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Nicholas Herkimer

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New York, Herkimer County, near Little Falls
In 1760, Johan Jost Herkimer deeded 500 acres, including valuable river frontage, to his eldest son Nicholas. Nicholas kept the south portage road open to the carrying place and probably provided wagons, draft animals, and labor to unload the bateaux and transport them and their cargo around the falls. He also traded with the Indians, farmed, and collected rent from his tenants.

At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775, Nicholas sided with the rebellious Americans. On September 5, 1776, he was commissioned Brigadier General of the Tryon County Militia. Facing a British and Indian invasion of Tryon County, General Herkimer issued an Emergency Proclamation ordering the militia to prepare to march to the "defense of our country."

With 800 men, Herkimer set off to relieve Fort Schuyler, previously called Fort Stanwix. On August 6, 1777, they were ambushed in the woods. In the ensuing Battle of Oriskany, almost half of the militiamen were killed, wounded, or captured, but they held the battlefield, helping end the siege of Fort Schuyler.

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

Soldiers of Haverhill Memorial

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New Hampshire, Grafton County, North Haverhill
In commemoration of the services of the services of the Soldiers of Haverhill in the Wars of the Country

(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Ebenezer MacKintosh

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New Hampshire, Grafton County, North Haverhill
Born in Boston and a veteran of the 1758 Battle of Ticonderoga. As a known participant in the Boston Tea Party, for his own and his children’s safety, he walked to North Haverhill in early 1774. He later served in the Northern Army under Gen. Gates in 1777. He was a shoemaker by trade and practiced his vocation here for the rest of his life. He is buried nearby in Horse Meadow Cemetery.

(War, French and Indian • War, US Revolutionary) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Rogers Rangers

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New Hampshire, Grafton County, North Haverhill
The rivers’ junction two miles north was rendezvous for Rogers Rangers after their destruction of St. Francis, Que., Oct. 4, 1759. Pursuing Indians and starvation had plagued their retreat and more tragedy awaited here. The expected rescue party bringing food had come and gone. Many Rangers perished and early settlers found their bones along these intervales.

(War, French and Indian) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Mausoleum

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Maryland, Frederick County, Burkittsville
Townsend regarded Gapland as a lasting monument to himself and his craft and wanted to rest here for all time. Townsend designed and erected his Mausoleum in 1895. Its four vaults were intended to house his remains and those of his wife and parents. A large iron likeness of his pet Great Dane, which Townsend sketched while staying at The Waldorf Hotel, was placed atop the tomb to keep vigil in his afterlife. But fate would not have it so. Townsend died at his daughter's home in New York City on April 15, 1914 and was buried alongside {his wife} Bessie in Philadelphia. The Gapland Mausoleum was never occupied, the sculpture of his dog was stolen, and the glory that was Gapland faded into ruin and indifference. But the spirit of this romantic journalist speaks out still in the epitaph above his tomb: Good Night - Gath.

(Arts, Letters, Music • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Man-Made Features) Includes location, directions, 11 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

First American Platform Scale

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Vermont, Caledonia County, St Johnsbury
After experimenting with new types of farm equipment, plows, and stoves, Thaddeus Fairbanks invented the platform scale here in 1830. With his brothers Erastus and Joseph, he founded the company which still bears there name. Many St. Johnsbury public institutions were gifts of this talented family.

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

1st Normal School

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Vermont, Essex County, Concord
The first recognized school for the purpose of training teachers was conducted near here by the Rev. Samuel Read Hall, 1823-25. Practice teaching was employed, with lectures on Schoolkeeping, which became in 1829, the first professional book for teachers. 2.4 miles south at Concord Corners.

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

Northeastern Speedway

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Vermont, Caledonia County, St Johnsbury
Opened on July 18, 1959 as Vermont’s first organized auto racing track under the guidance of the Northeastern Racing Association, the State’s first motor sports sanctioning body. By instituting formal point and purse structures and focusing on driver and spectator safety, these pioneers laid the groundwork for a sport that continues to thrive today.

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

Willowdale Settlement

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New Hampshire, Grafton County, Littletown
Willowdale was established around a sawmill that was built in 1812. The village thrived because sawmills, gristmills, and a factory producing sawmill machinery were powered by the Ammonoosuc River. After the Littleton Lumber Company opened in 1870, the village grew rapidly to include stores, a post office, a school, railroad siding, and a hall. The company employed as many as 60 workers and produced 3 to 6 million board feet yearly until fire destroyed it in 1898. The village never recovered and slowly dwindled away until it disappeared altogether, a fate suffered by other 19th century mill villages.

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

Annapolis Laboratory

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Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Annapolis
In this year, 1999, a 96-year tradition of technical excellence, personal achievement , and dedication to our Navy comes to a close. The legacy of this Laboratory will live on well into the next millennium. It is embodied in the people who worked here, our ships at sea, and those who have moved on with the knowledge gained in Annapolis. It is with a mix of pride and sadness that the last chapter of this unique facility is written. Those who have so honorably served here have earned their rightful place in naval history. This memorial is a tribute to the courage, intelligence, and strength of character of the many people who were a part of this magical place we call "The Annapolis Laboratory."

(Man-Made Features • War, World II) Includes location, directions, 8 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Washington Iron Works

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Virginia, Franklin County, Rocky Mount
Here stands the furnace and ironmaster’s house of the Washington Iron Works, Franklin County’s first industry. Originally established in 1773 by Col. John Donelson, father-in-law of President Andrew Jackson, the iron plantation was acquired in 1779 by Col. James Callaway and Jeremiah Early and expanded to 18,000 acres to become one of the last great iron plantations in Virginia. The Saunders family continued the operation until 1850, supplying iron locally and as far south as Georgia.

Franklin County Bicentennial 1786–1986.

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

First Franklin County Court

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Virginia, Franklin County, Rocky Mount
Here at the house and ordinary of Col. James Callaway, proprietor of the Washington Iron Works, the first Franklin County court met to organize the new county on Monday, Jan. 2, 1976. The iron works had been established here by 1773 by Col. John Donelson, the father of Rachel, wife of President Andrew Jackson. After being pruchased by Col. Callaway and Jeremiah Early in 1779, the iron plantation was expanded to over 18,000 acres and supplied iron products as far south as Georgia.

The original gentlemen justices held monthly court here at the ironmaster’s house until the spring of 1785 when the first log courthouse was completed on land donated by Col. Callaway where the present courthouse now stands.

Original Gentlemen Justices: Hugh Innes; Robert Hairston; Robert Woods, Sheriff; Peter Saunders; Thomas Arthur; Jonathan Richardson; John Smith; Moses Greer; Spencer Clark; John Gypson; Swinfield Hill; John Rentfro.

Franklin County Bicentennial, 1786–1986.

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

Ness County Bank Building

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Kansas, Ness County, Ness City


Known as the "Skyscraper of the Plains," this native stone structure is the legacy left by N.C. Merrill, an avid promoter of Ness City and Ness County. Built in 1888, it stands as a tribute to the ingenuity, dreams, and culture of the settlers who dug the stone, laid the stone and carved the stone. The building has served as a home for the Courthouse, Banks, Cultural Events, Post Office, Apartments, Offices and Lodge Hall.

The building is listed on the Kansas State and National Register of Historic Sites.

(Industry & Commerce • Man-Made Features • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Buffalo Bill Cultural Center

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Kansas, Logan County, Oakley


The Grand Lodge A.F.&A.M. of Kansas
honors Wm. F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody,
a Master Mason, a York Rite Mason,
a Scottish Rite Mason and a Shrine Mason
Born 1846, Died 1917

March, A.D. 2005, AL 6005

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

The Great Buffalo Hunt

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Kansas, Logan County, Oakley


Buffalo Bill's legend was born right here! The site of the legendary buffalo hunt between Buffalo Bill Cody and Medicine Bill Comstock is just ten miles west of where you now stand.

It was the summer of 1868. Bill Cody had just successfully fulfilled a contract to provide meat for Kansas-Pacific Railroad workers. By his own accounting, he had killed 4280 buffalo in just eight months. Cody also worked for the army and was the favorite civilian scout and hunter for the cavalry stationed at Fort Hays.

Soldiers at Fort Wallace favored their own scout, Bill Comstock. Both men were famous for their skill at shooting buffalo from horseback. With the honor of the two posts at stake, the officers are said to have arranged a buffalo hunting contest. To add spice to the event, they put up $500 a side and brought a spectator train to the end of the tracks.

Bison were spotted nearby at Monument, and both men galloped among them diving the herd in two. According to legend, Comstock hunted from the rear forward forcing him to chase his buffalo over miles of prairie. Cody, riding his favorite buffalo-hunting horse, Brigham, rode to the front and circled his herd, shooting the leaders one by one.

By the end of the day - and many cases of champagne later - Cody had won the bragging rights. He had brought down 69 buffalo to Comstock's 46. If Buffalo Bill's right to his nickname had ever been in doubt, the issue was now settled.

William Averill Comstock
Billy Comstock, a descendent of writer James Fenimore Cooper, was born in Michigan in 1842 and went west as a young man. After living for several years among the Arapaho and Cheyenne, he became one of the most noted civilian scouts and interpreters along the Smoky Hill Trail. George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry called him "an eccentric genius." His nickname, "Medicine Bill," was supposedly bestowed upon him because of his superstitions. He was killed on August 27, 1868, while carrying a message to a band of Cheyenne Indians.

[Photo caption 1 reads] Photograph of W.F. Cody and others, c.1870; from tintype (image corrected). Not long after the legendary contest, Cody was transferred to Fort McPherson, Nebraska. This photograph shows Buffalo Bill with his celebrated hunting rifle, "Lucretia Borgia," across his lap. Sitting next to him is another famous hunter, the Earl of Dunraven.

[Photo caption 2 reads] William A. Comstock, c. 1868.

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

Parkville

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Missouri, Platte County, Parkville


Founded by George S. Park - 1838
First known as English Landing, river port on frontier, steamboat landing; slave, tobacco, and hemp market.
Home of Park College
Founded 1875
John A. McAfee and George S. Park
pioneered in new pattern of education.
"Fides et Labor"

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

Park Bank - Farmers Exchange Bank

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Missouri, Platte County, Parkville


[Title is text]

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

Attack on the Paw Paw Fort

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Missouri, Platte County, Parkville


Northwest Missouri Tinderbox
Conflict and uncertainty were widespread in northwest Missouri in the summer of 1864. Federal forces struggled in a heavy-handed manner to control areas much too large for their capabilities. Raiders from Kansas, including Red Legs (Union scouts with an earned nefarious reputation) and jayhawkers (troops notorious for marauding) continued to terrorize and pillage the local population. Confederate activity began to significantly increase as large guerrilla bands and recruiters such as Lieutenant Colonel John C. Calhoun "Coon" Thornton aggressively roamed the countryside reclaiming towns from Federal control and adding new recruits to their ranks. In part this increase in activity was a belated reaction to the brutal conduct of Federal forces and plunderers from Kansas who had infiltrated the area.

Northwest Missouri personified the bloody guerrilla war that raged in the area since 1856. No quarter was given and no quarter was asked as the bands of Missouri guerrillas and Kansas jayhawkers fought for control. This already volatile situation escalated as word of General Sterling Price's invasion of Missouri filtered into the area. The stage was set for the Struggle for Platte County.

Major General Sterling Price's raid into Missouri in 1864 was the Confederacy's last effort to liberate the state from the grip of Federal control. In preparation for Price's raid, officers were sent into numerous counties in the area known as "Little Dixie" to recruit men to swell the ranks of Price's army as he moved through the state. One such recruiter was Lieutenant Colonel John C. Calhoun "Coon" Thornton, who was originally from Clay County but was recruiting in Platte County.

In July 1864, Lieutenant Colonel Thornton began his recruiting and "hold the land" campaign in Platte County with Parkville as his first objective. The town was occupied by about 60 members of the 82d Enrolled Missouri Militia under the command of a regular Federal officer, Captain Thomas Wilson. Known as "Paw Paws", the militiamen were from Parkville and the surrounding area. They had been conscripted into Federal service for the purpose of protecting their local communities from any outside threat, whether it was from conventional Confederate units or guerrillas, marauding jayhawkers, or Red Legs from Kansas intent on preying on the unprotected civilians. The militiamen were referred to as Paw Paws due to their suspected sympathies for Confederate guerrillas who hid among the Paw Paw plants along the Missouri River bottoms. The headquarters for the militia unit was the Missouri Valley Hotel, a large building overlooking the Missouri River. The building, at 100 feet by 80 feet, was the largest in Parkville, with the lower two floors made of stone while the upper two floors were frame.

On the morning of July 7, 1864, Lieutenant Colonel Thornton, accompanied by Captain Charles Fletcher "Fletch" Taylor and 60 of this partisan guerrillas, including Frank and Jesse James, entered Parkville to demand its surrender from Federal control. Captain Wilson immediately fled the town while his militia barricaded themselves in the "Paw Paw Fort". A shot was fired from the hotel but hit no one. When the guerrillas immediately returned fire militia Lieutenant Martin C. Noland and a woman standing next to him were wounded.

Angered at being fired upon, Captain Taylor's men forced open the locked front door using a large log as a battering ram. They entered the fort and found that the militia had retreated to the second floor. When Taylor threatened to burn down the building the militia force surrendered. Forty-two of the militiamen immediately joined Lieutenant Colonel Thornton's force. This was not surprising as many of the militiamen actually belonged to Confederate secret societies such as the Knights of the Golden Circle and the Sons of Liberty. They were simply waiting for the first opportunity to defect to the Southern side. With Southern uniforms already close at hand, the conversion from blue to gray went quickly.

Not all the Paw Paws joined Thornton's force and they were paroled and released unharmed. Now numbering just over 100 men, the Confederates occupied Parkville for the next two days. On July 10th Lieutenant Colonel Thornton and his force departed Parkville and rode toward his next objective -- Platte City. Parkville's Confederate occupation had ended.
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John C. Calhoun Thornton, known as "Coon" to his troops, was born in Missouri in 1835. Prior to the Civil War he practiced law in Leavenworth, Kansas, and later St. Joseph, Missouri. He joined the Confederate army when the war broke out and was a battalion commander at the battle of Wilson's Creek in August 1861. As a result of his gallantry in that battle he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. He survived the war and moved his family to Butte, Montana where he practiced law before going into the mining business. He died in 1887, leaving a wife and eight children.
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You are standing on the site of the Missouri Valley Hotel that was used as the headquarters for the 82nd Enrolled Missouri Militia on July 7, 1864. Colonel George S. Park, a veteran of the Texas War For Independence and the town's namesake, built it in 1851. From 1853 to 1855 it also served as the office for Colonel Park's newspaper, The Industrial Luminary. On April 14, 1855, a proslavery mob threw the printing press into the river because of Park's abolitionist editorials. With the outbreak of the War Between the States the building was confiscated for use as a headquarters by the Federal government for Union forces, both regular and militia, occupying Parkville. Thus it became known as the Paw Paw Fort.
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Sources: "'Bashi-Bazouks' and Rebels Too: Action at Camden Point, July 13, 1864" by Scott A. Porter, Missouri Historical Review, Vol. 101, No. 2, January 2007. "Intense Excitement in Parkville, Mo - The Luminary Press Thrown into the River - The Editors Driven from the town", The New York Times, April 26, 1855.

Photo and Image Credits: Paw Paw Fort: Fishburn Archives, Park University, Parkville, MO; Taylor: used with permission, State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia; Thornton: Clay County Archives and Historical Library

(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Chester World War II – Korea Memorial

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Connecticut, Middlesex County, Chester
Honoring All Who Served
World War II   1941 1946
These Gave Their Lives George A. Butler • Allen W. Burton • Theodore P. Dreher • Arthur Going • Philip H. Kern • Anthony P. Narducci • Harold M. Perry • Richard L. Turner • George E. Watrous • Jerry A. Walden Jr. Korean Conflict
1950   1953

(War, Korean • War, World II) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Chester World War I Monument

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Connecticut, Middlesex County, Chester
In Honor Of The Men Of Chester
Who Served In The World War
1917 - - - 1918 Abbey Raymond C. • Bailey Charles F. • Beckwith Willis A. • Berg Albert • Bergonzi Joseph • Bickerton Charles W. • Bocksruth John H. • Bole John J. • Brooks Malcolm G. • Buchetti Nello • Buracchi Frederico • Butler C. Willard • Calamari Louis B. • Carini Edward J. • Carini George A. • Carini John F. • Carini Louis • Casey William • Castelli Joseph F. • Castelli Lawrence • Castelli Rudolph E. • Church Cassius E. • Cone James H. • Cooper H. Leslie • CooperJames S. • CooperRaymond A. • Delzell Gorden • William W. • Deuse Zaner C. • Divis Frank • Edwards Lloyd S. • Egeter George • Emmons Norman E. • Epright Brinton J. • Ferrari Joseph A. • Fuller Nelson W. • Gorman Patrick E. • Haling Carroll F. • Hnilicka Joseph • Holden Charles E. • Hough Kenneth • James Evan B. • Johnson Philip E. • Kahrmann Arthur • Kahrmann Levi • Kennedy Allen H. • Lund David G. • Lund Frank C. • Lund John L. • Lynde Roland D. • Macdonald Edward H. • Malchiodi Louis • Markham Judson W. • Meyer John D. • Myers Arthur • Myers W. Walter • Midyette Everette D. • Monte Michael • Moravec Charles • Mullins John • Pearson Niels I. • Radicchi Agostino • Robbins Richard Jr. • Rolleri Joseph A. • Saffery Alfred F. • Sevigny Clifford • Sevigny Ernest • Sevigny Leodore • Shailer Paul N. R. • Smith M. Sumner • Smith Norwood S. • Smith Warner G. • Stevens Elmore C. • Stoll Henry V. • Strodt Charles A. • Tasso John L. • Tyler Frederick C. • Vicini Antonio • Walden Ralph S. • Webb Walter P. • Wetmore Nelson • Wood Leland T. * Alexander John F. • * Houghtaling Harry W. • * Kahrmann Reginald
Presented to the Town of Chester
In 1939 by Carlton J. Bates

(War, World I) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
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