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History of Observatory Hill

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Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh
Observatory Hill was originall part of Allegheny City. Since Allegheny City's annexation to the City of Pittsburgh in 1907, the Observatory Hill district has expanded and is home to nearly 14,000 residents. The neighborhood features stately homes, a business district, Riverview Park and the Allegheny Observatory.

(Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Air & Space • War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 14 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Shockoe Hill Cemetery

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Virginia, Richmond
Shockoe Hill Cemetery (the first owned and maintained by the city of Richmond) opened in 1822. It was one of three cemeteries on Richmond’s northern edge, including the Hebrew Cemetery and a free-black and slave burial ground. Shockoe Hill was for several decades the favored cemetery for Richmond’s elite, especially after the interment of Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835.

Between 1861 and 1864, General Hospital No. 1—the Alms House Hospital—was located in the imposing brick city poorhouse (built in 1860) just north of here. The cemetery became many Confederate soldiers’ last resting place, especially those who died at the hospital. Near the end of the war, the building served as the Virginia Military Institute Corps of Cadets barracks. Cadets too young to march away watched from upper-story windows as Richmond burned on April 2-3, 1865.

All Southern states (except Arkansas) are represented here by soldiers killed in battle. Including both wartime casualties and veterans, about 500 Confederate soldiers rest at Shockoe Hill. Prominent among them are Irish-born Gen. Patrick Theodore Moore, who survived a severe head wound to command local defense troops late in the war, and Dr. Charles Bell Gibson, a leading surgeon who supervised the Alms House Hospital. Fourteen of the dozens of girls and young women killed in the March 13, 1863, explosion at the Confederates States Laboratory on Brown’s Island are also here. Not all of the Cemetery’s occupants were loyal Confederates, however. Many noted Unionists are here, including spymaster Elizabeth Van Lew, former Congressman John Minor Botts, and others who remained loyal to “the old flag.”

Dr. Gibson treated Union prisoners of war here at the Alms House Hospital, despite loud objections from Confederate politicians and newspapers. At least 500 were buried just outside the east Cemetery wall. They were disinterred after war and reburied at Richmond National Cemetery.

Elizabeth Van Lew, from a leading Richmond family, was an anti-slavery Unionist who built an extensive spy network, sent valuable information to Union commanders, and helped Federal soldiers escape imprisonment. Many Richmonders shunned her after the war, but she was proud that Gen Ulysses S. Grant considered her the Union’s most valuable resources in the wartime capital.

(captions)
(upper left) Alms House and cemetery - Courtesy Library of Congress
(lower center) Gen. Patrick T. Moore, from The Photographic History of the Civil War, Vol. 10 (1910)
(upper right) “Prisoners of War at the General hospital” Courtesy Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Louise, St. Louis, Missouri
(lower right) Elizabeth Van Lew Courtesy Library of Congress

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Science & Medicine • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 12 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Union POW Memorial

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Virginia, Richmond

Nearby are buried at least 661 United States soldiers who died between July 1861 and June 1863 while prisoners of war in this city. Many died at Confederate General Hospital Number 1 adjacent to Shockoe Hill Cemetery which took in Union wounded from First Manassas (Bull Run) and other engagements. Though most were anonymous, the names of 88 of the dead are listed below as they appear in cemetery records.

This marker was placed in 2002 at the request of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States to remember their faithful service.

James Adams • Joseph Adkins • Joseph Albright • G.W. Andrews • William T. Armstrong • Theodore Ashburn • H. Bains • William Barrard • William Batte • William G. Bishop • Francis M. Botts • David S. Brooks • John Brown • Joseph W. Brown • Morton L. Brown • George O. Bryan • Jules Camp • J. Martin Camp • J.M. Cary • C.F. Clark • G.M Clenly • L. Combs • William Converse • Copeland • John Cunghman • James Cunningham • Jacob Deitz • Andrew Dennyson • William J. Devereux • Leroy Dison • John E. Doughlass • John Eldridge • R.A Ellis • George Farland • Lucius Fepps • Simon Gerrald • William Gibbs • William B. Gowen • James Hall • Francis Hardiman • James D. Harris • Willis C. Haynes • Hunt • John Cox Jefferson • James Jones • Nevil Kaughman • William Kein • Franklin King • W.H. Kleeper • Charles Lam • James Lebery • John M. Lee • James Lemon • William Lounger • August Maher • C.C. Mann • M. Mannen • Martin • James H. McClurg • R.M. McMonan • M. Milsler • Charles W. Morgan • Joshua L. Nichols • J. Nicots • R. Nipis • Amos Partridge • John Potter • Lewis Quagon • Setes Soel • F. Starke • Samuel E. Statin • George Stol • H. Strell • James Sweetland • Charles W. Tebbits • James Teel • J. Terrel • M.B. Thayer • Charles E. Throwbridge • J. Trexall • William Walcup • Francis Weatherly • Daniel Wetcher • P. Wheely • Thomas H. Woodware • James Wormes

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

Shockoe Hill Cemetery

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Virginia, Richmond

This monument is dedicated to the memory of the more than 27 Patriots of the American Revolution and 400 veterans of the War of 1812 buried in this cemetery. Their loyalty, faith, courage and self sacrifice in servicing our country preserved the freedoms we enjoy today. We hope that every visitor to this cemetery recognizes the service they provided to our country and that it is never forgotten.

Erected by the Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution and its Richmond chapter, the Society of the War of 1812 in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Virginia State Society United States Daughters of 1812
Dedicated November 11, 20911


(Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Patriots & Patriotism • War of 1812 • War, US Revolutionary) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Brown's Island Disaster

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Virginia, Richmond

On March 13, 1863, an explosion destroyed much of the Confederate States Laboratory, a munitions facility on Brown's Island in the James River. 47 workers died, mostly girls under the age 17, who helped fill manpower needs and whose small hands were useful in such work.

Fourteen were interred in this cemetery in unmarked graves. Four are at this spot next to each other.

Emma Blankenship 15 • Wilhelmina Defenbach 15 • Virginia Mayer 12 • Caroline Zietenmayer 16

Others interred elsewhere in the cemetery are:

Margaret Alexander 12 • Anne E. Bolton 14 • Martha Clemmons 25 • Margaret Drustling 16 • Nannie Horan 14 • Alice Johnson 12 • Virginia C. Page 13 • Mary Valentine 14 • Mary Ellen Wallace 12 • Mary Zerhum 12

Placed by the Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery
with the support of the Order of the Southern Cross and Pickett Chapter #115, M.O.S. & B.
March 2013

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Disasters • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Mormon Trail

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Nebraska, Hall County, near Grand Island

From 1847 to the 1860s, the Mormon migration along the Great Platte River Road marked a distinctive chapter in the history of westward expansion. In contrast to the random migrations of individual families or companies that characterized much of the activity to California or Oregon, the Mormon migration was the organized movement of an entire people to a new place of refuge in the mountains of the far west.

Seeking to escape religious persecution that had followed them in the east, the pioneer Mormon company traveled the Great Platte River Road in the spring and summer of 1847. The group purposefully stayed on the north side of the Platte instead of using the more heavily traveled Oregon Trail on the south side.

On July 24, 1847, Brigham Young's pioneer party founded Salt Lake City, a magnet that drew an estimated 60,000 Latter-day Saints to Utah along the Platte River Road for the next 20 years.

[Illustration captions, from left to right, read]
Some Mormon companies were so poor they pulled crude handcarts the 2,000 miles to Salt Lake City

[On bison skull] Pioneers Camped here June 3d/47 making 15 miles today. All well. Brigham Young

Advance parties of the migration left messages on buffalo skulls for those who would follow.

Several historical sites in Nebraska commemorate the Mormon migration.

Winter Quarters, near present-day Florence, Nebraska, became the chief outfitting point for the Mormon trek west. During the winter of 1846-1847, more than 600 Mormons died from disease and exposure. The Mormon Cemetery commemorates those who died.

Organized in 1830 in upper New York State by the first Mormon prophet leader, Joseph Smith, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints later built the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, before their expulsion by mobs in 1845 and 1846.

Brigham Young became the leader of the Mormons after the death of Joseph Smith in 1844. He directed the exodus to Utah.

More than 2,000 Mormons died along the trail. Rebecca Winters' grave, near modern Scottsbluff, is one of the few that has been preserved and marked.

Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Meisner Bank Building

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Nebraska, Buffalo County, Shelton

This property has been
placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places

by the United States
Department of the Interior

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

First Buffalo County Court House

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Nebraska, Buffalo County, Gibbon

On Oct. 10, 1871 the Buffalo County seat was by vote located at Gibbon.

On this site was built the first Buffalo County Courthouse in 1873. Hand made brick in base, made from local clay is from this courthouse razed in 1909.

On Oct. 13, 1874 the Buffalo County seat was by vote relocated at Kearny. Hand hewn stone in base is from the Kearney Courthouse razed in 1975.

Plaque erected by Exchange Bank, Gibbon
Stone and brick by Gage Vohland and A.W. Skeen Families

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


Gibbon

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Nebraska, Buffalo County, Gibbon

Gibbon, near here, was the site of a unique experiment in homestead colonization. The Soldiers' Free Homestead Temperance Colony was responsible for bringing the earliest settlers, mostly Union veterans, to this locality. Traveling via the Union Pacific Railroad, the first group arrived April 7, 1871, when the only building was a small section house. They lived in railroad boxcars until sod or frame homes could be built. Their first view of the area was not encouraging, since a prairie fire had recently swept the region, and two days after their arrival a blizzard struck. Still, of 129 families only one failed to file a homestead claim. As you travel east, you will parallel the Nebraska City-Fort Kearny Cut-off which joined the main Overland Trail near here. This freighting trail, in operation from about 1860-1869, was designed to speed travel between the Missouri River, frontier military posts, and Denver. It offered a more direct route than the earlier Ox-Bow Trail which looped north to the Platte Valley. Freighting over the Cut-off peaked in 1865 when 44 million pounds of supplies were shipped west from Nebraska City.

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

Memorial Tree

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Nebraska, Buffalo County, Gibbon

In honor of the
Grand Army of the Republic
by its Auxiliary the
National Woman's Relief Corps

(Fraternal or Sororal Organizations • Patriots & Patriotism • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Veterans Memorial

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Florida, Gadsden County, Quincy


In memory of
Gadsden County Veterans who gave
their lives during the Korean Conflict, Vietnam
Era, Grenada, Lebanon, Panama, Persian Gulf

Our Fallen Heroes
on renown eternal camping grounds,
their silent graves are spread,
glory guards with solemn sound;
the grave sites of our dead.

Chester Brown, Jr.

(War, 1st Iraq & Desert Storm • War, Korean • War, Vietnam) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Gadsden County War Memorial

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Florida, Gadsden County, Quincy
In Memoriam
Gadsden County Men of World Wars I and II
Who Gave Their All That The World
Might Have Peace

(War, World I • War, World II) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Soldiers Free Homestead Colony

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Nebraska, Buffalo County, Gibbon

Erected by the descendants of the Soldiers Free Homestead Colony, to honor and perpetuate their names, for their courage and self sacrifice in their pioneering. They arrived in Gibbon, Nebraska, April 7, 1871, by Union Pacific Railroad, seeking homesteads granted by the government.

[Roster of Colony Members and Honorary Members]

(Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Gadsden County Civil War Monument

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Florida, Gadsden County, Quincy

South Side
Sacred to
the
memory of the
Confederate Soldiers
from Gadsden Co. Florida
who died in the defense
of their country.


"On fame's eternal camping ground
their silent tents are spread
and glory guards with solemn round
the bivouac of the dead."



Erected
by the Ladies of the
Memorial Association
of Gadsden Co. Florida.

April 26, 1884

North Side
C.S.A.
[crossed sabers]

Esto perpetua
["Let it be eternal" - soldier, gun inverted, in front of tools of war]

Our
Fallen Heroes




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

Let It Shine

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Florida, Miami-Dade County, Key Biscayne
The Cape Florida Lighthouse stands today as a reminder of perseverance in the face of hardship.

The Cape Florida Lighthouse was built to alert ships as they sailed near the dangerous reefs of the Florida Keys.

Constructed in December 1825, the Lighthouse and its keepers suffered from harsh weather, an 1836 Seminole attack and Confederate sabotage during the Civil War. Deactivated in 1878, the Lighthouse endured years of neglect before the State of Florida purchased this site in 1966.

"The Lantern now was full of flame and the lamps and glasses were bursting and flying in all directions." (Thompson Account)

(captions)
(upper left) Captain J.R. Vinton drawing of Cape Florida Lighthouse Courtesy of Otto C. Richter Library, University of Miami Archives and Special Collections
(lower left) The lighthouse keeper's life was difficult and solitary. Keeping the light required climbing to the top, filling lamps, adjusting wicks, cleaning windows and manning the watch room.
(lower right) For added protection, a Second Oder Fresnel Lens was used on the Lighthouse in 1853. Feel the contours of this type of lens at right. It spread light farther, improving its visibility.

(Wars, US Indian • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 9 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Escaping to Freedom in the Bahamas

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Florida, Miami-Dade County, Key Biscayne
In the early 1820's, enslaved Africans, runaways, and "Black Seminoles" seeking freedom from slave catchers and plantation masters, secretly worked their way down to CAPE FLORIDA. They met with bold captains of sloops from the British Bahamas who offered transportation across the Gulf Stream. In 1821 as reported by eyewitnesses, some 300 freedom seekers bartered for passage aboard 27 sloops, or chose to sail Indian dugout canoes 107 nautical miles to secluded Andros Asland. The construction of the CAPE FLORIDA LIGHTHOUSE by the Federal Government in 1825 effectively blocked the escape route.

Bahamians descendents, some of whom still call themselves "Black Seminoles," live in the Red Bays settlement on Andros. Cuba, Haiti and other islands in the Caribbean region were additional destinations along the Florida Underground Railroad.

BILL BAGGS CAPE FLORIDA STATE PARK takes its name from a visionary Miami newspaper editor and civil rights activist from the 1960s.

(Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Civil Rights • Native Americans) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Pumphrey Elementary School

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Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Pumphrey
Completed in 1923 on Berlin Avenue under the Rosenwald Program, which was instrumental in the education of African Americans in the early 20th century. The fund provided matching grants for more than 5,000 schools, shops, and teachers' residences built in 15 southern states from 1917-1932. Modern and progressive, Rosenwald plans set the standard in rural school construction. The Pumphrey school housed and trained students from grades 1-8.

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

Wolcott Falls

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New York, Wayne County, Wolcott

Wolcott Falls
Called by Indians
"Ganadasgua", Leaping
Waters Above the Lake.
Site of Melvin's Mills
established 1809

(Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 8 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Site of Curfew by John J. Clinton

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Texas, Taylor County, Abilene
Here each New Year’s Eve at midnight for thirty-seven years John J. Clinton, Abilene Chief of Police, emptied his revolver. He began in 1885, decreeing that saloons close at midnight, and that trigger-happy cowboys and townsmen observe the curfew.
     After saloon era passed, his practice became a commemoration.
     Ireland-born Clinton was a Confederate soldier; later scout for U.S. Army, was wounded at “the fight for the water hole.” He was policeman at Dodge City, Kansas, then served Abilene until his death. Men respected him for his courage and integrity.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967

(Notable Persons) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Fox Point Lightouse

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Newfoundland and Labrador, Division No. 9 (North Peninsula), St. Anthony
In 1912, a light was established at the south entrance of St. Anthony Harbour replacing the original harbour light placed there in 1906.

The white occulting light was installed in a cast-iron light tower. It exhibited 20.5 meters (67 feet) above sea level and was visible for 10 miles. A fog alarm was installed at the site in 1936 house(d) in a flat -roofed wooden building. The light tower and the fog alarm building were painted with red and white vertical stripes. W. Patey was the first keeper. Joseph Boyd was keeper in 1938.

In 1952 a new fog alarm was installed and in 1955 provision was made for a new landing, storehouse and outdoor toilet. A bungalow was constructed in the same year. Because the lighthouse was only a 20-minute walk from St. Anthony, the keeper’s children were able to attend school and the families could participate in social functions in the town.
In 1960 the iron tower was replaced with a combined light tower and fog alarm building, a new aluminum lantern was installed, and the acetylene gas light was converted to station-generated electricity. A second dwelling was constructed in the early 1960s. The lightkeepers at the time were W. and B.S. Pynn. Commercial power was brought to the station in 1970.

The site was de-staffed in July 1992, but was re-staffed in July 2002. Two dwelling shave been acquired from the Canadian Government. One has been removed for residential purposes and the other is a commercial property.

Information provided by the Canadian Coast Guard.

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