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Korean and Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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California, Kern County, Wasco
For the comrades and families
who gave of themselves to
insure America’s Freedom.

Dedicated to the memory of SSG Larry S. Pierce, Sept 1965, MOH-RVN; Sgt. Steven Chavira, 1971 MIA-RVN.

(War, Korean • War, Vietnam) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Scioto County, Experience Our Heritage

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Ohio, Scioto County, Portsmouth


Stagecoach
Prior to the advent of railroads, Portsmouth was a hub for stagecoach transportation, maintaining regular schedules to various surrounding towns. In 1830, a trip on the Portsmouth and Columbus turnpike took 18 hours in good weather and cost about $5. A resident could also board the Ohio River ferry and catch a stagecoach from South Shore, Kentucky to most cities in the Bluegrass state. During the first half of the century, stagecoaches carried most of the mail and packages. An estimated 50 coach houses (stops) were scattered throughout the county. The group shown in the mural was en route to Glen Springs, Kentucky for an outing.

Ohio and Erie Canal
This mural shows a section of the Ohio and Erie Canal as it progressed northward from Portsmouth. Portsmouth was the southern terminus of the canal, which connected Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Construction of the canal began in the summer of 1825 and was completed in 1832. The canal covered a distance of 306 miles. Just to the right of the center portion of the mural is a covered bridge crossing the Scioto River and immediately adjacent to an aqueduct which conveyed the canal across the river. Alongside the main picture are sketches of the terminus at Portsmouth and a map showing the route of the canal from Portsmouth to Cleveland.

Hanging Rock Region
The discovery of a rich vein of iron ore extending from Jackson, Ohio south to the Ironton, Hanging Rock, and northern Kentucky areas gave birth to iron furnaces that dotted the countryside in the 1800's similiar to the one shown here. Iron ore, limestone, and charcoal were charged in top of the furnace and heated to smelt out the liquid iron which flowed from the bottom of the furnace into sand troughs to solidify into pig iron. The pig iron produced in these furnaces was transported to the Gaylord Rolling Mill (near the Ohio River) and the Scioto Rolling Mill (Third and Madison Streets) in Portsmouth, as well as to many plants in the east.

Early Industries
Early settlers took advantage of two important natural resources that were prevalent in Southern Ohio - clay and stone. This mural depicts a quarry (left), where slabs of stones were cut from the earth, shipped to stone mills, and custom cut for numerous projects, including homes, building facades, and fireplace mantels. To the right is a brick plant that produced paving bricks, made of clay, for lining iron and steel-making furnaces. Many of Portsmouth's early streets were also paved with these bricks; however most of those streets are now covered with asphalt paving. Franklin Blvd., Oakland Crescent, and portions of Washington Street still retain their original Portsmouth brick flavor.

(Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 11 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The One Room Schoolhouse

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South Carolina, Aiken County, Aiken
Originally located in China Springs, near Aiken, and believed to have been built in the 1890's this schoolhouse was given to the Aiken County Historical Commission by Mrs. Guerin Hermann of Sandersville, Georgia in 1975.
The one room schoolhouse preservation was an Aiken County Bicentennial project of the Aiken County Historical Commission and the Pine Needle Garden Club in 1976.
Under the direction of Mrs. Arthur (Nancy N.) Courtney, chairperson on the Aiken County Historical Commission and director of the Aiken County Museum the schoolhouse was moved from China Springs to a location near the Aiken County Vocational school on Highway 17. The restoration included the addition of a stoop and belfry to the original structure.
In 1984 the schoolhouse was moved to its present location on the grounds of The Aiken County Historical Museum.

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

De Anza Expedition

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California, Monterey County, Monterey
Lt. Colonel Juan Bautista De Anza, decree of Carlos II of Spain, lead an expedition to this site – the mission being to colonize the San Francisco Bay Area.

In the center of the marker is a circular motif, designed by Doris Birkland Beezley, of a rider superimposed upon a sun-like set of compass points, with the "De Anza Expedition 1775 1776" written above the rider.

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

Juan B. Castro

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California, Monterey County, Castroville
In Memory of
Juan B. Castro
1835-1915
Founder of Castroville
1863

(Notable Persons • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Portolá Expedition

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California, Monterey County, Pajaro
Here came the first men with Portola and Fr. Crespi, October 9, 1769. This river they called Rio del Pajaro

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

Junipero Oak

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California, Monterey County, Monterey
At Monterey, June 3rd
1770
the ceremony of taking possession
of California for Spain was enacted by
Father Junipero Serra
under the shade
of this tree.

(Exploration • Notable Events) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Mayflower Story

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Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Chatham
First, the Separatists returned to London to get organized. A prominent merchant agreed to advance the money for their journey. The Virginia Company gave them permission to establish a settlement, or “plantation,” on the East Coast between 38 and 41 degrees north latitude (roughly between the Chesapeake Bay and the mouth of the Hudson River). And the King of England gave them permission to leave the Church of England, “provided they carried themselves peaceably.”

In August 1620, a group of about 40 Saints joined a much larger group of (comparatively) secular colonists–“Strangers,” to the Saints–and set sail from England on two merchant ships: the Mayflower and the Speedwell. The Speedwell began to leak almost immediately, however, and the ships headed back to port. The travelers squeezed themselves and their belongings onto the Mayflower and set sail once again. Because of the delay caused by the leaky Speedwell, the Mayflower had to cross the Atlantic at the height of storm season. As a result, the journey was horribly unpleasant. Many of the passengers were so seasick they could scarcely get up, and the waves were so rough that one “Stranger” was swept overboard and drowned. (It was “the just hand of God upon him,” Bradford wrote later, for the young sailor had been “a proud and very profane yonge man.”)

Because the Pilgrims decided to settle outside the limits of their charter, they believed a written document was needed for self government of the new colony. Thus, the Mayflower Compact was written. After staying in Provincetown Harbor for five weeks, the Pilgrims sailed across Cape Cod Bay and made a permanent settlement in Plymouth in December, 1620. Chatham profoundly shaped Pilgrim history because of its dangerous waters offshore. Had the Mayflower been able to continue to the Hudson River area, there would be no Cape Cod, Plymouth or New England Pilgrim story. Nor would there have been a Mayflower Compact, the first self governing document written in the New World.

The story the Mayflower voyage and Cape Cod Pilgrim history is told at the Pilgrim Monument and Museum in Provincetown.

(Exploration • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.


History of Chatham Lighthouse

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Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Chatham
The waters off Chatham are notoriously dangerous because of the treacherous shoals and currents. The need for lights to warn mariners was recognized in early days of the country, and in 1806, nine years after the erection of the first lighthouse on Cape Cod in Truro, Congress made its first appropriation for a lighthouse in Chatham, with the actual building being completed in 1808. A light on Nantucket displayed a single fixed beam, Chatham two, and Highland Light three lights. The first octagonal towers, each about 40 feet high, were built of wood, as the contractor could not find stones on the Cape. Placed 70 feet apart, they were on movable skids so that they could be positioned to account for the shifting sand bars and provide a range for ships.

Samuel Nye was appointed by President Thomas Jefferson as the first keeper and was provided with a one-bedroom house. Thirty years later the towers had deteriorated so that it was dangerous to ascend them in windy weather. Realizing this condition the Treasury Department appropriated $6,750 for construction of two brick towers in 1841, with a brick keeper's house between them. Collins Howes, who had lost his leg in an accident, was appointed keeper. He complained bitterly that the construction was inferior and that rats infested the cellar. Four years later he was replaced for political reasons, and Simeon Nickerson became keeper, but he died shortly therefore, and his wife Angeline took over. Deciding the he would like his old job back, Collins Howes tried to have Angeline removed but President Taylor ruled in her favor, and she remained as keeper for another ten years.

In 1857 the lights received fourth-order Fresnel lenses, each showing a fixed white light that was fueled by lard.

The most notable keeper was Josiah Hardy, who served from 1872 to 1900. In 1875 Hardy reported serious erosion of the bank in front of the lights, and by 1877 the towers were only 48 feet from the edge. The same year two 44 foot cast iron towers with brick interiors were erected. On December 15, 1879, the old south tower tumbled to the beach below, and 15 months later the north tower followed it. In the 1880's, Keeper Hardy told two boys who were playing by the lights that he had seen as many ships as there are days in the year pass by on that day.

With the advent of rotating lights in the early 20th century, twin lights were no longer necessary. In 1923 the north light was moved to Eastham to replace the last of the three sisters, and the remaining tower was fitted with a rotating lens with a lamp powered by kerosene. In 1939 the light was electrified and its intensity increased from 30,000 to 800,000 candlepower.

In 1969 the Fresnel lens and the lantern room were removed, and replaced by a larger lantern that could accommodate modern rotating aero beacons that have 2.8 million candlepower.

Installed in 1994, the present light display two white lights every 10 seconds that can be seen 24 nautical miles at sea.

The light house complex also serves as headquarters for the Coast Guard Station Chatham, whose responsibility includes the water from Truro south to halfway between Monomoy Island and Nantucket, then west into Nantucket Sound, and north to Hyannis. Station Chatham is notable for the daring rescue of February 18, 1952, when the tanker Pendelton broke in two during a violent snow storm. The crew of CG36500, led by Bernard Webber, braved near impossible conditions to rescue 32 crew members from the stern section.

(Landmarks • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Rescue of the Pendleton

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Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Chatham
One of the most spectacular small boat rescues on the east coast of the United States occurred on February 18, 1952. The tanker Pendleton broke in half off the coast of Chatham during a fierce Nor' caster storm. In blinding rain and sixty foot seas, the crew of the Coast Guard motor lifeboat CG36500 responded from the Chatham Fish Pier, traversing the treacherous Chatham Bar and rescuing thirty-two crew members of the doomed ship. They were then able to navigate safely back to the Fish Pier in total darkness and without the aid of a compass, which had been washed overboard. This heroic feat has been described by the Coast Guard as the Mount Everest of rescues. Each member of the crew was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for their bravery.

The CG36500 was built in 1946 and was retired from service in 1968.

In 1982 the vessel was fully restored through the efforts of volunteers and is maintained through private donations. The lifeboat remains afloat, actively touring ports throughout southeastern New England as a floating museum dedicated to the brave lifesavers of Cape Cod.

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

Workboat of the Marshes

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Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Eastham
A remnant from Cape Cod's agriculture past, this 1850-era hay barge was a common sight among the working dories, skiffs, and catboats of the area. Wide and flat-bottomed, it was rowed, poled, and sailed throughout the shallow marshes. Salt marsh hay was gathered from the water's edge for livestock, bedding and feed. Many local residents still remember the taste of salty milk.

After 1900, Cape Codders made the move from cows and plows to summer cottages and tourism, the usefulness of hay barges waned. Luckily, the French Transatlantic Cable Company in Town Cove used this one as a repair vessel for sixty years thus sparing it the fate of others of its kind. Today it is the last remaining hay barge on Cape Cod, perhaps in all New England, and is a reminder of the bustling maritime life of the coastal community.

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

Kettles

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Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Eastham
A bird's eye view of Cape Cod reveals a landscape dimpled with holes. Most of them are nearly round, and many are filled wit water, like Salt Pond in front of you.

Geologists call these intriguing depressions "kettles." They were formed over 18,000 years ago when the gigantic ice-age glaciers that covered this region began to melt.pSalt Pond is unique among the kettles of the outer Cape because it has been captured by the ocean. A tidal channel from Nauset Marsh has breached the opposite side of the kettle, allowing salt water to enter. Water levels rise and fall twice daily with the tides.

"Some of the valleys... are circular, a hundred feet drop without any outlet, as if the Cape had sunk in those places, or it sands had run out."
Cape Cod
Henry David Thoreau
1863



(Natural Features • Natural Resources) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

St. John's College

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Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Annapolis
St. John's College has a long, rich history dating back to the founding of our nation. Its earliest incarnation, a grammar or preparatory school named after King William III, was founded in Annapolis in 1696, one year after Maryland's capital was moved here from St. Mary's City.

Ten-year-old Francis Scott Key, future author of "The Star-Spangled Banner," was among the grammar school students who participated in the college's opening exercises in 1789. Key graduated from St. John's in 1796 and went on to practice law, first in Frederick and later in Georgetown.

Today, St. John's is a private, four-year college, nationally recognized for its interdisciplinary great books program. The college welcomes the community to Francis Scott Key Auditorium in Mellon Hall to attend concerts and lectures, and to experience the community learning that St. John's seeks to inspire. St. John's College is dedicated to the notion that freedom of thought is achieved through a liberal arts education.

(Education • War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Dedicated to you, a free citizen in a free land

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Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Annapolis
This reproduction of the Liberty Bell was presented to Maryland
by direction of
The Honorable John Snyder
Secretary of the Treasury
as the inspirational symbol of the United States savings bonds independence drive from May 15 to July 4 1950. It was displayed in every part of the state.

The dimensions and tone are identical with those of the original Liberty Bell when it rang out our independence in 1776.

In standing before this symbol, you have the opportunity to dedicate yourself, as did our founding fathers, to the principles the individual freedom for which our nation stands.

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The pediment for this Liberty Bell was erected with the pennies donated by the children of Anne Arundel County, 1951

(Landmarks • War, Korean • War, US Revolutionary) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

HMS Macedonian Monument

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Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Annapolis

Figurehead of HMS Macedonian.

The classical head represents Alexander, the Macedonian who ruled Greece and much of the known world in the 4th century BC. It was carved in wood in 1810 to decorate the bow of the British warship named Macedonian. On October 25, 1812 west of the Canary Islands, the USS United States, commanded by Captain Stephen Decatur, captured the British ship in a two and a half hour battle. Its flag and figurehead were saved and preserved. the ship itself was repaired and served as an American warship until 1835.

The original figurehead will be in the exhibition in Mahan Hall. An exact replica in bronze has been donated by the Naval Academy Class of 1973 and will be displayed in this location.

(War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 9 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

On this spot

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Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Annapolis
On this spot, where the inspiring strains of the Star Spangled Banner are heard each morning, formerly stood the home of Judge Joseph Hopper Nicholson, Brother-in-law of Francis Scott Key, to whom Key gave the original manuscript and who set the words to a popular tune of the time. Here the manuscript remained until the Nicholson house was torn down in 1845.

(Arts, Letters, Music • War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Joseph Nicholson Home Site and Bandstand

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Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Annapolis
In 1814 when Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the poem "The Defense of Fort McHenry," his wife's sister and brother-in-law lived in a house on this site. The poem quickly became famous when it was set to music and re-titled "The Star-Spangled Banner." The Nicholsons preserved an original copy of the poem in their house. After the house was removed to expand the Naval Academy, it was decided to place a bandstand nearby so that the Naval Academy Band could play "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the site. This perpetuated the history of the site and its association with the music that officially became the United States national anthem by act of Congress in 1931.

This is the third bandstand on the site and dates from 1922.

(Arts, Letters, Music • War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Babylon Railroad Company Trolley Route

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New York, Suffolk County, Babylon
In 1871, David S.S. Sammis started a horse-drawn trolley line to transport passengers from the Babylon railroad station to the ferry docks. In 1910, the line was electrified and extended west to the railroad station at Amityville.

Dedicated 2010.

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

Scioto County, Experience Our Heritage

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Ohio, Scioto County, Portsmouth


Civil War
More than 3,000 men and boys left Scioto County to fight for the Union in the Civil War. One unit, First Ohio Light Artillery, Battery L, represents all of these soldiers as they hold their position on the North Slope of Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg. The border of the mural shows Portsmouth scenes at the time of the [C]ivil [W]ar. The industries of the area supporting the war are shown on the left border and on the right, the consequences of the war - the First Memorial Day on May 30, 1862 at Greenlawn Cemetery. Greenlawn's Soldiers Circle and the Chapel were both established in 1884. The Chapel, located at 1616 Offnere Street, Portsmouth has been placed on the National Historic Registry and is open to the public on Memorial Day weekend.

Early Police and Fire Departments
The need for law enforcement became apparent shortly after the early pioneers arrived. The first sheriff was appointed in 1803 and subsequently, the first jail was built on the corner of Front and Market Streets. The first volunteer fire department was formed in 1820. To be a member firemen were required to purchase their own leather buckets before they were accepted as members of the department. Note the "billy clubs," carried by the police, and the fire wagon pulled by horses.

Early Churches
Sixteen churches shown in this mural, whose congregations were established in the city between 1817 and 1876, still exist today. Each church is featured as an icon in a stained glass motif showing the name and year it was actually established. The center stained glass panel releases sun rays that radiate into each church. All of the diagonal "lead" pieces in each panel also point back to the center. Every year, during the month of December, a festival called "Dickens of a Christmas" is held in Portsmouth. The opportunity to tour five of the churches is made available to the public.

Early Agriculture
Farming was vital to the development of the Ohio valley during the early 1800's. This mural shows a picture of harvest time in a wheat field. Although wheat was the primary crop of that time, corn and various breeds of livestock are also represented. Corn dolls were quite popular during the 1800's and were later seen at the "Korn Karnivals" in Portsmouth during the late 1800's and early 1900's.

(Agriculture • Charity & Public Work • Churches, Etc. • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 20 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Terrible Trail

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Oregon, Harney County, Burns
Weary Oregon Trail emigrants, eager to ease travel or gain mileage, often attempted cutoffs and shortcuts. While many of these alternate routes proved successful, others did not--they became roads to ruin for some and the end of the trail for others.

In 1853, Elijah Elliott, a Willamette Valley settler, convinced over 1,000 people to attempt a shortcut over the Cascade Range. Following Meek’s route to Harney Valley, Elliott’s party diverged around the south shores of Harney and Malheur Lakes. Continuing westward, the party became disoriented. As the emigrants became increasingly desperate, scouts searched ahead for water and a route over the mountains. Eventually, scouts located a crude road over the Willamette Pass. One year later, William Macy led 121 wagons along a similar route without serious difficulty.

In 1845, frontiersman Stephen Meek persuaded over 1,000 people to leave the trail at present-day Vale and trek across the desert toward the upper Willamette Valley. Blazing a wagon road up the Malheur River they entered Harney Valley, near this site. Hunger, thirst, illness, and death stalked the wagon train as it wandered west and ultimately north toward the Columbia River. Bitterness against Meek became so intense that he was compelled to travel beyond rifle range. Meek eventually forged ahead to The Dalles, where a rescue party was organized, but relief arrived too late for more than twenty emigrants who were buried in lonely graves along the way.

(Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
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