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County Named, 1797

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Kentucky, Christian County, Hopkinsville
For Col. William Christian, native Virginian, soldier, politician, and pioneer. Served as Colonel in Revolution, member Va. Legislature. Moved family to Jefferson County in 1785, where his Va. land grants totaled 9,000 acres. Killed 1786, defending frontier against Indians. Original county, taken from Logan, included area of 16 present-day counties and parts of 4 others.

(Political Subdivisions • War, US Revolutionary • Wars, US Indian) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Forest that Needs Fire

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Wyoming, Park County, Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone’s most common tree is the lodgepole pine. Miles and miles of these tall, straight trees grow close together.

Lodgepole pines forests need fire to survive. It helps control disease and insects, and fire is essential for a new generation of lodgepole pines to grow. When the forst canopy burns, the ash fertilizes the soil. Sunlight can reach the ground. Seeds quickly germinate and begin to grow.

Too Dark to Grow
Lodgepole pines reproduce with two kinds of cones. One type matures in two years, then opens to scatter its seeds. If the forest floor is shaded by older trees, the seeds seldom germinate.

The Magic of Fire
The other type of lodgepole pine cone is “serotinous.” Its seeds are tightly sealed inside the cone until heat from a fire melts the resin that glues the cone shut. Then the cone bursts open to spread its seeds.

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Regeneration of a Forest
November 1, 1988 – a few weeks after fire

• Soil is charred, but fertile
• Lodgepole pine cones release their seeds
• Roots, bulbs, and rhizomes survive underground
• Burned snags will fall, decompose, and add more nutrients to the soil

September 30, 1998 – ten years after fire
• Young trees are several feet high
• Fertile soil sustains a new forest
• Remaining snags will fall and decompose

(Horticulture & Forestry) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Fire – A Fundamental Force

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Wyoming, Park County, Yellowstone National Park

Like wind, rain, and sunshine, fire is part of the Yellowstone ecosystem.

Plants decompose very slowly in Yellowstone’s cool, dry environment. Fire speeds up this process. Wood and other organic material are turned into ash. Minerals and valuable nutrients the fertilize the soil. Natural fire burn in a patchy pattern – a mosaic. New openings in the forest allow sunlight to reach the ground. Grasses, flowers, shrubs, and seedling trees grow quickly in these sunny, fertile areas.

(Horticulture & Forestry • Natural Features) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Charles S. Morehead, 1802-1868

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Kentucky, Christian County, Hopkinsville

Side 1
This Ky. governor and congressman was born near Bardstown. A graduate of Transylvania, he began law practice in Hopkinsville. Morehead served in state legislature, as attorney general, in U.S. House of Rep., and as governor of Ky., 1855-59. During his administration, geological survey completed, state prison enlarged, and funds allotted for annual state fair. See over.

Side 2
Hoping to avert civil war, Morehead attended Washington Peace Conf., 1861. Although neutral, he sympathized with Confederacy and criticized Lincoln's policies. Arrested by federal leaders and imprisoned for several months. Warned of another arrest, he fled to Canada, Europe, and Mexico. Died at his Mississippi plantation, 1868. Buried in Frankfort Cem.

(Government • Politics) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Pioneer Graveyard

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Kentucky, Christian County, Hopkinsville
Within this enclosure are buried 185 named persons, and many more unknown, all early settlers of Christian County. The land for this cemetery was donated in 1812 by Bartholomew Wood, the first settler in Hopkinsville. He also donated land and timber for the first public buildings, 1797. He died in 1827 and was buried here.

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Seasons of the Range

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Wyoming, Park County, Yellowstone National Park

A Time of Renewal
Northern range wildlife grow strong in spring after a long, cold winter. Melting snow and rain turn the landscape green and lush. Bears emerge hungry from their winter dens, eager to feed on roots and grasses, winter-killed carcasses, and sometimes elk or bison calves.

The Living is Easy
Summer
is short – by August the grass is dry and brown. Bison and a few elk graze in the meadows, but most of the elk are higher in the mountains where the plants are still green. Coyotes are often seen hunting for small mammals. Birds are everywhere, singing and soaring high on thermal winds.

Autumn Days
In the warm days and crisp, cool nights of fall, the aspens turn golden and snow falls on the mountain peaks. The bugling of bull elk is a common sound as the herds return to the valleys for their mating season. All the animals are busy eating and storing fat for the lean winter days ahead.

A Long Winter
When temperatures drop, large herds of elk and bison make their winter home in these spacious valleys. The snow is not quite as deep here as in the rest of the park. For many months these hardy mammals dig through the snow to eat hidden forage. Wolves hunt among these herds, moving easily on top of the snow because of their large paws.

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

Trembling Aspens

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Wyoming, Park County, Yellowstone National Park

Roots of Survival
The secret of an aspen grove lies hidden beneath the ground. Aspens rarely grow from seeds but spring up abundantly from the roots of their parent. These young shoots are connected to each other underground by an extensive root system and are genetically identical! This method of reproduction is called “cloning.”

Aspens are masters of cloning. Their clones can cover several acres and sometimes live for thousands of years.

Why Do Aspens Tremble?
Trembling. Quaking. Quivering. These words have all been used to describe Populus tremuloides. Aspen leaves flutter in the slightest breeze because of how they are built. Their slender petioles – the stems on each leaf – are flat and at a right angle to the leaf surface. Consequently, the leaves quiver as they catch the wind.

When aspens tremble, light reflects from each shiny leaf, causing the entire grove to shimmer.

(Horticulture & Forestry • Natural Features) Includes location, directions, 7 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Union General's Grave

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Kentucky, Christian County, Hopkinsville
Brig. Gen. James S. Jackson, USA, killed in battle of Perryville on Oct. 8, 1862, is buried in south end of cemetery. Born Woodford Co., Ky., 1823. First Lt., Mexican War, then practiced law in Greenup. He came Hopkinsville, 1855. Elected to Congress, 1861. Authorized by Lincoln, he recruited 3rd Ky. Cav. during fall 1861. In battles, Shiloh and others, before his untimely death.

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

Famous Prophet

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Kentucky, Christian County, Hopkinsville
Edgar Cayce-psychic counselor and healer. Accepted nationally, he was one of the best known in this field. A humble and religious man, Cayce never profited from his predictions. Used his reputed gift of extrasensory perception, including medical diagnosis, to better man's understanding of God's purpose for him here on earth. Born near here, 1877. Died, Va., 1945. Buried here.

(Entertainment • Science & Medicine) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Hdqrs. CSA Commander / 101 CSA Unknown

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Kentucky, Christian County, Hopkinsville

Side 1
Hdqrs. CSA Commander
Nathan Bedford Forrest, stationed in Hopkinsville during winter of 1861-62, resided, with wife and daughter, in log house, the third residence south. As colonel, in command 6 companies CSA Cavalry, reconnoitered Union forces between here and the Ohio River; defeated gunboat, Conestoga, at Canton, also US force at Sacramento. Withdrew when CSA left Bowling Green. Over.

Side 2
101 CSA Unknown
Six companies CSA Cavalry under Col. Forrest were camped a mile to the north at the old fairgrounds, while reconnoitering this area in winter, 1861-62. A severe epidemic swept the camp and several hundred men died. When the city enlarged cemetery, 1887, John C. Latham, native of Hopkinsville, had bodies of 101 unknown reinterred and a large monument erected. Over.

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Forrest Reconnoitered

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Kentucky, Christian County, Hopkinsville
CSA Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest with 6 cavalry companies joined Gen. Charles Clark here Nov. 15, 1861. Forrest made reconnaissance and foraging expeditions out of here. See map on other side. When on one he defeated USA forces in Battle of Sacramento on Dec. 28. After occupation of Hopkinsville for almost 3 months CSA evacuated. They withdrew into Tennessee.

Reverse side map of: Confederate Raids and Invasions and a Federal Retreat, in Kentucky.

(Notable Persons • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

What’s Blooming?

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Wyoming, Park County, Yellowstone National Park

Flowers are scattered throughout Yellowstone’s northern landscape from April through September. During winter they lie dormant, waiting to burst into color.

Several factors determine what you might see, and where.
• How hot or cold has it been this growing season?
• Has it rained or snowed much this year?
• Some flowers are early bloomers, others are late
• Many northern range flowers like sunny locations, but some need a cool, shady, or moist spot
• Some flowers hug the edges of high, craggy peaks while others flourish in the lowlands

(Horticulture & Forestry • Natural Features) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Land Tells the Story

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Wyoming, Park County, Yellowstone National Park

The rocky outcropping in front of you tells part of a violent story of Yellowstone’s volcano – one of the largest volcanoes on Earth.

About two million years ago Yellowstone’s volcano – so enormous that it is called a “super volcano” – exploded violently, coating the earth with ash for thousands of miles! Near the eruption, ashfall buried the ground in deep layers. Then the ash became compressed or “welded,” creating a layer of rock now called “Huckleberry Ridge Tuff.”

Yellowstone’s super volcano erupted two more times. The most recent eruption left a gigantic crater, or caldera, in the heart of Yellowstone. This massive caldera, about 30 miles wide and 45 miles long, was first verified with the use of satellite photography.

Yellowstone’s immense eruptions were many times larger than the catastrophic Mount St. Helens, Washington, explosion in 1980.

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Yellowstone’s Big Blasts

Yellowstone’s volcano is still alive today. Two dome-like areas rise and fall as magma moves beneath the park. Although geologists cannot predict when it will erupt again, these “resurgent domes” gives clues about the future.

Did ash from a giant Yellowstone eruption cover where you live?

(Natural Features) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

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New Jersey, Salem County, Pennsville

Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is located within the Atlantic Flyway-one of four major migration corridors which pass through the continental United States. The refuge provides crucial and diverse habitat for wildlife seeking nourishment and shelter, especially migrating birds.

Brackish Tidal Marsh
Located where fresh and salt water meet, these marshes are influenced by daily tidal flows. This unique habitat includes a mixture of fresh and saltwater plants and wildlife and is an important resting and feeding area for waterfowl, shorebirds and other wildlife. Management of the marsh includes periodic burning and spraying to control the common reed (Pharagmites australis). This tall and fast growing perennial invades marsh habitats quickly, choking out native flora and ultimately degrading the overall habitat for use by wildlife.

Wetland Forest
The Forest Habitat Trail showcases approximately 390 acres of upland forest and forested wetlands. The vernal pools within these forests offer temporary breading habitat for amphibians such as Southern leopard frogs, New Jersey chorus frogs, and spring peepers. Several turtle species including the painted turtle, also call these pools home.

Grassland
An elevated wildlife observation platform along the Grassland Trail offers a perfect vantage point to observe snowy egrets, red-winged blackbirds, and even catch the occasional glimpse of a bald eagle. In late summer, thousands of migrating swallows forage in the bayberry shrubs nearby along the forest edge. As evening approaches, you may also catch glimpses of foraging bats over the grassland.

(Animals • Environment) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Glacial Boulder

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Wyoming, Park County, Yellowstone National Park

The large boulder beside you was left by a glacier – the glacier that sculpted the broad valley you are standing in.

A Cold Ride
How did this boulder get here? Like many others scattered across Yellowstone, it was scraped from the mountains by a glacier, then carried by the ice to a new site. This granite boulder traveled from the northeast for many miles when the glacier melted.

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Frozen Landscapers

Glaciers, like those in Alaska today – and Yellowstone thousands of years ago – form in frigid climates where more and more snow accumulates and turns to ice. These massive “rivers of ice” carve the land as they slowly advance downslope.

Yellowstone’s Icy Past
As you look at Yellowstone’s beautiful mountains and valleys, imagine ice and snow in every direction. Thousands of years ago, the ice was so thick that only the highest mountain peaks rose above the frozen landscape. The glaciers that buried Yellowstone shaped the mountains that you see today.

Under Map >
Approximate boundaries of Yellowstone’s most recent icecap about 20,000 years ago and earlier glaciation about 140,000 years ago.

(Natural Features) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival

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Michigan, Ottawa County, Grand Haven

Grand Haven treasures its relationship with the United States Coast Guard, and the annual Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival is a celebrated tradition. What started in 1924 as a picnic and rowing competition among Coast Guard personnel has become a midsummer city-wide gathering of over 350,000 people for food and family-friendly fun. The events are given deeper meaning by the National Coast Guard Memorial Service at Escanaba Park, remembering not only those lost crew members of the Escanaba but also honoring all men and women of the United States Coast Guard who have lost their lives while serving our country.

(Military) Includes location, directions, 8 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

A Wildlife Paradise

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Wyoming, Park County, Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone’s vast northern range is home to an amazing array of mammals. This wildlife community is one of the largest and most diverse of any on Earth!

While visiting Yellowstone, you may see some of these animals. Remember, they are wild and free to roam – no one knows exactly where they will be.

View wildlife from your car or by using a powerful lens. Never approach a wild animal.

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

Cmdr. D. W. "Mush" Morton, USN / Wahoo

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Kentucky, Hopkins County, Nortonville

Side 1
Cmdr. D. W. "Mush" Morton, USN This World War II hero spent his early youth & attended elementary school in Nortonville, high school in Madisonville. Graduated from U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1930. Became commanding officer of the submarine, Wahoo. Morton received his first award of the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism during action against enemy forces in the Pacific.

Side 2
Wahoo The Wahoo, with "Mush" Morton as its commanding officer, sank 31,890 tons of Japanese shipping. Wahoo left Pearl Harbor Sept. 9, 1943, headed for Sea of Japan but was lost through enemy action. Morton was awarded four Navy Crosses and the Army Distinguished Service Cross; his submarine won the Presidential Unit Citation for outstanding performance in combat.

(Education • Military • War, World II) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Century of Coal Mining

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Kentucky, Hopkins County, Earlington
Earlington founded in 1870 by St. Bernard Coal Co. Named for John Baylis Earle, who discovered No. 11 coal vein not far from this site, in 1869. John Bond Atkinson, the president of St. Bernard Coal, planned free public schools, free public library, Loch Mary Reservoir, an arboretum, home and church sites. In 1870, L & N Railroad began coal shipments from this area.

(Education • Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Hockersmith House

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Kentucky, Hopkins County, Madisonville
The home of L. D. Hockersmith, Capt., 10th Ky., Gen. John Hunt Morgan's Cavalry, CSA. Hockersmith captured by Federal troops during Morgan's Ohio raid, July 20, 1863. Held with Morgan in Ohio State Prison at Columbus. Helped dig tunnel by which he and five other officers escaped with Morgan on Nov. 27, 1863. This escape was one of most daring of all time.

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