Houston, Missouri
In 1958 the State Historical Society of Missouri and the State Highway Commission installed a highway marker for Texas County on US Route 63 just south of Houston. This marker was just like the other 121 highway markers that they were installing in each county in the state. The two-sided markers provided an in-depth synopsis of the physical, historical, and cultural features of the subject. They were constructed of cast aluminum alloy with a baked enamel blue finish and gold lettering and the state seal at the top. The Texas County marker was accompanied by a lengthy turnout so locals and travelers could pull off the highway and leisurely read the encyclopedia's worth of information about Texas County as it was in 1958. It stood at this spot for decades as the town of Houston grew around it, but changes were brewing in the 1990's.
In 1995 the County Commission believed that an update was necessary and installed a new marker for Texas County at the county courthouse in Houston. Although the 1995 marker had the same design as the 1958 marker, the Commission made substantial revisions, additions, and deletions to the marker's text to reflect the new Texas County of 1995. These two markers, each providing a snapshot of the county in different eras, coexisted for several years but soon it was thought by some that the outdated needed to be brought to an end.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Lost Markers - New Providence
Providence Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Historical markers occasionally show up in motion pictures and television shows, usually as an innocent bystander. Recently I was watching a movie from 1978 that I’ve seen once or twice, and although I remembered the scene from my previous viewings, I was still surprised to see the prominence of this historical marker for a brief moment in the movie.
The Boys from Brazil was not a particularly successful movie in 1978, but it was subsequently released on home video and occasionally shows up on streaming services such as Netflix. That is how I came across the movie once again. Three-fourths of the way through the movie the camera follows a car driving on the foggy roads of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The end of this particular camera shot was a historical marker alongside the road, and the shot held steady for a few seconds and placed the marker in full-frame. With the pause button now a way of watching movies today, I paused to read the marker:
Historical markers occasionally show up in motion pictures and television shows, usually as an innocent bystander. Recently I was watching a movie from 1978 that I’ve seen once or twice, and although I remembered the scene from my previous viewings, I was still surprised to see the prominence of this historical marker for a brief moment in the movie.
The Boys from Brazil was not a particularly successful movie in 1978, but it was subsequently released on home video and occasionally shows up on streaming services such as Netflix. That is how I came across the movie once again. Three-fourths of the way through the movie the camera follows a car driving on the foggy roads of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The end of this particular camera shot was a historical marker alongside the road, and the shot held steady for a few seconds and placed the marker in full-frame. With the pause button now a way of watching movies today, I paused to read the marker:
Quarryville - 3
New Providence
Formerly “Black Horse”
From a Noted Old Tavern Stand
Founded
1730
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Lost Markers - Nicholas Senn, M.D.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Historical Society marker for Dr. Nicholas Senn had a short life. The idea of the marker was first conceived in 1958, a marker was installed two years later, and eight years after that the marker was stolen, never to be recovered and never to be replaced. A life of only ten years. The memory of the marker occasionally surfaced when the Nicholas Senn building became a community issue, but that memory has been further buried with the demolition of the building in 2012. Now, this Wisconsin Official Historic Marker, which was similar to the many state markers you find around Wisconsin, may only be remembered when seekers of historical markers ask, “What happened to No. 96 of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Official List of Wisconsin’s State Historic Markers?”
Speaking to the State Medical Society of Wisconsin at their annual meeting on May 5, 1958, incoming president Dr. J.W. Fons proposed a suitable marker at the Nicholas Senn building “so that all who pass by might know the works of one of our great colleagues.” The Society adopted his proposal, and almost exactly two years later on May 4, 1960, Dr. Ulrich Senn (the nephew of Dr. Nicholas Senn) unveiled a Wisconsin state historic marker at the corner of W. Juneau Avenue and N. 3rd Street in Milwaukee.[1] The marker was mounted on the Senn building on the wall facing Juneau Avenue and commemorated Nicholas Senn at the site of his office and laboratory.
The Wisconsin Historical Society marker for Dr. Nicholas Senn had a short life. The idea of the marker was first conceived in 1958, a marker was installed two years later, and eight years after that the marker was stolen, never to be recovered and never to be replaced. A life of only ten years. The memory of the marker occasionally surfaced when the Nicholas Senn building became a community issue, but that memory has been further buried with the demolition of the building in 2012. Now, this Wisconsin Official Historic Marker, which was similar to the many state markers you find around Wisconsin, may only be remembered when seekers of historical markers ask, “What happened to No. 96 of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Official List of Wisconsin’s State Historic Markers?”
Speaking to the State Medical Society of Wisconsin at their annual meeting on May 5, 1958, incoming president Dr. J.W. Fons proposed a suitable marker at the Nicholas Senn building “so that all who pass by might know the works of one of our great colleagues.” The Society adopted his proposal, and almost exactly two years later on May 4, 1960, Dr. Ulrich Senn (the nephew of Dr. Nicholas Senn) unveiled a Wisconsin state historic marker at the corner of W. Juneau Avenue and N. 3rd Street in Milwaukee.[1] The marker was mounted on the Senn building on the wall facing Juneau Avenue and commemorated Nicholas Senn at the site of his office and laboratory.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
A Drive for Historical Markers
(Or How I Got Hooked on Collecting Markers)
Kosciusko, Noble, and Whitley Counties, Indiana
Somehow, after clicking one link to another in the World Wide Web, I discovered the Historical Marker Database (HMdb). The database is a website collection of historical and other markers and monuments that have been visited by self-directed volunteers who document the markers and monuments and post them on the website to share with everyone. With my interests in the past and geography, I have always been interested by and drawn to roadside markers and soon became mesmerized by the cornucopia of information readily available in the HMdb. With the bicentennial of the War of 1812 upon us and the resources of the HMdb at my fingertips, I thought the time was right. The time to put together a tour of Native American sites in the counties south of Elkhart via historical markers.
My historical marker itinerary would take me to the upper Eel River in Kosciusko, Noble, and Whitley counties and launch me as a contributor to the HMdb. Using the information in the HMdb on the markers in these counties, I plotted a driving route to take me to each marker in a most efficient manner. My driving route started in Goshen and took me south on US 33, County Road 33, and State Road 13 and to my first historical marker of the day.
First Day, Stop #1
My first marker was in Syracuse in Kosciusko County and is titled Indian Hill. The marker is approximately 100 feet north of the bank of Syracuse Lake in a single family residential neighborhood. Although located in the street right-of-way or a public utility easement, the marker is incorporated into a flower bed in the front yard and next to the driveway of a lakeside home. Across the road from the marker is the “hill”, a small knoll with a single family house on the top of the hill. You can understand why this hill was a burial place for the local Indians. It was located away from the Indian villages along Lake Wawasee and Syracuse Lake, but was easily accessible from the villages by canoe.
Somehow, after clicking one link to another in the World Wide Web, I discovered the Historical Marker Database (HMdb). The database is a website collection of historical and other markers and monuments that have been visited by self-directed volunteers who document the markers and monuments and post them on the website to share with everyone. With my interests in the past and geography, I have always been interested by and drawn to roadside markers and soon became mesmerized by the cornucopia of information readily available in the HMdb. With the bicentennial of the War of 1812 upon us and the resources of the HMdb at my fingertips, I thought the time was right. The time to put together a tour of Native American sites in the counties south of Elkhart via historical markers.
My historical marker itinerary would take me to the upper Eel River in Kosciusko, Noble, and Whitley counties and launch me as a contributor to the HMdb. Using the information in the HMdb on the markers in these counties, I plotted a driving route to take me to each marker in a most efficient manner. My driving route started in Goshen and took me south on US 33, County Road 33, and State Road 13 and to my first historical marker of the day.
First Day, Stop #1
My first marker was in Syracuse in Kosciusko County and is titled Indian Hill. The marker is approximately 100 feet north of the bank of Syracuse Lake in a single family residential neighborhood. Although located in the street right-of-way or a public utility easement, the marker is incorporated into a flower bed in the front yard and next to the driveway of a lakeside home. Across the road from the marker is the “hill”, a small knoll with a single family house on the top of the hill. You can understand why this hill was a burial place for the local Indians. It was located away from the Indian villages along Lake Wawasee and Syracuse Lake, but was easily accessible from the villages by canoe.
 |
| Indian Hill Marker |
 |
| Papakeechie's Reserve Marker |
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Markers to Add to the HMdb
Updated April 22, 2018 - Added state markers in Kerr County, Texas
The map below shows the location of over 5,400 historical and other markers that have not yet been entered into the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) (www.hmdb.org). These are markers that I intended to collect in the past but life changes have taken me to another part of the country, that I intend to collect on future travels, or that I stumbled across in my research and I thought were interesting and did not want to forget about them.
I want to share these markers with others in case you may want to collect them on your travels and add them to the Historical Marker Database. Happy Collecting! (See my comments below the map for accuracy on the marker locations.)
This map is interactive. If you would like to view a larger version, click on the frame icon in the upper right corner of the map.
Notes on the Marker Accuracy
Because State historical marker databases often have inaccurate (or just wrong) location information, I have confirmed for most markers the marker title and its location using Google street view and other Internet sources such as findagrave.com and waymarking.com. However, even if confirmed, the information for that marker may still be several years old and does not guarantee that you will find the marker. For markers that I have not confirmed their location, I am using the best available information that I found, usually from the marker databases of state agencies.
This map is not inclusive of all markers in a particular locale that are not in the HMdb, but may lead you to other markers. If you see another marker in the area, it may not be in the HMdb.
When the map was created and I entered marker locations, I verified that the marker was not already entered in the HMdb. I will continue to update the map to remove any markers when they are collected and entered in the HMdb.
The map below shows the location of over 5,400 historical and other markers that have not yet been entered into the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) (www.hmdb.org). These are markers that I intended to collect in the past but life changes have taken me to another part of the country, that I intend to collect on future travels, or that I stumbled across in my research and I thought were interesting and did not want to forget about them.
I want to share these markers with others in case you may want to collect them on your travels and add them to the Historical Marker Database. Happy Collecting! (See my comments below the map for accuracy on the marker locations.)
This map is interactive. If you would like to view a larger version, click on the frame icon in the upper right corner of the map.
Notes on the Marker Accuracy
Because State historical marker databases often have inaccurate (or just wrong) location information, I have confirmed for most markers the marker title and its location using Google street view and other Internet sources such as findagrave.com and waymarking.com. However, even if confirmed, the information for that marker may still be several years old and does not guarantee that you will find the marker. For markers that I have not confirmed their location, I am using the best available information that I found, usually from the marker databases of state agencies.
This map is not inclusive of all markers in a particular locale that are not in the HMdb, but may lead you to other markers. If you see another marker in the area, it may not be in the HMdb.
When the map was created and I entered marker locations, I verified that the marker was not already entered in the HMdb. I will continue to update the map to remove any markers when they are collected and entered in the HMdb.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)