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Tombs and Monuments

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Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston

Throughout Copp's Hill Burying Ground are examples of tombs and monuments constructed to commemorate the dead. Table tombs or table-stones are elaborate markers of a grave's location. Usually there is a sepulcher underneath the marker holding the remains of multiple family members. One example is the Hutchinson/Lewis tomb (G-295.) It once contained members of the famous (and infamous) Hutchinson family of Boston. After royal Governor Hutchinson fled to London, the tomb was bought by a Mr. Lewis and it is his name inscribed on the face. Tombs were first granted and built in 1717-1718, and were constructed around the edges of the graveyard. They were large, cellar-like constructions with arched openings. Many family tombs, but others, were bought and rented to whomever paid for space.

The Gee Family Tomb
Peter Gee (c. 1608-1682), fisherman, bought land in Boston in 1668. His son, Joshua Gee (d. 1724), became a prosperous shipwright, owning a shipyard on the North End waterfront. He bought Tomb #3 around 1717. His son Joshua Gee Jr. (1698-1748) attended Harvard College (1717) and was the fourth minister of Second Church (1723-1748), succeeding the Mathers. Gee also maintained his father's shipbuilding business. His wealth is exemplified by the portraits of him and his second wife, Anna Gerrish, by painter John Smibert.

Builder of the U.S.S. Constitution
Edmund Hartt (1744-1824), shipbuilder, was born in Lynn, Massachusetts. In 1771, he married Elizabeth Clark and together had ten children. In 1786, Edmund and Elizabeth bought a shipyard on Commercial Street that had one building slip, a saw pit, and a blacksmith shop. In 1794, Hartt Shipyard won the contract to construct the U.S.S. Constitution, which was launched on October 21, 1797. The shipyard also produced U.S. naval ships Boston andArgus. The site of the Hartt Shipyard is now called Constitution Wharf and is the site of the U.S. Coast Guard Support Center. Edmund Hartt and family are buried in Tomb #55.

The Seamen's Tomb (D-1) was the idea of Phineas Stowe, pastor of the First Baptist Bethel Church in the North End. It is marked by a monument dedicated to "Seamen of All Nations" and was built from their contributions. There is also an unmarked City Tomb for Infants in Section D. Other monuments in Copp's Hill mark family tombs such as the Dupees (g-297) and Jarvis (A-385.)

Copp's Hill Facts
Below ground burials were outlawed in 1836, but tomb burials continued until 1968.
Gravestone carvers re-used old or unclaimed gravestones. Look at the back of the marker of Theodore james (d. 1813) (G-235) (towards the entrance on the right near the tree) to see the upside-down writing from an earlier carving!

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.


Battle of Cool Spring

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Virginia, Clarke County, Berryville
To draw Union troops from Petersburg to Washington, Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early attacked the capital’s defenses on July 11, 1864. He then withdrew to the Shenandoah Valley, where he had left Gen. John C. Breckinridge’s division to hold the Shenandoah River fords. Union Gen. George Crook, pursuing Early, decided to make a reconnaissance in force across the river near hear on July 18 after his cavalry was repulsed the previous day, a Sunday.

Guided by a Confederate deserter well acquainted with the area, three brigades forded the river about a mile north of Castleman’s Ferry concealed by woodlands and virtually undetected by Early’s pickets. Federal skirmishers moved forward while the brigades formed a line of battle in the woods behind a stone fence on Cool Spring Farm (present-day Holy Cross Monastery).

Breckinridge, who was attending services at Grace Episcopal Church in Berryville when he was informed of the Federal cavalry probes, dispatched Gens. John B. Gordon’s and Gabriel C. Wharton’s divisions to positions in front of the Union line. While Confederate skirmishers engaged the Federals, Gen. Robert E. Rodes led his division behind the Southern lines to strike the Union right flank and rear. An attack by all three divisions threw the Federals into confusion, and they retreated across the river to the safety of their artillery on the east bank. Losing 422 killed, wounded, and missing (some drowned). Confederate casualties totaled about 295. Early continued his withdrawal to Winchester, where his army regrouped for the next phase of the Valley Campaign.

(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Boston Massacre

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Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston

On March 5, 1770, in the street before you, nine British soldiers were confronted by an angry mob.

"The soldiers did fire without orders and killed five of his Majesty's good subjects...How fatal are the effects of posting a standing army among a free people!"

Samuel Adams' description of the Boston massacre and Paul Revere's engraving of the scene fueled public outrage, and helped arouse revolutionary fervor of colonists all over America.

Diagram showing where bodies fell, after a sketch by Paul Revere made at the time. (The Old State House is at the bottom.)

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

Site of the First Meeting House in Boston Built A.D. 1632

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Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston

Preachers • John Wilson • John Eliot • John Cotton
Used before 1640 for town meetings and for
sessions of the General Court of the Colony.

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

Electric Fire Alarm System 1852

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Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston

On April 28, 1852, in Johnson Hall formerly on this site, the first municipal electric fire alarm system using call boxes with automatic signaling to indicate the location of a fire was placed into service. Invented by William Channing and Moses Farmer, this system was highly successful in reducing property loss and deaths due to fire and was subsequently adopted throughout the United States and in Canada.

(Charity & Public Work • Communications) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Welcome to Boston's Old City Hall

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Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston

This building served as Boston's City Hall from 1865 until 1969, when it was renovated for use as an office building.

Boston's Old City Hall is one of the first examples of adaptive reuse. In the 1960's the concept of recycling out-dated public buildings was untried. The successful conversion (1969-1971) of Boston's City Hall into a restaurant and first class office building heralded the beginning of this new concept. It was widely publicized by the American Institute of Architects and became a model of successful redevelopment for underutilized municipal property. Old City hall became a role model, stimulating the reuse of landmark buildings across the United States in the 1970'sand 1980's, and this pioneer rehabilitation continues to win recognition.

1862 Cornerstone December 22, 1862 Architects: Gridley J. F. Bryant and Arthur Gilman
1970 National Historic Landmark
1973 Award for Preservation, Boston Society of Architects
1976 Honor Award, American Institute of Architects
1990 National Preservation Honor Award, National Trust for Historic Preservation
1994 Boston Preservation Alliance Creative Exterior Lighting Design

Points of interest are:
• the granite exterior in the French Second Empire style characterized by ornamented columns, the mansard roof, and the projecting center bay
• The massive front doors, unusual in the use of different wood as well as the inlay of the marble circle in each door
• The murals at the building entrances on School Street and Court Square illustrating the history of both the building and the site
• The marble plaque in the first floor lobby commemorating the laying of the cornerstone in 1862 by Mayor J.M. wightman and the dedication of the building in 1865 by Mayor F.W. Lincoln, Jr.
• The courtyard statues of Benjamin Franklin and Josiah Quincy (Note that Franklin is dressed in attire appropriate to his day while Quincy is draped in classical Greek attire. Franklin was the first portrait statue in the United States depicting the subject as he would actually appear rather than draped in classical heroic attire)
• The hopscotch in the School Street sidewalk recognizing this as the site of the first public school (1635), Boston Latin School

The site itself is significant in the history of the nation. The Boston Latin School (1635), the nation's first public school and the oldest educational institution in the country, stood here. Some notable figures in history who attended this school include: Cotton Mather, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and Samuel Adams.

In 1810, the Suffolk County Courthouse, designed by renowned architect Charles Bulfinch, was erected here. Remodeled by Gridley J.F. Bryant, it served as City Hall from 1841 until the government body outgrew the space in 1862. At that time it was demolished. The basement of the Bulfinch building was retained for use as the foundation of the existing structure and the granite blocks were reused in the new exterior walls of the rear (Court Square) and east side (City Hall Avenue).
By 1912, the city administration was again cramped for space. An annex was added at the rear of the building (now the Boston School Department building). Despite the additional space, an new city hall was needed and built in 1969. At that time, rather than demolish this structure, the City of Boston leased it to the Architectural Heritage Foundation, who rehabilitated it for use as an office building. Thus it remains today.

In its 104 years of use as the seat of city government, 27 mayoral administrations have guided the City of Boston from the chambers in this Old City Hall.

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

King's Chapel and Beyond

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Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston

Around 1750, the present, stone version of King's Chapel replaced the wooden structure of 1688. King James II had ordered the wooden chapel built. It was the first Anglican church in Boston, erected on the old burying ground over strong Puritan objections. Puritan power had weakened, and James had appointed a royal governor to administer the colonies of Massachusetts.

Behind the wooden chapel was the Boston Latin School. The Boston Latin School is the oldest American public school still operating, though at another Boston location. The school trained many of America;s founders, including Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, and John hancock.

On the site of the former Latin School now stands the Old City Hall, symbolizing the far more cosmopolitan spirit of Victorian Boston. Completed in 1865, it was an inspired example of the French Second Empire style, with its distinctive copper mansard roof, now a faded blue-green. The handsome building served until 1969, when the new City Hall opened nearby at Government Center.

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

Greenbrier County / Summers County

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West Virginia, Greenbrier County, near Alderson

Marker Front:
Formed, 1778, from Botetourt and Montgomery. Named for the river which drains it. This county had many pioneer forts and saw many bloody Indian battles. Here are the world-famed White Sulphur and other mineral springs.

Marker Reverse:
Formed, 1871, from Monroe, Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer. Named for the distinguished jurist of Kanawha, George W. Summers. Dr. Thomas Walker and companions explored the Greenbrier Valley, 1750, for the Greenbrier Company.

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

Tremont Temple

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Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston
Tremont Temple was once the renowned Tremont Theater. Most of the famous actors, singers and lecturers of the day performed here. John Gilbert, Jenny Lind, Daniel Webster and Charles Dickens all made appearances.

In 1843, the Theater became the Temple when the Free Baptist Society bought it. It was the first integrated church in Boston, the first to provide free seats, and it was called the "Pulpit of America" by Dwight L. Moody, the famous evangelist. The Temple burned three times. The present building was constructed in 1896.

(Churches, Etc. • Entertainment) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

John Greenwood / Ann Pollard / Harriot Keziah Hunt / Charlotte Saunders Cushman

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Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston

John Greenwood 1729 - 1792
Painter of Portraits and Mezzotint Engraver of a family long known in the North End as builders of ships. A nephew of Isaac Greenwood, first Hollis Professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Harvard College. Born and lived on Salutation and North Streets until his removal to England in 1792.

Ann Pollard 1620 - 1725
Arriving as a child of ten with the company of John Winthrop, she is counted the first white woman to have stepped on Boston soil. In later years she described the place of landing at the foot of Prince Street as "Very uneven; abounding in small hollows and swamps covered with blueberries and other bushes

Harriot Keziah Hunt 1805 - 1875
Denied attendance at the lectures of the Harvard Medical School because of her sex, she nevertheless became one of the first women in Boston to practice medicine as a profession. She was born at the foot of Hanover Street on the water front. Her diary gibes glimpses of beauty and comfort of the old North End homes and gardens.

Charlotte Saunders Cushman 1816 - 1876
A great actress. On the site of her birthplace on Parmenter Street, the City of Boston built a public school and named it in her honor. She was present at the dedication and spoke to the pupils with admirable wisdom and encouragement.

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

Fort Greenbrier

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West Virginia, Summers County, near Talcott
Near site of Fort Greenbrier, commanded by Capt. John Van Bibber during Indian raids in 1777. Here stands house built, 1772, by Col. James Graham, with walls pierced for rifle fire. Graham's son was killed and daughter captured by Indians.

(Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Revolutionary) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Urbana

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Maryland, Frederick County, Urbana

(preface)
In June 1864, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Jubal A. Early’s corps from the Richmond battlefields to the Shenandoah Valley to counter Union Gen. David Hunter’s army. After driving Hunter into West Virginia, Early invaded Maryland to attack Washington D.C., draw Union troops from Richmond, and release Confederate prisoners held at Point Lookout. On July 9, Early ordered Gen. Bradley T. Johnson’s cavalry brigade eastward to free the prisoners. The next day, Johnson sent Maj. Harry Gilmer’s regiment to raid the Baltimore area. Union Gen. Lew Wallace delayed Early at the Battle of Monocacy on Jul 9. Federal reinforcements soon strengthened the capital’s defenses. Early attacked there near Fort Stevens on July 11-12 and then withdrew to the Shenandoah Valley with the Federals in pursuit. He stopped them at Cool Spring on July 17-18. Despite failing to take Washington or free prisoners, Early succeeded in diverting Federal resources.

(main text)
The last action of the Battle of Monocacy occurred during the Union retreat on July 9, 1864, as Lt. Col. David Clendenin's 8th Illinois Cavalry withdrew down the Georgetown Pike toward Urbana. Confederate Maj. Frederick Smith's 27th Virginia Cavalry was in close pursuit. In the Streets of Urbana, the Virginians suffered a setback when the Co. F flag bearer was shot in the shoulder, and Union cavalrymen seized the flag. Smith drew his saber and led a charge to rout Clendenin and to recover the flag but was shot and mortally wounded during the clash. The Confederate attack stalled and Clendenin withdrew without further incident.

Smith was buried at the Episcopal church in Urbana alongside Lt. Col. William Tavenner, the former commander of the 17th Virginia Cavalry. Tavenner had been killed in an engagement earlier in the day. Relatives later removed Tavenner's body.

The Union prisoners captured at Monocacy were forced to march with their captors on July 10. Early's army halted briefly in Urbana, and the prisoners were permitted to rest along the roadside. Several of them occupied Mrs. Windsor's yard near here, and she took their names so she could inform their families. In the general confusion, three of the prisoners crawled behind her house and hid in a cramped bake oven. A board was placed over the opening to conceal them, and the unknowing Confederates soon continued their march with three fewer prisoners.

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

Isham Cemetery

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Texas, Tarrant County, Fort Worth
The Rev. W. Marion Isham (1831-1904) and his family came to Tarrant County from Georgia about 1870. Soon after arriving in the area Isham donated a one-acre plot of land to be used for a community cemetery. The oldest remaining legible grave marker here is that of N.L. Sweet (1824-1870), although earlier burials are documented by plain sandstone markers. Approximately five acres were added to the graveyard in 1941. Still in operation as a community burial ground, the historic graveyard is maintained by the Isham Cemetery Association. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986

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

Harrison Cemetery

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Texas, Tarrant County, Fort Worth
When first used, this one-acre cemetery belonged to Tarrant County pioneer D.C. Harrison. The earliest known grave is that of Mary E. Harrison (1864-71). Several early settlers used this site, including R.A. Randol (1850-1922), the operator of Randol Mill, who bought this tract in 1895 and deeded it forever as a burial ground. Graves here number about sixty and include those of the Edward Deason Family, Randol's first wife Ronda (Harrison) (1859-82), his brother John C. Randol, who died in an 1894 mill accident, and Nancy Cannon Harrison (1833-83), mother of Ronda Harrison Randol.

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

Battle of Frederick

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Maryland, Frederick County, Frederick

(preface)
Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early drove Union Gen. David Hunter into West Virginia after the Battle of Lynchburg, Va., clearing the Shenandoah Valley of Federal forces. To draw Union troops from Petersburg, Early launched a raid on Washington D.C., on June 23, 1864. Union Gen. Lew Wallace delayed the Confederates at Monocacy, giving Petersburg reinforcements time to stiffen the capital's defenses. Early probed briefly on July 11-12 and withdrew to the Shenandoah Valley, where he stopped his pursuers at Cool Spring on July 17-18. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant then detached forces under Gen. Philip H. Sheridan to crush Early.

(main text)
This area was farm fields in 1864. Here, a make-shift force under Union Gen. Lew Wallace blocked Confederate cavalry from occupying Frederick on July 7. Wallace had assembled the Federal force at Monocacy Junction, about three miles south, and then ordered the units here. The fight began about 4 P.M. when Gen. Jubal A. Early's army under Frederick native Bradley T. Johnson approached. It raged until darkness fell four hours later. Col. Charles Gilpin, 3rd Maryland Potomac Home Brigade, commanded the Federal defense including the 8th Illinois Cavalry and 159th Ohio Mounted Infantry. The Baltimore Light Artillery under Baltimore native Lt. Peter Leary, Jr., supported Gilpin. On the Confederate side, Johnson's force included the 1st and 2nd Maryland Cavalry and four Virginia cavalry regiments. After darkness ended the fighting, the Federals held their position until the next night and then withdrew to Monocacy Junction when the rest of Early's army approached. Wallace was pleased with his men's performance here. "Think I had the best little battle of the war," he reported. "Our men did not retreat, but held their own. The enemy were repulsed three times."

As the fight ensuded, reinforcements and ammunition were rushed to Wallace from Baltimore. On July 9, at the Battle of Monocacy, Wallace's force held for a day against Early's much larger Confederate army. Union resistance here and at the Battle of Monocacy gave Federal authorities in Washington time to reinforce the city's defenses against Early's attack.



(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 9 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Robert McCloskey

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Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston
This sculpture has been
placed here as a tribute to
Robert McCloskey
whose story Make Way for Ducklings'
has made the Boston Public Garden
familiar to children throughout the world
1987

(Arts, Letters, Music) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Wreck on the C&O

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West Virginia, Summers County, Hinton
Across Greenbrier River, on October 23, 1890, engineer George Washington Alley (b. July 10, 1860) was scalded to death. Engine No. 134, pulling Fast Flying Virginian from Cincinnati to Washington, hit a boulder on tracks. Lewis Withrow & Robert Foster, firemen, injured. Alley, pinned in cab, died before rescuers & family could free him. Solemnized in verse & song “The Wreck on the C&O” & “Fatal Run.”

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

Take a Boy Fishing in North Carolina

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North Carolina, Dare County, Kitty Hawk
945 lb. Atlantic Blue Marlin
6th largest on record when caught on
July 28, 1983 aboard the
Carolinian
Oregon Inlet, NC
Captain Tony Tillett, Mate Bull Tolson
Angler Zak Garcia, age 14
of Southern Shores, NC
Time of fight: Approximately 1 hour
Length: 14’2” Girth: 72”
Zak's Crew:
Mickey Hayes · Southern Shores, NC
Ralph English · Altavista, VA
Dave Farkas · Fort Lauderdale, FL
Lou Thomason · Virginia Beach, VA

(Animals • Sports) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Century to Statehood

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Rhode Island, Providence County, Providence

In the 1700's, the open shoreline on the west side of the street gradually filled with shops and houses. Stores backed onto the cove and often had docks extending into the water for easy loading of wares in the flourishing colonial trade. Between the buildings ran narrow pedestrian alleys, or "gangways", to the waterfront.

The Antrain-Gray House dates from at least 1737 at its northern end, and from the 1790s at its southern brick end. It has been a residence, a liquor store, a pool hall, a restaurant, a barber shop, a dry goods store, and lastly a watch shop.

This 1790 map of Providence shows expansion of the town southward (along today's South Main Street) and westward to "Weybosset Side" of the Providence River. Roger Williams National Memorial fills the shaded area.

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

The Breakers

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Rhode Island, Newport County, Newport
Built 1893 - 1895
has been designated a
National Historic Landmark
This building possesses National significance
in commemorating the history of the
United States of America
1994
National Park Service
United States Department of the Interior

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