Pecos River Flume, Carlsbad, New Mexico

The fact about this 100 year old aqueduct must be unfurled

It was once the largest concrete structure in the world

For more information, visit: http://www.carlsbadchamber.com/

Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial, Sharon, Vermont

Why should you come here? Let me give you a reason

It features over 10,000 Christmas lights thru the Holiday Season

The Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial, Sharon, Vermont

Dedicated December 23, 1905

 

In the spring of 1905, Junius Wells, on assignment from the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, arrived in Sharon, Vermont.  He proceeded to locate the site of Joseph’s birth, procure the land, design a monument, arrange for and supervise its construction and oversee the dedicatory ceremony.

The shaft of the monument, protruding above the base, is 38 ½ feet tall.  It represents one foot in height for every year of the Prophet Joseph’s life.  The obelisk weighs 40 tons and is one of the largest single pieces of flawless polished granite in the world.  The base is made of four pieces of granite that combined weigh 60 tons.

In 1905 no large trucks or cranes were available for lifting or moving these massive pieces of granite.  Moving 100 tons of granite from the quarry in Barre, Vermont to the monument site (approximately 35 miles) was an overwhelming task.  Fortunately, there was a railroad from Barre to Royalton.  That left about 5 1/2 miles on curving, steeply sloped dirt roads from Royalton to the monument location.  The elevation rose about 800!

A special wagon with 20” wide wheels was used to transport the granite from Royalton to the site.  Even with the wide wheels, the wagon tore up the dirt roads so much that planking was laid down to prevent this.  As the wagon moved over the planks, men picked up the planks and carried them around to the front of the wagon.  They continued this awesome task for the entire 5 ½ miles!  On reaching the steep inclines of Dairy Hill Road, it became apparent that the team of 22 horses could not pull the heavy load up the hill.  A team of oxen was enlisted to pull a block and tackle fastened to the front of the wagon and then to the largest trees they could find on the route in front of the wagon.  With the oxen pulling the block and tackle rope, and the horses pulling directly on the wagon, they were able to move the wagon about 80 feet before having to reset the pulleys.

It took six weeks to move the granite from Royalton to the site of the monument.  Part way up the hill, a mud hole, exacerbated by a recent rain, completely blocked their path.  An empty wagon coming down the mountain, had become stuck in that muddy swamp, and it was apparent that there was no way to cross the mud hole with the heavy-laden wagon.  As Junius Wells was about to give in to the many obstacles he faced, he offered a fervent prayer.  A north wind began to blow and a “Canadian Clipper” came through the area that night, dropping the temperature 35 degrees in three and a half hours.  The mud hole froze solid, and they were able to transport the wagon over the swampy area with no difficulties.  The weather later warmed allowing the concrete to set, and it would not be that cold again for the duration of the project.  “I called that providence,” Brother Wells commented.

The significance of the monument is perhaps best expressed in a blessing President Joseph F. Smith left as he closed the dedicatory service.  “Peace be with you, and unto this place, unto this monument and unto all who come to visit it…”

For more information, visit: https://www.lds.org/locations/joseph-smith-birthplace-memorial?lang=eng

Lindstrom, Minnesota

Come to this town and experience all that its got

The water tower is a giant Swedish coffee pot

For more information, visit: http://www.chisagolakeschamber.com/

War Correspondents' Memorial Arch, Gathland State Park, near Boonsboro, Maryland

Let the fact about this arch be known and unfurled

This is the only monument erected to the memory of war correspondents in the world.

“While researching Western Maryland for his novel Katy of Catoctin, George Alfred Townsend—the Civil War’s youngest field correspondent and one of the late 19thcentury America’s most important journalists and novelists—became captivated by beautiful Crampton’s Gap, site of a September 1862 Civil War battle. He purchased 100 acres on the ridge of South Mountain and built his estate. Townsend often wrote under the pen name “GATH,” which he derived from adding an “H” to his initials “G.A.T.,” and the estate is now Gathland State Park.

 

During the Civil War, Townsend reported on the events from the Union side. He covered the Peninsular Campaign in 1862; then lectured in Europe before returning to report the war’s end. A popular syndicated columnist and novelist, Townsend fashioned himself a renaissance man and was an unabashed self-promoter. Racehorses, pocketknives, a line of cigars as well as a post office all bore his pseudonym.

 

In establishing his estate, he included a monument to honor war correspondents, artists and photographers. The War Correspondents Arch—a monument 50 feet high and 40 feet across built in 1896—is a national historic monument administered and maintained by the National Park Service. Two buildings from Townsend’s estate survive and now serve as Gathland State Park’s museum. The museum features many artifacts from Townsend’s life, career and estate, as well as artifacts from the Battle of South Mountain. 

 

Gathland’s pavilion is available for reservation by calling 888-432-CAMP or visiting http://reservations.dnr.state.md.us. Reservation cost is $76.36 per day. 

 

War Correspondent Memorial Arch-Additional Information

The memorial arch at Gathland State Park was the last project Townsend constructed on his mountain estate. Entirely paid for through donations, the arch would cost about $5,000 or roughly $140,000 today. Several well known donors included American icons such as Thomas Edison, J.P. Morgan, and Joseph Pulitzer. Townsend designed the arch to his own specifications, influenced by the arch designs of the Baltimore and Oregon Railroad Station and the Antietam Fire Company Station No. 12 in Hagerstown, Md. He utilized different colored stones such as reddish brown sandstone, blue limestone, and red brick to give the arch eye catching color. 

 

Townsend’s design symbolically emphasized the importance of the war correspondent. The ideas of “war,” “speed,” and “storytelling” are prevalent throughout the memorial. A Greek God statue of Mercury, the God of speed and messengers, is situated into the wall. Set into the stone are busts of horses to represent travel and busts of Greek Gods positioned with the words “Speed” and “Heed” to encourage fast communication and caution againstspreading inaccurate information. The three smaller arches above the main 16ft arch even represent the three main components of the war correspondent—description (the reporter), depiction (the illustrator), and photography (the photographer).

 

Additionally, there are inscriptions throughout the monument. Townsend included several biblical and literary quotes and inscribed the Battle of South Mountain’s date, “Sept 14, 1862” and the arch’s construction date, “1896,”onto the bottom corner. He also listed 157 names of notable civil war correspondents. He included not only northern newspaper reporters, illustrators, and photographers, but also several southern correspondents as well. 

 

Shortly before his death, Townsend donated the Memorial Arch to the United States War Department, which would later transfer it to the National Park Service. It has since been rededicated several times to include all war correspondents, past and present, and is the only monument in the country dedicated to the courageous commitment of the war correspondent.

For more information, visit: http://dnr2.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/western/gathland.aspx

 

Hood Canal Floating Bridge, Washington

The fact about this bridge must be known and unfurled

It is the longest saltwater floating bridge in the world

For more information, visit: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Bridge/Reporting/MoveableBridges.htm

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Bridge/HoodCanal/questions.htm

Photos courtesy of WSDOT

Akaka Falls State Park, Hawaii

Seeing the Akaka Falls is at first look, pure love

For you can witness the water plunge 420 feet from the cliffs above

For more information, visit: http://liveinhawaiinow.com/akaka-falls/

Sertoma Butterfly House and Marine Cove, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Come here and you will not want to say goodbye

As you view the wonderful world of the butterfly

The Sertoma Butterfly House first opened in 2002. 

The Marine Cove expansion was added in 2011.

The Stingray Touch Pool was added in 2012.

The Pacific Tidal Touch Tank was added in 2014.

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

We are open year-round; Monday – Saturday 10-5, Sunday 11-5 (closed on Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day)

We receive at least one shipment per week of about 300 chrysalides from tropical butterfly farms around the world.

We try to keep 800-1,000 butterflies in the Butterfly Room at all times.

Every morning we check the Emergence Window and release any butterflies that have emerged from their chrysalis into the Butterfly Room.

We have Button Quail in the Butterfly Room in order to help keep the ant population down.

We have conservation partnerships with Save Our Monarchs and The Coral Restoration Foundation.

We thrive because of our volunteers. We have about 100 active volunteers that help guests properly touch all of our animals while educating them about butterflies and marine life.

Each year we apply for a grant that provides free school field trips for K-5^th graders.

For more information, visit: http://www.sertomabutterflyhouseandmarinecove.org/

 

Buffalo Bill Grave and Museum, Golden, Colorado

Come see where Bill was laid to rest

He was a man who loved the Wild West

For more information, visit: http://www.buffalobill.org/

Meeting House of the First Baptist Church in America, Providence, Rhode Island

About this church, there is one thing to say

It is the oldest Baptist Church in the USA 

The Meeting House of the First Baptist Church in America, built in 1774-1775, is the home of the first and oldest Baptist church in America (the whole western hemisphere). The church was gathered by Roger Williams in 1638. He was the one who also founded Providence and the Colony of Rhode Island in 1636 after being banished on pain of death from Massachusetts. Today, this building the largest wooden building in the United States that survives from the American colonial era. Furthermore, no Baptist meetinghouse anywhere looked like this one before this one was built in 1774-1775. Prior to this time, every Baptist meetinghouse was a plain structure without a steeple or bell. [see attached picture of a typical meetinghouse before 1775]  The Meeting House is the place where the graduation exercises for Brown University have taken place since 1775. [The present building is the third meetinghouse that the FBCIA has had in its 377 year history. The first two were plain, small buildings that were torn down long ago.]

First Providence and then all of Rhode Island were unique in the world in the 1600s.  This was the only place where there was separation of church and state and complete religious liberty. This was the result of the work of Roger Williams.

J. Stanley Lemons, Ph.D.

Historian of the FBCIA

For more information, visit: http://www.fbcia.org/