Michigan established St. Joseph County in 1829. It was a fertile land with an abundance of fresh water supplied by the St. Joseph River. The county’s colorful past is the result of forgotten locals an
Savannah’s remarkable cuisine is a reflection of its unique history. Delicate local ingredients are balanced carefully using time-honored techniques to produce unforgettable dishes. Initially a coloni
Designed by Richmond visionary Lewis Ginter, The Jefferson Hotel has been an icon in the community since 1895. From the alligators that used to roam the elegant lobby to the speakeasy housed within du
Originally a small town called Washington Courthouse, Fayetteville bloomed into one of Arkansas’s largest cities. The town prospered during its first two decades, until it suffered decimation during t
During World War I, New Haven was a hive of wartime activity. The city hummed with munition production from the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, while food conservation campaigns, canning kitchens a
Since the 1940s, forty racing champions have traveled the hallowed grounds at the historic Aiken Training Track. Thoroughbred icons such as Kelso, Tom Fool, Swale, Pleasant Colony, Conquistador Cielo
In the aftermath of the Civil War, Richmond entered the Gilded Age seeking bright prospects while struggling with its own past. It was an era marked by great technological change and ideological strif
Beginning as a school for Civil War orphans, the Scotland School for Veterans' Children became a unique center for education in the heart of Pennsylvania. The school aimed to develop disciplined, patr
South Dakota is quietly nestled in the grasslands and Black Hills, but its history is far less hidden. One day at a time, author Brad Tennant presents intriguing, event-driven anecdotes of state histo
Steel portrays the growth of the iron and steel industry in smoke-filled Pittsburgh during the nineteenth century. This fast-paced saga tells the story of millionaire steel titans Andrew Carnegie, Ben
Easley has a rare combination of a quaint Main Street and a thriving industrial presence. The city was a series of small farms and open land until residents convinced officials to make the area a stop
When a flood redirected the Missouri River in 1877, a small patch of Iowa landed in Nebraska—and a new town was born. Carter Lake incorporated as an independent city in 1930 as Iowa’s only community w
The streetcars that plied Oregon’s small-town streets were every bit as diverse as those in Portland and their history even more fascinating. Learn of the devastating 1922 fire that scorched Astoria’s
From the earliest days of settlement, South Temple was Salt Lake’s most prestigious street. In 1857, William Staines built the Devereaux House, Salt Lake’s first of many mansions. The once-bustling Un
Gunslingers, gamblers and outlaws vastly outnumbered sheriffs and marshals in the cattle towns of the Kansas frontier. Famous lawmen, such as Charlie Bassett, Wild Bill Hickok and Tom Smith, kept the
After Monroe Edwards died in Sing Sing prison in 1847, penny dreadfuls memorialized him as the most celebrated American forger until the turn of the century. With a bizarre biography too complicated f
The Army of the Potomac’s mounted units suffered early in the Civil War at the hands of the horsemen of the South. However, by 1863, the Federal cavalry had evolved into a fighting machine. Despite th
On his twenty-sixth horrifying mission over the hostile skies of Nazi Europe, a charismatic bombardier, seated at the nose of a B-17, strapped on his parachute as his disintegrating bomber dropped unc
Competing with the likes of Detroit and Ann Arbor, Jackson won the battle to build Michigan’s first state prison in 1838. During the era of the “Big House” and industrial growth, the penitentiary’s on
