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Daniel Webster Dotson

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Virginia, Wise County, near Pound
Entering the town of Lieutenant Daniel Webster Dotson, born Sept 25, 1920; died May 2, 1953. A veteran of the Korean War and World War II. Virginia’s second-highest decorated soldier and Wise County’s most decorated soldier in the Korean War.

(War, World II • War, Korean) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Pound, Virginia

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Virginia, Wise County, Pound
Christopher Gist explored the area later known as The Pound—likely derived from a family name—in 1751. The name became established following the construction of a pounding mill after 1815. According to tradition the oldest settlement in Wise Co., Pound was the last to be incorporated, in 1950. The county's first post office was established here in 1848. Chant Kelly, appointed postmaster in 1922, led efforts to promote growth, including paved roads and utilities. Other notables include the county’s most decorated soldier Daniel Webster Dotson, basketball legend Glenn Roberts, U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, and motivational writer Napoleon Hill.

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

Pound Gap Engagement

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Virginia, Wise County, Pound Gap
Kentucky Unionists considered Pound Gap second in importance only to Cumberland Gap as a strategic gateway to southwestern Virginia and eastern Tennessee. On the frigid morning of March 16, 1862, Union Gen. James A. Garfield, the future president, arrived here with 700 Ohio and Kentucky infantry and cavalry to kick that gate open. Garfield had learned that Confederate militiamen were mustering here and at Cumberland Gap.

About 500 Confederates occupied Pound Gap and the vicinity. Confederate Maj. John P Thompson held the forward location with 175 men, the rest scattered on detached duty or guarding “the cabins, at the foot of the mountain.” In swirling snow, 100 of Union Maj. William McLaughlin’s cavalrymen approached the gap along the road out of Kentucky, while Col. Jonathan Cranor of the 40th Ohio Infantry advanced along one flank. Garfield led another force personally along the other flank to envelop the defenders and cut off their retreat. The Federals converged and after a sharp, brief firefight, the Confederates withdrew south toward Gladeville (Wise).

The Confederates lost one man killed and several wounded; the Federals reported no casualties. Through the evening Garfield's men destroyed “60 log huts and two large buildings for quartermaster and commissary stores,“ as well as “a half dozen army wagons,” before abandoning the gap and returning to Kentucky. Although the engagement had little effect beyond the geographical limits of the region, it proved the difficulty of defending Pound Gap.

“A loud echoing shout burst from the long line, as with fixed bayonets it swept down through the ravine and up the hill.” —Union participant, March 16, 1862

“It is now certain that the enemy, ... under the guidance of the most expert and well informed citizens and scouts, the most of them from Kentucky and a part of them from Virginia, had made a night march, and had marched a strong column on south side of the mountain, so as to attack me in front and rear and cut off my retreat.” —Confederate Maj. John P. Thompson

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

The Crooked Road

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Virginia, Wise County, Pound Gap
From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Coalfields region, southwest Virginia is blessed with historic and contemporary music venues, musicians, and fretted instrument markers. Historically isolated, the region retained its strong musical legacy by passing traditions down through musical families to an appreciative community.

Old time mountain music, bluegrass, and gospel can be enjoyed all year long and several museums are devoted to showcasing the area’s rich musical heritage.

The Crooked Road winds through the ruggedly beautiful Appalachian Mountains and leads you to the major hotspots of old time mountain, music country music, and bluegrass. Alive and kickin’ for today’s fans, these venues preserve and celebrate musical traditions passed down through generations. Annual festivals, weekly concerts, radio shows, and jam sessions ring out to large audiences and intimate gatherings. Please visit the Crooked Road website to plan your trip to coincide with the current entertainment events.

Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Juana Briones Park

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California, Santa Clara County, Palo Alto
Rancho La Purísima Conceptión was granted to a former Santa Clara Mission Indian, Jose Gorgonio, by Governor Alvarado on June 30, 1840. In 1844, Gorgonio and another Indian, José Ramon, sold the grant to Dona Juana Briones de Miranda, who lived with her seven children in an adobe house on the top of a hill nearby, at Fremont Avenue and Arastradero Road. Ox-drawn garetta, drying hides, bull and bear fights, vaqueros herding cattle, and family barbeque festivities were familiar sights on the rancho.

This park, dedicated in 1989, was part of that early Spanish life.

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

In Honor of the Crew of USS Liberty

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New York, Monroe County, Rochester

In Honor of the crew of the USS Liberty - AGTR 5, in recognition of their courageous and faithful service for military action on June 8, 1967 - The following decorations were awarded - ★ Congressional Medal of Honor ★ 2 Navy crosses, 38 silver - bronze stars, 208 purple hearts. 34 KIA, 174 WIA. Most decorations for a single ship action in U.S. history. "I commend to every man who sails in the sixth fleet the fact that the USS Liberty has become a legend in her own times." Vice Adm. William I. Martin - July 1967, Commander of the 6th fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.

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

In Memory of All the Men and Women From Kendall

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New York, Orleans County, Kendall

In memory of
all the men and
women from Kendall
who served their contry
in times of conflict and peace.
We thank you.

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

Daniel Webster Dotson

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Virginia, Wise County, near Pound
Entering the town of Lieutenant Daniel Webster Dotson, born Sept 25, 1920; died May 2, 1953. A veteran of the Korean War and World War II. Virginia’s second-highest decorated soldier and Wise County’s most decorated soldier in the Korean War.

(War, World II • War, Korean) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Pound Gap

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Virginia, Wise County, near Pound
Pound Gap probably was named for nearby grain pounding mill. Christopher Gist, returning from the Ohio River where he surveyed land for the Ohio Company, crossed the gap in 1751. During the Civil War, Pound Gap gained strategic importance as a gateway between Virginia and Kentucky. Union Col. James A. Garfield (later president) and his brigade forced the gap from the Kentucky side on 16 March 1862 after a skirmish with Confederate forces under Brig. Gen. Humphrey Marshall. Confederate Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan forced it from the Virginia side, capturing and destroying property in Kentucky.

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

Wise County / Kentucky

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Virginia, Wise County, Pound Gap

Wise County. Wise County was formed in 1856 from Lee, Scott, and Russell Counties. It was named for Henry Alexander Wise who was governor of Virginia from 1856 to 1860. The county seat is the town of Wise. After the Civil War the town of Wise grew and the county's industry expanded because of the growth of the railroads and the increased mining of coal in the region. Noted novelist John Fox Jr. lived in the town of Big Stone Gap here for a portion of his life and wrote the best- selling novels The Trail of the Lonesome Pine and The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come.

Kentucky. The state of Kentucky was once a part of Virginia. The first permanent European settlement was established at Harrodsburg in Between 1784 and 1792, residents of this region known as the district of Kentucky held a number of conventions to discuss possible statehood. The General Assembly of Virginia passed an act on 18 Dec. 1789 to allow Kentucky to apply for statehood. Kentucky became the 15th state admitted in 1792 to the United States. Noted individuals who have resided in Kentucky include statesman Henry Clay (1777-1852), frontiersmen Daniel Boone (1734 1820), and U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, who was born there in 1809. The capital of Kentucky is Frankfort.

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

Pound Gap Massacre

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Kentucky, Letcher County, Pound Gap
About 500 yards southeast of Pound Gap, along the Fincastle Trail (Virginia side) is the location of the infamous “killing rock” where the Mullins’ family and friends were massacred on May 14, 1892. Five people were killed: Ira Mullins, his wife, Louranza Mullins, Wilson Mullins, John Chappel and Greenberry Harris. Two escaped: Jane Mullins and John H. Mullins. Marshall “Doc” Taylor, Henan Fleming, and Cal Fleming were charged with their murder. “Doc” Taylor was convicted and hung. Cal was shot and killed. Henan was acquitted.

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

Merchant Ship to Warship

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New York, Monroe County, Rochester

Merchant Schooners
In the spring of 1812 there were over 34 schooners in merchant service on Lake Ontario, transporting people and cargo. These small vessels carried 50-100 tons of cargo. Larger vessels were impractical since most lake port entries were shallow.
Schooner-gunboats participated in the attack on Kingston in 1812 and the attacks on York and Fort George in 1813. They were also present during the three skirmishes between the British and American squadrons on Lake Ontario in August and September 1813.

Armed Schooners
When war broke out, the only U.S. naval vessel on Lake Ontario was the 18-gun brig Oneida. Commodore Isaac Chauncey purchased 11 schooners and armed them to support the Oneida.

Gunboat Name / Original Name / Fate
Governor Thompson / Charles & Ann / Marchant service (US) Last Record 1819
Pert / Collector / Merchant service (US) Last record 1815
Hamilton / Diana /Lost in storm 1813
Asp / Elizabeth / Merchant service (GB) Lost in a storm 1820
Growler / Experiment / Merchant service (US)
Fair American / Fair American / Merchant service (US) Wrecked 1816
Conquest / Genesee Packet / Merchant service (US) Last record 1815
Julia / Julia / Merchant service (US) Last record 1829
Scourge / Lord Nelson / Lost in storm 1813
Raven / Mary Hatt / Merchant service (US) Last record 1816
Ontario / Ontario / Merchant service (US) last record 1820

Cargo
PRE-WAR - People and cargoes of salt, potash, foodstuffs, and manufactured goods.
WARTIME - Troops, powder, shot, provisions.
Crew
PRE_WAR - A merchant schooner had a small crew, often no more than three or four men.
WARTIME - As warships, these schooners were manned by up to 40 men. Conditions below were very crowded; many sailors preferred to live and sleep on deck.
Armament
Broadside guns - carronades (small cannon).
Pivot guns - heavier cannon, firing balls weighing from 12 to 32 pounds.

Topsail Schooner
In early June 1812 the USS Oneida seized the British merchant schooner Lord Nelson, believing it to be smuggling goods into the United States. The schooner was condemned by the court and ordered to be sold. It was bought by the Navy for $2,999.25, armed and renamed the Scourge, the schooner sank during a storm on Lake Ontario.

Hamilton & Scourge
A merchant schooner was designed to carry its cargo below deck. The armanment, weighing many tons, was carried on deck, making these schooners top heavy and very unstable, particularly in bad weather. The figureheads above adorn the two, the Hamilton and Scourge, upset in a sudden squall in August 1813 and intact at the bottom at the western end of Lake Ontario. Others were often towed by larger warships so they would not suffer the same fate.

Commerce was replaced by conflict at times along the Great Lakes Seaway Trail.

(War of 1812 • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 6 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Thomas Fork

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Idaho, Bear Lake County, near Montpelier
A bad ford gave trouble to wagon trains crossing this stream on the trail to California and Oregon in 1849.
In that year, gold-seeking 49'ers developed a shortcut that crossed here. Then emigrants built two bridges here in 1850. But an enterprising toll collector came along and charged $1 per wagon, which was more than some could afford. Penniless emigrants, who had to make an eight-mile detour, cursed, while their richer companions comfortably clattered across both bridges.

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

Smith's Trading Post

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Idaho, Bear Lake County, near Montpelier
In 1848, Pegleg Smith established a trading post on the Oregon Trail at Big Timber somewhere near here on the river.
Some travelers called it "Fort Smith", though it had only four log cabins and some Indian lodges. Packing a plow and tools from Salt Lake City, Smith (a mountain man who had to amputate his own leg 20 years before) tried unsuccessfully to raise crops. But he did a big business when the California gold rush of 1849 brought thousands past here; 49'ers reported that he had many horses and cattle and was making $100 a day.

(Science & Medicine • Roads & Vehicles) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Bank Robbers

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Idaho, Bear Lake County, Montpelier
On Aug. 13, 1896, Butch Cassidy and his infamous Wild Bunch of gunmen invaded Montpelier's bank and scooped up more than $16,500 in gold, silver and currency.
Leaving a surprised cashier and his terrified customers, they calmly rode away. A deputy sheriff who borrowed a bicycle to pursue them up Montpelier canyon was quickly outdistanced. Cassidy never was caught, but Bob Meeks was imprisoned until 1912 for helping in Montpelier's great bank robbery.

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

Big Hill

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Idaho, Bear Lake County, near Montpelier
On their way west to Oregon and California, emigrant wagons often crossed high ridges in order to avoid gullies and canyons.
When he came here in 1843, Theodore Talbot noted that he "had to cross a very high hill, which is said to be the greatest impediment on the whole route from the United States (over 200 miles east of here) to Fort Hall (over 120 miles farther west). The ascent is very long and tedious, but the descent is still more abrupt and difficult." Many wagons had to be let down by ropes tied to trees that disappeared long ago.

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

McAuley's Road

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Idaho, Bear Lake County, near Montpelier
Coming west with Ezra Meeker in 1852, Thomas McAuley decided to build a road to let emigrants bypass Big Hill.
Worst of all Oregon Trail descents, Big Hill needed replacement. Eliza McAuley reported that her brother Tom "fished awhile, then took a ramble... and discovered a pass by which the mountain can be avoided by doing a little road building." With an emigrant crew, he opened a wagon toll road that followed current Highway 30. After 1852, no one maintained the new route and it fell into disuse.

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

Trinity Lutheran Church

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Texas, Gillespie County, near Stonewall
This congregation traces its history to 1902, when it was organized in the Albert Schoolhouse. A sanctuary built here in 1902 was replaced in 1904, and this structure was erected in 1928. Worship services were conducted in the German language until 1950. A fine example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture, the church features fine details in its arched window and door openings, Gothic steeple, and original pressed metal siding.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark

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

Site of the Andreas Lindig Lime Kiln

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Texas, Gillespie County, near Stonewall
First kiln, eastern Gillespie County. Built 1874 by Andreas Lindig, trained in his native Germany in quicklime making. On his homestead, he found rock to be hauled to this site by ox-wagon, using 7 loads of rock for each “batch” of lime. Post oak wood, burned in a cooking bed, produced high heat which produced the lime. Besides that for his own use, he made lime commercially for neighbors.
     Lindig’s home (built 1874, about .5 mi. s) shows endurance of cement made from his lime. So does the 1963-1969 “Texas White House”, built nearby in 1897 by Willie Meier.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1970

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

The Brothers of E.C.V.

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Nevada, Churchill County, near Fallon
Want it known that in the State of Nevada....
This site is dedicated not for it’s historical significance, but for the significance of the genuine gold diggers of Western history... the working girls who made a man forget the back breaking work and the struggle to survive in a country where survival was a day to day chore.
Dedicated to the genuine gold diggers of the Old West... the working girls who kept the West working when it was truly the Golden Age of Mining.
This site is dedicated to the true gold diggers in Western history. The ladies who gave a lonesome miner a few minutes of comfort and sent him on his way, short on dust, long on memories.
Dedicated to the original gold diggers... the ladies of the world’s oldest profession who kept the miners diggin’ and the West a workin’, while the East waited for the West to pay their way.


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