Invented the computer
(Communications • Man-Made Features • Science & Medicine) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Fertile soil and abundant water made Shenandoah the ideal place to start a nursery.
The early pioneers found that fruit trees from other parts of the United States grew well beside the native wild plum and crab apple trees.
D.S. Lake, father of the nursery industry in southwest Iowa, founded Lake's Shenandoah Nursery in 1870 with stock he had brought from Illinois.
T.E.B. Mason established Mount Arbor Nurseries in 1875. E. S. Welch bought the nursery in 1892, and developed it into one of the largest wholesale nurseries in the nation. Welch supplied retailers such as Burpees [sic], Montgomery Ward, and Earl May.
Henry Field began his nursery career at age five with fifty cents worth of homegrown flower seed. In 1899, he sent out his first catalog, a four page folder he printed himself. In 1902, he built his first seed house, and business mushroomed. Field built an enormous mail-order company even before the advent of radio.
Earl May, who learned the nursery business from E. S. Welch, his father-in-law, started his own retail and catalog business in 1919. May's ingenious use of radio advertising quickly put his fledgling company on par with the giant Field enterprise. By 2000, the company was still operated by a branch of the May family and maintained 54 retail stores offering nursery and landscaping products.
Shenandoah became known as the Seed and Nursery Capital of the World. Other local nurseries included Ratekin's Seed House, J. C. Welch Nursery, Iowana Nursery Jackson Nursery, Farmers' City Nursery, and Armstrong Seed Company.
[Bottom right photo caption reads]
Giants of Shenandoah's nursery industry. From left to right: Ralph Lake, Earl May, Bert Lake, E.S. Welch, and Henry Field.
(Horticulture & Forestry • Industry & Commerce) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Illinois
Text on the Front Side of the Monument:
This building was the site of a continuously operated dry goods store from 1874 until the closing of Brooks-Fauber in 1986. It is one of the oldest commercial structures in the downtown historic district.
Text on the Front Side of the Monument:
An American icon of modern architecture, the General Motors (GM) Technical Center stands as a model corporate research and development park. Thirty-one buildings were constructed between 1949 and 1985. Conceived in 1944 by Board of Directors Chairman Alfred P. Sloan, the center centralized GM's research, design and engineering efforts. Vice President for Styling Harley Earl chose Eliel and Eero Saarinen to design the campus. Eero Saarinen's International Style buildings complemented by the grounds he planned with landscape architect Thomas Church. Saarinen also worked with GM's Argonaut Division, which designed many of the structures. The center is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Son of a pioneer Dutch-French family, Groesbeck was born in Warren Township near the corner of Mound and Twelve Mile Roads in 1872. His father's election as sheriff in 1880 caused the family to move to Mount Clemens. In 1893 Alex graduated from the University of Michigan and began a long and distinguished legal career in Detroit. After serving as state attorney general from 1917 to 1920 he became governor for the first of three successive terms in 1921. His Republican administrations were noted for governmental reorganization, prison reform, and expansion of state highways. Highway M-97 was, subsequently, named after him. In 1927 he returned to Detroit, retaining active interest in public affairs until his death in 1953.
On December 30, 1970 an explosion caused by coal dust that was ignited by explosives occurred in mine shafts 15 and 16. The blast resulted in the deaths of 38 men. A lone survivor was blown out of the mine. The disaster occurred exactly one year after the passage of the Coal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1969.
built in 1859 during the Piute War
First settled by Robert J. Scott on May 10, 1856, Milford is one of the oldest settlements in the Honey Lake Valley. In 1861 the first important flour mill in northeastern California was built here. In recognition of this, and of a sawmill, the village was named by Joseph C. Wemple. By 1882, the town boasted a sawmill, grist mill, hotel, store, blacksmith shop, butcher shop, post office, and school house. 
has been placed on the 
