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Victory at Breach Inlet

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South Carolina, Charleston County, Sullivans Island

Ten days of skirmishing on beaches, creeks, and marshes climaxed on June 28, 1776 with the British attempt to cross Breach Inlet during the bombardment of Fort Sullivan. Colonel William “Danger” Thompson and 780 American Patriots had dug trenches and erected two fortifications of palmetto logs to protect this end of Sullivan’s Island. You are near their first line of defense.

After extensive scouting, maneuvering, and fighting, the British generals realized that crossing the treacherous and well-defended inlet would be dangerous. Nonetheless, they sent hundreds of men in 15 armed flatboats across the inlet supported by warships, artillery, and infantry. The Americans repelled the attack and defeated the British army of 3,000.

Meanwhile, 435 American soldiers under the command of Colonel William Moultrie held Fort Sullivan in a dramatic, day-long battle against the British navy. The story of their heroic defense is told at Fort Moultrie.

The Land Forces on Long Island in the meantime strained every Nerve to effect a Landing . . . but the Eighteen Pounder with Grape shot spread Havock, Devastation, and Death, and always made then retire faster than they advanced.”American Leader Richard Hutson
They would have killed half of us before we could make our landing good.”British Soldier William Falconer
on Long Island


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

Shale Hill Brick & Tile Plant

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Missouri, Livingston County, Chillicothe


This memorial is dedicated in loving honor and memory of
Sherwood and Jean Patek

That those who come hereafter will remember the Shale Hill Brick & Tile Plant in Utica, Missouri which later became the Midland Brick & Tile Co. with Harry Patek, President from 1935 to 1958 and Sherwood Patek, President from 1958 to 1988. The plant was acquired by Glen Gery Brick Co. in 1988 and later dismantled in 2003.

Muralist: Kelly Poling

(Industry & Commerce • Man-Made Features) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Way West

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Wyoming, Fremont County, near Lander

With South Pass behind them, Oregon and California-bound travelers faced the second half of their journey. The roughest travel was yet to come. From Missouri to South Pass, emigrants were able to follow rivers. But from South Pass to Oregon and California, they faced dry stretches such as the high-altitude desert of the Green River Basin. The dry climate played havoc with wagon wheels that kept shrinking wood away from iron rims.

Approximately 20 miles on the trail west of this place, emigrants arrived at the Sublette Cutoff, also known as the Parting-of-the-Ways. It was there that groups separated, some going to Oregon, some to Utah and others to California. Whatever their destination, every day they struggled with life along the trail. Lonely graves, most unmarked, are testimony to thousands of lives taken by cholera, accidents - especially at river crossings, and childbirth. Attacks by Native Americans were often feared, but almost never occurred.

It may be hard to visualize the lives of these people, but a short walk into the landscape allows us insight into some of the problems they faced.

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

The Corridor West

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Wyoming, Fremont County, near Lander

The trail over South Pass is a transportation corridor which served many purposes. In addition to being the route to Oregon and California, it was used by Mormon pioneers and by the Pony Express.

A great exodus to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 was only the beginning of Mormon emigrant travel along the Oregon Trail. About 68,000 took the the Utah branch of the trail from 1847 until 1869 when the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad ushered in a new phase of overland travel. The community of Zion at Salt Lake offered economic opportunity as well as religious freedom.

For a brief eighteen months beginning in April, 1860, eight young men carried the nation's mail on horseback for 1600 miles from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. Riding day and night - regardless of weather - on the fastest horses available, Pony Express riders maintained a vital communication link between east and west at the beginning of the Civil War. The completion of the transcontinental telegraph line in October, 1861 marked the end of the Pony Express. Though the owners of the Express lost more than a million dollars, the venture captured the imagination of the entire world.

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

South Pass

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Wyoming, Fremont County, near Lander

From where you're standing South Pass doesn't look all that remarkable. But compared to the rugged Wind River Mountains, it can easily be recognized as a type of gateway.

Nevertheless, crossing the Continental Divide into "Oregon Country" was a task for all westward-bound travelers, and many described their feelings about the event. In 1852 Lucy Rutledge Cooke, a young woman with "California Fever" wrote:

"... This morn we arrived at the South Pass after which all water we see will be running to the Pacific. So we are now on the other side of the world ..."

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

South Pass

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Wyoming, Fremont County, near Lander

Even after the discovery of South Pass in 1824, it was years before the route was used extensively. Fur trapper/trader William Sublette brought a small caravan of wagons to South Pass in 1828. While his party did not take wagons over the pass, they demonstrated the feasibility of using them.

Captain Benjamin Bonneville took the first wagons over South Pass in 1832. But it was U.S. Government explorer, Lt. John Charles Fremont, who was responsible for publicizing the South Pass route. Scattered references to an easy passage over the Rockies had appeared in newspapers for a decade, but in 1842 Fremont created enthusiasm for South Pass by explaining that a traveler could go through it without any "toilsome ascents".

As knowledge of South Pass became widespread, a great western migration commenced. Thousands of Mormons, and future Oregonians and Californians, would cut a wide swath along the route in the next twenty years.

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

The Fur Trade

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Wyoming, Fremont County, near Lander

The demand for beaver pelts in the early 1800s led to the exploration and eventual settlement of the American West. South Pass was part of a major thoroughfare through the Rockies and its discovery is significant to the era known as the fur trade.

South Pass was first crossed by white men in 1812. The Astorians, a small party of American Fur Company trappers led by Robert Stuart, used it as they traveled east with dispatches for company owner, John Jacob Astor. Even though Stuart noted South Pass in his diary and word of his journey was printed in a Missouri newspaper, it would be another decade before white men "rediscovered" it.

For Jedidiah Smith and other mountain men working for entrepreneur William Ashley in the winter of 1823-24, the rugged Wind River Range in front of you was a barrier between them and the beaver-rich Green River Valley further west. Failing to negotiate these mountains through Union Pass further north, Smith and his men finally reached the Green River by traversing the southern end of the range at this gradual incline. Traveling west with supplies in 1825, Ashley initiated the Rendezvous, an annual event lasting until approximately 1840 when the demand for beaver played out.

(Exploration • Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Parting of the Ways

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Wyoming, Sublette County, near Farson

Trail ruts at this site were mistakenly identified as the Parting-of-the-Ways where emigrant parties separated on their journeys to Oregon, California, or Utah.

The actual Parting-of-the-Ways is approximately 10 miles west of this spot. Where you are standing now is part of the main Oregon Trail over which 350,000 - 500,000 people passed on their way West between 1844 and 1869.

Look closely at the ground between the pullout fence and the monuments. The uneven "ridges" in the ground are trail ruts made by the passage of iron-wheeled freight wagons and stagecoaches on a road that connected South Pass with the Union Pacific Railroad in Green River, southwest of this spot. The freight road was used from about 1870 to 1900 - and the resulting ruts caused the confusion later with the actual Parting-of-the-Ways west of here.

Enjoy and appreciate your trail resources, but remember that they are very fragile. Please ensure that you visit doesn't result in any disturbance to the Trail.

(Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

"Parting of the Ways"

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Wyoming, Sublette County, near Farson

This marks a fork in the trail, right to Oregon, left to Utah and California.

1812, Robert Stuart and eastbound Astorians used South Pass gateway.

1824, Eleven westbound Ashley-Henry men led by Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick.

1832, N. Wyeth and Capt. B.L.E. Bonneville parties.

1836, Missionaries M. Whitman and H.H. Spalding and wives.

1841, Bartleson-Bidwell Party.

1852, Peak year, estimated 40,000 emigrants.

(Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Palace of Fashion

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Missouri, Livingston County, Chillicothe


Located in approximately the same location where the original storefront was situated, the Palace of Fashion Mural showcases a vibrant, early 1900s women's apparel and hat store. The store's merchandise was widely sought out and people traveled from miles away to purchase new goods. The mural itself is a piece of work. Using the French technique of trompe-l'oeil (trick the eye), this mural entertains the illusion of the once existent upper level staircase and balcony.

Kelly Poling, Muralist

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

The Parting of the Ways

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Wyoming, Sublette County, near Farson

In July 1844 the California bound Stevens-Townsend-Murphy wagon train, guided by Isaac Hitchcock and 81-year old Caleb Greenwood, passed this point and continued nine and one half miles southwest from here, to a place destined to become prominent in Oregon Trail history - the starting point of the Sublette Cut-off.
There, instead of following the regular Oregon Trail route southwest to Fort Bridger, then northwest to reach the Bear River below present day Cokeville, Wyoming, this wagon train pioneered a new route. Either Hitchcock or Greenwood, it is uncertain which, made the decision to lead the wagons due west, in effect along one side of a triangle.
The route was hazardous, entailing crossing some 50 miles of semi-arid desert in the heat of summer and surmounting mountain ridges, but it saved approximately 85 miles from the Fort Bridger route and 5 or 6 days of travel. The route was first known as the Greenwood Cut-off.
It was the Gold Rush year of 1849 that brought this "Parting of the Ways" into prominence. Of the estimated 30,000 Forty-niners probably 20,000 travelled the Greenwood Cut-off which, due to an error in the 1849 Joseph E. Ware guide book, became known as the Sublette Cut-off.
In the ensuing years further refinements of the Trail route were made. In 1852 the Kinney and Slate Creek Cut-offs diverted trains from portions of the Sublette Cut-off, but until the covered wagon period ended, the Sublette Cut-off remained a popular direct route, and this "Parting of the Ways" was the place for crucial decisions.
A quartzite post inscribed ←Fort Bridger S. Cut-off→ and a Bureau of Land Management information panel now mark the historic "Parting of the Ways" site.

(Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Simpson's Hollow

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Wyoming, Sweetwater County, near Farson

One of only three significant engagements of the Utah War, the incident at Simpson's Hollow played a key role in the conflict. The Utah War (1857-1858) was the result of a lack of communication between the U.S. Government and the Utah Territory concerning Brigham Young's power as governor of Utah and as head of the Church of Latter Day Saints. To resolve this conflict of interest, President Buchanan appointed a new governor, Alfred Cumming. However, fearing Utah's citizens would not calmly accept the replacement of Young, Buchanan canceled mail service to Utah and sent out a military force of 2,500 men to safely escort Cumming to Salt Lake City. Captain Lew Simpson, for which the site is named, and his troops, were part of this military force sent to Utah on the Oregon Trail.
Upon notification of the approaching troops, Young and other Mormon leaders assumed, because they had not been notified of the administrative changes, that the army's intent was religious persecution. Young deployed the Utah Militia, also known as the Nauvoo Legion, to slow the U.S. troops.
In October 1857, a wagon train under the command of Captain Simpson was surrounded by the Utah Militia and forced to surrender its wagons. The Militia, led by Lot Smith, released the livestock and burned all but one supply wagon, resulting in damages estimated at over $85,000. In addition to the incident at Simpson's Hollow, the Militia burned two other wagon trains, forcing the entire army to winter near the recently burned Fort Bridger.
In the spring, Thomas L. Kane, long-time friend of the Mormons, negotiated a settlement that allowed U.S. troops to peacefully enter Salt Lake City. Young stepped down from his position and created a diplomatic relationship with Governor Cumming.

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

Simpson's Hollow

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Wyoming, Sweetwater County, near Farson

Here on Oct. 6, 1857, U.S. Army supply wagons led by a Capt. Simpson were burned by Major Lot Smith and 43 Utah Militia men. They were under orders from Brigham Young, Utah Territorial Governor, to delay the army's advance on Utah. This delay of the army helped affect a peaceful settlement of difficulties.

The day earlier a similar burning of 52 army supply wagons took place near here at Smith's Bluff.

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

Burning Wagons

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Wyoming, Sweetwater County, near Farson

Brigham Young sent the Utah Militia, also known as the Nauvoo Legion, to harass the Federal troops and delay their approach. In the early hours of October 4th, Major Lot Smith of the Utah Militia and 40 men captured and burned two supply trains, totalling 52 wagons, west of here near the Green River.

The next day Smith and his men struck again near where you are now standing. Militiaman Newton Tuttle, wrote in his journal:

"Mond 5 We went on to the Sandy got breakfast then we went up to the road & found 24 waggons we burnt 22 of them & took 7 mules and 2 saddles we then went off from the road ...".
Wagonmaster Lewis Simpson led the supply train and ever since the wagon burning episode this little valley has been called Simpson's Hollow.

Wagon train owners Russell, Majors, and Waddell valued the damage at more than $85,000. The only casualty of both wagon incidents was when one of Lot Smith's men who was wounded by Smith when his pistol discharged accidentally.

The loss of three months rations and livestock, as well as an early, bitter winter stalled the army at Fort Bridger. The severe weather kept the militia and the army apart. During this lull in action, intermediary Thomas Kane negotiated a peaceful settlement of the conflict. In the spring of 1858, the army peacefully entered Salt Lake City and Alfred Cumming was installed as Utah Territorial Governor.

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

Battle of Sullivan’s Island

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South Carolina, Charleston County, Sullivans Island

Here at Breach Inlet in June 1776, Americans commanded by Colonel William “Danger” Thompson repelled a British attempt to capture unfinished Fort Sullivan by land. The British planned a coordinated land and sea assault to establish a base of operations for taking their ultimate prize – Charles Town.

Troops under Colonel Thompson, a prominent civic and military leader from the South Carolina Backcountry, opposed British land forces camped on Long Island (now Isle of Palms) across Breach Inlet. British Major General Henry Clinton and Lord Charles Cornwallis intended to cross Breach Inlet, march to the other end of Sullivan’s Island, and storm Fort Sullivan from the rear while British warships bombarded the fort from the harbor. The success of the Patriot defenses at Breach Inlet and Fort Sullivan was a major setback for British efforts to stifle American independence.

Resolved, That the thanks of the United States of America be given to Major General Lee, Colonel William Moultrie, Colonel William Thompson, and the officers and soldiers under their commands; who, on the 28th of June last, repulsed, with so much valour, the attack which was made on the State of South Carolina, by the fleet and army of his Britannic Majesty.”Continental Congress
July 20th, 1776
“ . . . my Life and Fortune are devoted to the Cause of the thirteen United States of America & to the general propagation of Liberty . . .
William Thomson
17727 – 1796


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

Glove Capital of the World

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Missouri, Livingston County, Chillicothe


Boss Manufacturing Co.
1943 - 1981

Lambert Manufacturing Company
1947 - 2004

Midwest Quality Gloves Inc.
1962 - Present Day

(Industry & Commerce • Man-Made Features) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

A Trophy View

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Missouri, Livingston County, Chillicothe


This unique 2-sided mural illustrates Livingston County's rich connection with the outdoors. Take the time to explore the different elements that combine to make this mural native to this area. The blue heron, wild turkey and bobcat blend in with their painted background of the Grand River and surrounding landscape. The bridge portrayed in the background was a major key in the success of the Pony Express as mail was transported to St. Joseph on the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad that crossed that very bridge.

Kelly Poling, Muralist

(Animals • Bridges & Viaducts • Environment • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Charles Town in the American Revolution

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South Carolina, Charleston County, Sullivans Island

British and American forces struggled for control of this strategic city throughout America’s quest for independence. The Revolution in South Carolina began in 1775 when Patriot leaders overthrew the British colonial government in Charles Town. The following year, a large British force attacked to regain control of the seaport, rally Loyalist support, and eventually restore British rule. On June 28, 1776, Patriots here on Sullivan’s Island repelled the attacks to win one of America’s first great victories of the war.

Charles Town was relatively calm for the next three years while the British concentrated their war effort in the Northern states. After General Washington’s army fought the British to a stalemate in the North, South Carolina became the main battleground of the American Revolution. British troops threatened Charles Town again in 1779, before Generals Clinton and Cornwallis captured the city with an overwhelming force in 1780. The surrender of Charles Town and nearly 6,000 soldiers was the American’s greatest single loss of manpower during the war.

While patriots in Charles Town suffered under British military occupation, the British army and Loyalists under Lord Cornwallis fought their way through the Carolinas in hundreds of battles, skirmishes, and guerilla actions. Men, women, and children on both sides endured terrible hardships and brutality. After a year of relentless resistance, Cornwallis moved into Virginia and was defeated at Yorktown.

Meanwhile, American troops led by General Nathanael Greene gradually drove British forces remaining in South Carolina back to their last refuge in the occupied city of Charles Town. The long and grueling struggle ended in December 1782 when the British evacuated, sailing past Sullivan’s Island and leaving the Americans in control. With the successful conclusion of the war in 1783, the new nation was free to pursue its revolutionary ideals.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness .
United States Declaration of Independence
Adopted July 4th, 1776
Six days after the American victory
on Sullivan’s Island

( Sidebar : )

Beautiful sophisticated Charles Town was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in British North America. It was the capital of South Carolina and the cultural and commercial hub of the Southern colonies. Controlling the city and its vital seaport was essential to winning the war.

“ . . . in grandeur, splendor of buildings, decorations, equipages, numbers, commerce, shipping, and indeed in almost every thing, it far surpasses all I ever saw, or ever expect to see, in America.”Josiah Quincy, a visitor from New England in 1773

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

Hibben House

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South Carolina, Charleston County, Mount Pleasant
Gen. William Moultrie and other
colonial officers stayed here on
parole when the British occupied
Charleston
1781

Placed by Rebecca Motte Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1936

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

The Utah War

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Wyoming, Sweetwater County, near Farson

A Legacy of Distrust
In 1857, the Buchanan Administration faced a series of national challenges. Civil war loomed on the horizon, the New York stock market was in trouble, Federal troops were sent to quash unrest in Kansas and Washington D.C.

Mutual mistrust, suspicion, and poor communications between Washington and Salt Lake City had been festering for a decade. The perception in Washington was that church leader / Territorial Governor Brigham Young was challenging Federal authority in the territory.

President Buchanan decided to replace Young as Governor. Thinking his decision might meet with resistance, Buchanan dispatched 2,500 troops to Utah. They left Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in July marching 1,000 miles along the Oregon Trail. The commander, Brevet General Albert Sidney Johnston, did not reach the army until near Fort Bridger. In Utah, the territory was mobilized to resist "invasion." Plans were made for a "scorched earth" defense.

A brief brush with Utah militiamen convinced acting commander Colonel F.B. Alexander to improve preparedness. The army and its supply trains were strung out along the trail for over 50 miles. Many supply trains had no military escort and were ordered to wait for soldiers before proceeding. For three such wagon trains, their escorts would arrive too late.

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