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Snagging

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Washington, Skagit County, Anacortes


By 1882, Puget Sound's rivers were served by hundreds of steam paddlewheelers with such shallow drafts people joked they could "float on a heavy dew." Because their flat-bottomed hulls were easily punctured by submerged stumps and debris, Congress allocated $20,000 for a snagboat and, under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, three steam-powered sternwheelers kept the region's tributaries cleared for 97 years - the Skagit (launched in 1885), the Swinomish (1914) and finally the W.T. Preston (1929 and 1939).

The Preston used a 70-foot boom and a 1¼-cubic yard clamshell dredging bucket. Fore and aft steel "spuds" were lowered through the hull to anchor her to the bottom. Crews located submerged hazards by sweeping riverbeds with cable suspended between two skiffs.

W.T. Preston Snagboat
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operated steam-powered sternwheeler "snagboats" in rivers from Blaine to Olympia, to keep the region's tributaries clear of navigational hazards. The W.T. Preston was the last of the sternwheelers.

[Image captions read]
[Top left]
Small obstructions were grappled & hoisted aboard; large ones were sometimes dynamited. Above, Norman Hamburg overseas as a large strump is lifted with the boom in 1958.

[Top center] This diagram detailing snagboat anatomy is from Ronald R. Burke's book "Heritage of a Snagboat: Story of the W.T. Preston"

[Top right] The 1,100 cubic yards of debris collected by the W.T. Preston each year was burned on a barge or deposited ashore. Above, logs and debris are seen from the sternwheelers bow.

Photos courtesy of the Anacortes Museum

[For more information, visit] http://museum.cityofanacortes.org

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

Life Aboard a Snagboat

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Washington, Skagit County, Anacortes


A skipper and crew of up to 14 lived and worked on the W.T. Preston. River maintenance skills were cultivated and passed to the next generation. A diligent fireman could earn a license and work up to engineer. Deckhands were promoted to mate and eventually to captain - if the post became available. In 97 years of operations, Puget Sound's snagboats had only 7 captains.

Except for the firemen, who ran the boilers around the clock, the crew kept regular hours. When men weren't clearing snags, they washed decks, painted, cleaned boilers or sharpened tools. Work was usually done by 4:30, and evenings were spent aboard or in town.

Norman Hamburg, who began as a cabin boy on the Swinomish and retired as captain of the Preston in 1969, said snagboats often worked odd hours to help out a neighbor, perhaps lifting a tug and cleaning a fouled propeller or plucking a farmer's cow out of the river and placing it back on the bank.

W.T. Preston Snagboat
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operated steam-powered sternwheeler "snagboats" in rivers from Blaine to Olympia, to keep the region's tributaries clear of navigational hazards. The W.T. Preston was the last of the sternwheelers.

[Photo captions read]
Left: Cook Fritz Rydberg prepares a meal on the diesel-powered stove in the W.T. Preston's galley.

Above left: Captain George Murch relaxes in his quarters. Most of the crew's quarters had room for little more than bunk beds.

Above center: Four crewmen pose on the bow of the Preston while visitors look around.

Above right: Captain Norman Hamburg at the pilot wheel.

Right: Crewman Stan Nelson splices rope.

Photos courtesy of the Anacortes Museum

[For more information visit] http://museum.cityofanacortes.org

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

Powered by Steam

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Washington, Skagit County, Anacortes


The W.T. Preston's steam-powered engines were first installed on the Swinomish in 1914, then transferred with most of the machinery to the new wood-hulled W.T. Preston in 1929, and to her steel-hulled replacement in 1939.

Originally fired with cordwood, the steam boiler was later converted to burn heavy fuel oil. Modern burners, installed in 1967, used lighter diesel fuel, greatly improving combustion and reducing air pollution.

Typical operating speed in smooth water was 6 to 7 knots and, in mildly rough water, 3 to 5 knots. The paddlewheel churned at 16 revolutions per minute in normal cruising.

W.T. Preston Snagboat
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operated steam-powered sternwheeler "snagboats" in rivers from Blaine to Olympia, to keep the region's tributaries clear of navigational hazards. The W.T. Preston was the last of the sternwheelers.

[Photo captions read]
At right, the W.T. Preston is seen steaming across Puget Sound. The flat bottom and shallow draft of sternwheelers such as the Preston let them go far upriver but made them unsuited to the choppier waters of the open sound.
Photo courtesy of the Anacortes Museum, Wallie Funk Collection.

The diagram at far right shows the basics of sternwheel operations. It is by Ronald R. Burke from his book "Heritage of a Snagboat: Story of the W.T. Preston."

The photo below at far right shows a crewman watching the main boiler of the W.T. Preston. The boiler provided steam to power the Preston's stern paddlewheel.
Photo courtesy of the Anacortes Museum

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

Chinese Cemetery Shrine

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California, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles

Panel 1:
This monument is the oldest surviving structure
of Chinese settlement in the Los Angeles area.
It illustrates the use of traditional ceremonies
brought from China and honors the lives
of 19th century Chinese Americans.

The Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
respectfully dedicates the preservation of the shrine
to the memory of those pioneers.

Built 1888 – Declared 1990

[Seal of the:
"City of Los Angeles, Founded 1783"]
Historic-Cultural Monument No. 486

City of Los Angeles
Cultural Heritage Commission

Panel 2:
[Text in Chinese characters]

(Asian Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Templars Hall

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California, San Diego County, Poway
Meeting place for the
International Order
of Good Templars
Served as Poway's
first high school
A place for social
and community events
Once was a thrift store and tack
and feed store

(Education • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Community Church of Poway

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California, San Diego County, Poway
Founded by Methodist Episcopal Church 1883. Oldest structure in continuous use as a church in San Diego County. Erected circa 1887, exchanged for Oceanside Congregational Church, 1893.

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

Community Church of Poway

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California, San Diego County, Poway
Land donated by John C. Stone and his wife in 1883. Samuel Bowron coordinated construction. Dr. Hilleary generously donated funding. Deemed the "oldest structure in continual use as a church in San Diego County."

(Churches, Etc.) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Old Borden Tavern / Borden Museum

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Indiana, Clark County, Borden


Old Borden Tavern
Here William W. Borden’s mother kept a tavern 1824 to 1851. As a memorial to his parents, the Old Tavern, which was built in 1819, was incorporated into the buildings of the Borden Museum.

Borden Museum
Erected by William W. Borden in 1900. Here for some years was housed one of the rarest and most valuable collections in the state. Building now used by Borden High School.

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

Borden Institute Site

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Indiana, Clark County, Borden
Coeducational school founded 1884 by William W. Borden primarily to serve children of southern Indiana farmers. Low-cost, progressive program included teacher preparation and laboratory-based scientific studies. School closed 1906. Borden also established library and museum with extensive geological collections.

(Education) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Pekin's Fourth of July Celebrations

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Indiana, Washington County, New Pekin
In honor of Pekin, Indiana, a town reported to have held Fourth of July celebrations regularly since the 1830's. Each July 4, citizens gather in Pekin to remember the birth of their nation and to pay tribute to the sacrifices made by their ancestors for the cause of American independence.

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

Freeman Corner

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Indiana, Orange County, Orleans


Thomas Freeman surveyed the Vincennes Tract 1802-1803. The northeast corner of this tract is located 839 ft. N. and 48 ft. E.
Placed by Lost River Chapter D.A.R.
1935.

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

Freeman's Corner

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Indiana, Orange County, Orleans


This point marks the junction of three important Indian land cessions.
     Treaty of Fort Wayne, 1803
     Treaty of Grouseland, 1805
     Treaty of Fort Wayne, 1809
The corner was established by Surveyor Thomas Freeman in 1803.

(Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Guardians of the Past

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Minnesota, Brown County, New Ulm

By the end of the fighting in New Ulm, the U.S.—Dakota War of 1862 had taken a heavy toll on the town. More than 50 settlers had been killed and 36 wounded, along with an unknown number of Dakota. In addition, at least 190 of the town’s 258 buildings had been destroyed, most by fire.

Over time, some of the surviving buildings fell into disrepair, some were demolished to meet changing real estate needs, others suffered damage in natural disasters such as the tornado of 1881, and still others fell victim to subsequent fires. Today in New Ulm, only seven structures remain from the period before the war. Though a few are largely unchanged, others have been modified or disguised by modernization.

Forster Building
117 N. Broadway St.
During the war, this building served as a defensive outpost on New Ulm's western perimeter. It originally housed the post office and a potteryworks.

Kiesling House
220 N. Minnesota St.
Built in 1861 as a private home, the Kiesling House sits on its original site. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is the only wood-frame building remaining in new Ulm from the period of the U.S.—Dakota War.

Erd Building
108 N. Minnesota St.
Built in 1858 as a retail store, the Erd Building had county offices upstairs. During the U.S.—Dakota War of 1862, it was a refuge to women and children, who stood ready to destroy it by gunpowder in case of capture.

Weddendorf House
826 N. Minnesota St.
During the First Battle of New Ulm on August 19, 1862, this brick home on the northern edge of town served as a defensive outpost.

Schalk Building
822 N. State St.
Inside the walls of this modern home is the frame of the Schalk Building, constructed in 1858 as a general store. It originally stood at 3rd N. and Minnesota Streets, at the north end of the barricades erected during the 1862 war to defend the town.

Waraju Distillery
2nd N. and West Streets
All that remains of Henry Sublilia's distillery is the chimney. The brick complex was destroyed in the fighting of August 1862, although the foundations remained visible until the 1960s, when they were covered during park expansion.

August Schell Brewery
1860 Schell Road
According to Schell family lore, their brewery business, founded in 1860, was spared during the U.S.—Dakota War because of the family’s kindness to the Dakota. The original August Schell home and brewery, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, are still in use today as offices for the larger brewery complex.

Photos from the collection of the Brown County Historical Society, New Ulm, except Weddendorf House, courtesy of Elroy Ubl, New Ulm

Struggles for a Home
The Minnesota River Valley has stories to tell...about the indigenous people struggling to keep their land and their way of life, and about immigrant families who began new lives here. Their stories came together, with tragic consequences for all, in what has become known as the U.S.–Dakota War of 1862 — a war that had repercussions for the whole country.

The Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway

logos of: Scenic Byway Minnesota River Valley; Minnesota Historical & Cultural Grants; Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment

mnrivervalley.com
This project has been made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008. Administered by the Minnesota Historical Society.

(Settlements & Settlers • Wars, US Indian) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Historic Princeville

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North Carolina, Edgecombe County, Princeville
During the Civil War, thousands of slaves escaped to U.S. Army lines, and more than thirty African Americans from Edgecombe County enlisted in the 35th, 36th, and 37th U.S. Colored Troops, 14th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, and U.S. Navy. After the war, former slaves sought refuge at a U.S. Army camp located here on the plantations of John Lloyd and Lafayette Dancy. The freedmen called their settlement of huts and shanties on the Tar River floodplain Freedom Hill.

Freedman Turner Prince, a carpenter born into slavery in 1843, acquired a lot here in 1873, built a house, and constructed other permanent dwellings for the residents. By 1880, the population was 379; occupational categories included laborer, laundress, washerwoman, carpenter, blacksmith,grocer, seamstress, and brick mason. In 1885, the North Carolina legislature incorporated the town, which its occupants named Princeville in their carpenter's honor. Princeville was the first all-black town and independently governed African American community incorporated in the United States.

The town struggled to survive during the Jim Crow era, defeating efforts early in the twentieth century to annex it to Tarboro. Princeville's population increased to 636 by 1910, then declined as black Southerners migrated north. The population later rose to 2,100 in the 1990s.

Princeville's location has subjected it to frequent flooding. A levee completed in 1965 protected the town until 1999, when Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd overtopped it in the worst flood on record here. Princeville's residents soon began rebuilding their historic community, repairing houses and constructing new homes, a town hall, a park, and an African American history museum.

(African Americans • War, English Civil) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Depot, circa 1915

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Washington, Skagit County, Anacortes


The Great Northern Depot was built in 1911 at 7th & R & served as a depot until 1973. This photo of the north side shows a steam engine, people on the platform, horse-&-buggy "hacks" for hire &, in the background, the original Methodist Episcopal Church (1892-1965).

Several railways served Anacortes in the early years. The Seattle & Northern Railroad provided the first passenger service in 1890; passenger service remained strong until the 1920s. But by 1930, railroads could no longer compete with automobile & bus transportation.

Today the building is listed on the National, State & Local Registers of Historic Places.

Anacortes Heritage Signs
This is one in a series of signs highlighting the history of Anacortes. The purpose of these signs is to increase awareness of & appreciation for the unique heritage of our community & the need to preserve it.

Photo courtesy of Anacortes Museum

[For more information, see] http://museum.cityofanacortes.org

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

Historic New Bridge Landing

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New Jersey, Bergen County, River Edge

1) Steuben House.   Jan and Annetje (Ackerman) Zabriskie prospered as miller and merchant at this site. They built a five-room stone cottage in 1752 and enlarged to present size in 1767 by adding a second story along the rear and the entire north blockwith its paneled parlor and bed chamber. During the American Revolutionary War, the Zabriskies sided with the Crown and fled to British-held Manhattan. Washington made the house his headquarters for 16 days in 1780. In 1783, the State of New Jersey presented the confiscated house to Major-General Baron von Steuben. The Steuben House is the only extant house he owned. Described in 1784 as a “Large Mansion House containing twelve rooms built with stone, with Outhouses consisting of a Bake House, Smoke House, Coach House, and two large Barns, and a Garden, Forty Acres of Land consisting of Meadow Land and two Orchards.” Steuben’s aide-de-camp, Capt. Benjamin Walker resided here, while Steuben made regular visits and summer retreats from his Manhattan lodgings. Steuben restored the war-damaged home and this is largely the house that you see today. He sold it back to the Zabriskies in 1788. The house and one acre were purchased by State of NJ in 1929. In 1939, the Bergen County Historical Society (BCHS) was invited to display its collections at the museum. BCHS purchased the adjacent 8 acres in 1944, thus preserving a fragment of Bergen Dutch countryside.

2) New Bridge.   A “New Bridge” with sliding draw was built here in 1745. Describing the American retreat from Fort Lee on November 20, 1776, eyewitness Thomas Paine wrote in The American Crisis, “Our first objective was to secure the bridge over the Hackensack . . . ” memorializing the darkest hour in the hopes for American independence as “the times that try men’s souls.” This strategic crossing was in constant conflict during the war because it was the first bridge above Newark Bay. The present Pratt-type low-truss swing bridge opened Feb. 2, 1889. One person alone could rotate the bridge to let ships pass. Closed to auto traffic in 1956. Listed on NJ & National Registers by BCHS as the oldest highway swing-bridge in NJ.

3) New Bridge Landing.   A narrow mill landing, built of log cribbing in 1744, could accommodate sloops 40-ton burden. Local products were shipped south, including iron which was brought overland from Ringwood and Long Pond Ironworks. Merchandise brought back from city markets was sold in the Zabriskie store (See website for store inventory).

4) Zabriskie’s Mills.   Johannes Ackerman resided near the present intersection of Main & Elizabeth Ct. He built a gristmill, 40 x 20 feet, containing two pairs of grinding stones in 1714 at the outlet of Cole’s Brook. High tide was trapped in Cole’s Brook behind a dam, creating an artificial pond twice daily to run the waterwheel during ebb tide. Area farmers brought grain to be ground into flour for a more valuable commodity. Jan Zabriskie purchased the tide mill in 1745. The date stone lozenge set in the south end of the Zabriskie-Steuben House depicts the tide-driven waterwheel. Jan’s grandson, John J. Zabriskie, aged 25, died trying to free the waterwheel in. The mill burned down in 1852.

5) Demarest House Museum.   Two-room sandstone cottage was built in 1794 for miller John Paulson at the time of his marriage to Altie Ely. The stove chimney in east room is a technological advance over fireplaces. The house was moved from the original site beside the French Burial Ground, New Milford, 1955-56. Demarest family artifacts are on display. Owned by the Blauvelt-Demarest Foundation.

6) Campbell-Christie House.   A mason, Jacob Campbell, erected this gambrel-roofed, center-hall sandstone dwelling at River Rd. & Henley Ave., New Milford, in 1774, at the time of his marriage to Altche Westeevelt. Jacob was a private in the Bergen Militia and the house was damaged in the Rev War. John Christie, blacksmith, purchased the house in 1795 and continued its operation as a tavern. J. Walter Christie, born in the house in 1865, is considered the “father of the modern tank” and best known for developing the Christie Suspension System used in World War II. Threatened with demolition, the house was moved here onto BCHS land in 1977 by the County of Bergen. Operated and funded by BCHS, and interpreted as an 18th cebtury tavern. Refreshments, gift shop and rest room (when open).

7) Westervelt-Thomas Barn.   Built 1889 by Peter J. Westervelt on his farm on Ridgewood Road, Washington Township. Henry Thomas purchased farm in 1906. Relocated here in 1955.

8) Out-Kitchen.   Authentic out-kitchen, replicating the John R. Demarest out-kitchen in Demarest. Built by BCHS in 1990, using antique materials, it includes a working beehive oven and smoke room. These separate kitchen structures kept the heat of cooking out of he main dwelling during summer and prevented oven fires from consuming the home. Located nearby is an Outhouse from Closter c. 1930

9) Brett Park.   Part of the New Bridge battleground during the American Revolution. Later site of Rekow’s Farm and Bensen’s Campgrounds. Named after former Teaneck Mayor Clarence Brett in 1971. The Friends of the Hackensack Greenway through Teaneck maintain a southbound 3.5 mile pathway with access in Brett Park.

10) The Meadow.   The autoparts yard, completely remediated by 2010, is now an open meadow returning a pastoral setting to HNBL.

11) The Site of Future BCHS Museum & Library Building.   Elevated building planned to allow for exhibits and safe storage of the BCHS collections. We need your support!

Prehistory   The clay flat on the west bank of the river was known as Tantaqua’s Plain, inhabited by Tantaqua, a Hackensack sachem, and his kin (Steuben House location). Artifacts as old as 5,000 years have been found here at New Bridge and may be on exhibit.

( Sidebar : )
In 1710, Davis Ackerman described the area where the Steuben House now stands as “Tantewagh’s Plain.”

This is a variant of the name of Tantaqua, last great sachem of the Hackensack Indians. Cole’s Brook, which enters the river at the south end of the river landing, was known as Tantaqua’s Brook in 1682, being renamed for grist miller Tunis Cole in the early 19th century. The Hackensacks originally inhabited the lower part of the peninsula between the Hackensack River and Overpeck Creek until the great sachem Oratam conveyed 2,260 acres south of Cedar Lane in 1669 to Sarah Kiersted for her service as interpreter. They then moved northward, establishing villages along Teaneck Path (Teaneck Road), westward to the outlet of French Creek at New Bridge. Uteneyik, meaning “villages” is possibly the origin of the name Teaneck. Tantaqua and his kinsfolk sold New Hackensack, extending from Cedar Lane north to French Creek at New Bridge, including “the Great Indian Field – called the Indian Castle.” Located on the sandy terrace overlooking French Creek and the Hackensack River, to Laurence Van Buskerk & Company in 1676. Cornelius Matthew, a Swedish land-clearer, was the first European settler in the vicinity of the Steuben House, arriving in 1683.

The sandy river plains and drumlin hills to the north of New Bridge were the territory of the Tappan Indians. David Demarest purchased the river plain in New Milford and Bergenfield, northward to the Oradell Flatts, in June 1677 from the Tappans, whose name is said to derive from the Alonquian, thuphonne, translated as “cold stream.” The Tappans and their relations, known as the Machkentjwoml, occupied the northern valley of the Hackensack River south to New Bridge.   -   historian Kevin Wright


(Colonial Era • Native Americans • War, US Revolutionary) Includes location, directions, 9 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Birthplace of Edward Rector, Attorney

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Indiana, Lawrence County, Bedford
Lawrence County's greatest philanthropist, he endowed the Rector Scholarship Foundation at De Pauw University with $2,250,000 in 1919. To date 5,100 awards have been made, 22 to Lawrence County natives.

"To youth of ability and courage in America, Edward Rector is a shining example."

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

Dunn Memorial Hospital

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Indiana, Lawrence County, Bedford

(Side One)
Lawrence County Hospital Association was organized July 15, 1903 to build, maintain, and manage a hospital in Bedford. Opened first building 1904. State, district, and local Works Progress Administration officials and city and county officials approved and turned over this building—the hospital's third—to Lawrence County, October 22, 1941.

(Side Two)
Open House and public tours held October 23, 1941. State WPA felt it was one of the "most beautiful building construction jobs ever completed in the state by WPA workers." Removal of patients and equipment from second building completed November 1, 1941. Addition started 1949. Major modernization and expansion of hospital was dedicated May 9, 1982.

(Notable Buildings) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

West Dover Hundred

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Delaware, Kent County, Marydel
Originally part of St. Jones Hundred, renamed Dover Hundred 1823, the boundaries being Little Creek on the north and St. Jones Creek on the south, extending from Delaware River to Maryland Line. Dover Hundred was divided 1877 into two Hundreds, called West Dover Hundred and East Dover Hundred.

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

War Dogs

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Virginia, Fairfax
War Dogs
Always Faithful


War Dog Monument
Given to Fairfax County
Virginia
June 2011
Deployed
World War II
Korean Conflict
Vietnam War
Gulf War
Iraq War
Afghan War

Erected by The National War Dogs Monument Inc. - Alan H. Driscoll, Edward Hobbs, Albright Hunt, Randy Knight, Ron Sevier, Edward A. Vymazal

(Animals) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
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