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Court House Bell

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Tennessee, Humphreys County, Waverly
Preserved here for future generations is the original bell installed in the County Court House erected on this public square in 1899. This bell may have existed in the earlier court houses erected here in 1836 and 1878 both of which were destroyed by fire. In olden days the Court House was the center of activity in most affairs of the county. Here the courts holden in the county convened for their prescribed terms. Citizens summoned from all parts of the county gathered in the county town for their term of jury service. On the first day of a term the bell was tolled to gather all who had business before the courts. Modern communications and travel have made this symbolic event now obsolete. For our children and grandchildren we preserve this historic relic and here record the history of its use. October 1997 Jaycee Rawlings, County Executive. Richard Grice, William H. Link, Ronnie R. Smith, A. Odell Nichols, Robert C. Reid, Jeffery L. Ladd, William C. Webb, James L. Long, Ruby F. James, Jimmy W. Jones, Ronald R. Hughes, David Westbrook, John S. McCaw, Walter R. Long; County Commissioners

(Government • Patriots & Patriotism) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Fort Hill

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Tennessee, Humphreys County, Waverly
Five hundred yards north is a Federal Civil War earthen fort constructed by the 12th and 13th U.S. Colored Infantry to protect the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad. The 1st Kansas Artillery was stationed there. The railroad from Johnsonville to Nashville served as the supply line to Union General William T. Sherman in his attack on Chattanooga and Atlanta.

(African Americans • Forts, Castles • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

American Doughboy "Over the Top" to Victory

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New York, Erie County, Buffalo
Erected by the Veterans Ass'n 74th Inf. N.G.N.Y. In honor of the members of the 74th Inf. U.S.A. who served in the World War 1917-1918 and in grateful memory of those who made the supreme sacrifice

(War, World I) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Battle of Johnsonville

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Tennessee, Humphreys County, New Johnsonville
Johnsonville was a major Federal supply depot on the Tennessee River at the western terminus of the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad, completed in May 1864. Col. Charles R. Thompson commanded the 2,000-man garrison here. The 12th, 13th, and 100th United States Colored Troops (USCT) regiments provided infantry support for the heavily fortified post.

Early in November 1864, part of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s 3,500-man command occupied the west bank of the Tennessee River opposite Johnsonville. On November 4, after capturing two Federal vessels as a diversion, Confederate gunners opened fire on three Union gunboats, eleven transports, and eighteen barges. Assuming that Forrest intended to attack the depot, Thompson ordered the vessels burned to prevent their capture. The fire spread to the docks and warehouses, and the Federal batteries could not destroy Forrest’s well-concealed gun emplacements.

Forrest moved his forces south during the night, as the blazing docks and warehouses illuminated the river. An artillery detachment left behind continued shelling Johnsonville the next morning. By the time Federal reinforcements arrived, the Confederates were gone. The Confederates reported only eleven casualties, the Federals eight.

Forrest estimated that the Confederates destroyed $6.7 million of war materiel, although Union estimates were much lower. The Johnsonville raid did not impede the flow of supplies for Federal operations, such as Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s march to the sea or the victories over Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood’s army at Franklin and Nashville a few weeks later.

Johnsonville State Historic Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

“Some of the Thirteenth U.S. Colored Infantry, who were at Johnsonville, were upon the riverbank as sharpshooters, and armed with the Enfield rifle, and did good execution. The affair was slight, but it has gained credit for the colored troop.” — Union Col. Reuben D. Mussey.

(captions)
(lower left) Johnsonville, artillery park and USCTs - Courtesy Library of Congress
(upper center) Johnsonville, with rail line Courtesy Library of Congress
(lower right) Johnsonville and vicinity, Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (1891-1895)

(African Americans • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 7 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Johnsonville

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Tennessee, Humphreys County, New Johnsonville
As the Union military occupation spread over Middle Tennessee, Federal commanders needed a supply depot on the Tennessee River. By 1863, they agree that such a depot, navigable year around, would provide Union armies in the west with a stream of vital supplies. To connect it with Nashville, Gen. William Rosecrans ordered in October 1863 that the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad, which ended at Kingston Springs, be extended to the Tennessee River. The 1st Michigan Engineer Regiment designed the line and 5,000 conscripted African Americans laborers from surrounding counties built it.

By May 1864, the 90-acre depot included a sawmill, docks, wharves, offices, warehouses, horse corrals, and quarters for 2,500 soldiers. Union soldiers constructed a fort that U.S. Colored Troops (USCTs) manned to protect the depot. On May 10, Tennessee’s military governor, Andrew Johnson (later the 17th U.S. President), rode the 78 miles on the first train from Nashville to the new depot. According to witnesses, Johnson “stood on a pile of cross-ties and made a flowery speech, … then breaking a bottle of wine on the railroad track … named the place after himself.” From that day on, the depot and town were called Johnsonville.

On November 4, 1864, Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked Johnsonville from the western bank of the Tennessee River. When Union commander Col. Charles R. Thompson ordered all vessels burned to prevent their capture, the fire also engulfed most of the buildings here. Losses were estimated in the millions of dollars.

Early in 1865, the Union army abandoned the depot except for a small USCT detachment. After the war, Johnsonville flourished as a railroad town. In 1867, the Tennessee River was bridged to the western shore, allowing trains to run continuously between Nashville and Memphis. Johnsonville ceased to exist 80 years later. In the mid-1940s the Tennessee Valley Authority dammed the Tennessee River and formed Kentucky Lake. The fort and defensive lines are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and comprise the Johnsonville State Historic Park.

(captions)
(lower left) Andrew Johnson, ca. 1869 and Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, ca. 1864 Courtesy Library of Congress
(upper right) Johnsonville supply depot with fort on hill in background Courtesy Library of Congress

(African Americans • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Forrest's Opening Move

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Tennessee, Humphreys County, New Johnsonville
Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s army held Atlanta and was poised to strike deeper into the Confederacy. Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford B. Forrest was determined to cut off Sherman’s supplies and cripple the Union campaign. In November 1864, Forrest launched a raid at a vital link in the Union chain of supply—Johnsonville.

Forrest’s Navy
Forrest blockaded the Tennessee River between Fort Heiman and Paris Landing. In two days, Forrest’s force burned two supply boats and captured a gunboat and a supply boat.

On November 2, 1864, Forrest moved his makeshift two-ship navy—the now armed supply boat Venus and the gunboat Undine—toward Johnsonville. Two Union gunboats attacked, recapturing the Venus. A second naval battle the next day brought an end to the Undine.

His fleet lost, Forrest again blockaded the river. He bottled up the Union gunboats at Johnsonville and prevented gunboats from Paducah from aiding their comrades.

“That devil Forrest was down about Johnsonville, making havoc with the gunboats and transports.” Gen. William T. Sherman.

(captions)
(upper right) Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, C.S.A Alabama Department of Archives and Library
(lower left) Forrest leads his cavalry along the river bank as the Venus cruises toward Johnsonville in The Horse Marines by John Paul Strain.
(lower right) Gen. William T. Sherman, U.S.A. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

(War, US Civil • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Old City Cemetery

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Texas, Burleson County, Caldwell
Created in 1840 (same year Caldwell was laid out) when lots 3 and 12 were made a "Grave Yard and Church lot" forever.

Town founder Lewis L. Chiles (d.1864) is buried here. Oldest legible stone is for Margarette A. King and infant daughter (d.1843).

Now maintained by city.

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Kwakiutl Bear Pole

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British Columbia, Capital Regional District, Victoria


Project of Native Indians' Participation Centennial Sub-Committee
to commemorate
the Union in 1866 of the colonies
on Vancouver Island and the mainland as
British Columbia

Kwakiutl Bear Pole
carved by
Mr. Henry Hunt of Kwawkewlth Indian Band at Victoria, B.C.
Log donated by MacMillan, Bloedel and Powell River, Limited.

(Man-Made Features • Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

John B McCormick

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Pennsylvania, Indiana County, near Armagh
Designed the first of the modern mixed-flow type of water turbine, thus making an important contribution to the American industry. Began his experiments in 1868on the water wheel of a sawmill at nearby Armagh. He died near Smicksburg in 1924.

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

Emily Carr

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British Columbia, Capital Regional District, Victoria


Victoria-born Emily Carr is British Columbia's most famous artist. Her art and writings are recognized across Canada. Emily grew up with a passion for art and a love of nature, especially animals. After high school she studied art in San Francisco. Later she travelled to England and France to refine her style. A trip to the native village of Ucluelet in 1899 opened the world of Aboriginal culture that inspired her to paint images of the vanishing totem poles in their natural setting.

An art exibit in Eastern Canada in 1927 brought her to the attention of a wider public. Carr's later paintings drew inspiration from the deep forest itself, painted in vivid strokes of colour. After 1939, when ill health curtailed her painting, she turned to writing, winning the Governor General's award in 1941 for Klee Wyck. She went on to publish more books and win new recognition as a writer.

Emily Carr celebrated the British Columbia landscape in an original and vigorous way, from the "turmoil of growth" to the "space and glory of the sky." A person of deep spirituality, she reflected upon nature and humanity. She is a kindred spirit for all times.

"To have been permitted to give pleasure by writing and painting the plain simple things of my life fills me with the deepest gratitude."
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"Our Emily"
October 13, 2010
Dedicated to honour Victoria's best-known citizen,
eminent artist and acclaimed writer, Emily Carr

[List of Donors]

Created by sculptor Barbara Paterson, Emily Carr is seated outdoors, an open sketchbook on her lap, with her monkey Woo on her shoulder and her dog Billie next to her. "Our Emily" invites you to pat Woo or Billie and to visit her childhood home "Emily Carr House" in the neighbourhood of James Bay.

(Arts, Letters, Music) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

American Red Cross

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Pennsylvania, Cambria County, Johnstown
On June 5, 1889, Clara Barton and a group of American Red Cross volunteers arrived in Johnstown to help the survivors of a devastating flood resulting from the failure of the South Fork Dam. It was one of the first major disaster responses for the humanitarian organization. The agency established feeding stations, built shelters for survivors, and rendered medical care. Over five months, the Red Cross provided relief to 25,000 people.

(Charity & Public Work • Disasters • Science & Medicine) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Arbutus Tree (Arbutus menziesii)

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British Columbia, Capital Regional District, Victoria


The only native broadleaf evergreen tree in Canada, the Arbutus is found from the southern coastline of BC to California. In BC the Arbutus grows in a narrow band along the south coast line, generally within 5 kilometers (3 miles), of the ocean. It can grow up to 30 meters tall (100 feet), with a crooked or leaning trunk that divides into several twisting upright branches and an irregularly rounded crown. The Arbutus can live for 500 years.

In Washington and Oregon State the tree is known as the Madrona, and in California as Madrone, (Spanish for strawberry tree). The Scottish botanist Archibal Menzies, a naturalist who accompanied Captain George Vancouver on his voyage around the world on HMS Discovery, first collected specimens in 1792. His name is commemorated in the name Arbutus menziesii.

The bark of the Arbutus is easily recognized with its thin, smooth, and reddish-brown colour. The peeling is natural, in thin flakes or strips to expose younger, smooth, greenish to cinnamon-red bark underneath. The flowers have a strong honey smell and are very attractive to bees. The leaves can stay on the tree for up to two years, after which they turn orange and red, falling around the month of June. The trees are hearty, can grow with little soil and require very little water. They survive the harshest winter storms on the west coast, withstanding high winds and pounding ocean waves. The wood is used for a variety of things, such as furniture and carving. The Arbutus is unmistakably charismatic and original.

(Natural Features) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Escape of Freedom Seekers Patrick and Abraham

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Pennsylvania, Cambria County, near Johnstown
In February 1837, two slaves, brothers Patrick and Abraham, escaped from a farm in Bath, Va. As they made their way to freedom, bounty hunters pursued them and they were wounded. Both black and white abolitionists assisted them on their way through Pennsylvania. They were aided here by William Slick, whose farm was a regular stop on the Underground Railroad. Although taken into custody in Johnstown, they escaped without trial or recapture.

(Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Malcolm Cowley

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Pennsylvania, Cambria County, near Belsano
Born here in 1898, Cowley became an influential literary critic, editor, poet, and historian after World War I. He chronicles the "Lost Generation" in Exile's Return, his most famous work. Blue Juniata, a book of verse, celebrates this region. He was Chancellor of the American Academy of Arts & Letters, 1966-1976. He died in Sherman, Conn. in 1989.

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

La Recluta and La Escuelita

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Texas, Milam County, near Rockdale
Jose Leal received six leagues of land in this area in 1833. In 1867, coal was discovered, and the railroad reached Rockdale in 1874. Not until 1890 did the first coal mine, owned by Herman Vogel, begin operation. Others opened, and more settlers came looking for work.

Many workers came from Mexico, leaving behind a revolution. These immigrants settled on land owned by E.A. Camp. They sharecropped, growing enough for themselves, and worked in the mines. They named their settlement, just north of the International-Great Northern Railroad tracks, La Recluta, or "recruitment." Family names represented here include Ruiz, Flores, Casarez, Zapata, Aldama, Montoya and Lumbreras. The men, like many other industry workers at the time, received their pay in tokens, which were redeemable only for mine commissary purchases and doctor visits.

Several men were trapped in an International Mine Company cave-in in 1913. Eight men and one mule awaited rescue for six days; one man did not survive. Yards away from the collapsed mine entrance is La Escuelita, the small schoolhouse built for the children of the community. Classes were taught in English, although most students spoke Spanish at home. As part of the Talbott Ridge School District, the students transferred to Rockdale schools in 1944, when the districts consolidated. In 1946, Rockdale merchants donated benches to La Escuelita building. In 1953, the school was deeded to the St. Joseph's Cemetery Association, the support group for the community's cemetery, where nearly 300 gravestones tell the stories of La Recluta's families, many of whom remain in the area.

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Education • Hispanic Americans • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Kay Theater

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Texas, Milam County, Rockdale
In 1947, E.L. Bryan and the Foy Arrington family bought a surplus quonset hut, one of the thousands ot the all-purpose metal buildings made during World War II. The hut was moved to Rockdale to become the core of the second movie theater in town. Local carpenter Jack Kyle, Sr. directed cseveral Rockdale high school students to build the sloping concrete floor and facade for the streamline moderne-style theater, named for the Arringtons' daughter, Katherine. A half-cylinder of corrugated steel sheets forms the walls and roof. The entry includes a stepped plaster wall outlined in neon, and entry drum of plaster and glass blocks, paired double doors, a central sigh and large letters spelling K-A-Y on each side of the rotunda.

The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Foy Arrington, said the quonset hut architecture "Lends itself naturally to excellent acoustics and a pleasing interior appearance." Construction of the Kay Theater was completed in time for a Thanksgiving 1947 opening. At a dedication ceremony the next night, postmaster Clyde Franklin was master of ceremonies and Mayor J.B. Newton introduced "Rolling Home," starring Russell Hayden, Jean Parker and Raymond Hatton. Large box fans made the theater one of the few air conditioned locations in town. Mr. Arrington manned the ticket booth and was the projectionist, and his wife managed the concessions. As with similar facilities at the time, African American patrons walked upstairs to separate balcony seating. The Kay Theater closed in 1962 and was vacant for many years before restoration began in 2004 through the Kay Theater Foundation. Today, the last remaining theater in Milam County recalls a time when going to the movies was a cultural event and central to the social life of many young people.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2013

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

Jewish Cemetery

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Texas, Milam County, Rockdale
The International & Great Northern Railroad reached the new town of Rockdale in January 1874. Among the early residents were brothers Benjamin and Joseph Lowenstein, who opened a mercantile from a tent before the railroad arrived. They and their families were part of a larger contingent of Jewish settlers in the area. By 1879, a reported 100 Jewish residents lived in Rockdale, which boasted and active B'nai B'rith Lodge.

In August 1877, Benjamin and Carrie Lowenstein's son Arthur died and was buried at this site. The following November, the Hebrew Benevolent Association bought the land for use as a dedicated Jewish burial ground. Among those interred here are Henry Goldsticker, a Confederate veteran, and Issac Crown, who died in a disastrous fire in 1888 at Rockdale's Mundine Hotel. One grave, that of Isaac Ensheimer, was placed in a separate part of the cemetery; Ensheimer committed suicide in 1884. The final burial occurred in 1939 and is that of Morris Cohn. The site is a reminder of Rockdale's diverse history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

International & Great Northern Railroad Passenger Depot

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Texas, Milam County, Rockdale
Three rail lines largely contributed to Rockdale's early commercial development, and of the three, the International & Great Northern (I&GN) made the biggest impact. This former I&GN passenger depot opened in 1906. It survived various changes to the rail company, including its transition to the Missouri Pacific line in 1956. After years of declining rail use by passengers, the last passenger train left the depot on September 21, 1970, and the building served as storage for many years. Restored at the turn of the 21st century, the depot is eclectic in design with elements of Italianate, Queen Anne and Prairie styles of architecture. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2005

(Railroads & Streetcars) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Railroads in Rockdale

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Texas, Milam County, Rockdale
Rockdale owes its founding to the International & Great Northern rail line, along which the town was laid out in 1873-74. The railroad gave area farmers access to markets for their crops, and Rockdale became a shipping point for farmers and other local businesses. The San Antonio & Aransas Pass (later Southern Pacific) Railroad operated a north-south route through Rockdale from 1891 to 1959, further contributing to economic growth. The Rockdale, Sandow and Southern Railroad, chartered in 1923 to carry lignite coal to area customers, became Rockdale's third rail line. Although the last passenger train left Rockdale in 1970, the railroad remains a significant part of the community's heritage.

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

Blooming Grove Dunkard Meeting House

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Pennsylvania, Lycoming County, near Cogan Station
Built 1828 by German colonists who came to this valley beginning 1805 seeking religious freedom - led by Dr. Frederick Haller and including the following families, Heim - Ulmer - Staiger - Waltz - Kiess - Young - Harmon - Gross - Biehl - Scheel - Burghardt

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