whose ideas brought about
this park and this windmill
(Notable Persons) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The boundaries of the future Thayer County were first defined in 1856, and the county was named Jefferson. In 1867 Jones County to the east was attached. The legislature in 1871 divided the single large county into two, naming the western county Thayer. The eastern county became today's Jefferson County. Thayer County is named for John M. Thayer, Civil War general and Nebraska U.S. senator, 1867-71. He later served as Nebraska governor. Hebron, the county seat, was established in 1871.
Several great trails to the West passed through Thayer County, including the Oregon-California Trail, the Pony Express Trail, and the overland stagecoach route. In 1864 Indians raided ranches and stage stations along the trails in Thayer County. The St. Joseph and Denver City Railroad came in 1872. Thayer County is the home of Nebraska's woman suffrage movement, forming the first permanent woman suffrage association in 1879.
The Thayer County courthouse, completed in 1903, is constructed of Indiana Bedford limestone and Vermont marble. The building's tower was so badly damaged by the Hebron tornado of 1953 that it had to be removed.
(Man-Made Features • Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
To honor the
brave men and women
of Thayer County
who honorably serverd
their country
in war and in peace
(Patriots & Patriotism • War, Korean • War, Vietnam • War, World II) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Tell me it ain't so, Joe. This reporter's smile crumpled to the floor as I scanned the Guinness website to find the world's largest porch swing listing. It doesn't exist. The only category I could fin[d] that even came close was the world's longest swing. [S]o, is the Hebron Porch Swing still the largest in the world? Well, as a former boss of mine is prone to say..."My ball, my rules...I win!" So, I guess the answer is yes. Until somebody comes forward with proof that a bigger one exists, I think that we still hold the record for the World's Largest Porch Swing.
So, how's your history knowledge...? Do you know how this swing came to be built? Who was behind it? How much did it cost? Well, read on.
The scene was a smoke filled back room...the Hebron crowd was forming a plot to unseat Seward as Nebraska's Fourth of July city. During the course of the night, many an idea was floated, but one of the best came from Joyce Ortman.
She had been in Kansas City recently, and was amazed to see folks lined up for a couple city blocks just to have a chance to swing on an old fashioned four seater porch swing.
Tim O'Callaghan, prompted by a couple of others, including Don Vostrez, realized that if a four seater drew that kind of a crowd, then a sixteen seater ought to be the real deal.
Tim's dad, Paul teamed up with Reinke Engineering Vice-President, John Davis, to design and what was to become "The World's Largest Porch Swing".
Paul worked on the initial design and did the wood working on the seats, while John, utilizing donated Reinke Irrigation System components, came up with the design for "Super Swing" skeleton. Tim claims that the whole deal was done for a couple of hundred bucks of hard money and lots of volunteer time from folks all over the community.
Tim points out that it really brought the community together. The pride, camaraderie and the spirit of working towards a common goal were big dividends paid by the project.
For just plain, wholesome fun, it's hard to beat the big swing...and there have been a few not so...ahh, I don't think I'll go there, suffice it to say that there has been plenty of friskin' around on that ol swing over the years.
The main point is that right now we own the title of the World's Biggest [Largest] Porch Swing, even if the boys at Guinness have lost the information, and it'll be up to a challenger, not to us, to prove differently.
————————————
A little known fact: The overhead span of the swing is actually a sub-component of the Reinke CornerGator, which was one of the most unique corner watering systems ever deployed. It was designed to telescope out in the corner of a field instead of steering a tower over a buried wire, as today's modern designs do.
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Original Site: Hebron CC Camp
Original Paint: Red, White, and Blue
Originally Buil[t]: 1985
Moved to present site: 1991
Estimated Capacity: 16 Adults, 24 Children
Sources: Omaha World Herald, Guinness World Record webpage, interviews.
(Charity & Public Work • Entertainment • Man-Made Features) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
This statue of our school's mascot, the Hebron Bear, is dedicated to our classmates and friends who made our time in school so memorable, to the teachers, coaches, school board volunteers and administrators who provided the invaluable guidance and motivation early in our lives, and to the local community and its citizens for providing such a wonderful education and place in which to grow up. This school and this community have proudly provided a quality education for nearly 3,500 of its children from 1871 thru 2000 as Hebron High School.
We dedicated this statue in its honor and memory.
(Education • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was authorized by Congress in 1933 to provide employment and vocational training to young men during the Great Depression. The CCC worked on forestry and soil conservation projects across the nation. Company 752 of the CCC occupied a camp at this site from October 2, 1934, through August 15, 1941. Up to 200 men were housed in the compound, known as Camp Thayer. The camp motto was "We lead, others follow." Men from Camp Thayer were sent to the Republican Valley after the 1935 flood to perform emergency work.
During World War II, six of the nine barracks at the former CCC camp were used as a side camp to house as many as 120 German prisoners of war from the overcrowded POW camp at Concordia, Kansas. The first prisoners arrived in early December 1943. The POWs performed farm work arranged by the Thayer County Non-Stock Cooperative Labor Association, replacing local men who had entered military service. The Hebron POW camp closed on November 15, 1945. The site of the camps is now the city's Riverside Park.
(Agriculture • Charity & Public Work • Man-Made Features • War, World II) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
[Title is text]
(Sports) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
During the bombardment of Fort McHenry on September 13-14, 1814, these Ferry Branch fortifications stopped a surprise British maneuver to attack Fort McHenry from the less well-defended rear.
Aftermath
This close call exposed Fort McHenry’s vulnerability to a flanking attack. The fortifications were strengthened and a defensive boom added across Ferry Branch in case the enemy returned.
“About one in the morning the British passed several of their vessels above the Fort and near to town, but providently they were met by the fire of …marine battery.”
Eyewitness account in Salem (MA) Gazette, September 27, 1814.
(Inscription on the left)
Two of the Ferry Branche fortifications show in this 1829 painting by Alfred Jacob Miller. Fort Babcock is right of center, Fort Covington is at far right.
(War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
On September 14, 1814, Fort McHenry withstood a 25-hour British bombardment. The garrison flag waving over the victorious fort inspired Francis Scot Key to pen lyrics that became the U.S. national anthem.
National Treasure
The family of George Armistead, commander at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore, held the garrison flag until 1912. A grandson donated it to the Smithsonian Institution, where it is displayed today.
“Through the clouds of war, the stars of that banner still shone…and in that hour of …joy triumph, my heart spoke…’Does not such a country…deserve a song’ was its question.”
Francis Scot Key, August 6, 1834.
(Inscription about the flag)
Too large for Mary’s house, the 30 x 42-foot garrison flag was finished on the floor of a nearby brewery. Her helpers included an African American indentured servant named Grace Wisher.
(Inscription next to the photo on the right)
Receipt for two flags received on August 19, 1813. Image/Courtesy Star-Spangled Banner Flag House.
(War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Considered heroes, Wells and McComas were buried together and exhumed twice before finally being laid to rest here with great fanfare in 1858. A funeral song and dramatic play commemorated the reburial.
Who Really Killed Ross?
A monument to Aquila Randall stands near the place where Ross fell prior to the Battle of North Point. Some accounts claim 24-year-old Randall fired the shot that killed the British general.
“And in the glorious list of the patriots, whose blood has consecrated that starry flag, unborn ages of freeman shall read with pride, the names of the Boy Martyrs of Baltimore.”
Closing lines of the Boy Martyrs, Clifton W. Tayleure, 1858.
(Inscription below the photo on the left)
Wells and McComas lay in state in side-by-side caskets at Maryland Institute before reburial in 1858. Image/Courtesy Maryland Historical Society.
(Inscription under the photo on the right)
Death of Genl. Ross at Baltimore by Alonzo Chippel, 1859. Image/Courtesy Library of Congress
(War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Quirk of History
-Both the original Star-Spangled Banner flag and manuscript spent time in residences on West Monument Street. Major George Armistead’s heirs retained the flag, heirs of Judge Joseph Nicholson (Key’s brother-in-law) retained the manuscript—each in family ownership for 93 years
“Just a look at his manuscript should make better Americans of all who behold it. May it ever be a reminder of the heroism and patriotism of the defenders of Fort McHenry in 1814.”
Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro at the rededication of Key’s manuscript, Maryland Historical Society, September 14 1954.
(Inscription below the painting on the left)
Assembly of Troops Before the Battle of Baltimore, painted by North Point defender Thomas Ruckle, ca. 1814. Image/Courtesy Maryland Historical Society.
(Inscription below the photo in the upper center)
“Old Defenders of the Battle of Baltimore,” gathering in 1876 for the nation’s centennial. Image/Courtesy Maryland Historical Society
Founded in 1844, the Maryland Historical Society displays artifacts and documents acquired from War of 1812 veterans.
(Inscription beside the photo on the right)
Maryland Historical Society holds the earliest known manuscript for what became the national anthem of the United States, written by Francis Scott Key in 1814. Image/Courtesy Maryland Historical Society.
(War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
David Poe, Sr., who served at the Battle of North Point, is also buried here. He was the grandfather of writer Edgar Allan Poe.
Artist’s Touch
J. Maximilian M. Godefroy, designer of Baltimore’s Battle Monument, left his mark here, too. Godefroy designed the gateposts on the west side of the cemetery and also the tomb of General Samuel Smith.
“My friends I have but one life to lose and that I have at all times been willing to hazard in defense of my beloved country.”
Maj. Gen. Samuel Smith to the Committee of Vigilance and Safety, August 25, 1814.
(Inscriptions below the photos on the left)
John Stuart Skinner, buried here in 1851; John Stricker, buried here in 1825; Samuel Smith, buried here in 1839 with President Martin van Buren in attendance; images/courtesy Maryland Historical Society
(Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Moved by what he had experienced two days earlier, Key used his time here to complete four stanzas for what would become American’s national anthem. First Printing-Key’s manuscript first appeared as a handbill September 17. Since newspapers were suspended while pressmen helped defend the city, a teenaged apprentice set the type. The Baltimore Patriot was the first newspaper to publish Key’s lyrics when it resumed operation September 20.
(Inscription beside the manuscript photo on the right)
Key’s handwritten text for the “Star-Spangled Banner” is at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore. Image/Courtesy Maryland Historical Society.
“…the song, written the night after we got back to Baltimore, in the hotel…at the corner of Hanover and Market streets, was…a versified and almost literal transcript of our…hopes and apprehensions.”
Eyewitness John Stuart Skinner (recounted in 1849)
(Arts, Letters, Music • War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The Chester Municipal Auditorium was a 1938 WPA project intended for social and recreational uses. It was built at a cost of $29,340 with much of the labor done by hand.
(Charity & Public Work • Entertainment • Man-Made Features • Sports) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Mount Vernon residents also led the fight for Women’s Rights. In 1890, Mary Garrett (daughter of John Work Garrett), M. Carey Thomas, Elizabeth King, and Mary Gwinn, among others, formed the Women’s Fund Committee that, with a large donation, forced Hopkins Medical School to admit women on an equal basis with men. In 1906, the National American Women Suffrage Association met in Baltimore; Susan B. Anthony was a guest of Mary Garrett at 101 West Monument Street.
This strain of progressivism survives today at the Baltimore School for the Arts. As one of the top public arts high schools in the country, the school provides training in dance, visual arts, music and theater. Founded in 1979, it occupies two historic buildings-the Alcazar Hotel, the former headquarters of the Knight of Columbus and 704 Cathedral Street, the 1850s-era home of George Brown, second chairman of Alexander Brown and Sons.
(Inscription below the lithograph in the upper center)
An 1870 lithograph celebrating the passage of the 15th Amendment giving African Americans the right to vote. The middle image captures Baltimore’s parade celebrating the event. Directly in the center is the Washington Monument.
(Inscription below the first photo on the right)
Women’s suffrage parade in downtown Baltimore in 1913. Many Mount Vernon residents participated in advocating for women’s right to vote. Mary Garrett and M. Carey Thomas held national influenced within the movement.
(Inscription below the second photo on the right)
This view of West Monument Street was taken from the Washington Monument ca. 1903. The home of John Work Garrett, president of the B & O Railroad, sat on the corner of Cathedral and West Monument streets at 101 West Monument Street. The original campus of Johns Hopkins University loomed over rowhouses in the background.
(Inscription below the third photo on the right)
A portrait of Elisabeth Gilman (1867-1950) and her step-mother. Elisabeth Gilman, daughter of the first Johns Hopkins University president Daniel Coit Gilman, became a tireless social reformer. In 1890, she started a boys’ club and in 1915, a workshop for unemployed Baltimoreans, In World War I, she volunteered as a nurse in France. Here, she become interested in socialism and labor unions. In 1923, she organized relief efforts for striking West Virginian miners and defended members of the International Workers of the World. In addition, she joined the Socialist Party, ran for governor, U.S. Senate, and mayor of Baltimore. She was a board member of the League for Industrial Democracy, secretary of the Maryland Civil Liberties Union, and founder of the Christian Social Justice Fund. Her home, located on Park Avenue, was a refuge for “feisty communist-leaning reformers.”
(Inscription below the fourth photo on the right)
An image of Mary Elizabeth Garrett (1854-1915) who attended Miss Kramer’s School for Girls, at 8 West Mount Vernon Place. In her early years, Mary Garrett assisted her father in his business activities and became known as “papa’s secretary.” In 1878, she founded the Friday Evening Group that discussed the intellectual issues of the day. After her died in 1884, she inherited two million dollars and began her life-long charitable giving. From the 1880s to the 1910s, Mary Garret founded Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore; became a member of the Board of Lady Managers for the Woman’s Industrial Exchange, donated nearly $400,000 to Johns Hopkins Medical School; and donated large sums to Bryn Mawr College and the North American Women’s Suffrage Association.
(Inscription below the fourth photo on the right)
The Alcazar Theater, built in 1926 as part of the Alcazar Hotel by the Knights of Columbus. Since 1979, it has been used as a performance and gallery place for the Baltimore School for the Arts.
(Charity & Public Work • Patriots & Patriotism) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Start your adventure at the Baltimore Visitor Center---you gateway to all that Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay region have to offer. At the Visitor Center, you’ll learn more about the major attractions around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and the shores of the Patapsco River, most of which can be reached easily and quickly by foot or a short water taxi ride. You’ll also discover neighborhoods and trails that will lead you to Baltimore’s gems beyond the water’s edge. Whether you’re interested in sailing ships, screwpile lighthouses, or a bike ride along the Gwynns Falls Trail, Baltimore’s sure to be more than you imagine.
(Inscriptions under the photos in the center)
Top: Along the Trail is this iron wheel used 150 years ago to pump water uphill to Thomas deKay Winans’ Crimea estate, near Leaking Park.
Above: Trail bikers as well as hikers enjoy views of the Gwynns Falls stream valley as seen near bridge crossings.
Left: A bird’s eye view of Baltimore City and the basin (today’s Inner Harbor) by Alexander Hay Ritchie for Lloyd’s Steamboat and Railroad Guide, 1859.
Baltimore’s Greenway to the Chesapeake Bay
Hike, bike, run, walk, skate, fish, boat or picnic---just explore the 15-mile Gwynns Falls Trail. See an old millrace pathway, a carriage driveway, Colonial and 19th century mansions and estates, ruins of old mills, a mock fort, a waterwheel, the oldest continuously used railroad bridge in the United States, and much more.
This unique greenway passes through more than 30 neighborhoods where you will experience one of the largest urban wilderness parks remaining on the East Coast---Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park…with over 2000 acres of stream valley parkland.
Chesapeake Connection
As a major tributary to the Patapsco River and part of the larger watershed of the Chesapeake Bay, Gwynns Falls shares much of the region’s history where water created economic opportunity. The rushing waters of Gwynns Falls powered grain mills that made Baltimore as early commercial success.
(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
On September 12-14, 1844, the British attacked by land from North Point and by water at Fort McHenry on the Patapsco. The impressive American defenses and the failure to capture Fort McHenry persuaded the British to withdraw, essentially ending the Chesapeake Campaign of 1814.
(War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
South of river 
Devil’s Dive 
Three gun batteries hugging the upper shore of Ferry Branch guarded the west flank of Fort McHenry. They included the makeshift earthworks of Fort Babcock, the incomplete Fort Covington, and a temporary redoubt at Ferry Point.
In 1813, Mary Pickersgill’s flag-making business was commissioned to sew a garrison flag and a smaller storm flag for Fort McHenry, Mary’s mother, daughter, nieces, and African American servants helped complete the task in about seven weeks.
Churches have deep roots in the life of this historic African American community. A number of congregations in this immediate area, including Lincoln Temple United Church of Christ on this corner and Vermont Avenue Baptist Church just one block away, date back to the Civil War. At the time, Union Soldiers at Camp Barker at 13th and R Streets and the Wisewell Barracks at 7th and P Streets offered protection and assistance for freedmen fleeing the South.
Daniel Wells, 19 and Henry McComas, 18, made history September 12, 1814, when they allegedly killed a British commander Major General Robert Ross. The two sharpshooters fired simultaneously. Both were quickly dead by British soldier.
At home in the city credited with helping to turn the tide for Americans in the War of 1812, the collections of the Maryland Historical Society preserve evidence of the people who live this history. The Center for Maryland History has the nation’s largest collection representing the war in the Chesapeake and the 1814 Battle for Baltimore.
Featured among the treasured artifacts is the original “Star-Spangled Banner” manuscript penned by Francis Scott Key. 
Once Baltimore’s most prestigious cemetery, Westminster Burying Ground was the final resting place for many prominent Baltimoreans, including some 25 from the War of 1812. Notable burials include: General Samuel Smith, commander of American forces in Baltimore; General John Stricker, American commander at North Point; and John Stuart Skinner, U.S. prisoner exchange agent.
After 10 harrowing days aboard ship and witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key spent his first night ashore at the Indian Queen Tavern, September 16-17, 1814. The inn operated at this site until the 1830s.
Baltimore’s wealthy not only created the rich architectural setting of Mount Vernon Place, but pioneered modern philanthropy. With the founding of the George Peabody Institute in 1857, George Peabody influenced many other wealthy Baltimoreans including Johns Hopkins. On one such occasion, John Work Garrett hosted a dinner party for Johns Hopkins and George Peabody where according to Garrett, Peabody told Johns Hopkins, “For the first time, (I) felt there was a higher pleasure and greater happiness than accumulating money, that was derived from giving it for good and humane purposes…” After this memorable dinner, it is said Johns Hopkins established in his will the creation of the university, medical school, and hospital. By 1893, Baltimore had more millionaire philanthropists than any other city in the country.
It’s amazing how much has happened here since Captain John Smith traveled up the Patapsco while exploring the Chesapeake Bay in 1608. Since its founding in 1729, Baltimore has been the scene of some of American history’s great moments, among them the creation of The Star-Spangled Banner during the War of 1812 and the first bloodshed of the Civil War.
After crushing the Americans at Bladensburg and invading the Nation’s Capital, the British targeted Baltimore. If they could capture the city---the third largest in the United States and a commercial and shipbuilding hub---they could likely bring the war to an end. Military and civilians, including free and enslaved blacks, rallied to fend off the British.
