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John W. Smith

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Texas, Bexar County, San Antonio
Great early San Antonio leader, a native of North Carolina. Moved to Illinois, then to Missouri, where he was sheriff of Rawls County in 1824. Came to Texas with Green DeWitt in 1826 and settled at Gonzales.

Smith moved to San Antonio in 1828 and was soon in banking-mercantile, brokerage-contracting business.

Loyal to democracy and opposed to dictatorship, he was active in defending Texas against Mexico, 1835-42. He participated in "Affair at Gonzales" (Oct. 2, 1835), "Storming of Bexar" (Dec. 1835), siege of the Alamo (March 1836), and the Battle of the Salado (Oct. 1842).

Divorced on Jan. 15, 1831, in Missouri from Harriet Stone, he married Maria Curbelo, a descendant of the Canary Islanders who came to San Antonio in 1731.

Attorney for many pioneer Texans, he was dominant political figure in Bexar County during 1836-45 era. Elected first county clerk on May 1, 1837, and first Mayor of San Antonio Sept. 18, 1837, by Jan. 1838 he had been appointed postmaster as well. From 1842 to 1845 he served the Republic as senator from Bexar. During regular session of the 9th Congress, he died at Washington-on-the-Brazos. His grave is located in a State Park there. This marker stands at the site of his early home in La Villita De San Fernando.

(Politics • Settlements & Settlers • War, Texas Independence) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The German-English School Buildings

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Texas, Bexar County, San Antonio
Erected as a school for children of German settlers, these historic buildings have served numerous educational and cultural purposes:

1858 – German–English school founded by "The Lateiner”, a group of German intellectuals.
1859 – Purchase of 60 varas on Alamo St. Cornerstone laid Nov. 10 for one-story limestone building on NE corner, dedicated to the poet Friedrich Von Schiller: architect G. Friesleben, builder Johann H. Kampmann.
1860 – One-story building added on SE corner.
1869 – Two-story limestone building on NW corner dedicated to scientist Baron von Humboldt.
c. 1873 - Two 2-story brick buildings added to complete permanent structures on campus.
1897 – Property acquired by F. Groos & Mrs. Hulda Groos; half interest sold to G.W. Brackenridge.
1903 – Property conveyed to San Antonio Independent School district, public schools on site;
1903-23 - George W. Brackendridge Grammar School.
1923-25 - Thomas Nelson Page Junior High School.
1925-51 - San Antonio Junior College established under supervision of University of Texas, providing affordable higher education during the Depression. College moved to larger campus 1951.
1953 – Through preservation efforts of San Antonio Conservation Society, title transferred from SAISD to City of San Antonio for use as offices.
1964 – Building restored for headquarters of Hemisfair, San Antonio’s 1968 World’s Fair: Allison Peery, architect.
1979 – Plaza Nacional Corp. leased site from city.
1982 – Restoration and landscaping of building and grounds supervised by Ford, Powell & Carson, architects, to create Plaza San Antonio Conference Center.

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

Commemorating

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Texas, Bexar County, San Antonio
The 20th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signing ceremony which occurred in this place on October 7, 1992 between the countries of Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America.

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

The Weaving Building And Kiln

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Texas, Bexar County, San Antonio
This property was the site of a small caliche house that stood at 105 Nacional Street. Because of its poor condition, the house was demolished during the restoration of La Villita in 1939. The property had been owned by José Maria Monjaras and Damaso de los Reyes in the mid- to late-l9th century.

One of the original purposes of the La Villita restoration project was to promote arts and crafts, and the kiln and weaving building were part of the program. The kiln was used to fire clay pavers, plaques and other materials used in the restoration of La Villita, and later for the crafts programs that were taught here. The weaving building provided space for another NYA craft program. The craft classes taught in La Villita for many years eventually led to the development of the Southwest Craft Center.

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

Bolivar Hall

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Texas, Bexar County, San Antonio
Construction of Bolivar Hall was begun in 1940 and completed in 1941. The combination library, museum, and community center was dedicated to the promotion of inter-American peace, and was named in honor of South American patriot, Simon Bolivar. Bolivar Hall was constructed on the site of the Dechman Coffee Company warehouse and two small houses at 113 and 117 Nacional Street. A branch of the San Antonio Public Library operated here for several years, as well as a museum and information center.

The building was intended to be built of caliche blocks excavated from the site, but was built in a more contemporary way using limestone veneer. The buildings style is reminiscent of early buildings in San Antonio such as the old Ursuline Academy dormitory.

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

Louis I. Kahn

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
Among the foremost architects of the late 20th century. Trained in the Beaux-Arts method at the University of Pennsylvania, Kahn redefined architecture through his extraordinary use of mass, light, and structure. A Penn professor, his office was here.

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

Anne Brancato Wood

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
A child of Italian immigrants, Brancato entered Democratic city politics in 1928. One of few women in the state assembly (1932-41), she sponsored pioneering social reform legislation. Her business offices were located here.

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

Walnut Street Theatre

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
Founded 1809. The oldest theater in America and the oldest playhouse in continuous use in the English-speaking world. A National Historic Landmark. Many of the greatest actors of America and Europe have appeared on stage here.

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

Storm Mountain

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Alberta, near Lake Louise


ENGLISH INSCRIPTION

Mountains create their own weather
As winds swirl around and rise above these massive barriers, clouds build up and bring the rain and snowstorms for which Storm Mountain was named.

Travellers Converge in Valleys
Vermilion Pass provides a vital low-elevation travel route through the mountains of the Continental Divide. Wild animals have long used these valley pathways to find seasonal food sources and new home ranges. People have also used these valley routes for thousands of years.

Now many animals risk death when they must travel along and across our roads and railways. Other animals, like lynx and wolverine, avoid busy highways altogether, limiting their ability to find new habitats and mates.

(Journal Entry)
August 16
Yesterday we hiked up to Stanley Glacier in Kootenay National Park.

We took the Trans-Canada Highway to get there. Grandpa says the fences and wildlife overpasses work pretty well, but you still have to watch out for animals on the roads.

At the end of the trail we saw a marmot and hear a big chunk of ice fall off the glacier. Grandpa said the glacier is a lot smaller now that it was when he was my age. I hope there will still be glaciers and wildlife here when I’m older.


FRENCH INSCRIPTION

Les montagnes créent leur propre climat
Sous l′effet des vents qui soufflent et qui s′élèvent de ces murs massifs, des nuages s′accumulent et amènent la pluie et les tempêtes de neige qui ont valu son nom à cette montagne (« storm » signifie tempête en français).

Les voyageurs se retouvent dans les vallées
Le col Vermilion offre un couloir de déplacement à basse altitude essentiel &agravae; quiconque souhaite traverser les montagnes de la Ligne de partage des eaux. Les animaux savuages empruntent depuis longtemps les corridors de ces vallées pour trouver de la nourriture en saison et de nouveaux territoires. L′étre humain parcourt aussi ces routes depuis des milliers d′années.

Aujourd′hui, les animaux sont nombreux à risquer la mort parce qu′ils doivent longer ou traverser nos routes et nos voies ferrées. D′autres animaux, comme le lynx et le carcajou, préfèrent éviter complètement les routes achalandées, ce qui restreint le choix de nouvelles parcelles d′habitat et de nouveaux partenaires.

(Entrée de Journal)
16 août
Hier nous avans grimpé jusqu′au glacier Stanley, dans le parc national Kootenay.

Nous avons dû emprunter la Transcanadienne pour nous y rendre. Grand-papa dit que les clôtures et les passerelles pour animaux sauvages fonctionnent assez bien, mais qu′il faut tout de même faire attention aux animaux sur toutes les routes.

À la fin du sentier, nous avons vu une marmotte et nous avons entendu un gros bloc de glace se détacher du glacier. Grand-papa a dit que le glacier est beaucoup plus petit maintenant que quand il avait mon âge. J′espère qu′il y aura encore des glaciers et des animaux sauvages quand je seral grande.

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

Benito Juarez

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Texas, Bexar County, San Antonio
As one of the creators of modern Mexico, President Juarez led the separation of church and state and the resistance against French imperial designs. He also promoted new economic development.

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

City of Vero Beach

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Florida, Indian River County, Vero Beach

Panel 1:
The pattern of community development which occurred in Vero Beach provides insight into some important aspects of Florida's history. Although the coastal waters in the region attracted fishermen, settlement of this area did not occur until the 1880s. During that decade the problem of transportation which had deterred settlers was solved by railroad construction. In 1891 a post office named Vero was established at the home of Henry Gifford who had settled on the site in 1880. When the railroad was extended south to Lake Worth, a depot was built at Vero. With the railroad came tourism and a growing interest in the area. At that time, large scale drainage of swamp land such as that which surrounded Vero was being undertaken in Florida. An example of the way in which investors took advantage of the newly recognized potential of swampy areas may be found in creation of the Indian River River Farms Company. (continued on reverse) Panel 2: (continued from reverse) In 1909 Henry T. Zeuch of Davenport, Iowa, visited the Vero area. He saw land that could be drained and sold to citrus farmers and cattle raisers. A corporation, the Indian River Farms Company was chartered in 1912 with stockholders who were chiefly residents of Zeuch's home town. In 1913 the town of Vero was plated at the Company's direction. In 1915 the Vero Woman's Club was founded, an act which signified the vitality of the new community. A club house, located near this marker was built the next year on land donated by the Indian River Farms Company. The planned drainage program was completed in 1917. In that year, maintenance and extension of the drainage area was given over to the State of Florida. The name of the community was changed to Vero Beach in 1925, when the town became the county seat of newly created Indian River County. The Indian River Farms Company was dissolved in 1936. Vero Beach has remained the center of this productive citrus growing region. Sponsored by Vero Beach Woman's Club in cooperation with Department of State.

(Agriculture • Industry & Commerce • Notable Persons • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

St. Lucie County

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Florida, Saint Lucie County, Fort Pierce
St. Lucie County was formed in 1844 and recreated in 1905. Named for St. Lucie of Syracuse, the region's original inhabitants were the Tegesta Indians. Ft. Pierce, the county seat, was named for Major B.K. Pierce, brother of Pres. Franklin Pierce. The fort was the headquarters of the Army of the South under Gen. Jesup during the Seminole Indian wars. A settlement about the fort began soon after its establishment about 1838.

(Forts, Castles • Native Americans • Wars, US Indian) Includes location, directions, 8 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Pentoaya

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Florida, Brevard County, Melbourne
The Ais Indian town of Pentoaya is thought to have been located atop the arc-shaped sand bluffs that surround the western edge of what is now Ballard Park. Pentoaya was an important prehistoric Indian settlement on the east coast of Florida, and was one of ten towns recorded on Alvaro Mexia’s 1605 map of Indian habitation sites. The segment of the Indian River Lagoon that stretches from this site to Floridana Beach was once called Pentoaya Lagoon. Like many Ais villages located along the Indian River Lagoon, the wintertime location of Pentoaya was along a barrier island near present-day Gleason Park in Indian Harbor Beach, while this site probably served as Pentoaya’s primary location during the rest of the year. Artifacts found here date from as early as 2000 BC to as late as AD 1700, and range from fiber-tempered Orange pottery to more recent Malabar II check-stamped pottery. Pentoaya’s location where the Eau Gallie and Indian rivers meet would have contributed to its economic and political importance among the Ais and their ancestors. The main settlement of the Ais Indians — their paramount village — was located at the Kroegel homestead, just south of the city of Sebastian in Indian River County.

(Native Americans) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Chief Hard Fish / Eddyville Historic Site Marker

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Iowa, Wapello County, Eddyville

Indian Village Centenary
of
Chief Hard Fish
Dedicated 1937

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

Round Island Baptist Church

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Alabama, Limestone County, near Athens

Side A
A church older than the county and state. First meeting house built in the fall of 1816, on Indian land, a few miles south of there along Round Island Creek. The first Govt. Land sales were in Feb. 1818 after treaties with the Chickasaws in 1816 and Cherokees in 1817. Thos. O'Banion was interim minister until the church formally organized on June 17, 1817 when Jeremiah Tucker was elected it's pastor. Families making up the 12 charter members were: Tucker, Lambert, Morgan, Ables, McWilliams, Stamps, and Barclay.

The church relocated to the present site about 1823, after John Favor, a Rev. War veteran and member of the congregation, donated the land.

The original building, which faced the cemetery, remained unchanged until 1920, when the first of two additions was built, giving the church the shape of a cross. (Continued on other side) Side B (Continued from other side) The original buildings were torn down in 1974, and several building projects, including the sanctuary completed in 2002, brought the church to its present form. Many Baptist churches in the area were formed as missions of Round Island, the "Springboard" of the Baptist faith in Limestone County.

With no pastor during the Civil War, the congregation scattered, but was reunited afterward. One Aug. 28, 1870, Pisgah Baptist and Round Island merged as one body called "Round Island Baptist Church."

Over the opposition of some members, the first church organ was purchased in 1910 from Sears Roebuck & Co. for $39.65. During a lengthy meeting in 1913, there were 76 conversions, 49 of whom joined the church, which thrives today with a large and active congregation.

(Churches, Etc. • Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Vermont Brigade Counterattacks

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Virginia, Fredericksburg
On May 4, 1863, Colonel Lewis A. Grant's brigade of Vermont regiments held the ridge to your right front. Late i the day, Brigadier Generals Harry T. Hays and Robert Hoke launched their Louisiana and North Carolina brigades against a Union line at what is new Hugh Mercer School, Colonel Isaac E.Avery stepping in to command the North Carolinians after Hoke fell wounded. When the first Federal line collapsed, the Confederates hastened forward, across this terrain.

The awaiting Federals in a second line lay prone. As their adversaries closed in, the Vermont men rose up and delivered several volleys of musketry. The Confederates fell back and the Federals surged forward in a counterattack that captured hundreds of prisoners. The local success proved short-lived, though, because another Confederate attack gained critical ground near Fall Hill (behind you) and the Federals in this area had to pull back or be captured.

"We waited until the enemy were within twenty feet of our guns, then rose, fired and charged at one with level bayonets."

"the ground was covered with one commingled mass of rebel knapsacks, haversacks, canteens, muskets and equipment, besides the dead and dying...."

-Vermont soldiers

(captions)
(left map) On the morning of May 4, 1863, a Confederate advance severed the Union Sixth Corps' link with Fredericksburg (1). In the late afternoon, the Confederates launched an attack (2), but a substantial part of the Confederate force did not advance (3). The Southern assaults pressed into this area (4), but the Federals had a strong line and held until another Confederate column moved in behind them (5). During the night, the Union force collapsed its lines and retreated across bridges downstream from Banks Ford (6). These maps are oriented to the direction you are facing, and also show the modern road network to help relate the action to the ground.

(center photo) Colonel Lewis A. Grant had been a teacher and a lawyer before the war, but readily adapted to the profession of arms. On May 4, 1863, he skillfully defended the Federal line in this area, for which he would be awarded the Medal of Honor.

(right map) Colonel Lewis A. Grant's brigade of Vermont and New Jersey troops held the Federal line in this sector. Some of these regiments had already been engaged, but had fallen back and redeployed as shown here. Advancing into the sun, units from North Carolina and Louisiana were surprised by a severe fire from this new line and fell back in disorder. Not until John B. Gordon's Georgia brigade moved up a ravine and flanked the Federal position was the Vermont brigade forced to pull back.

Fredericksburg Timeless
Spotsylvania Stafford Federicksburg
Panel design by Jackson Foster, The I.D. Entity

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

Goosetown Tavern

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Colorado, Jefferson County, Golden
In Golden's early days this area was called Goosetown neighborhood. The origin of the name is uncertain. The first residents were mostly German immigrants who worked at local breweries, rail yards and smelters. Their homes were simple, wood frame buildings. The Goosetown Tavern, constructed on this site for Julius Schultz in 1873 and originally known as Schultz's grocery, was an elegant structure with a prominent front porch veranda. It served over the years as a bakery, grocery and tavern. The tavern at 300 10th Street was renamed Sam's Land in the mid 1970s and razed in 1998.

(Industry & Commerce • Man-Made Features • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Samuel Rea

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New York, New York County, New York
Under whose able supervision the Pennsylvania Station and the extension of the railroad serving it, into New York City, was designed and constructed. The original station was opened to the public in September 1910 and was redeveloped, providing for Madison Square Garden Center above street level, during the years 1963-1968

(Entertainment • Railroads & Streetcars) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Masonic Temple Philadelphia

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
The 1873 Masonic Temple, a National Historic Landmark, is home to the Grand Lodge of Pa. Its lodge rooms, featuring varied architectural themes, and its stonework are widely acclaimed. Its prominence in size and location reflects Free-masonry’s importance in American history.

(Charity & Public Work • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Thomas E. Cahill

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Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
Entrepreneur and philanthropist who bequeathed the bulk of his estate to establish Roman Catholic High School for Boys, the first free Catholic high school in the US. Founded here in 1890, the school initiated a diocesan high school system that became a model throughout the nation. Coming from a poor immigrant family, Cahill sought to provide young men from similar backgrounds with the secondary education denied him.

(Charity & Public Work • Education) Includes location, directions, 1 photo, GPS coordinates, map.
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