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Unique Construction

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Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Dartmouth
Lock 2
Looking north from the walking bridge you see Lock 2. This lock was the first to be constructed on the Canal. Initially the lock was built totally of granite blocks (British construction method), as seen on the east wall. After the first Canal Company ceased operating in 1831 the workings of the Canal fell into disrepair. When the Canal was redesigned in 1854 by Charles William Fairbanks, a Dartmouth native, he introduced a composite stone and brace method (North American construction method), as seen on the west wall, modeled on the Morris Canal in New Jersey. However, he decided to reuse the granite on the east wall. This may be the only example of such a combination of construction methods on any Canal in the world. This lock raised and lowered vessels approximately 3.6 meters (12 feet).

(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

340 Central Avenue

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California, Ventura County, Fillmore
This building was constructed in 1915 in conjunction with the Towne Theatre and served as the center for recreation in Fillmore. The first floor of the building included a one-lane bowling alley, four pool tables and a soda fountain. The second floor, which was damaged in the 1971 earthquake and had to be removed, once served as a dance hall for local residents. The hardwood tongue-and-groove flooring is still in place. The building still retains the copper ceiling installed when the building was initially constructed.

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

A Changing Lake-scape

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Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Dartmouth
Lake Micmac was smaller
Lake Micmac was considerably smaller before the Canal was begun. Evidence for this can be found in the cove to the west where the remains of a forest and marsh area can be seen under the surface of the Lake. To the east is the entrance to the canal and a point of land once referred to as Indian Point. When the lake was lowered in the 1970s a Mi’kmaq camp site was discovered and the large number of artifacts which were found are now in the NS Museum. This lake is approximately 20 meters (65 feet) above the level of the Harbour. An Incline Marine Railway and a lock were used to lift the vessels to this height. About 100 meters (325 feet) off the shore of the lake you can see a small round island. This is the actually the remains of a man-made stone beacon used to guide boats toward the entrance of the Canal Cut. Two examples of these stone beacons can be seen in Sullivan’s Pond near Hawthorne St. and you will see another in Lake Charles.

(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

348 Central Avenue

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California, Ventura County, Fillmore
This store was completely rebuilt following the 1994 earthquake. The building has six apartments on the upper floor and a 'breezeway' to the rear parking lot. The Ballard Family has been in the furniture business for more than 60 years. This family-owned business started in 1937 across the street and moved into this location in 1941.

(Industry & Commerce) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

A Testament to Hard Work

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Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Dartmouth
Man-made Bank
You are now walking on a man made bank which forms one side of the canal cut. This wall of earth and stone was necessary to contain the depth of water needed to float the barges. During the first phase of the canal construction there would have been a minimum of approx. 2.4 meters (8 feet) of water but this was reduced to approx. 1.2 meter (4 feet) when it was decided to construct a smaller waterway in the 1850s. It is a testament to the work of the Irish and Scottish workers that these banks are still functional today over 170 years later.

(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 1 photo, GPS coordinates, map.

362 Central Avenue

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California, Ventura County, Fillmore
This hardware store was one of five owned by the three Hickey brothers of Ventura. The first location of this store was approximately 312 Central Avenue and was established by 1919. Harvey S. Patterson was the manager.

Harvey S. and Edith Patterson purchased the business from the Hickey brothers in 1937 and changed the name of the store to Patterson Hardware. Harvey S. died in 1959, and the business was purchased by his son Harvey F. Patterson and wife Emma.

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

Navvies Dwelling

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Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Dartmouth
A Dwelling for Two Families
Imagine this structure on top of the stone foundation in front of you. This home would be similar to the one at Site No. 9. However this structure is larger and contains two small stone hearths. When excavated in 1985 by Dr. Stephen Davis of Saint Mary’s University, a knife was found beneath the hearth stones - this is believed to be an Irish tradition.

(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Ministering to the Dakota

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Minnesota, Nicollet County, near St. Peter
The Reverend Stephen Riggs and his wife, Mary, arrived at Traverse des Sioux in 1843 to establish a Protestant mission for the Dakota.

He and other missionaries believed they had a duty to convert Indians to Christianity. Their efforts alienated most of the Dakota, who had their own deeply held spiritual beliefs and practices. When Riggs relocated to the mission at Lac qui Parle in 1846, the Reverend Robert Hopkins took over for him.

"Without their assent at all"

After the Dakota made a unanimous decision in 1849 to stop attending Christian worship services and the mission school, a disappointed Hopkins wrote his governing board: "We came here without the hearty assent of the Indians — perhaps without their assent at all. . . . We found Brother Pond (a fellow missionary) here. He had been encamped here several days and was acquainted with the feelings of the people. The Rev. Stephen Riggs asked Mr. Pond whether he should ask the Indians for leave to stay here, He answered, not if you wish to stay."

Minnesota Historical Society
Traverse des Sioux


(Churches, Etc. • Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Howarth School

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Michigan, Oakland, Lake Orion
John Howarth provided the land on which this Greek Revival schoolhouse was built in 1859. The building served the community as a place of worship for the Howarth United Methodist Church and as an Oakland County school. The Methodists moved to a new building across the road in 1898; however, the building was used as a school until 1955 when the Orion township school system was consolidated. The church then acquired the building for its vacation Bible school and its annual Christmas bazaar.

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

Of Bough and Bark

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Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Dartmouth
Dwelling Cabin
This feature represents an example of cultural transfer by emigrants to Canada from their homeland. This dwelling cabin strongly resembles the description of the cabins of the working poor in Northern Scotland and Ireland, as recorded there in the 1830s. The common elements of this and the cabins in Europe are small dimensions, set into an embankment or hillside, earth floors, no flue or chimney, the fire built on the floor. Here at Port Wallace, the roof was of boughs and bark as described by Captain William Moorsom who visited in the late 1820s. In Ireland the roofs of such cabins were described as made of the poorest thatching materials, potato stocks and thistles. Most remarkable is the location of the midden near the door, almost exactly the location of the cess pit as described by the Commissioner of the Poor Laws in Ireland in 1835. This and other features at Port Wallace, home of the lowest strata of the working class, represent an important part of the culture of the early emigrant experience in Canada.

(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Waste Weir and Holding Pond

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Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Dartmouth
A water control structure
The man-made holding pond in front of you helped to maintain the level of the canal when the lock was in operation. The water in this holding pond had two purposes. It helped maintain the water level in the dry summer months and minimized the drop in water level when the lock was being filled. Each time Lock 3 was used, roughly 400,000 litres of water were sent down to the next level of the canal system. Beneath the boardwalk you are standing on is what is known as a waste weir or water control structure which, together with the dam and the lock chamber, form the lock system. The primary purpose of the waste weir was to keep the water level constant at the head of the lock. Excess water from heavy rains or spring runoff was allowed to drain away from the lock through the channel behind you and then on to Lake Micmac.
To maintain the desired water level in the canal, logs in the waste weir were removed or added to by the lock keeper. Similar weirs were required at each of the locks.

(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Rowett's Redoubt

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Georgia, Bartow County, near Ackworth
Some 200 yards behind this marker was an earthen redoubt that protected the Federal defenses and the Star Fort. The redoubt was commanded by Colonel Richard Rowett and manned by the 39th Iowa, 7th Illinois, five companies of the 93rd Illinois Regiment and one 12 lb. Napoleon cannon. Many of the troops, including the entire 7th Illinois Regiment, were equipped with Henry Repeating rifles.

Confederate Brigadier General Francis M. Cockrell's Missouri Brigade and Brigadier General William H. Young's Brigade of Texas and some North Carolinians stormed the redoubt at 10:20 a.m.

"The fighting immediately became furious. Solid shot and shells, grape and canister from double-shotted cannon, and a hailstorm of bullets were rapidly and accurately poured into the ranks of the Confederates as they recklessly advanced ... notwithstanding their fearful losses at every step, they still advanced, faster and faster ..." Harvey M. Trimble, 93rd Illinois Regiment

The struggle for Rowett's Redoubt included fierce hand-to-hand fighting with clubbed muskets, fists, swords, and even rocks as the Confederate assault swept over the defensive position. The surviving Federal troops, about 200 men, fled to the Star Fort dragging the Napoleon with them.

After the fighting ended that day, Federal Lieutenant William Ludlow described the scene at Rowett's Redoubt. He wrote, "The trench was crowded with the dead, blue and homespun, Yank and Johnny, inextricably mingled in their last ditch. Our heroes, ordered to hold the place until the last ... had died at their posts. As the rebel line ran over them, they struck up with bayonets as the foe struck down, and rolling in the embrace of death, we found them in some cases mutually transfixed."

Our company [Company G] went over the works -- the only bayonet fight we ever were in during the war -- God grant that we may never witness another scene like that." Private B.F. Murdock, 6th Missouri Regiment

[Caption of photo on left:] A.R. Waud sketch of the assault on Rowett's Redoubt highlighting Sergeant John M. Raglund of Missouri capturing the flag of the 39th Iowa Regiment.

[Caption of left photo on upper right:] Soldiers of the 7th Illinois with their Henry repeating rifles in this Mathew Brady photograph.

[Caption of right photo on upper right:]
Colonel Richard Rowett (Courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library).

Two Southern Generals

Brigadier General William H. Young
Educated at Washington College, Tennessee, McKenzie College, Texas, and the University of Virginia, William Hugh Young recruited his own company for Confederate service. Elected captain and promoted to colonel after the Battle of Shiloh, he fought with great gallantry at Perryville, Mufreesboro, Vicksburg, and Chickamauga. He was wounded at each of the latter three battles. He lost most of his foot at Allatoona and spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner at Johnnson's Island. He became a prominent lawyer and real estate operator and died in 1901.

Brigadier General Francis M. Cockrell
A native of Missouri, Cockrell studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1855. He fought with the Missouri militia and rose through the ranks to colonel. He commanded the Missouri brigade at Vicksburg where he was captured and then paroled. He was appointed brigadier general on July 18, 1863. He suffered severe wounds at Franklin, Tennessee, on November 30, 1864 and was captured in Mobile in the spring of 1865. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him to the Interstate Commerce Commission. He died in 1915.

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

Deep Cut

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Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Dartmouth
Hard Digging!
From this location you can begin to appreciate the enormous task which faced the canal workers. Prior to 1826 this canal cut or trench did not exist and all of the earth and rock had to be removed. Unlike the lower part of the canal - where you saw the banks which had to be built up - in this area the channel had to be dug out.
Simple hand tools, gun powder and raw strength were all that was available for this back breaking task. As you walk along the trails you will see rows of rocks which first had to be smashed out of the bed rock and then removed.

(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

One of the mysteries yet to be solved…

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Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Dartmouth
Possibly a Storage Building for Powder
This is the only example of this style of structure found anywhere along the canal. While the Archaeologists are uncertain about its use, it may have been a storage area for black powder used to blast the bedrock found in the Deep Cut. However, an analysis of the surrounding soil did not reveal any evidence of this. It is likely this round stone base would have had a roof of logs and bark.

(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Icarian Colony

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Iowa, Adams County, near Corning
Formed in France by Etienne Cabet, this group comprised of many talented and well-educated persons. All possessions surrendered to a common fund, all worked for common good.

Landed in New Orleans in 1848 all applied for citizenship, same year. Settled near Dallas, Texas, where many died of fever, the others returned to New Orleans. Later the same year they moved to Nauvoo, Ill. By 1854 they owned 1,500 acres of land.

In 1860, 235 of this group bought 9 sections of land in Adams County, Iowa, for miles East of Corning. Buildings were placed in a parallelogram around a central dining and recreation hall. The school house is now Prescott No. 8, still standing.

Colony dissolved in 1895. Cemetery and three buildings privately owned are ¾ miles North of this marker.

Much of the 2,000 volume library is in the University of Omaha.

(Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

364 Central Avenue

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California, Ventura County, Fillmore
This building is one of the oldest surviving structures in Fillmore, having been built in 1913. It was constructed for the Farmers and Merchants Bank, which then became Security First National Bank and later Security Pacific National Bank, before a new bank building was constructed on Sespe Avenue.

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

Tobacco Road

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Virginia, York County, Yorktown

"An act for Ports, &c. That from and after the first day of October (1692), all shipps, barques, and other vessells whatsoever, arriveing into, or sayling out of this country for trayd, shall unload and put on shoare, and take from shoar to load on board, all tabaccoes, goods and merchantdises, at one or other of the poarts … mentioned in this act…" Virginia General Assembly, April 1691, Legislation establishing Yorktown

Tobacco, in the 17th and 18th centuries, was a valuable form of currency. It could be used to pay taxes, fines and salaries of government and church officials as well as purchase merchant goods. Upon the founding of the commercial port of Yorktown in 1691, the price for a half acre town lot was 180 pounds of tobacco.

This road trace in the 18th century was a busy thoroughfare called Tobacco Road. The road provided an easy route for exported goods, including thousands of pounds of tobacco, to reach the port facilities on the York River, while circumventing most of the town.

By 1750, the amount of tobacco sent from Yorktown began to decline as crop yields on local plantations started to decrease. The town never recovered from the devastation of the 1781 siege and the port became a shadow of its former self.

Today, Tobacco Road is a quiet walkway providing a link between the waterfront and the National Park Service Visitor Center. As you stroll along, envision the road as it once was – a vital link for both Yorktown and Virginia's economy.

(Agriculture • Colonial Era • Roads & Vehicles) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

City Hall / Former School

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Liechtenstein, Schaan, Schaan
In Liechtenstein erfolgte die allgemeine Einführung der Schulpflicht 1805. Der älteste Hinweis auf eine schulische Tätigkeit in Schaan geht aus einer «Instruction» für den Schulvogt Rudolph Walser aus dem Jahr 1700 hervor. Im 18. Jahrhun- dert wurden die Kinder in Privathäusern an der Obergass und später an der Feldkircher Strasse unterrichtet. Um 1800 stand an der Schaaner Landstrasse ein «Kauff- und Schulhaus», das 1807 zu einem Schulhaus umgebaut wurde. 1838 fiel der Be- schluss, einen Schulhausneubau zu erstellen. Die Bauarbeiten begannen 1844. Bereits 1846 war das für 7’519 Gulden erstellte Schulhaus bezugsbereit. Ab 1853 wurde die Schule nach Geschlechtern getrennt geführt. Die Mädchenschule betreuten ab 1854 Lehrschwestern aus Zams. Die Schulräume bestanden aus je einem Klassenzimmer für die Knaben- und die Mäd- chen-Oberschule, die Mittel- und die Unterstufe. Dazu kamen noch je eine Wohnung für den Lehrer und die Lehrschwestern. 1906 wurde die Wohnung im 3. Stock in Schulzimmer umgewandelt. Auf Grund der angestiegenen Schülerzahl entstand 1949 ein Anbau, mit dem das alte Schulhaus ostwärts erweitert wurde. Der Turnhallenneubau – der heutige Rathaussaal – wurde 1951 verwirklicht. Ende 1975 erfolgte die Übersiedlung der Schule in die neue Primarschule Resch. Heute sind im Gebäude die Gemeindeverwaltung sowie die Galerie und das Gemeindemuseum (DoMuS) untergebracht.

Marker text translated into English:
Education was made compulsory in Liechtenstein in 1805. The oldest reference made to a school activity in Schaan is from a "Tutorial" for the school master Rudolph Walser from 1700. In the 18th century, children were taught in private houses on the Obergass and later on Feldkirch Street. By 1800, on the Schaan Landstrasse there stood the "Shop and school house", which was converted into a schoolhouse in 1807. By 1838,there was already activity to promote the construction of a school building. Construction began in 1844. By 1846, a school building at a cost of 7,519 Gulden was completed. From 1853, classes were instructed separately by gender. Form 1854 girls were taught by teaching sisters from Zams. The classrooms consisted of one classroom each sex for the high-, middle- and primary grades. In addition there were were also living quarters for the teacher and the teaching sisters. 1906, the quarters were converted into classrooms on the 3rd floor. Due to the increased number of students, in 1949 an annex was added, with the old school house extended eastward. The new gym - today's town hall - was completed in 1951. At the end of 1975, the school was relocated to the new primary school in Resch. Today the building houses the local government, as well as the civic gallery and the Municipal Museum (DoMuS).

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

Medina Fire Department

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New York, Orleans County, Medina
The means by which citizens fought fires in the early days of the village were primitive at best. Bucket brigades were the main means of fighting fires. Early village law required every homeowner to have two buckets located close to an outside door, clearly inscribed with the owners [sic] name. Medina's first water works was installed for fire protection during the 1860's along Shelby (Main) Street. Pipes were laid along the east side of the street, from the railroad to Pearl Street, with the raceway providing water. This early hydrant system was later upgraded with larger pipe, more hydrants and greater coverage. Water for this system came from Oak Orchard Creek with a water wheel for pressure located at the Bignall Foundry. Crude though it was, the system provided protection until the installation of a village water system in 1892.

[pictures]
Below - The first motorized truck arrived in 1915 - a Waterous, purchased from the Waterous Engine Works of St. Paul, Minn. Showing off the new truck are (left to right) Chief Mahar, driver fireman Gallagher, fireman O'Brien and Slattery, and an unidentified man.
Below - circa 1903, fire in the former 1877 Davey Block was described as "the worst fire in years."
Bottom - circa 1933, Chief Schooley and his men pose for a photo outside their impressive firehouse.
Above, circa 1890 - Driver Fred Beard, Sr. tries out a new team of gray horses owned by William Smith as fireman Dunk O'Brien looks on.

In 1829, citizens began organizing the first fire-fighting efforts in Medina. Motivated by the outbreak of significant fires in those early years, a group of interested citizens rallied around the purchase of a hand cranked "fire engine" for the considerable sum of $270. Upon incorporation of the village, the machine (called Mercury) was purchased from the citizens, and on August 16, 1832 the first fire company was organized in the new Village of Medina. Throughout the rest of the century, many volunteer companies organized to assist the effort- The Mercury Engine Company, Cataract Hose Company, Alert Hose Company and others- all part of a greater overall undertaking to provide fire protection in the village.

In 1896, a village-wide fire alarm system was installed at a cost of $1002 via the Gamewell Fire Alarm & Telegraph Company. Prior to this an alarm was raised by ringing the bell at the First Baptist Church. With the dawn of the twentieth century, came a magnificant new stone City Hall with the first floor allocated to the fire department. The first motorized truck arrived in 1915- a Waterous and a second in 1919- an American-LaFrance. Today, the Medina Fire Department sill proudly resides on the first floor of City Hall. It is a combination career and volunteer fire department, providing fire protection and advanced life support/ emergency medical services to the village and surrounding communities. The department has a career staff of 13, supported by a "callman" staff of 20 volunteer firefighters.

Interpretive prints and mounting provided courtesy of The Print Shop • Medina, NY 585-590-9093 • Designed by Chris Busch, ORG

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

Quarry Derrick

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Minnesota, Stearns County, Waite Park


This derrick was donated by Cold Spring Granite in 2006 to Stearns County Parks. It was disassembled from Cook, MN by park staff and Cold Springs Granite staff and transported to Quarry Park and Nature Preserve to complement the granite industry interpretive component of the park. The derrick was purchased by Cold Spring Granite from the U.S. government in 1946 as surplus equipment. The derrick was made by the Wiley Company of Port Deposit, Maryland, most likely for use on a barge during WWII. The drum hoists are products of American Hoist and Derrick of St. Paul, MN and were patented in 1902. The mast is 33 feet tall. The boom arm is 72 feet long.

The lifting capacity of the derrick with the boom arm extended to a 38 foot radius is 30 tons. At a 57 foot radius the boom can only lift 15 tons. The Park Department has installed this unit as a non-operating derrick. Special locks with cable have been placed on the derrick to prevent the boom arm from moving downward or any movement by the drum hoists. The concrete slabs were engineered for non-operating status. A covering of the engine and hoists will be installed by Parks to protect them from the elements.

(This monument was manufactured by Monumental Sales of St. Cloud. Text was etched with a laser in India Black granite. The granite monument is St. Cloud Red granite taken from Quarry Park.)

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