American Countryside

For about a decade’s worth of time in the 1800s, this Nebraska town was the end of the trail for thousands of cattle being herded...

Mt. McKinley.  Mt. Ranier.   Pikes Peak.  They are some of the tallest mountains in the United States.  But this peak may be better known, yet...

You no doubt have heard of Paul Revere.  However, you’ve probably not heard of Jack Jouett.  When you hear the two stories, you’ll wonder why...

There’s a good chance you’ve not heard of Jack Jouett, yet he may have been the man who saved some of the founding fathers in...

The Tsukamoto school in Sacramento is a place of triumph.  Some may not know the story behind the name, but when you dig deeper, you...

When Marielle arrived in Arkansas, she found her new home must have been constructed for a group of second graders.  It was a humorous incident...

Bob Fletcher is a hero to many around Sacramento.  When others were wronged, he stepped in to make things right – giving of his time...

Sometimes we don’t realize the historic value of what is around us until it is too late.  That was partially the case for this town. ...

It’s a town relatively new in the south, and a place where one woman defended her historic home by standing guard on her porch with...

When this astronaut was grounded due to health concerns, he used an alias to get reassessed at a world-renowned hospital.  The results of that trip...

He was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, but he never got to go into space in that program.  His story from a Wisconsin...

It’s known as the cycling capital of America.  Its location may surprise you, but when you learn the reason why this small, rural town it...

As the United States began sending thousands of troops to Europe and the Pacific during World War II, there were also new needs that sprang...

A gold rush can attract people from all walks of life and all points on the globe.  That was the case for the big stampeded...

Many of us have heard about the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill that set about the 49’s rush in the mid 1800s, but this...

Strikes have been a part of the push and pull between labor and management for as long as one can remember.  While those strikes can...

On Memorial Day, we remember our loved ones. But these ladies recognize our fallen soldiers today and every day of the year…

Most of us don’t think of the state of Illinois as a major coal mining region, however in the 1800s and early 1900s, this was...

She was small in statue but mighty in the punch she carried.  An Irish born lady who brought a message of hope and resilience to...

A mother cares for her sons and this mother had many adopted souls that she took under her wing.  She was a fiery woman who...

Some people plant flowers around their home every Spring.  Now imagine you need to plant 70,000 or more of them.  That’s what takes place here...

In the 1920s there was an effort to build a memorial along the international border between the U.S. and Canada.  The idea was a park...

It’s one of the best known songs of that past century.  In fact, one president said it was his favorite.  But then a lawsuit stopped...

You’ve heard of the gold at Fort Knox, and while we can’t go inside the vault, we do know much about the beginnings of that...

Sometimes people will use secret codes to keep vital information from slipping into the wrong hands.  General Patton used such a code in World War...

When the U.S. adopted prohibition in 1920, most alcohol production ceased, but when production resumed in the 1930s, it seems some of the old recipes,...

You can still find some old deeds that use a large tree to mark a property boundary.  Such was the case for Brent Goodin’s farm. ...

Thomas Jefferson called this man, “As pure a son of liberty as I have ever known.”  So who was the man who garnered such praise? ...

Near the Philadelphia sites that Americans recognize as the birthplace of the country, there is a small memorial to a man most do not know. ...

He was known as the Wheat King, a title bestowed on a farmer who built an empire growing the crop in California.  While the farm...

The name of this place tells you what the early settlers found here at the joining of two creeks.  The water from those streams continues...

In a museum in Pikeville, Kentucky you’ll find a peace treaty between the states of Kentucky and West Virginia.  It is the resolution of a...

When the end of the Civil War occurred in 1865, some of the fighting in eastern Kentucky was just getting started.  And many people know...

The terrain of eastern Kentucky makes travel a bit of an adventure yet today.  Roads and highways snake between the rugged hills of the Appalachian...

Many towns and cities put up Christmas decorations during the holiday season.  In this small town they put up a Christmas tree each year and...

In east central Iowa you’ll find the small town of Lost Nation, Iowa.  Interestingly, the story of how it was named seems to be lost...

In 2020 the use of Aunt Jemima as a brand name was discontinued due to racial stereotypes.  However, the story behind the first person to...

In the 1830s a lady named Nancy Green was born into slavery near Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.  Although you may not believe you know her, there’s...

Judson Welliver is just one of the famous folks from this small town.  If you’ve not heard of Judson, he was the first of the...

If you drive into Aledo, Illinois you will notice that it is the world’s capital for this particular item.  That proclamation draws thousands of folks...

You’ve most likely never heard his name, but you’ve likely heard his music.  His family tried to dissuade him from majoring in music, but it...

In the corner of one of Michael Dolan’s farm fields there is a place devoted to the story of Easter.  He never imagined what the...

Many people like to be patriotic and support our troops.  This small town went well above and beyond, helping over 1.5 million soldiers all with...

He was a farm kid who discovered one of the most distant objects in our solar system.  And recently, his ashes were sent to that...

This business is about a century and a half old and has been housed in the same building since before the 1900s.  It remains a...

When this immigrant came to America he was looking for a job as a stone mason.  He ended up founding the oldest one of this...

It’s the kind of place kids would love to climb around, on and through.  It’s also a place that tells an important part of America’s...

It’s hard to imagine today’s largest city in Alabama didn’t even exist at the time of the Civil War.  However, in the years following that...

The cliché says, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”  Two pictures of Emmett Kelly said much about the man, and the story behind those...

If you go to a circus you’ll probably see some clowns.  Most clowns smile and laugh.  This one did the opposite.  He never smiled and...