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Texhoma

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Oklahoma, Texas County, Texhoma
In 1901, when the new Rock Island Railroad tracks reached here, the post office called Loretta, located NW along the Beaver River, was moved to the new tracks and renamed Texhoma for the two states at its location. From only five families living here then, the town had grown to 1000 people by 1908. The large trade territory at that time resulted in a town of many stores, three banks, two schools, three churches, and five wagon yards which took care of the horses and wagons that transported goods to and from the individual farms and ranches of Hansford, Ochiltree and Sherman counties in Texas, and Texas and Cimarron Counties in Oklahoma. Separate towns on Texas and Oklahoma sides were incorporated early, with fierce competition between the two in early days.

After 1910, many small frame downtown buildings were being replaced by brick structures. A brick school on the Oklahoma side was built in 1909, and one on the Texas side by 1913. The first Texhoma class graduated from Texhoma High School in 1913.

Town services grew rapidly. A telephone company was established in 1907; a public water system in 1913; an electric plant in 1921; downtown brick paving in 1928; gas service and a sewer system in 1929.

After the hard years of The Depression-Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and World War II in the 1940s, much additional building took place. New school buildings were added, followed by a medical clinic and fire station, several new churches, a municipal swimming pool and a TV translator.

Gas booms in the 1940s, agricultural irrigation in the 1950s, and finally the swine industry in the 1990s have contributed to the economic stability of the town.

A pride of Texhoma has always been its public school system. The football team won state in 1971; the girls basketball team in 1992; the boys basketball team in 1994; the girls track team in 1996. Many other teams qualified for state tournaments over the years. Through an act of the legislature of both states, the two school systems were combined in 1976, but maintain separate school boards with excellent co-operation. The schools have graduated many outstanding students who have made their mark in life. Out town is proud of the many useful citizens we have sent out into the world on this, our 100th Anniversary.

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

Veterans Memorial

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Wisconsin, Langlade County, Antigo
In Tribute
to the
Men and
Women
of This
Community
Who Served
Their
Country
in Time
of Need
———

                            Time Takes All but Memories

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

Determined Mariner

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Minnesota, Saint Louis County, Duluth


Artist Richard Salews shows us a Great Lakes mariner steering his Mackinaw boat on a broad reach perhaps in the late 1800s. The 30-50 foot Mackinaws were used extensively on the lakes before steam and internal-combustion engines appeared. Salews' pilot symbolizes the determination of early Duluthians to win status as a commercial port.

The sculptor lives in Niantic, Connecticut. The Mystic Marine Museum and other east coast galleries display his work.

This is one of seven major works of art commissioned for the Canal Park revitalization program, which began in 1986. These works, now permanently installed, were chosen from over 400 proposals in a national competition.

Additional public art can be found at the Sister Cities International Sculpture Garden in Lake Place Park on the downtown Lakewalk, and in Bayfront Park west of the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center complex.

Downtown Lakewalk
The Downtown Lakewalk offers activities for everyone, from the pedestrians on the boardwalk to the bicyclists and rollerblader on the paved path. Stretching eastward along the shore from Bayfront Festival Park on the Duluth Harbor Basin, it is over three miles long.

(Arts, Letters, Music • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Judge Walter R. Ely

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Texas, Taylor County, Abilene
Judge W.R. Ely had the rare privilege of living to see the fruits of his leadership take form in the superb Texas highway system. He helped lay the basis for it in his service on the Highway Commission from 1927 to 1935, half of that time as its chairman. Born April 3, 1878 in Somerset, Ky., he came with his parents to Callahan County in 1895. Largely self-educated, he entered the profession of law and had a distinguished career as 42nd District Court Judge and, after his Highway Commission service, as one of Abilene’s most distinguished practicing attorneys. Judge Ely Boulevard is his hometown’s tribute to him. The Texas highway system is the statewide monument to his life and public service. His death, January 31, 1978, came only two months before his 100th birthday.
This memorial dedicated April 3, 1978 by the Abilene Chamber of Commerce

(Notable Persons) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Cowboys' Christmas Ball

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Texas, Jones County, Anson
In 1885, M.G. Rhodes hosted a wedding party and dance at his Star Hotel in Anson. One guest was Larry Chittenden, a salesman and writer visiting his uncle in Jones County. He was so inspired by the dance held that night for the cowboys and ladies that he composed a poem commemorating the occasion, “The Cowboys’ Christmas Ball.” The poem, first printed in Anson’s Texas Western newspaper in 1890, also appeared in Chittenden’s 1893 poetry collection Ranch Verses. Over the years the poem was remembered and anthologized many times in print and song.
     In 1934, Lenora Barrett and Hybernia Grace revived the historic ball and its folklore. Their group performed during the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas and at the National Folk Festival in Washington, D.C. in 1938, when they danced on the White House lawn. As annual interest increased, the group copyrighted the event and named a board of directors for the Texas Cowboys’ Christmas Ball Association. A new venue, Pioneer Hall, was built in 1938-40 with help from the Work Projects Administration. The dance has been a three-day event since 1940, and the following year Jenne Magagan’s mural in the Anson Post Office depicted the historic “Cowboy Dance.” Chittenden’s poem records real people and ranches of 1880s Jones County, along with observations of dress and customs which influence some of the formal rules and decorum of the ball today. Ladies must wear dresses and gentlemen must check their hats, and some attendees dress in period clothing. The event draws national and international visitors, while some participants are direct descendants of those immortalized in the poem. With such 19th century dances as the Grand March, Waltz, Cotton-Eye Joe, Polka, Virginia Reel and Schottische, this Anson tradition helps perpetuate an important aspect of life in frontier Texas.

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

A Farm Transformed by War

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Pennsylvania, Adams County, Gettysburg

The barnyard and fields in front of you filled with wounded men and medical supplies in the days and weeks after the battle. Pvt. Justus Silliman, 17th Connecticut Infantry, wrote “All the hospital tents have been put up and are filled, the barn is also crowded and hundreds of shelter tents occupied, yet the wounded are so numerous that some have yet to lie out in the open air.” At the center of the hospital was the Spangler’s barn, with the operating tables under the eaves of the barn to your left. Arriving at the hospital after the battle, Maj. Gen. Carl Schurz of the Eleventh Corps saw firsthand the true cost of war.

“ . . . the surgeons, their sleeves rolled up . . . their bare arms as well as their linen aprons smeared with blood . . . around them pools of blood and amputated arms or legs in heaps.”       Maj. Gen. Carl Schurz

(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

A Hospital Under Fire

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Pennsylvania, Adams County, Gettysburg

As the threshing floor in front of you filled with wounded, W. R. Kiefer, 153rd Pennsylvania, noted, “The maimed were placed with heads next [to] the bays and middle partition (of the threshing floor) leaving a passageway at the feet of the patients.” Two days later, on July 3, wounded soldiers laying here viewed the Confederate cannonade preceding Pickett’s Charge. Pvt. Stephen Romig, 153rd Pennsylvania Infantry, recalled:   There I had a fine view of the bursting shells coming in our direction . . . there were at one time six explosions of shells in one moment . . . the danger was becoming so great that every man was removed . . . the surgeon who had been in shortly before looking at my wound ran for his life.”       Pvt. Stephen Romig

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

A Temporary Resting Place

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Pennsylvania, Adams County, Gettysburg

The field in front of you contained the hospital graveyard where some 185 Union and 20 Confederate soldiers were buried. Some of Spangler’s own wood supplies were used to make coffins for these soldiers and even a fence around the graveyard itself. A member of the 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry recalled looking for a fallen comrade at the hospital cemetery. “This afternoon I walked out to the hospital to see where he is buried . . . I found his grave in a field . . . marked by a board on which was written: ‘Henry A. Miller, Company B, 153rd Regiment, Penna. Volunteers.” One grave contained the remains of George Nixon, great-grandfather to 37th President Richard Nixon. A private in Company B, 73rd Ohio Volunteers, he had been wounded multiple times on July 2. Rescued by musician Richard Enderlin, Nixon was taken to this field hospital where he died on July 10, 1863. Richard Enderlin earned a promotion to sergeant and later, the Medal of Honor for his actions. Today, George Nixon’s remains rest in the Soldiers National Cemetery.

(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

A Family Who Would Not Leave Their Home

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Pennsylvania, Adams County, Gettysburg

When the Eleventh Corps took over the farm to serve as a hospital, the Spangler family was forced to live in just one of the six rooms of their home. Wounded soldiers and medical staff occupied the other rooms. One noted patient who was treated in the home was Frederick Stowe, a Union staff officer and son of Harriet Beecher Stowe, famed author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Despite extremely difficult conditions, the Spanglers chose to remain on their farm, sleeping in their single room until the hospital closed at the beginning of August. Although the Spanglers left a detailed list of the destruction to their property, they only noted $375.00 dollars of damage to their house and barn for its 37 day use as shelter for wounded and medical personnel.

Stowe ultimately recovered from his head wound sustained at Gettysburg and continued to serve in the army until the end of the war.

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

The Trademark of Craftsmen

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Pennsylvania, Adams County, Gettysburg

It is not difficult to imagine the wear on a barn from years of active farming and the changing Pennsylvania seasons. In the spring of 1875, two brothers, Samuel F. Frey and William H. Frey, painters by trade, and Hiram C. Lady, a carpenter’s apprentice, began painting the Spangler’s Pennsylvania bank barn. All three signed their names below using the red-toned paint finish used on the rest of the barn. An additional signature in the top right of the preserved area is that of Beniah Spangler, the youngest child of George and Elizabeth Spangler, born in 1848.

(Notable Buildings) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Food Preservation of the Past

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Pennsylvania, Adams County, Gettysburg

You are now standing near the Spangler’s original smokehouse, more than 160 years old. Although several changes have been made over the decades, such as the tin roof, a vast majority of the original structure still survives. Smokehouses had been part of the outdoor barn complex since the 1700s, and had received their names because they were often large enough for a person to enter. These buildings were built in a simple manner and were mostly made of stone or brick in order to contain the fire and ashes. Meat was hung in smokehouses as far away from the fire as possible, as it is the smoke, not the heat that cures and preserves the meat for future consumption.

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

Welcome to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

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Maryland, Dorchester County, Cambridge
Blackwater Refuge expansive marshes, moist soil impoundments, woodlands, and variety of croplands attract thousands of migrating and wintering waterfowl each year. These three habitats provide the food, water, shelter, and space that these birds need. In addition to the large flocks of geese and ducks that spend winter months on the Refuge, Blackwater is also home to the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel and the threatened bald eagle. Other common birds and animals include wading birds, marsh birds, songbirds, many different types of raptors, neotropical migrant songbirds, raccoons, muskrats, opossums, otters and deer.

Established in 1933, the Refuge includes over 24,000 acres. Thousands of visitors each year are attracted to the Refuge due to its location within driving distance to our nation’s capital, the visitor center, the variety of wildlife and habitat, and the public education programs.

(Animals • Environment) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Timerman Hall

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New York, Saint Lawrence County, Potsdam

C. Donald Timerman 1915-1945
Scientist - Collector - Naturalist
Class of 1938 - Killed in action on
Okinawa - May 1945

(War, World II) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Hosmer Hall

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New York, Saint Lawrence County, Potsdam
Graduate of Crane Normal School of Music - 1918 - Music Teacher of Potsdam Normal School 1922-1966 - Director of Crane Department of Music 1930-1966. Prominent choral conductor. Master Teacher·Exemplary administrator

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

St. Lawrence Academy

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New York, Saint Lawrence County, Potsdam

Upon this spot was built in 1810
by Benjamin Raymond
the first school house of Potsdam
First session 1812
Rev. Jas. Johnson A.B. - Harvard - teacher
here from 1816 to 1826 was
ST. LAWRENCE ACADEMY
Nahum Nixon A.B. - Middlebury-
first Principal
This tablet erected 1916

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

The Clarkson-Knowles Cottage

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New York, Saint Lawrence County, Potsdam
The Clarkson-Knowles
Cottage
c.1835
has been placed on the
NATIONAL REGISTER
OF HISTORIC PLACES
by the United States
Department of the Interior

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

For God and Country

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New York, Niagara County, Lewiston
Throughout its history,
Niagara has prepared its
graduates in peace and war
for service to America. From the
Civil War to both World Wars
and Vietnam, its men and women
have served with distinction.

This monument commemorates
those who served in all
branches of the military.
During the Korean War;
in particular those reserve
officer training corps
graduates who became front
line infantry leaders.

(War, Korean • War, Vietnam) Includes location, directions, 9 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Railroad Station

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New Hampshire, Carroll County, North Conway
In 1872 the tracks of the Portsmouth, Great Falls & Conway Railroad were completed to North Conway, and in 1874 the railroad built this magnificent building to serve as their depot and offices. Nathaniel J. Bradlee, a well-known Boston architect, designed the station to complement the growing resort community it served.
The station saw the last Boston-bound passenger train depart in 1961 and was closed shortly after that. In 1974 Conway Scenic Railroad re-opened the building after a thorough restoration. The original Men's Waiting Room is now the Brass Whistle Gift Shop, the Women's Waiting Room has been transformed into the museum, and the former Baggage Room is now the snack bar. The Ticket Office remains relatively unchanged.
This station, along with the Roundhouse, Turntable, and Freight House, are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

(Railroads & Streetcars) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Potsdam Raquette River Walk

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New York, Saint Lawrence County, Potsdam

Trinity Episcopal Church

Built of Potsdam Sandstone in 1836 by the Clarkson family (cornerstone laid in 1835), this is the only local church still standing that was constructed using the slab-and-binder method. The rectory and all additions were built in the Gothic Revival architectural style. The sandstone office building on Maple Street was built in 1901 in the ashlar style of masonry. The parish house was added in 1955. Trinity Episcopal Church features windows designed by Lewis Comfort Tiffany of Tiffany Glass. Some are signed museum pieces.
Sandstone blocks:(above) Ashlar masonry: rough surfaces, various sizes, no long seams; (below)Slab-and-binder masonry: alternating courses of rough and smooth, depending on whether the sandstone grain is vertical or horizontal.

Racket, Racquette, or Raquette?
Throughout the 19th century, the river was identified on most maps as the "Racket." The name might be derived from the French word for snowshoe (raquette) or translated from the Mohawk name for this river (noisy) that described the sound produced by its many rapids.
In 1902 and again in 1942, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names designated the river's name as "Raquette," to minimize its association with tennis, squash, and the numbers racket.
Some local residents like to out a "c" in the name. The Sisson family named their mill the Racquette River Paper Company. SUNY Potsdam's student newspaper is named "The Racquette."
(above)Stationery letterhead of Racquette River Paper Company shows unusual local spelling of river. Courtesy of the Potsdam Museum.

(Churches, Etc. • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 10 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Potsdam Raquette River Walk

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New York, Saint Lawrence County, Potsdam

Ice House Row

Until electric refrigeration became widespread in the 1930s, Potsdam villagers relied on iceboxes stocked with ice blocks cut from the river and stored under sawdust in icehouses along Water Street (now Riverside[sic Riverview-Google] Drive). Two-man teams using gosoline-powered circular saws cut the ice and hauled it to the icehouses using derricks, pulleys, and tongs.
(left to right)Ice wagon; Cutting ice offshore near Water Street, circa 1900.

Adirondack Tea
The brown color of the Raquette's water is not caused by mud, iron, or pollution, but by vegetation. Tannin leached by rainwater from the roots of trees, especially hemlocks, drains into the river. The same tannin was extracted from the hemlock bark to tan animal skins for leather in the many tanneries that operated along the river in the 19th century.

River Recreation
In the 1920s and 1930s, a concrete retaining wall, topped with pillars and rings for mooring boats, defined the character of Ives Park's shoreline. The Smith family operated a boathouse and rented boats to fisherman, picnickers, sightseers, and courting couples.
The park was enlarged in the 1970s when buildings along Water Street were torn down.
A canoe race observed by a crown on the east bridge, circa 1900.
Courtesy of the Potsdam Museum [all three photos on marker].

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