Tell us some interesting historical facts about the town you live in

Please don't give out any personal information, if you're not comfortable with that, nor do you have to name your town...

I just found out a few cool things about where I live:

Practically down the road from me is an old house, which has been turned into a restaurant. I go past it every day, never knowing that 1. George Washington really did  sleep there 2. Abraham Lincoln had been friends with the original owner, and, because of that, his funeral train stopped in front of the house (how cool is that? I've spent my life driving beside those very same train tracks--and Abe Lincoln had been there!)l 3. It was a stop on the Underground Railroad ; there's a secret passage to help escaped slaves obtain their freedom. (We actually have many  U.R. sites around here. I drive past several every day on the way to work and back. There's even a tunnel under the street, linking one house to the owner's second house across the street. When the slave catchers arrived, he would take the slaves through the tunnel to the other house.)

My town, at one time in history, was the largest manufacturer of textile machines in the world.  It was a true mill village where the shop owner built housing surrounding the mill for the workers to board.  The massive mill still stands along the river, but sadly, producing textiles has moved overseas and the mill has been closed for many years now.

There was a Revolutionary War battle fought in my town in 1780.  I have a musket ball from the site that was given to me by a friend.

My small city once boasted more millionaires per capita than any other place in the United States, and all because of the coal and steel boom days.

In old pictures you cannot tell my (dying, almost dead Appalalachian city) town apart from pictures of Philly and Pittsburgh taken about the same time. Takes my breath away to think, "what if?"

I live on the side of an active volcano.

This area is sometimes known as Fuji Five Lakes Resort Area but in fact there are only two lakes. It looks like there are five because the lava flow has covered part of them but they are still connected by underwater tunnels.

My house is in the middle of a forest known locally as The Sea of Blue Trees or The Suicide Forest.

Because of the magnetic effect of the volcanic rock magnets don't work in the forest.

There are over 200 caves in the forest. Some of them are inhabited by bats. Some of them are so deep they have icicles in them all year round.

This area is the second most popular suicide spot in the world. (The Golden Gate Bridge is Number 1)

It used to be forbidden for women to climb to the top of Mount Fuji.

Every year a fire festival is held to thank the God of Fuji for not erupting in the past 12 months. Over 70 two meter high models of Fuji are made from paper and bamboo and are placed up the middle of the main street then set alight.

EDIT Just found out that the first woman to climb Fuji was Lady Fanny Parkes.   Not sure if that was her porn star name or not.

The town's existence was first documented in 1142. Its name is derived from Old High German and means "happy warriors". It's in a river valley and lies between two forests. There's a big artificial lake for swimming right outside town that attracts visitors from the entire region, plus a number of large stocked ponds for fishing. It was ravaged by warring troops several times in the Middle Ages. It particularly suffered during the Thirty Years' War (1618 - 1648) and at the hands of Napoleon's troops in 1805.

Parts of the oldest church (the Gothic tower and choir) date back to 1519 (an earlier church built in 1295 was burnt down during a military campaign), and the cemetery has been in use since 1626. The elementary school was built in 1907, and the current town hall in 1914. A former town hall built in 1569 is a restaurant nowadays. There are a number of houses down by the river that date from the same period. The town wasn't damaged in WWII and came under American control in April 1945.

Founded in 1784, our town was part of the Underground Railroad. We are located along the Susquehanna River in central PA and there are still remnants of old factories and such can be seen along the banks of the river.

We have a really neat Art Deco movie theatre, recently remodeled. It's quite the place.

We are listed in the National Register of Historic Places

The town was named after a Lenni Lenape Indian chief.

Area settlement began as far back as 1664, but was officially named in 1858 as a separate town from the others it was bundled with.

We have one of the oldest buildings in NJ here (Clark House), named for Abraham Clark who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He is buried in our historic town cemetery along with several others of note in the 1700's.

A major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here in 1777 - the Battle of Spanktown.  Yes, go ahead and laugh at that.  We did. But apparently the British were trounced in it.

George Washington drank here on his way to NYC prior to his inauguration.   The Merchants and Drovers tap room, dated 1795, is now a working museum and on the same grounds as the historic cemetery.

It's a rather small town, but we have 10 parks in it, one of which was designed by the famous landscape firm, The Olmsted Brothers.

Nikola Tesla formed his first company here.

Carl Sagan lived here when he was young.

I'll be honest, the little town I currently live in is fairly boring. :lol3: I've lived here for 10 years. The town did get national attention in the 80's when a young student who had contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion, was allowed to attend public schools.

Now the small city near me though, that's another story. :lol3: In the 19th century it was the leading textile manufacturing center in the United States. Lots of mills. Some have burned, some are abandoned, but some have been redone into apartments, offices and shopping centers. It also has the world's largest collection of World War II naval vessels. To top it all off, it was also the home of Lizzie Borden.

Wow, what interesting factoids!  

Our city was the first capital of California.  Quite a few old adobe buildings from that era still exist.  We are home to the US's largest marine sanctuary, including a marine canyon deeper than the Grand Canyon.  

Home to Monterey Jack cheese, John Steinbeck, and the San Carlos Cathedral, built in 1791 (old by California standards).  

I don't know what to say that people don't already know. I live in Giza, Egypt, about an hour's drive from the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. As many neighborhoods in the capital, my neighborhood used to consist of houses/villas the majority of which have been torn down to build high buildings. Its a very busy city that never sleeps. There are sights for more than one historical era: Pharaonic, Coptic, Islamic and modern. 

I love all of the replies! I hope my post inspires more of us to check out our local history! Keep the posts coming!

  In 1998, filming for parts of the movie  A Civil Action,  starring John Travolta, was done at a junkyard near the river in my town.  Based on true events, the movie concerns itself with environmental pollutants.  

I can't remember all the details, but do remember local news coverage and some people got glimpses of John Travolta I think.  I was working that day, so I did not get to go.  

I live in San Jose Ca. which was the original capitol city of California. Many people think of San Jose as Silicon Valley and of course it is. It is also the home of the biggest mining town in the country ( formerly) We still have open mine shafts in the area.It is the town where we kids had a creek running through and we spent summers trying the build rafts and sail the creek like Huck Finn. The Doobie Brothers used to practice in the garage up the road and Peggy Fleming was a neighbor.

 When I moved here at age 6 it was an orchard community and the woods were so deep a guide knocked at the door every morning to guide us to school.

 A wonderful outdoorsy place to grow up San Jose was also exciting with all the innovation. I remember in junior high my dad would talk about two 'kids' that he knew. He said those kids were doing something in their garage that would change the world. He was right . Those kids were Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founders of Apple computer.

 We still have plenty of outdoor space and in New Almaden there are still ranchers and fields of cows.Not just a high tech town.

Maureen Bradley said:

 
I live in San Jose Ca. which was the original capitol city of California. Many people think of San Jose as Silicon Valley and of course it is. It is also the home of the biggest mining town in the country ( formerly) We still have open mine shafts in the area.It is the town where we kids had a creek running through and we spent summers trying the build rafts and sail the creek like Huck Finn. The Doobie Brothers used to practice in the garage up the road and Peggy Fleming was a neighbor.

 When I moved here at age 6 it was an orchard community and the woods were so deep a guide knocked at the door every morning to guide us to school.

 A wonderful outdoorsy place to grow up San Jose was also exciting with all the innovation. I remember in junior high my dad would talk about two 'kids' that he knew. He said those kids were doing something in their garage that would change the world. He was right . Those kids were Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founders of Apple computer.

 We still have plenty of outdoor space and in New Almaden there are still ranchers and fields of cows.Not just a high tech town.

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Now that's interesting.  I had posted that Monterey was the first capital of California   but technically, Monterey was the capital of Alta California under Mexico and Spain, and San Jose was the first capital after CA gained statehood.  Never knew that until today!  

sivyaleah said:

The town was named after a Lenni Lenape Indian chief.
Area settlement began as far back as 1664, but was officially named in 1858 as a separate town from the others it was bundled with.
We have one of the oldest buildings in NJ here (Clark House), named for Abraham Clark who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He is buried in our historic town cemetery along with several others of note in the 1700's.
A major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here in 1777 - the Battle of Spanktown.  Yes, go ahead and laugh at that.  We did. But apparently the British were trounced in it.
George Washington drank here on his way to NYC prior to his inauguration.   The Merchants and Drovers tap room, dated 1795, is now a working museum and on the same grounds as the historic cemetery.
It's a rather small town, but we have 10 parks in it, one of which was designed by the famous landscape firm, The Olmsted Brothers.
Nikola Tesla formed his first company here.
Carl Sagan lived here when he was young.

Click to expand...

Ooh, I know, I know
I miss NJ

Anyway, I live in Charleston, SC - there's ALL kinds of historical facts!

• The first pubic college, museum, & playhouse were in Charleston. The museum dates back to 1773.
• The first game of golf took place here
• The Isle of Palms was originally named Hunting Island and then Long Island, it’s thought to be at least 25,000 years old, and was first inhabited by the indigenous Seewee Indians.
• The Civil War began here
• It was settled in 1670, but was not made an official city until 1783.
• 4 Charleston natives were witnesses / signed the Declaration of Independence.
• Samuel Morse invented Morse code while living in Charleston

I can go on and on and on lol. The Antebellum homes downtown on the Battery are gorgeous.

There is literally nothing interesting about the town I live in. @AbbysMom  your area seems like the life of the party compared to mine. lol.

- Main crop grown is Canola. 

- The town briefly hit the news in the 80's when some loser ate his underwear to trick a breathalyzer. (lol)

- About 5km across

- 4k Population

Yep, welcome to Central Alberta, If you'll look to your left you'll see a farm, and to the right, two farmers chasing after escaped sheep.

If you ever get to Millersport,Ohio at the end of August you have to visit the Millersport Sweet Corn Festival. It is so much fun.

  Not in my town, but in the closest city, Worcester, MA,  the Smiley Face   was created in 1963 by Harvey Ross Ball.   The original does look different than the one seen today as computer icons.  The original was the one I remember in the 1970's.  The grin was very wide and the eyes were oval, one bigger than the other.  My sister and I were thrilled when we each got to pick out a groovy necklace with a big, colorful Smiley Face on a long pendant!       

twinkles21 said:

 
There is literally nothing interesting about the town I live in. @AbbysMom  your area seems like the life of the party compared to mine. lol.

- Main crop grown is Canola. 

- The town briefly hit the news in the 80's when some loser ate his underwear to trick a breathalyzer. (lol)

- About 5km across

- 4k Population

Yep, welcome to Central Alberta, If you'll look to your left you'll see a farm, and to the right, two farmers chasing after escaped sheep.

Click to expand...

That's funny!