled quickly about 1670 with household items from a catastrophe, perhaps a fire or an enemy raid. Archaeologists found chunks of earthen building material, probably from a house destroyed by a tragedy.

A 1764 map of the city reveals ownership of the site by the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, a religious organization of laypersons. Earlier documents have not been found to explain the destruction that filled the well.

In 2004 protection of this rare and important site as a park became a project of Old Town Association, Inc., in partnership with the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources and the City of St. Augustine. Financial underwriting was provided, in part, by Celestine Vision, LLC, in honor of Aviles Street's role in "The Celestine Prophecy" movie.

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

Capt. Marcy Meets Chief Senaco

0
0
near Throckmorton, Texas.
In 1849, U.S. Army Captain Randolph B. Marcy was charged with establishing an overland road from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Santa Fe, New Mexico for emigrants seeking gold in California. On October 20, a party of Comanches approached Marcy and his men while they were crossing through Throckmorton County on a southerly return route. Other Native Americans arrived and greeted the trailblazing party. Among those present was Senaco, a high ranking Comanche chief. Marcy and he spoke, and Senaco and others camped with the soldiers before the groups departed on their separate ways. Marcy and Senaco would meet again near here in 1854, while Marcy was on another expedition.

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

Western Boundary of Peters Colony

0
0
near Throckmorton, Texas.
In 1841, the Republic of Texas granted William S. Peters and others an empresario grant in north central Texas, including most of what is now Throckmorton County. The colony’s western boundary was three miles east of the current Haskell County borderline. Thomas Lambshead was the only settler to venture this far west in the colony. By 1844, the Texas Emigration & Land Company (T. E. & L.) began to manage colony settlement. However, few settled the land and Peters Colony ended in failure. Still, it proved vital for Throckmorton County settlement. The T. E. & L. owned much of the county land and divided it amongst shareholders, many of whom were speculators who sold property to the county’s earliest settlers.

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

Lowell Postal Service

0
0
Lowell, Arkansas.

The earliest postal area was at Cross Hollows. Records show the Bloomington Post Office was changed to Lowell, March 9, 1881 with Paul F. Lewis, Postmaster. Insets show a 1900 Post Office building on North Jackson Street. The one next door to Green & Henry Store was probably before 1900. Personal knowledge places a post office north of the Lowell Bank in 1929, downstairs in IOOF building in 1949, and later south of that building, where Electric Company is in 2009. The next move was to the north end of the present Fire Department. Lowell's rapid growth soon required a larger building. It moved two doors west of the railroad crossing on Monroe Street. Yet, another growth spurt pushed it further south on Lincoln Street where it is in 2009.

Some early postmasters were: Edwin J. Bishop, 1907; Jesse Mabry, 1910; Hugh McClure, 1913; Nina B. Cowan, 1919; Again as Nina B. Neil; Perry V. Johnson, 1920; James H. Smith, 1928; Myrtle Nail, 1934; Tolbert H. Graham, 1936; Arthur Mayes, 1942; Canda Smith, 1943; Marjorie Collier, 1948; and Elza R. Tucker, July 1, 1949. W. H. Cowan was the rural carrier in the 1920's. Sam Cupps was Route No. 1 carrier in the 1930's. Elza Tucker was rural carrier for many years and retired after 31 years of service. Now there are 6 routes out of Lowell.

(Communications • Government) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.


The Bank of Lowell

0
0
Lowell, Arkansas.

Humphrey Barr, brother of Mrs. L. P. Davis, was an early banker. We know Henry Neal was the banker in 1918. He loaned Elza Tucker's mother $75 to buy a family sewing machine. He charged 10% interest and had a loan limit of $100. Elza has the receipt dated the same year he was born. Bank transactions moved at a steady but cautious pace for several years. That pace changed quickly in 1929 when the bank was robbed. Jude Austin tells, in his "Lowell Memories," how he was locked in the vault. That vault is still in place in 2009. Tin wall and ceiling tiles are still intact inside the upper part of the building, too. The original safe was moved and used at the First National Bank of Rogers under George Mills for a time, then brought back home. Although it was given to the museum, the city of Lowell has both moved and stored it many years. It is simply too heavy for the museum floor.

After the 1930's depression, the building housed stores run by Harrison Smith, Loyd Mabry, Orville & Edith Neal, Leon Chadwick, and perhaps others, but never again a bank. It was the first home of the Lowell Museum in 1976.

(A full account of the bank hold-up is available on dvd at the museum)

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

Old City Jail

0
0
Lowell, Arkansas.

Location: West of the railroad tracks on Lincoln Street between McClure & Monroe, almost directly across from Allen Canning Company Warehouse. It was about 12' x 12', made of native stone, cemented together. One small window on the north side was covered with iron bars. One thick wooden door faced east. Inside, on the south wall were two box-like wooden bunks with no mattress. This "no frills" jail built without toilet or lavatory was a poor place to house violators for very long. In the late 1960's, a big hole was dug close by. The jail was pushed in and covered up with dirt.

[Image of City Ordinance]

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

Canning Factory

0
0
Lowell, Arkansas.

January 1936, Tom Farish & Joe Steele started building a canning factory using a lot of donated labor. The first run of green beans was June 26, 1936, tomatoes July 22, 1936, followed by spinach and other products later on.

After Tom Farish died, in August of 1946, his daughter, Maudine Farish Sanders, managed it for two years before her family sold to Joe Steele. Several years later Steele sold to Allen Canning Company. Operations ceased in mid 1990's when equipment was moved out and the factory torn down, leaving only Allen's warehouse and their water tower.

For many years this factory was the main place to work in Lowell. It fed many people either by payroll check or by no label, bent cans, sold to employees at $1.00 per case of 24. A boilerman's 6:00 am whistle meant 7:00 am clock-in. 1-long blast alerted the green bean crew. 2-long blasts called in the spinach crew. Daily USDA runs in the thousands were shipped everywhere.

[Inset photo caption reads]
The tower, no longer needed for canning, stands as a silent reminder of its life sustaining past to the City of Lowell. June, 2009

(Agriculture • Industry & Commerce • Man-Made Features) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Anza Expedition Camp

0
0
Burlingame, California.
The Anza Expedition of 1776, on its way up the Peninsula to locate sites for the Presidio and the Mission of San Francisco, camped here on March 26 at a dry watercourse a short league beyond Arroyo de San Mateo. Location: El Camino Real and Ralston, Burlingame.

(Exploration • Hispanic Americans) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Higurashi-en

0
0
San Mateo, California.
This authentic historic oriental garden and tea house was first developed in the 1880's by Peninsula pioneer Henry Bowie. The property later became part of the Eugene de Sabla estate. Joan and Achille Paladini, current owners have restored the garden and tea house and have had it placed on the "National Register for Historic Places" so that future generations will be able to enjoy this treasure and symbol of friendship between the United States of America and Japan.

(Horticulture & Forestry) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Viewing all 103121 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images