Showing 17201–17216 of 17472 results
Winfield’s history traces back to the mid-19th century, well before its official incorporation in 1921. It began as the Gary’s Mill settlement and nearly became Fredericksburg and Frederick Park due to the German heritage that its early people brought with them. It became Winfield when it was believed that Gen. Winfield Scott passed through the…
Local historian Seth Bate tells the story of the Walnut Valley Festival with reflections from staff, emcees, performers, campers, and characters from throughout its history. The Festival was launched in 1972 when a guitar maker, a farmer, and a businessman built their own music festival from the ground up. It has made the small town…
Florida’s contribution to aviation history cannot be underestimated. Wings over Florida chronicles the story of flying in the “Sunshine State,” from the early pioneers in gliders and balloons, to the recent developments in the space program. The story of Florida in flight is even older than its statehood, with Colonel John Sherburne planning to use…
New Orleans fans meet Paul and Linda McCartney. In 1975, Paul and Linda McCartney came to New Orleans with Wings to record Venus and Mars at Allen Toussaint’s famous Sea-Saint Studio. They immersed themselves in the city for several months, going to Mardi Gras with their children and enjoying local music as they worked on…
In March 1910, Lt. Benjamin Foulois was ordered to Fort Sam Houston near San Antonio, Texas, with a used Wright Brothers aeroplane and a small contingent of enlisted men. His mission was to teach himself how to operate this primitive flying machine and begin demonstrating the practical uses it might have for the United States…
The uniqueness of Winn Parish is its vast history not only of deep-rooted politics, but also of scattered communities that once prospered on its timber, railroads, salt mine, and rock quarry. The arrival of railroads more than a century ago opened virgin pine forests to commercial logging, and timber mills sprang up, flourished, and then…
Winnebago County has long been a bellwether of Wisconsin beer making. In the mid-1800s, German immigrants launched small breweries in Butte des Morts, Menasha, Neenah, Oshkosh and Winneconne. By the 1950s, breweries such as Walter Brothers, Peoples and the Oshkosh Brewing Company had a combined output of more than 100,000 barrels of beer annually, and…
In 1854, as the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad Company made plans to lay track through the Green Bay Trail north of Chicago, builder Charles Peck subdivided the surrounding woods. His wife Sarah declared that they must name this land Winnetka, meaning “beautiful land” in Native American. There is no proof that the word means “beautiful…
An exploration of the impact the media had on the most influential strike in Canadian history. A strike gripped Winnipeg from May 15 to June 26, 1919. Some twenty-five thousand workers walked out, demanding better wages and union recognition. Red-fearing opponents insisted labour radicals were attempting to usurp constitutional authority and replace it with Bolshevism….
From its meager beginnings as “The Crossroads,” Winnsboro has become a bustling small town situated in the heart of the beautiful Piney Woods of East Texas. Settled in 1854, when the railroad came in 1876, Winnsboro became a major shipping center for goods going west to the frontier. At one time, the area was one…
Located on an island in the Mississippi River in southeastern Minnesota, Winona has been home to the transportation industry from its earliest days. Before Winona was a city, Native Americans and European explorers sailed past “Wapasha’s Prairie” in birch bark canoes, keel boats, or small sailboats. As early as the 1820s, steamboats plied up and…
Winona County, located in the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota, was organized in 1854 by an act of the territorial legislature. Following treaties with the local Native Americans, many eastern farmers came to the frontier to settle on a rich land obtained through a system of land transfers called patents. As the area opened to…
Before its founding by white settlers, Winona, Minnesota, was the home of a band of Sioux led by the great Wapasha dynasty. After white settlement began in 1851, the city’s growth was fueled by the Mississippi riverboat trade. Groups of immigrants passed through the “Gate City,” and many stayed, founding enduring ethnic communities and building…
Winona Lake was once home to the world’s largest Bible conference. Before 1834, it was the home of the Pottwatomi Tribe, and later it became Spring Fountain Park on Eagle Lake. In 1895, Sol Dickeys’s vision of “a kind of Christian Chautauqua” quickly grew in popularity and scope. The many attractions of Winona drew an…
Named by the Abenaki Indians, Winooski, which means “land of the wild onion,” has enjoyed a long history. Ira and Ethan Allen and their uncle Remember Baker first settled in the area in 1772. Since that settlement, Winooski has hosted various mills and factories, several churches, many stores, and an active community. The Vermont Legislature…
In 1880, the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad laid out the Winslow townsite along its new transcontinental line through northeastern Arizona Territory because the nearby Little Colorado River supplied a vital water source. The river had sustained the prehistoric Homol’ovi villages, and a passable ford across the river brought trails, wagon roads, and Mormon settlers to…
