Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Dartmouth
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The Blacksmith’s Shop
Excavated by Dr. Davis in 1985, this forge operated during both the first construction period (1820s) and the second (1850s). It was here that workers and masons would have their tools repaired and stone picks sharpened. On June 10th, 1862 Henry Findlay, Superintendent of the canal wrote in his log book: “found the fastening on the forge door had been forced off. I then started for the workshop and when half way up to it saw a man at the end of it. I gave him chase but he outran me and escaped into the woods…”. The broken fastening lock is on exhibit in the Fairbanks Centre, along with artefacts from the various excavations at Port Wallace.
(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The Blacksmith’s ShopExcavated by Dr. Davis in 1985, this forge operated during both the first construction period (1820s) and the second (1850s). It was here that workers and masons would have their tools repaired and stone picks sharpened. On June 10th, 1862 Henry Findlay, Superintendent of the canal wrote in his log book: “found the fastening on the forge door had been forced off. I then started for the workshop and when half way up to it saw a man at the end of it. I gave him chase but he outran me and escaped into the woods…”. The broken fastening lock is on exhibit in the Fairbanks Centre, along with artefacts from the various excavations at Port Wallace.
(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Lock 3
Cutting the Canal
Near this site, an important link in the frontier transportation system was an area landmark. The Butterfield Overland Mail maintained a stage stop at the falls and crossing of Valley Creek beginning in 1858. The twice-weekly mail and passenger line stretched from San Francisco to St. Louis, crossing the southwest corner of Taylor County and passing six miles west of present Abilene. The path through Texas, known as the Oxbow Route, added about 600 miles to the 2,800 mile trip. The line moved out of Texas in March 1861, leaving this area sparsely settled. Ranchers later settled near Spring, Cottonwood and Valley creeks, and established the nearby community of Shep in the 1880s.
Named for Gap in Table Mountain. Established Feb. 14, 1878; post office transferred in 1882 to the town of Content 2 miles north. The one-room structure has hand-hewn cedar rafters, cedar shingle roof, and walls of roughly-hewn oak logs. Also served as a stop on the Round Rock to Buffalo Gap stage route. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark–1966.
Canal Camp
Navvies
Constructed 1826-1861
A lasting tribute to the Buffalo Soldiers of WWI and black veterans of WWII, who in service to God, Country, and Community, gave or risked their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today, while for them, these very freedoms were often denied.
On March 27, 1879, George G. Meade Post 19, Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Nebraska, was founded in Sutton by twenty former Union soldiers. The G.A.R. was a national fraternal organization created to provide for the welfare of Union veterans of the Civil War, their widows and orphans, and to keep alive memories of wartime sacrifices. The G.A.R. held annual encampments and reunions, organized Memorial Day ceremonies, and was active in politics.
The juncture of the Llano and Colorado
Rivers has attracted visitors for millenia.
European settlers, including Martin D. King,
began moving to the area in the 19th
century. King purchased land here in 1877,
and it is for him that Kingsland is named.
The first permanent settler in the town of Sutton was Luther French, who arrived in 1870. He and his seven children lived near here in a dugout on the bank of School Creek. This dugout had a tunnel to the creek bank and the inside entrance could be concealed by a crude cupboard. In the event of an Indian attack, the children were instructed to take cover in the tunnel. Apparently, Indians never bothered the family.
The Fairmont Creamery Company was incorporated March 29, 1884, as a stock company by Wallace Wheeler and Joseph H. Rushton. This building was the original office and the creamery was half a mile east of town. From a small, part-time business, the company became one of the nation's largest food processors, later known as Fairmont Foods.
Fairmont Army Air Field, located 3 1/2 miles south, was one of eleven army air force training fields built in Nebraska during World War II. The 1,980-acre field provided final training for the 451st, 485th, 504th, and 16th Heavy Bombardment Groups before they proceeded to the European, Mediterranean, or Pacific Theaters. The 98th, 467th, and 489th Bombardment Groups returning from Europe trained at Fairmont for possible service in the Pacific. The groups flew B- 24, B-17, and B-29 bombers.
The first settler in Exeter Township, Fillmore County was Warren Woodard, who built the first house in 1870. The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad, building westward, determined Exeter's location in 1871. The town was laid out by the railroad on land donated by Dr. Horace G. Smith and James Dolan. Its name was suggested by former residents of Exeter, New Hampshire, and conformed to the Burlington's practice of naming towns along this line in alphabetical sequence. The railroad aided the growth of Exeter by promoting immigration from eastern states and Europe, and brought Czechs, Germans, English, Irish, and Scandinavians to the area. By the time the town was incorporated on April 1, 1879, sixteen businesses were in operation.
In December 1880, H.C. Whithers of the Texas & Pacific Railroad met local men here to decide on a site for a cattle shipping center. Bypassing the county seat of Buffalo Gap, the railroad platted a new town named Abilene for the famous cattle town in Kansas. Cattlemen meeting with Whithers were Dallas Banker and Hashknife Ranch co-owner John W. Simpson, and Confederate colonels Claiborne W. (Clabe) and J.D. Merchant, twin brothers and ranchers who moved to Callahan County six years earlier. Brisk bidding ensued at a sale of city lots in March 1881. Abilene grew quickly and became a significant regional city of west Texas.
