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Lost River’s First Church, Mathias, West Virginia

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Lost River's First Church Historical Marker, Mathias, West Virginia

The Lost River Valley was frequented by many Native American tribes before white settlers came to the area in the 1700s. The headwaters of the river are located south of Mathias, West Virginia. The first church in the area was made of logs and was built in 1768. Besides being a church, it also served as a school and meeting hall.

The church no longer exists, but the historical marker records its original location.

Historical Marker Inscription

300 yards east is the first Lost River Valley Church. Built of logs, prior to 1797, on land deeded by Anthony Miller, 1831, to the Baptists and Presbyterians “to hold in common for a meetinghouse and graveyard.”

West Virginia Historic Commission, 1963

Location

38° 55’ 45.678” N, 78° 50’ 5.832” W

259 WV-259, Mathias, WV  26812, United States

St. Philip’s Church Historical Marker, Charleston, South Carolina

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St. Philip's Church Historical Marker, Charleston, SC

Founded in 1681, St. Philip’s Church is an Anglican church and one of the oldest churches in South Carolina. It is also the oldest congregation in the state. It was the first Anglican church to be established south of Virginia.

The first church was a wooden building, located where St. Michael’s Episcopal Church currently stands. The next church building was erected in the 18th century and is in the latest church’s present location. This building was burnt down in 1835 and was replaced between 1835 and 1838. The architect was Joseph Hyde, but the steeple was designed by E.B. White, which was added later.

Many famous people lie in the church cemetery, including Charles Pinkney, famous for the Pickney Draught, and Edward Rutledge, South Carolina Legislator and Senator. Pickney was also a Signer of the United States Constitution while Rutledge was a Signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Historical Marker Inscription

Here in the churchyard of
St. Philip’s are buried
Charles Pinckney
(1757-1824)
Signer of the United
States Constitution
and author of the famous
“Pinckney Draught”
Governor of South Carolina
U.S. Senator & Congressman
Minister to Spain
Edward Rutledge
(1749-1800)
Signer of the Declaration
of Independence
Delegate to First & Second
Continental Congresses
S.C. Legislator & Senator
Governor of South Carolina.

Erected By

South Carolina Society Daughters of American Colonists

1969

Location

32° 46’ 44.052” N, 79° 55’ 45.168” W

154 Church St, Charleston, SC  29401, United States

Victor City Hall Historical Marker, Victor, Colorado

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Victor City Hall Historic Marker, Victor, Colorado

Victor, Colorado, was founded in 1891 after gold was discovered in the nearby Cripple Creek mining district. The location eventually became known as the City of Mines, and the largest gold mine was on Battle Mountain above Victor.

The original buildings were wood and were burned down in a fire in 1899. The new buildings were made of brick, including the City Hall. The City Hall is the highlight of the Victor Downtown Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

City Hall, Victor, Colorado

Historical Marker Inscription

Like a Phoenix, Victor rose from the ashes of the great 1899 fire better than before. The flimsy wooden structures, built in haste during the boom years of the gold rush, were replaced seemingly overnight by the majestic sturdy brick buildings seen around you today. Though not the first to be rebuilt, the new City Hall perhaps best epitomized the rebirth of the city. Generally considered to be the leading example of Classical Revival architecture in the area City Hall, its domed cupola towering above the valley, became the focal point of life in the reborn city for many years to come.

The building has housed, at various times, the fire department, police department, city court and council chambers, city clerk and local jail. It is widely reported that during the gold camp days boxing great Jack Dempsey trained in a gym up stairs.

Restored in 2004 the City Hall now stands as a centerpiece of the Victor Downtown Historic District. It remains important for both its historical significance and its continued public utility for Victor residents. City Hall serves to remind the people of Victor of their rich heritage and inspire their hope for the future.

Dedicated by Al Packer Chapter #100 June 21, 2008

Ancient & Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus 6013

Location

38° 42’ 38.220” N, 105° 8’ 33.340” W

500 Victor Ave, Victor, CO  80860, United States

Valence Historical Marker, New Orleans, Louisiana

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Valence Street Cemetery Historical Marker, New Orleans, LA

The Valence Cemetery, also known as the Valence Street Cemetery, was established in 1867. It is located on Valence Street between Daneel and S. Saratoga Streets. It served as the municipal cemetery for the City of Jefferson, which was a suburb of New Orleans at the time. This is why it was originally called City Cemetery or Jefferson City Cemetery.

The cemetery is broken up into four squares. It is mainly comprised of below-ground and coping burials. A coping grave has walls that are mainly made of stone, granite, or marble. This seals the coffin from rising water.

In 1870, Jefferson City was annexed into New Orleans (presently it’s the Uptown area). This was when the name of the cemetery was changed to Valence. In the cemetery, there are many society tombs, including St. Anthony of Padua Italian Mutual Benefit Society, the St. Joseph’s Sepulcher of the Male and Female Benevolent Association, and the Ladies and Gentlemen Perseverance Benevolent Association.

Valence Cemetery, New Orleans, LA

Historical Marker Inscription

The Jefferson City Cemetery, later called the Valence St. Cemetery, became a city cemetery in 1870 when Jefferson City was annexed by the City of New Orleans. The cemetery has a number of old society tombs such as the St. Anthony of Padua Italian Mutual Benefit Society, the St. Joseph’s Sepulcher of the Male and Female Benevolent Association, and the Ladies and Gentlemen Perseverance Benevolent Association. German philanthropist John David Fink’s remains were removed from the Girard Street Cemetery when it was demolished, and were buried in this cemetery.

Location

2000–2048 Valence St, New Orleans, LA  70115, United States

29° 55’ 50.202” N, 90° 6’ 21.940” W

Virgin Island, Pierre Part, Louisiana

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Virgin Mary Island, Pierre Part, LA Historical Marker

29° 57’ 47.292” N, 91° 12’ 41.790” W

Located near the Atchafalaya Basin, Pierre Part, Louisiana, is located at Pierre Part Bay. It is only three feet above sea level. It is also nearly surrounded by water. During the 1800s, it was actually nearly destroyed by a flood.

But one thing survived. The St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church sits on a small island. Within the ruins of this church, a statue of the Virgin Mary was found without any damage.

According to reports, in 1902, Father Pillian, a local priest, placed a small statue in a wooden cross on the island. He asked the Virgin Mary to protect the town. The local belief is that if water doesn’t reach the Virgin’s feet, Pierre Part will survive.

Later, the small statue was replaced by a larger one. Worshippers still come to the island to pray.

Pierre Part, Louisiana

Historical Marker Inscription

Commemorates The Blessed Virgin who the people of Pierre Part believe intervened to save lives in natural disasters from 1882-1976. Restored by the citizens during the Bicentennial Year 1976.

Location

3302 LA-70, Pierre Part, LA  70339, United States

East Mississippi Female College, Meridian, MS

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East Mississippi Female College, Meridian, MS Historical Marker

The East Mississippi Female College was built in 1869. It was comprised of three buildings: the Main (College) building, the Science Hall and the Conservatory for Music. About a quarter of a mile away was a college for boys. The college was active from 1869 to 1903 when it burned down due to a fire.

Historical Marker Inscription

The East Mississippi Female College was established here in 1869 by the Central Methodist Church and became recognized as one of the finest female colleges in the South under the leadership of John Wesley Beeson, President (1869-1903). The college was destroyed by fire on the morning of February 24, 1903.

Mississippi Department of Archives and History 1995

Location

32° 22’ 4.350” N, 88° 42’ 5.730” W

2300 11th St, Meridian, MS 39301, United States

The Valley of a Thousand Haystacks

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The Valley of a Thousand Haystacks Historical Marker, Avon, MT

This historical marker commemorates the beaver slide, a wooden device used for stacking hay. It was originally called the Beaverhead Country Slide Stacker. It was invented in 1908 by two Big Hole Valley (located in Southwest Montana) residents: Dade Stephens and H. Armitage.

The device can stack hay up to 30 feet high, and the piles can last anywhere from 2 to 6 years. The body is a 30-foot wood frame with an inclined plane. Hay is pulled up to about 20 feet in the air before it’s launched through a gap at the top of the machine. The machine is portable so it could be moved from field to field.

While modern technology has largely replaced this device, it’s still in use in many places today.

Historical Marker Inscription

The Little Blackfoot Valley is filled with lush hay fields. You already may have noticed the rounded haystacks and commented on the strange lodgepole structures standing in many of the fields. This contraption that looks like a cross between a catapult and a cage is a hay-stacker that actually acts like a little of both. It was invented before 1910 by Dade Stephens and H. Armitage in the Big Hole Valley about sixty miles south of here. The device, called a beaver slide, revolutionized haying in Montana. It helped keep the wind from blowing the hay away and cut stacking time considerably.

To work the beaver slide, a large rake piled high with hay is run up the arms of the slide (the sloping portion of the “catapult”). At the top the hay dumps onto the stack. The side gates (the cage part) keep the stack in a neat pile and make it possible to stack higher. The sides were added to the system in the late 1940s. Although the lifting of the rake is usually powered by a take-off from a tractor, truck or car axle, on some operations horse teams still provide the rpm’s to muscle the hay up the slide.

Aside from minor improvements, the beaver slide has remained unchanged since its inception. Once used throughout a good portion of the northern west, modern technology that can shape hay into bales, loaves or huge jelly rolls have replaced it in many areas. The Little Blackfoot is one of several valleys in Montana where you can still see the beaver slide and its distinctive haystacks.

Location

46° 35’ 27.780” N, 112° 39’ 25.218” W
US-12, Avon, MT  59713, United States

William Kendrick Square Historical Marker, Greensburg, Louisiana

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William Kendrick Square Historical Marker, Louisiana

In 1837, William Kendrick donated the land on which the St. Helena Parish courthouse sits. The modern courthouse was completed in 1938, replacing the original building built in 1855. He was born in 1755 in Granville, North Carolina, but moved to Greensburg, Louisiana.

Kendrick participated in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. He was a slave owner in the parish and owned the Kendrick Plantation. He had a total of 14 children.

He stayed in Greensburg until his death in 1838. The location of the courthouse was named after him in 1976.

Historical Marker Inscription

St. Helena Parish seat moved here 1832. Land for Court House Square donated by William Kendrick 1837. Present building completed 1938 replacing brick structure built 1855. Designated William Kendrick Square 1976 by Police Jury.

Location

30° 49’ 45.828” N, 90° 40’ 2.682” W38 S Main St, Greensburg, LA  70441, United States

Osceola Ghost Town Historical Marker, Ely, Nevada

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Osceola Historical Marker, Ely, Nevada

The Osceola mine was one of the most successful mining camps in Nevada. In 1872, a 12-mile gold-bearing quartz vein was discovered in the area. The rush didn’t really begin until 1877 when more gold was found in the canyon. But Osceola really didn’t take off until the 1880s when hydraulic mining was used. This type of mining uses water to remove sediment.

Osceola was not the most forgiving place to live. So, miners had to create two 18-mile-long pipelines to haul in water. Yet, the amount of water needed was not provided. Mining had actually started dropping off in the area until a massive gold nugget – valued at $6,000 – was found. This kept people motivated to continue mining until the 20th century.

Three fires hurt the town, but it was a massive fire during the 1940s that wiped out the town. By that point, the town had gone from a high population of 1,500 down to 100.

A few people still live in Osceola, but not many, and there are no services.

Historical Marker Inscription

Osceola

1872-1940

Osceola, most famous of the White Pine County gold producers, was one of the longest-lived placer camps in Nevada.

The gold-bearing quartz belt found in 1872 was 12 miles long by 7 miles wide.  Placer gold was found in 1877 in a deep ravine indenting the area.  Miners first used the simple process of the common 49” rocker.  Hydraulic monitors later were used to mine the gold from the 10’ to 200’ thick gravel beds.  One gold nugget found was valued at $6,000.

Osceola was a good business town because of its location near the cattle and grain ranches and gardens in the Spring and Snake Valleys.

Famous district mines were the Cumberland, Osceola, Crescent and Eagle, Verde, Stem-Winder, Guilded Age, Grandfather Snide, Red Monster, and the Saturday Night.

The camp produced nearly $5 million, primarily in gold, with some silver, lead, and tungsten.

STATE HISTORICAL MARKER NO.  98

STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE

WHITE PINE PUBLIC MUSEUM, INC.

Location

39° 4’ 16.830” N, 114° 26’ 58.482” W

US-6, Ely, NV  89301, United States

Beclabito Dome Historical Marker

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Beclabito Dome Historical Marker

Located in the Four Corners area on First Nations Diné (Navajo) Nation Land, the geological dome was created due to volcanic activity. Deep in the earth, extremely hot temperatures liquified the rocks. When they reached the surface, they cooled and hardened again. The hot magma beneath these re-hardened rocks kept pushing to the surface. This created this unique dome.

Historical Marker Inscription

Colorful red rocks of Entrada Sandstone are domed up by deep seated igneous intrusions to be exposed by erosion. The same igneous activity created the Carrizo Mountains to the west. Uranium deposits in the Morrison Formation just above the Entrada created New Mexico’s first uranium boom in the East Carrizo south of here in the 1950’s. Elevation 5,600 feet.

Location

36° 49’ 51.912” N, 109° 0’ 53.090” W498 US-64, Shiprock, NM  87420, United States