Interesting places in Western History...

[RSL]

I know many of us on this board live in these areas, but often do not think of them. The eartag thread got me thinking about some of the neat places in Western history I have seen. The Black Hills, Flint Hills, various Forts, etc.
This is one of my favourites.

We arrived there on the anniversary of the event (quite by accident). The Alamo is one of the most respectfully done tributes I have ever been to.
I would be interested to see/hear of others that people on this board have visited, or live in the middle of...

 

[Northern Rancher]

Batoche, Fort Battleford and Fort Walsh are all pretty neat to visit here at home. They captured Big Bear just west of us at Steele Narrows-in fact one of the survivors of the Frog Lake Massacre used to live in Meadow Lake. If Riel would of let Gabrial Dumont run the military side of the rebellion western Canadian history would be alot different than it is today. The Black Hills and Cypress Hills remind me of each other I can see why they were so dear to the Indians. We don't do our Canadian heroes enough justice in school I feel-more kids have heard of Lewis and Clark than Samuel Hearne unfortunately.

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

The Alamo (Mission San Antonio de Valero) is probably my all time favorite historical places that I've visited. Even tho when you walk in there's usually gobs of people. If you just walk around and look quietly, you FEEL what's there. I'd really like to someday take the time to go to the other 4 missions in San Antonio that went along with the Alamo. They are really more beautiful than the Alamo as far as architectural design goes. They just didn't get the history the Alamo did when the battle occurred.
Mission San Juan Capistrano

Mission San Francisco Espada

Mission Conception

Mission San Jose

Ft. Davis is another place that I really like. It's very well preserved/represented.

These are some ruins that haven't been restored as of yet.

Lyndon Johnson's ancestrial ranch. (Not his ranch but the one in Johnson City that was his great grandfather's or grandfather's I forget which) It's really cool. And a place that you can just park along side the road, and walk the whole grounds by yourself, No tour guides.....just stop and read a historical fact here and there, and go look thru all the buildings on the property.

Washington on the Brazos State Park. Wow...is pretty much all I can say about it. It's beautiful in a rustic sort of way. The outbuildings there, etc. But the history...another one of those places that if your still, and quiet....that FEELING comes over you.
Independance Hall

Another of my favorites is a little Cabin on the courthouse square in Dallas. That cabin was the first house in the settlement of Dallas built in 1841. It was built by John Neely Bryant. Who was married to Margaret Beeman (My great great grandfathers sister).

And last but not least is Judge Roy Bean's "The Jersey Lilly" in Langtry, Texas. I've yet to get to go there in person....but I will one of these days.

There are so many places that I'd like to go see just here in Texas...not to mention all over the United States.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

In our area the history is more recent.We weren't opened for homesteading until 1927 about the time the railroad came to Big Beaver. Before that it was mostly ranches and outlaws chased north from the US.
We have the NWMP barracks site just around the hill from us. The Sam Kelly caves 5 miles up the road. ( Not really much to see anymore) and the Willow Bunch to Big Muddy trail that Sitting Bull traveled when he surrendered back to the US runs right behind our house.
Fort Union and Fort Buford down on the ND/MT line are pretty neat to visit.

 

[RSL]

It is unfortunate that as Canadians we don't cover more Canadian history. A lot of the real history is lost just because there are not buildings or other structures associated with it.
We have really enjoyed Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump as well.
http://www.head-smashed-in.com/

 

[Northern Rancher]

I can't belive I forgot that one. I made ten bucks racing a guy to the top of it-even a fat horse has one race in him. I'm not sure if they'll ever open that site just south of Regina where the last pair of mating Liberals in Saskatchewan were spotted.

 

[DustDevil]

I wish I could've salvaged a piece of The Balinese Ballroom on the seawall in Galveston, But I didn't go to down there for about a year and a half after "Ike" and I guess that woulda' been considered looting anyway.

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

And now they are goin to tear down the huge motel out over the water....Flagship. (Or may have already) We were down there this last summer and it was still there.....you could see beds and dressers and stuff still in the upstairs rooms where the walls were torn up from Ike. Kinda sad.

 

[Trinity man]

I live on the oldest hiway in Texas (Old San Antonio Road) it was made in the late 1600's. The road was started at Natchitoches La. and travel to the Rio Grande River in Texas and on to Mexico City. The road traveled many different paths depending on the season and years. The area of the road I live on is the oldest part of the road this used today. The other parts of the road travel state hiway 21. The area where our ranch is located may have been part of OSR at one time or another. It was and old ferry crossing there with marks in the trees today where cable was. We found and old cap and ball pistor in a creek on the ranch when we were setting Culvert. I had it check out by a professor in college and they said it was made in the middle 1800's. We also found parts of an old wagon in the mud where the pistor was.

On the Houston Co side on the river there was and old college on the bank on the Trinity until a major river flood sometime after the civil war. They tried to build it back, but Yellow Fever set in and took a number of the college students life. Parts of the old builds that was builded after the major flood are still there today. There is also a pepper tree that was plant in 1837 on OSR in Houston Co. that still produce pepper today. It was planted by a spring where travels by wagon would stop for the night. I stop by it sometimes when I am going to Nacogdoches and pick some pepper balls. This area is full of all kinds of history and talking to some of the old timers at these sale barns make it all come to life.

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Hey Trinity man...are those peppers Chili Pequins? Bout the size of...ummmmm tryin to think of somethin else that size. Small....some people call them bird eye peppers. Maybe twice the size of a pencil eraser?

 

[Trinity man]

Its black pepper that you have to grind up. A little smaller than a BB gun BB.

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Oh cool....I've never seen anything like that growin. next time your around there....take a picture to share please.....pretty please...with pepper on top lol

 

[MsSage]

Around me is the Santa Fe trail, Palo Duro Canyon, Close to a dormate Volcano Rabbit ear and Capulin, and live on the use to be XIT ranch. This was the center of the Dust bowl where they tried to shoot a rocket into clouds to make rain. Close to the lake are dinosaur footprints. John "Black Jack" Ketchum is buried in Clayton cemetary after he was hanged in the town square.
There are a few others around here I just dont have the info on them.

I find the ones that are not "commercialized" are better.

 

[DustDevil]

A Bird'seye Pepper Plant transplated from wild. I'd say the peppers are about 00 Buck.

 

[Trinity man]

Around me is the Santa Fe trail, Palo Duro Canyon, Close to a dormate Volcano Rabbit ear and Capulin, and live on the use to be XIT ranch. This was the center of the Dust bowl where they tried to shoot a rocket into clouds to make rain. Close to the lake are dinosaur footprints. John "Black Jack" Ketchum is buried in Clayton cemetary after he was hanged in the town square.
There are a few others around here I just dont have the info on them.

I find the ones that are not "commercialized" are better.

One thing I like about your part of the state is its openness. How far are you from Boys Town? I train to do market reports in Clayton NM. and I was colder there than I have ever been.

 

[MsSage]

Boys town or Boys Ranch? I am about an hour and half from Boys ranch again its to the south of me LOLOLOL
Clayton is pretty cold I think its the wind coming down off Raton pass, not sure but it feels that way.

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

A Bird'seye Pepper Plant transplated from wild. I'd say the peppers are about 00 Buck.

Yeap I have some of those that have been making peppers for a long time. Until Turbo. He's chewed them off...dug them up....and I don't have my big plants anymore. Gonna hafta start all over. They grow like crazy down around Round Top all in the fence lines. They are some hot lil peppers. Love them to make pepper sauce, or throw a few in a pot of stew.

 

[leanin' H]

I am blessed to live right in the middle of a lot of history as well! It is amazing to see how hard folks worker to tame the land and bring a little culture and refinement to each others lives. I'll post a few pictures of some of the historic places I live near and know a little bit about. Utah is abundantly blessed with a lot of native American artifacts and dwellings. This is a cliff dwelling in southeastern Utah and I have found hundreds while hunting in this area.

This is the old rock house at the Hilltop mine. It is over a hundred years old and just a shell of what is was. The fires of '94 burnt the roof and any wood but the rock walls have survived lots of winter snows. The miners who mined the Hilltop would haul the ore out with a mine car, dump it of green hides and drag it about 3 miles down to a road where it was loaded into wagons to go to be milled. Later they built an tram that took bucket loads down using a pulley system.

I live about 5 miles from the Pony Express trail. We drive over the pony express road to go to our ranch. Here's a shot of one of the many monuments that follow the trail across the desert.

And a reproduction of the cabin that stood at Simpson Springs Station where they changed horses. It was also an Overland Stage stop.

Another stop and the stage route as well as a Pony Express Station called Camp Floyd. It was also the spot where Johnson's Army camped after they were sent to Utah to quell the Mormon uprising.

 

[nortexsook]

Those historical pictures are really cool. I hope more people join in with some more photos.

 

[loomixguy]

I wish I could've salvaged a piece of The Balinese Ballroom on the seawall in Galveston, But I didn't go to down there for about a year and a half after "Ike" and I guess that woulda' been considered looting anyway.

Would that be the Balinese referred to in the ZZ Top song?

I've delivered feed in some pretty neat places. Right along the Oregon Trail, the Pony Express route, several sites of battles between the Lakotas and the Pawnee, and Alice Blue Cloud (Chief Red Cloud's daughter) is buried right south of town....By rifle pits dug by Zebulon Pike, near a hideout of Frank & Jesse James', etc.