Virginia, Botetourt County, Fincastle
![]()
Col. William Preston constructed Fort William nearby in 1755 during the French and Indian War (1754 – 1763) as one in a series of fortifications to protect Virginia’s frontier. A group of Indians paid a friendly visit in Oct. 1755, and Col. George Washington inspected the fort during his frontier tour in 1756. Indians attacked the fort in Oct. 1756 but were repulsed. In 1763, during Pontiac’s War (1763 – 1764), nearby settlers flocked to Fort William for protection.
(War, French and Indian) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Col. William Preston constructed Fort William nearby in 1755 during the French and Indian War (1754 – 1763) as one in a series of fortifications to protect Virginia’s frontier. A group of Indians paid a friendly visit in Oct. 1755, and Col. George Washington inspected the fort during his frontier tour in 1756. Indians attacked the fort in Oct. 1756 but were repulsed. In 1763, during Pontiac’s War (1763 – 1764), nearby settlers flocked to Fort William for protection.
(War, French and Indian) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Presidential nominee,
Governor, 1782 - 85 and
Built in 1816. Rare 
Whig general, was killed
Historic home of James Latta (1755 – 1837). Last remaining Catawba River cotton plantation open to the public. Sample family home from 1853 – 1922. Sample sons fought at Gettysburg in General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
This depot was built to serve the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) Rail Line, which reached Hillsboro in 1881. Completed in 1902, the station features elements of the Eastlake, Victorian, and Prairie styles. Early MKT trains carried materials for the growing town and brought early residents and such notables as presidents Woodrow Wilson, William Taft, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry Truman. The building was moved here from the original site in 1978. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1980
Port for bateau trade
Less than a year after fire destroyed the original Casino and Plunge, construction began on new buildings to include an indoor natatorium. The original ceiling arches can be seen today. The main pool measured 144 feet by 64 feet and featured a 40-foot slide. It was one of the largest heated, salt water swimming pools on the West coast. The pool’s two tanks, with a combined capacity of 408,000 gallons, were replenished daily from the Pacific Ocean. The chilly water was heated from a breathtaking fifty degrees to a comfortable eighty-three degrees.
When the “new” Casino was built in 1907, the Boardwalk was owned by the Santa Cruz Beach Company. Local businesses experienced an economic downturn from 1912-1914, and the Beach Company went bankrupt. In 1915 the Santa Cruz Seaside Company was formed “to furnish entertainment and amusement for individuals and the public.”
What began in the “Summer of Love” as a teenage crush has grown into a successful family, spanning two generations. Kathy and Marshall Miller met as teenagers when they both worked at the Boardwalk in the 1960s. They began their first store on the Boardwalk in 1971. Today they work with their daughter Marcella and her husband T.J. running several retail locations throughout the park.
The Santa Cruz Beach was changed forever in 1904 when promoter and entrepreneur Fred Swanton hosted the grand opening of the Neptune Casino, a Moorish-style wonder and wedding cake of a building. The Casino was destroyed by fire in June of 1906. Almost before the smoke had cleared, Swanton, was making plans for building a new Casino.
