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Fairmount Water Works

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
Centerpiece of Philadelphia's water system, 1815-1909. The neoclassical buildings, designed by Frederick Graff and Frederic Graff, Jr., concealed huge machines that pumped Schuylkill River water to a reservoir above, whence it flowed to the city. Power was originally supplied by Oliver Evans' high-pressure steam engine, the largest of its day. After 1821 the pumps were driven by breast wheels; after 1851, by turbines.

(Charity & Public Work • Industry & Commerce) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Marsh House

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Georgia, Walker County, LaFayette
The Marsh House was built by Spencer Stewart Marsh about 1836. Mr. Marsh was born in Chatham County, North Carolina, on November 25, 1799, and was the son of William Marsh, a soldier in the American Revolution for whom the local William Marsh chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is named. Mr. Marsh and his wife, Ruth Brantley Marsh, moved to Covington, Georgia, in Newton County in 1832. The Marshes moved to Walker County, Georgia, about 1835. They settled in the area that was called Chattooga or Chattoogaville at that time; the town was later called Benton and, finally, LaFayette.

The family's first home was a Williamsburg-style cottage on the site of the present house. While their new house was being built, the Marshes lived in a log house near what is now the town square. When completed, the house had four rooms over four rooms with wide central halls on the first and second floors. A large porch with square columns was constructed on the south side of the house; a second story balcony with a door from the upstairs hall was built over this porch. The original kitchen was in the basement on the east side of the house, and food was brought to the first floor by a dumbwaiter. A wing on the east side was added later to move the kitchen to the main floor.

In the mid-1830's, residents of the growing community wished to build a new building to replace the one-room log cabin which served as a school at that time. Mr. Marsh donated the land just south of his residence for the new school, originally called Chattooga Academy and later dedicated as John B. Gordon Hall. The Marsh home became the school-time residence of John B. Gordon who later served as a Confederate general and Georgia governor.

In 1863, when it became apparent that the Civil War would come to Northwest Georgia, the Marshes moved south to Cassville, Georgia. During their absence, the house was occupied by Union troops. After the war the Marshes returned home to find all their furniture and household items had been taken. The floors in the downstairs hall were blood soaked and marked with the hoof prints of horses. The family found many bullets in the outer walls and bullet holes in the glass around the upstairs outer door on the house's south side. The family restored the house but left some of the bullet holes as a reminder that the house had survived the war.

The house remained in the family for more than 150 years. The last member of the family to occupy the house was Mr. Marsh's great-granddaughter, Addie Augusta Wert. Walker County purchased the house in spring 2003. Under an agreement with the Walker County Historical Society, the county owns the building and participates in its preservation through the Walker County Historic Preservation Commission and the Marsh House Community Task Force.

(Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 10 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Chattooga Academy

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Georgia, Walker County, LaFayette
Chattooga Academy served as Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's headquarters from September 10-17, 1863. Bragg reportedly prepared for the Battle of Chickamauga under a large oak tree in front of the building; the tree, later known as Bragg's Oak, was destroyed during a storm in the 1920's. During the Battle of LaFayette on June 24, 1864, Confederate Capt. William V. Harrell, under Gen. Gideon Pillow's command, attacked Union troops using the building to store supplies.

The Georgia General Assembly authorized constructing an academy in Walker County in 1835. Chattooga Academy derived its name from the name of the area's original settlement, Chattooga or Chattoogaville, and was later called LaFayette Academy. Completed in 1836 on land donated by Spencer Stewart Marsh, Chattooga Academy is believed to be Georgia's oldest remaining brick schoolhouse. Built for about $800, the building replaced a log cabin school and consists of one large room on each floor with a chimney at each end. The bricks were manufactured in Rock Spring.

Before Lafayette Presbyterian Church was built south of the school, area residents organizing the church met in the school and other area buildings until 1848. That church, which stands at the intersection of South Main Street and Withers Street, served as a hospital after the Battle of Lafayette.

Spelling, grammar, reading, geography, philosophy and ancient language comprised the curriculum. A Presbyterian minister served as the school's first teacher. Boys and girls attended the school. City leaders decided in 1849 to build a Female Academy nearby, and the Chattooga Academy building became the Male Academy. The Female Academy building was wood, painted white and had several windows; in June 1864, Union troops dismantled the Female Academy building and built a fortification with the wood. The brick building and a large two-story, frame building built northwest of the school in 1897 functioned as a school, called Lafayette Academy, for area children until 1921, when a new school was built.

In the 1920s, the building was renovated and became a meeting place for Lafayette women's clubs for many years. The windows and doors were replaced and the interior remodeled extensively during the renovation; however, the building's exterior appears much as it did before the alterations. By 1925, the building was named after John B. Gordon, who had attended the academy as a child and went on to serve as a Confederate general, U.S. senator and Georgia governor. The William Marsh Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated the building as John B. Gordon Hall on Nov. 15, 1936. While attending the school, Gordon and his brother roomed with the Marsh family in the neighboring house. The Marsh and Gordon families were friends, and "Uncle Zack," as Gordon's father was called, visited the Marsh House frequently.

The LaFayette Area Chamber of Commerce located in the building in 1971. In the 1990s, the City of LaFayette used the building as an office and community meeting facility. The building is listed as Chattooga Academy on the National Register of Historic Places.

(Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 9 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

A Crossroads of Events

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Montana, Yellowstone County, near Worden
The Yellowstone Valley at Pompeys Pillar was a crossroads for travelers and wildlife and a cavalry campsite and staging area.

The artist’s rendering on this sign depicts the area directly across the river as it may have looked in 1873 when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and men of the Yellowstone Expedition, commanded by Col. David Stanley, camped there.

The troops protected engineers and surveyors working on the Northern Pacific Line from Indian attacks. The completed railroad would soon link the rest of the country with the North Pacific coast.

(Railroads & Streetcars • Wars, US Indian) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Smallest River Runs Through It

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Montana, Cascade County, Great Falls
From here you can witness one of the shortest rivers in the country flowing into the longest river. The Roe River ranks as one of the shortest rivers at only 201 feet in length. The Missouri River is the longest in the country stretching 2,540 miles, 200 miles longer than the Mississippi River.

The Roe River gets its name from the term “Roe”, which commonly means fish eggs. Learn about the various stages of fish growth and the hatchery process by visiting Giant Springs Fish Hatchery Visitor Center. Each year one million rainbow trout are raised here. You may also enjoy feeding the fish in the nearby show pond.

(Photo caption)
The Roe River flowing out of Giant Springs, photo courtesy of Ben Chovanak

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

Where Does the Water Come From?

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Montana, Cascade County, Great Falls
Geologists have determined that water seeps into the ground southeast of Great Falls in the Little Belt Mountains, where the Madison Limestone formation is exposed at the land surface. The water then travels through the formation toward Giant Springs.

In the springs area, the Madison Formation is about 400 feet below the surface. Pressure caused by the overlying rock layers forces the water from the Madison to escape upward, through the cracks in the overlying sandstone. These cracks are visible in the photo at right.

It takes less than 50 years for water to flow from the Little Belt Mountains to the Giant Springs area. The water emerges from the ground at a consistent 54 degrees, all year long.

(Photo caption)
Water escapes through the cracks, forming Giant Springs, photo courtesy of Christopher Dantic

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

Formation of the Gorge and Falls

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Montana, Cascade County, near Great Falls


... the rocks seems to be most happily fixed to present a sheet of the whitest beaten froath for 200 yards in length and about 80 feet perpendicular. — Meriwether Lewis, June 13, 1805

The Great Falls of the Missouri River was first described in writing by Meriwether Lewis on June 13, 1805. In 1915, the upper part of the falls was inundated by Ryan Dam to produce electricity. These photos are views of the falls before the dam was constructed.

... the irregular and somewhat projecting rocks below receives the water in it’s passage down and brakes it into a perfect white foam which assumes a thousand foams ...
— Meriwether Lewis, June 13, 1805

The explorers were very impressed with the narrowness of the Missouri gorge and the falls:
... I beheld those Cateracts with astonishment the whole of the water of this great river Confined in a Channel of 280 yards and pitching over a rock of 97 feet ... — William Clark, viewing the falls for the first time (June 17, 1805)

Natural waterfalls need three things:
  1. Plenty of water at least seasonally
  2. A river or stream that is cutting down through the landscape due to some recent change in the the drainage. In this area, the Missouri River was apparently forced out of its old channel when a continental ice sheet moved into northern Montana during the last ice age. The displaced river went to work cutting a new channel, and it has not yet finished the job. In time, it will look more like the Missouri River valley upstream and downstream of the gorge. The river will meander across a broader valley with fewer waterfalls.
  3. A layer of rock that resists erosion more than the rocks above or below it. Hard sandstones are interlayered here with softer mudstones. As the river cuts its gorge, it gets “hung up” on the resistant sandstone layers, forming falls.


(Environment • Exploration • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

A Glacial Lake

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Montana, Flathead County, near West Glacier
A river of ice over 2,000 feet thick moved down this valley. Lake McDonald is evidence of its passing.

When the glacier receded more than ten thousand years ago, it revealed a changed landscape. The ice had quarried away huge amounts of rock. A terminal moraine dammed McDonald Creek, impounding Lake McDonald.

Glaciers are slow-moving rivers of ice. Like conveyor belts they transport large volumes of material. As rocks and dirt pile up along the edges of the melting ice, they form moraines. Material that builds up at the snout is called a terminal moraine; debris deposited along the sides forms lateral moraines. The ridge across the lake and the ridgeline behind you are covered by lateral moraines left by the glacier.

The lake fills a steep-sided glacial trough and is the deepest lake in the park at 472 feet (144 meters).

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

489th Bomb Group (H)

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Ohio, Montgomery County, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

In Memory Of Those Who Served

Halesworth, England:
22 April 1944 – 29 November 1944
First Mission: 30 May 1944
Last Mission: 10 November 1944
Missions: 106 – Sorties: 2,998
Bomb Tonnage: 6,951

(Air & Space • Patriots & Patriotism • War, World II) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

433rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron

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Ohio, Montgomery County, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

Truax Field, Wisconsin 1952 – 1954
Ladd AFB, Alaska 1954 – 1957

In Honor of Those Who Served
That We Might Live In Peace

(Air & Space • Patriots & Patriotism • War, Cold) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

553rd Reconnaissance Wing's Vietnam Fallen

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Ohio, Montgomery County, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

In honor of the fallen from the
553rd Reconnaissance Wing Vietnam Conflict

TSgt James H Belflower
Major Paul R Lundsford
TSgt Albert N Booker – 1Lt John A Marsh
Major Thomas M Brandom Jr
Lt Col William C McCormick Jr
A1C Michael J Cotterill – Sgt Mitchel Messing
SSgt Jerald C C Davis – SSgt James D Moore
A1C Ronald C DeForrest – Sgt Mark M Steeley
TSgt Warren C DeLaney – Sgt William D Stepp
SSgt Paul Faulk – Sgt Julius C Houlditch Jr
TSgt Kenneth W Fowler
Sgt Arnold Noel Jaco
Lt Col Emerson E Heller – Major Joyfull J Jenkins
Capt George R Kidd – SSgt Gunther H Rehling

(Air & Space • Patriots & Patriotism • War, Vietnam) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

TAC Missileers

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Ohio, Montgomery County, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

A group of Air Force men that stepped forward at a pivotal time of the Cold War and performed their duty in isolated sites world wide in an outstanding manner with little or no recognition for a job well done. Bravo

(Air & Space • Patriots & Patriotism • War, Cold) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Misawa Air Base & Remote Radar Sites

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Ohio, Montgomery County, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

Protected the air space of
northern Japan during the
Korean War & the Cold War

(Air & Space • Patriots & Patriotism • War, Cold • War, Korean) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The German Society of Pennsylvania

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
The oldest German American organization in the US was founded Dec. 26, 1764, in Philadelphia to provide legal aid, welfare, and language support to German immigrants. Its library, containing one of the nation’s largest German collections, is used by the public and scholars world-wide. The Society moved here in 1888 and continues to preserve German culture and heritage through language instruction, as well as music and educational programs.

(Education • Notable Places) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Robert Purvis

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
An abolitionist, Purvis fought for the rights of Blacks through his lecturing, writing, and activity in antislavery societies. As an agent for the Underground Railroad, he built a secret area here at his house to hide slaves.

(Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Education) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Hershey's First Candy Store

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
Milton Snavely Hershey opened his first candy business here on June 1, 1876, at eighteen years of age. The confectionery shop produced and sold candies, nuts, and baked goods. Although initially successful, credit issues led to its closure. Undeterred, Hershey founded the Lancaster Caramel Co. in 1886, which became extremely profitable. Established as a subsidiary of that company, the Hershey Chocolate Co. achieved international success.

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

America's First Lager

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
In 1840, John Wagner brought lager yeast from his native Bavaria and brewed the nation's first lager beer. Later, other German immigrants began brewing lagers, which soon became popular & promoted growth of America's brewing industry

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

African Zoar Methodist Episcopal Church

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
Founded here in 1794 by 15 men and three women from St. George's Church, led by Rev. Harry Hosier. Zoar was active in the Underground Railroad and moved to 12th and Melon Streets in 1883. It is United Methodism's oldest Black congregation.

(Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Churches, Etc.) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

David Bustill Bowser

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
A self-taught Black artist, Bowser, who lived here, began his career as a landscape, sign emblem, and banner painter. He also painted portraits including several of Lincoln and one of abolitionist John Brown.

(African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

St. John Neumann

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
Here lie the remains of the first male American saint, canonized in 1977. Born 1811 in Bohemia, he came to the U.S. in 1836. A devoted Redemptorist priest, he became fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, 1852, and set up nation's first Catholic diocesan school system. Died, 1860.

(Churches, Etc. • Education) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
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