Pierre S. du Pont, Fountain Visionary

August 15, 2015, 5:39 pm

Pennsylvania, Chester County, East Marlborough

Inspired by the success of the Italian Water Garden and Open Air Theatre fountains, Pierre S. du Pont unveiled the Main Fountain Garden in 1931. The goal was to rival the fountains he had seen in Europe and at the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago. From this inspiration, Mr. du Pont created one of the most impressive fountain gardens in the world, the Main Fountain Garden. This revitalization project that ensures that Pierre S. du Pont's legacy continues for generations to come.

Historic photo of the Main Fountain Garden legacy view, as it was in Pierre S. du Pont's time, 1930. Longwood Library and archives.

A Brief History of the Main Fountain Garden
1921-28 Major Garden components planted, including boxwood and maple species.
1929-36 Major architectural components constructed
1958 Huge snow storm damaged the boxwood, chnaging the look of te Garden for years to come
New fountain control system installed; Eye of water built
1970 Significant plumbing replacement and concrete repairs; Extension of the balustrade
1980s Fireworks and music added; Fountain computer control system integreted fpr the first time
1990s Concerns over the safety of deteriorating stonework led to a number of water features being turned off and the installation of partitions to limit access to several areas
2009 Our Master Planning process began late fall; the final version of the plan was submitted in 2011 and it identified the Main Fountain Garden as the highest priority legacy project.
2012 Planning and design began for New Heights: The Fountain Revitalization Project
2014 Construction began
Summer 2017 Main Fountain Garden reopens

Colvin Randall, P.S. du Pont Fellow, Longwood Gardens
"Mr. du Pont created a 'wow' factor with the Main Fountain Garden. He wanted peopke to be amazed by all the color, drama, and grandeaur."

(Man-Made Features) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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The Soldiers and the Sioux

August 15, 2015, 5:55 pm

≫ Next: Time Travel on the Custer Trail

≪ Previous: Pierre S. du Pont, Fountain Visionary

North Dakota, Stark County, Belfield

Cultural Conflicts Set the Stage
During the late 1880s, miners, traders, and homesteaders rushed to the West, pushing Northern Plains tribes into ever smaller remnants of their homelands. Treaties between the U.S. government and the tribes were made and broken; tensions rose between Native Americans and newcomers. Tribes responded to the wave of Euro-American immigrants with increasingly militant attempts to defend their homes and cultures.

For the Santee Sioux, tensions peaked in August of 1862 and their uprising in Minnesota Territory left 450-800 settlers and soldiers dead. Brig. Gen. Henry Sibley was sent with 1,400 soldiers to suppress the uprising. Many Santee were captured; some fled west to join other Sioux bands. Sibley and Brig. Gen. Alfred Sully pursued the Santee into Dakota Territory where Sibley fought several battles in July and August 1863. In September, Sully’s attack on a Sioux village at Whitestone Hill resulted in more Indian deaths than any other conflict on the Northern Plains.

Throughout Custer Trail Auto interpretation, the name “Sioux” refers to several bands who fought together during the Great Sioux War, including Hunkpapa, Yanktonai, and Santee. They were joined at times by a few Northern Cheyenne and members of other tribes.

Sully’s Campaign
Battle of the Badlands, 1864
In June 1864, Brig. Gen. Sully led the first military expedition into the badlands, intent on further punishing the Sioux and establishing new military posts. Sully engaged the Sioux at Killdeer Mountain on July 28. Ten days later, the Sioux surprised the column coming through a narrow gorge, beginning the three-day running battle – the Battle of the Badlands – that ended at Square Butte with the Sioux in retreat.

Northern Pacific Railroad Surveys, 1871-1873
By the late 1860s, the railroad was intent on pushing west from Bismarck. The Sioux, having witnessed the decimation of bison herds brought by railroads farther south, were equally determined to stop them. The resulting tension made military protection of railroad survey parties a necessity.

Three survey parties, escorted by large military detachments, crossed the Dakota badlands. The first Northern Pacific Railroad survey was accompanied by Major Joseph Whistler in 1871. It is thought they followed Davis Creek to its confluence with the Little Missouri River.

Two subsequent expeditions were led by Colonel David Stanley. The 1872 party attempted to avoid the badlands by taking a more southerly route, but they returned via Whistler’s route. Convinced this route was the easiest, Stanley’s column of almost 2,000 men, 275 wagons, and a cattle herd retraced the trail along Davis Creek in 1873.

These survey expeditions witnessed a few skirmishes with the Sioux, but no major confrontations.

Terry & Custer’s Campaign, 1876
Ignoring an 1868 treaty, the U.S. government attempted to get the Lakota Sioux to cede the Black Hills(South Dakota) to gold seekers who were pouring into the area. When the Sioux disregarded the government’s order to report to their Indian agencies or be considered “hostile” Brig. Gen. Alfred H. Terry, accompanied by Lt. Col. George A. Custer’s 7th Cavalry, headed west from Ft. Abraham Lincoln to enforce the edict.

Entering the badlands on May 27, 1876, near Easy Hill, Terry’s command continued west into Montana toward the Battle of Little Bighorn where Custer and most of his men died.

Brig. Gen. George Crook was also sent to Montana that summer in pursuit of the Lakota Sioux who refused to go to the reservation. From there, his unit traveled east through the North Dakota badlands, then to South Dakota where they engaged the Sioux in the Battle of Slim Buttes.

Traveling With the Troops
The size of each of these expeditions was astounding – ranging from 600 to 2,200 men, with several hundred heavy freight wagons, artillery, and hundreds of horses and mules. They even had herds of cattle – supplemental food on the hoof in case their hunters weren’t able to provide enough meat. In narrow valleys the column might be strung out for three to four miles. It’s no wonder traces of their passing remain today.

(Wars, US Indian) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Time Travel on the Custer Trail

August 15, 2015, 6:11 pm

≫ Next: 33d Ohio Infantry

≪ Previous: The Soldiers and the Sioux

North Dakota, Stark County, Belfield

Between 1864 and 1876, five military expeditions crossed this windswept country. Though only a couple of skirmishes occurred in the badlands, their stories hold a significant place in the history of the Great Sioux War.

Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer accompanied two of these expeditions. Although Custer was not the highest ranking officer with either expedition, his controversial exploits and death at the Little Bighorn gave him a more enduring place in history than many officers of his time – hence the name of this tour.

This rugged Route
Historians have retraced portions of the travel routes using military records and maps, letters, journals, and archeological surveys. Along the route, watch for remnants of the trail – ruts left by hundreds of wagon wheels passing this way.

The Auto Tour is divided into two segments, the eastern loop and the western loop. It’s easy to get lost in the badlands, so watch for directional signs that’ll keep you on track. Many roads that intersect the route are roads associated with oil and gas facilities and are not shown on this map.

Easier Eastern Loop
Travel on well-maintained, all-weather gravel roads on this 42-mile loop. It begins at Painted Canyon Overlook on I-94, includes interpretive sites on East Hill Overlook, Easy Hill Camp, and Initial Rock. From Initial Rock, you can backtrack to I-94 or take the scenic loop to Medora, with a stop at Custer’s Camp along the way.

Wilder Western Loop
This 38-mile loop includes Sully’s Waterhole, the Battle of the Badlands site at Square Butte, Custer’s Snow Camp, and a scenic drive between Butte and Medora. Most of this loop follows well-maintained, all-weather gravel or paved roads. Visiting Custer’s Snow Camp requires a two-mile cross-country hike.

(Roads & Vehicles • Wars, US Indian) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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33d Ohio Infantry

August 15, 2015, 6:56 pm

≫ Next: The Badlands

≪ Previous: Time Travel on the Custer Trail

Tennessee, Hamilton County, Chattanooga

33d Ohio Infantry
Carlin's Brigade, Johnson's Division, 14th Corps.
Captain J. H. M. Montgomery.
November 25, 1863.
The 33d, with its Brigade, ascended Lookout the afternoon of November 24th, joined Hooker's forces and participated in the close of the battle. About 1 p.m. of the 25th it joined its Division in front of Missionary Ridge. It took part in the storming of the Ridge, reaching the summit about this position. It build temporary breastworks on the crest and bivouacked. On the 26th the Regiment continued with its Brigade in the pursuit, reaching Ringgold the afternoon of the 27th, and on the 29th returned to Chattanooga.

Casualties: killed, 7 men; wounded, 1 officer, 29 men; total 37.

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

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The Badlands

August 15, 2015, 7:15 pm

≫ Next: Origin of the Natchez Trace

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North Dakota, Stark County, Belfield

The stillness of the land is a disguise. Hard infrequent rain attack the loosely cemented clays and sandstones, gouging new gullies and carrying off as much as two to four inches of surface a year from steep, unprotected slopes.

At night the buttes and outcroppings take on eerie shapes. A dawning sun pours back the shifting colors.

In the future this jagged land will be smooth and rounded. The river, cutting through soft rock – the burning lignite – the sudden downpours – become part of one vast shaping motion.

Left Sidebar: >
Burning Hills
Sparked by lightning or grass fires, lignite coal ruins smolder underground. The fierce heat bakes the surrounding rock into red clinkers, such as you see on the nearby hilltops.

Right Sidebar: >
Slumping
Huge house-sized masses of earth shear from bluffs and creep downhill. Unlike landslides, these slumpblocks remain intact, and move so slowly that most shear scars weather away before the blocks finally come to rest. This can be seen at the foot of this viewpoint and throughout the park. Try to match the slumpblocks’ tilted strata with the horizontal bands on high exposed hillsides.

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

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Origin of the Natchez Trace

August 15, 2015, 7:42 pm

≫ Next: 15th U.S. Infantry

≪ Previous: The Badlands

Mississippi, Adams County, Natchez

After the American Revolution, frontiersmen from the Ohio Valley carried their products down stream to Spanish controlled New Orleans and Natchez.

Returning home, boatmen followed a series of Indian trails from Natchez to Nashville—trails which evolved into the Natchez Trace.

After the United States acquired Natchez in 1798, the Government decided to clear a road between the newly-created Mississippi Territory and the State of Tennessee as an important communication link between the national capital and the Old Southwest.

(Native Americans • Roads & Vehicles) Includes location, directions, 7 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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15th U.S. Infantry

August 15, 2015, 7:47 pm

≫ Next: Croghan Gateway

≪ Previous: Origin of the Natchez Trace

Tennessee, Hamilton County, Chattanooga

15th U.S. Infantry.

Major J.R. Edie, Commanding.

1st Battalion,

Captain Henry Keteltas.

2nd Battalion,

Captain William S. McManus.

November 25, 1863.

4 men killed: 11 men wounded.

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

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Croghan Gateway

August 16, 2015, 10:57 am

≫ Next: Captain Samuel Thomson

≪ Previous: 15th U.S. Infantry

Ohio, Sandusky County, Fremont

In honor of
Major George Croghan 17th U.S. Infantry
who with 160 men and one cannon
“Old Betsy” defended Fort Stephenson
against 700 British under Proctor
and 2000 Indians under Tecumseh
August 1st and 2nd 1813

(War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Captain Samuel Thomson

August 16, 2015, 12:09 pm

≫ Next: Maj. Gen’l. James B. McPherson

≪ Previous: Croghan Gateway

Ohio, Sandusky County, Fremont

In honor of
- Captain Samuel Thomson, -
wounded at Lundy’s Lane, Canada
in the second war with Great Britain,
and the soldiers of Sandusky County
in the War with Mexico, 1846-1848.

(War of 1812 • War, Mexican-American) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Maj. Gen’l. James B. McPherson

August 16, 2015, 12:26 pm

≫ Next: A National Road

≪ Previous: Captain Samuel Thomson

Ohio, Sandusky County, Fremont

In honor of
Maj. Gen’l. James B. McPherson,
the highest in rank and command
killed during the war and the
veterans of Sandusky County in the
War for the Union, 1861-1865.

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

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A National Road

August 16, 2015, 12:37 pm

≫ Next: Old Trace

≪ Previous: Maj. Gen’l. James B. McPherson

Mississippi, Adams County, near Stanton

(Marker #1)
A National Road
Natchez in the extreme south-western corner of the United States was threatened by Spain in 1800 and later by France and Great Britain.

President Jefferson in 1801 decided that a road from Nashville to Natchez was necessary for the safety and welfare of the nation.

“This road being completed, I shall consider our southern extremity secured, the Indians in that quarter at our feet and adjacent province laid open to us.”
James Wilkinson

(Marker #2)
The Natchez Trace Parkway
This Parkway, a unit of the National Park System, commemorates the Natchez Trace (1800 - 1820).

Along the Parkway there are historic structures, Indian mounds, roadside exhibits, nature and history trails and museums which help to illustrate the history of the Trace.

(Photo Captions)
Old Natchez Trace - Worn by a century and half of traffic, the Old Natchez Trace is now a sunken tree-lined road in places 30 feet deep.

Mount Locust - From the original three rooms this house grew with the family and region, and by 1836 was the “Big House” of a medium sized-plantation.

Emerald Mound - The second largest temple mound in the United States. Erected by the predecessors of the Natchez Indians between 1300 - 1600 A.D.

The high bluff is a deposit of loess, windblown topsoil, through which the Old Natchez Trace cuts deeply in many places.

(Marker #3)
The Old Trace
The Trace quickly became an important highway and mail route which made communication between Natchez and Washington, D.C., fairly safe and rapid.

(Drawing Captions)
Troops marched over the Trace in 1803 when war seemed near, and again in 1812 at the outbreak of the war with Great Britain.

Swift Postriders could carry the mail between Nashville and Natchez in less than 10 days.

Ohio Valley pioneers floated their products to Natchez or New Orleans in flatboats and returned home afoot or on horseback over the Trace.

After 1820 steamboats carried most Natchez traffic. Parts of the Trace were then abandoned, other parts used as local roads.

(Marker #4)
Old Natchez District
The Old Natchez District was a settled area 500 miles from the nearest American settlement, Nashville. In 1798 it became part of the United States.

POPULATION IN 1800
United States      5,308,483

Old Natchez District
Freeman      5361
Slaves      3489
Total      8850
Town of Natchez      500

Natchez became a French colony in 1716. It was connected with the Choctaw Nation by an Indian trail.

The British held the District, 1763-1779, and established permanent settlements. They called this trail, later the Natchez Trace, the “Path to the Choctaw Nation.”

Spain conquered Natchez in 1779 during the American Revolution but made no serious attempt at colonization. They called this trail “Camino de Cumberland a Natches.”

When the Americans came in 1798, they improved the Indian trail to facilitate direct communication with Nashville. They later called it the Natchez Trace.

(Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce • Native Americans • Roads & Vehicles) Includes location, directions, 7 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Old Trace

August 16, 2015, 12:38 pm

≫ Next: Home of Benajah Walcott

≪ Previous: A National Road

Mississippi, Adams County, Stanton

Across the Parkway behind you is a portion of the Old Natchez Trace - - a wilderness road that originated from a series of trails used by the southeastern Indian tribes. The Natchez Trace was politically, economically, socially, and militarily important for the United States in its early developement. Among those that traveled this road were American Indians, traders, soldiers, “Kaintucks”, postriders, settlers, slaves, circuit-riding preachers, outlaws, and adventurers. The Old Natchez Trace serves as a reminder of those who contributed to events that shaped the broad patterns of our common history.

(Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Home of Benajah Walcott

August 16, 2015, 12:56 pm

≫ Next: Emerald Mound

≪ Previous: Old Trace

Ohio, Ottawa County, Marblehead

The private home of
Benajah Walcott
1762-1832
1st Keeper – Marblehead Lighthouse
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.

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Emerald Mound

August 16, 2015, 1:51 pm

≫ Next: Bayou Goula

≪ Previous: Home of Benajah Walcott

Mississippi, Adams County, near Stanton

Before you is a 30 foot secondary mound on which once stood a temple containing sacred Indian images.

Archeological evidence indicates that at least two small mounds stood along the North and South sides of the primary platform. These mounds may have supported structures of wood plastered with clay.

Using primitive tools of wood, stone and bone, the Indians loaded the dirt into baskets or skins which they carried on their backs or heads. A base for temple mounds, the great platform is believed to have also provided a plaza for ceremonies and games.

Archeological tests in 1949 indicated that this platform mound was constructed in several stages. Beginning with the natural hilltop, Indians gradually transformed the hill into a flat-topped pyramid. First leveling off the hill, they later added thousands of tons of earth from near the base.

On important occasions the mound was the scene of elaborate civic processions, ceremonial dances, and intricate and solemn religious rituals where worshipers sought favor of their gods.

(Man-Made Features • Native Americans) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Bayou Goula

August 16, 2015, 1:58 pm

≫ Next: LSU Campus Mounds

≪ Previous: Emerald Mound

Louisiana, Iberville Parish, Bayou Goula

Mugulasha Indian village captured by Bayougoulas. In 1699 Bienville here found Tonti's letter of 1686 to LaSalle. Father Paul Du Ru built first chapel in Louisiana near village in 1700.

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

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LSU Campus Mounds

August 16, 2015, 2:06 pm

≫ Next: National Cemetery

≪ Previous: Bayou Goula

Louisiana, East Baton Rouge Parish, Baton Rouge

Hunter-gatherers built these two mounds 5,000 years ago. Part of the oldest earthen-mound complex in North America,they were placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 1, 1999. They are older than the Egyptian pyramids, and predate Poverty Point, long believed to have been the oldest earthen mounds in North America. Archaeologists are not sure what they were used for, but there were no temples or houses built on them.

(Anthropology • Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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National Cemetery

August 16, 2015, 2:11 pm

≫ Next: Magnolia Cemetery

≪ Previous: LSU Campus Mounds

Louisiana, East Baton Rouge Parish, Baton Rouge

Federal soldiers killed in the Battle of Baton Rouge, August 5, 1862, were buried on this site which became a National Cemetery in 1867. Among soldiers buried here is General Philemon Thomas, remembered for his attack on the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge in 1810, which established the west Florida Republic.

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Magnolia Cemetery

August 16, 2015, 2:17 pm

≫ Next: Bayou Plaquemine

≪ Previous: National Cemetery

Louisiana, East Baton Rouge Parish, Baton Rouge

In 1852 the town of Baton Rouge bought this property for a cemetery. On these grounds, August 5, 1862, the major action of the Battle of Baton Rouge took place. Louisiana novelist Lyle Saxon is among prominent Louisianians buried here.

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Bayou Plaquemine

August 16, 2015, 2:24 pm

≫ Next: The Name Lecompte

≪ Previous: Magnolia Cemetery

Louisiana, Iberville Parish, Plaquemine

Le passage des Acadiens Pendant apres la de'portation de 1755 depuis le Canada jusqu'aux Attakapas de Sud-ouest.

Passageway of Acadians after deportation of 1755 from Canada to the Southwest Attakapas.

(Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 1 photo, GPS coordinates, map.

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The Name Lecompte

August 16, 2015, 2:29 pm

≫ Next: Trinity Episcopal Church

≪ Previous: Bayou Plaquemine

Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Lecompte

In 1854 the residents of Smith's Landing, a small trading post on historic Bayou Boeuf renamed their settlement LECOMTE for a famous horse. LECOMTE was owned by Thomas Jefferson and Montfort Wells, area plantation owners. LECOMTE won his first race in 1853 on the Metairie course in New Orleans. In 1854 he won the Great State Stakes four mile heat in 7 minutes 26 seconds best time ever previously recorded. When a sign was painted for the Town a P was added to the name and the town has been known as LECOMPTE ever since.

(Animals • Antebellum South, US • Settlements & Settlers • Sports) Includes location, directions, 1 photo, GPS coordinates, map.

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