Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow (hudsonvalley.org) in Sleepy Hollow, Westchester County, New York is well worth a visit. The docents do an excellent job telling all about the history.
For Dan’s Thursday Doors. Back at OSV – No Facilities is Dan’s door post for today.
On the way to Beaver Creak (our B&B for the night) we stopped at 1739 – Hager’s Fancy | Historic City Park and were given an excellent tour of the place. More information: Hager House (Hagerstown, Maryland) – Wikipedia
The Mountain Farm Museum is a collection of farm buildings assembled from locations throughout the Great Smoky Mountains Park. Visitors can explore a log farmhouse, barn, apple house, springhouse, and a working blacksmith shop to get a sense of how families may have lived one hundred years ago. Most of the structures were built in the late 19th century and were moved here in the 1950s. The Davis House offers a rare chance to view a log house built from chestnut wood before the chestnut blight decimated the American Chestnut in our forests during the 1930s and early 1940s. The museum is adjacent to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.
For Thursday Doors https://nofacilities.com/2024/06/06/carnegie-science-center/
“The 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, also known as the Gatlinburg wildfires, were a complex of wildfires which began in late November 2016. Some of the towns most impacted were Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, both near Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The fires claimed at least 14 lives, injured 190,and is one of the largest natural disasters in the history of Tennessee.
By December 12, the fires had burned more than 10,000 acres (15 square miles) inside the national park, and 6,000 acres in other parts of the area. At least 14,000 area residents and tourists were forced to evacuate, while over 2,000 buildings were damaged and/or destroyed.
One of the largest wildfires was the Chimney Tops 2 Fire, which burned more than 10,000 acres, and closed the Chimney Tops Trail.
The Great Smoky Mountains wildfires were the deadliest wildfires in Tennessee, as well as the deadliest wildfires in the eastern U.S. since the Great Fires of 1947, which killed 16 people in Maine. In addition, the fires were also the most deadly and destructive of the 2016 Southeastern United States wildfires.
American country singer and notable local resident Dolly Parton was among many notable figures to pitch in to assist victims.” Source: 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires – Wikipedia
We stopped and explored many of the old cabins on our drive around Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Here is a bit of the History of Cades Cove – Great Smoky Mountains National Park (nps.gov). And here is a page with information about 12 Historical Structures in Cades Cove.
A list of 3 Historical Structures You’ll See Along Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail (smokymountainnationalpark.com). The Roaring Fork Auto Tour is so lovely we did it twice.
In Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.
“The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to become Front Royal was annexed and claimed for hunting by the Iroquois Confederation during the later Beaver Wars, by 1672. Some bands of the Shawnee settled in the area as client groups to the Iroquois and alternately to the Cherokee after 1721. The Iroquois formally sold their entire claim east of the Alleghenies to the Virginia Colony at the Treaty of Lancaster in 1744. Front Royal, originally settled in 1754, had been known to European explorers as early as the 1670s, and the nearby settlement of Chester’s Ferry was in existence by 1736. The town also had a well-known nickname by the 1790s, “Helltown,” due to the many livestock wranglers and boatmen on the Shenandoah coming through the area, who came into town looking for alcohol. It was incorporated as “Front Royal” in 1788.” (Front Royal, Virginia – Wikipedia)
“A common theory is that the town was named for a giant oak tree – the “Royal” Tree of England – that stood in the public square during colonial days where Chester and Main Streets now join. It was there that the local militia were drilled. During drills, a frequent command given by the drill sergeant was, “front the Royal Oak!” The command was repeated and eventually shortened to simply “Front Royal”. This theory is supported by a bulletin published by the United States Geological Survey in 1905, which states that the town was first known as Royal Oak, with the current name being derived from the commands of a confused colonel.” (Front Royal, Virginia – Wikipedia)
We spent a nice afternoon there eating lunch at the Mains Street Mill Restaurant and taking a self guided tour of some of the historical buildings. Then we went to Eastham Park by the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. The town is charming and southerners are so polite and friendly.
Two more locations in the Delaware Water Gap.
