25.05C
Bringing flowers to market
While in Harrison County, OH, I stopped by the Custer Monument Historic Site, the old home site of the infamous general. He’s buried at Little Bighorn MT, of course. Note the horse and buggy passing by in the first photo—I sure saw a lot of that, especially early in the trip.
The pride of Newark is not what you expect. Loved finally getting here during my last trip.
Jen’s in the home stretch for her quest to visit all 433 units of the National Park System. She’s only 50ish from finishing, which more getting marked off next week.
I’m now “current” on the 433 park units, and—mostly due to Jen’s quest—have now been to 226 of the 433 at least twice. #goquesting
We also visited Hopewell Furnace National Historical Park in PA for Jen to see:
How American Industrialization Began: Hopewell Furnace showcases an early American landscape of industrial operations from 1771-1883, Hopewell and other iron plantations laid the foundation for the transformation of the United States into an industrial giant for the time. The park’s 848 acres and historic structures illustrate the business, technology and lifestyle of our growing nation.
We also hiked a short portion of the New England National Scenic Trail, which became an official national park unit several years ago, near Castle Craig CT. Jen needed it for her own parks quest, and I wanted to re-confirm it after losing my notes on which specific section I had previously hiked.
Before visiting Carlisle School, we stopped by the Cumberland County Historical Society, which had a photo exhibit on the “contrast photos” from the school. Essentially, these were “before and after” marketing photos showing how much the Native Americans had been “Americanized” during their stay.
We also made it to Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton PA, one of the premier train-related sites in the country. If you’re a fan of trains, you need to visit.
The vignette of a railroad tycoon at Steamtown National Historic Site ain’t lying.
I’ve never seen so many sinks in a brewery before! There were only 2 urinals and 3 stalls, so 10 sinks seems a bit…overzealous. Unlike the toilet seat covers, which are only available just inside the door (I guess they spent too much on sinks to afford 2 more seat cover dispensers). 🤷♂️
After visiting Carlisle School, we also made sure to stop by Jim Thorpe’s gravesite. You’ll never guess which town it’s located in (apparently, that became a contentious issue: 🔗, 🔗).
I also made it to Frances Perkins National Monument in Maine, my 433rd National Park unit—officially “re-completing” my quest to visit them all.
Perkins was the first female Cabinet Secretary, best known for writing many New Deal laws, including Social Security, labor relations, and immigration. She had her hands in a lot, including
Unfortunately, the building itself was closed when we visited, as renovations are in progress leading up to the official “national monument grand opening” later this summer. But we did enjoy a hike around her property while there.
Can’t believe I haven’t posted this yet, but I marked off my 432nd National Park unit during my trip—Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument in PA.
This was the first federal “off-rez” Indian school, made famous by being home to Jim Thorpe, the world’s greatest athlete."
Carlisle Indian Industrial School, as it was known then, was a major powerhouse in college football, the most successful one to ever go defunct. Coached by “Pop” Warner, it competed with and beat the best teams in the country, including Harvard, Yale, and Army (including Dwight D Eisenhower’s team). They’re often regarded as the “team that invented football.”
A few of the original buildings still stand, and it remains federal property today—the US Army War College—and requires a background check to visit.
The Rutherford B Hayes Birthplace is a gas to visit
Here’s a short clip from the Hayes birthplace:
The sign’s inscription reads:
At this site on October 4, 1822, Rutherford B. Hayes was born to Sophia Hayes. Hayes’ father, Rutherford, had passed away from a fever three months prior to the birth of his son. The Hayes family were renters on the property, originally owned by Delaware founder Moses Byxbe, while their home was being built at the northeast corner of William and Franklin Streets. Sophia and her three children moved to their new home in 1823.
The brick home fell into disrepair and was purchased in 1921 by Standard Oil. Learning it was a presidential birthplace, Standard Oil offered to put up the first $500 and sell the home back to the community for $8000. Many organizations worked to obtain the funding to purchase the home but were able to raise only $4,760. The home was demolished and a Standard Oil gas station was built on the location. In 1926, a memorial marker was placed in front of the gas station by the Delaware City Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to identify where Hayes’ birthplace structure once stood. In 2019, a statue of Hayes commissioned by Rutherford B. Hayes Heritage Fund was placed at the corner of William and Sandusky Streets.
The “original” DAR-placed granite memorial has been removed, but there’s now a Hayes statue down the street, near a timeline plaque of Hayes-related life events.
And I marked off Hayes and Harrison on my quest to visit a major site for each US president. Of publicly-accessible POTUS sites, I only have Nixon (which I’m scheduled to visit in August) and Montpelier (which I went to but didn’t get to tour due to an early closing time) left to complete.
Somehow I found myself at the High Point of Kentucky during my road trip—another objective of my quest to visit each of the drivable state summits. Here’s the video:
The first professional football game, technically, I guess.
I also visited the house of David Bradford, leader of the ill-fated anti-tax Whiskey Rebellion, which was put down by George Washington himself (who personally led federal militia troops while President!).
One thing I appreciated about Pittsburgh is the historical preservation of various sports moments, even after the original stadium or ballpark has been torn down and replaced. Here’s the spot where the Immaculate Reception happened, and the home base of where the first World Series was held.
