Taughannock Falls is located in Ulysses NY. It is the highest single-drop waterfall (215 feet) east of the Rocky Mountains and 33 feet higher than Niagara Falls. The first photo is undated.

Located in Oswego County NY, the Salmon River drops 110 feet, forming the Falls. There was a lodge and dining establishment operating on the site from 1860-1888 and then a food and souvenir stand for another eight years . Fencing now precludes pictures such as the first photo of visitors on top of the Falls in 1900.

Minnehaha Falls is a Minneapolis city park. When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow saw an 1857 daguerreotype of the Falls, he was inspired to write his famous poem The Song of Hiawatha. Annually 850,000 people visit the Falls, which accounts for it’s being the most photographed site in Minnesota. While in private hands, a photo studio was on site, as seen in the first picture dated 1908 and in the second, undated picture. Incredibly, the fourth picture shows Sioux Indians in 1857!

Buttermilk Creek in Ithica NY drops 600 feet, forming Buttermilk Falls. The first photo is undated.

Located in the Cades Cove region of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Abrams Falls is one of the most popular waterfall hikes in the Park. Note in this 1920’s photo the group at the top, another at the bottom, and one fellow on a log representing the middle. Click to enlarge.

Fort Point is located on the south side of the Golden Gate, which guards San Francisco Bay. Work on the Fort began in 1853, employing 200 out-of-work miners who labored for eight years. Upon completion of the fort, the Civil War broke out, but Fort Point never saw any action. The Army mostly moved out, but the facility was still occupied as barracks, a training facility, and a prison. It avoided numerous recommendations to tear it down and, in 1970, it became a National Historical Site and now is part of the Golden Gate National Parks. The first photo is dated 1885 and the second 1935. The fourth is dated 1870 and the sixth is 1880. Note the mother and daughter in the lower right hand corner. Click to enlarge.

Fort Mackinac is located on Mackinac Island between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It was built by the British during the Revolutionary War and not given up by them until fifteen years afterwards. From 1875-95 it was known as Mackinac National Park, the second national park after Yellowstone. The Fort was closed in 1895 and transferred to the State of Michigan, becoming its first state park. Fourteen buildings survive. The first photo is undated, and it shows the Fort situated 150 feet above the Straits of Mackinac.

Barracks Building 1880

North Sally Port ( secure entrance ) 1875

Block House 1928

A great shot of people enjoying the lawn below the Block House (click to enlarge).

Fort Laramie is located at the confluence of the N. Platte and Laramie Rivers in Wyoming. It started as a trading post in 1841 and became a popular stop for pioneers on the Oregon Trail. With the coming of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, its importance declined and the Fort was abandoned in 1890. One year later, the nine-mile-long, six-mile-wide former military reservation was opened to settlement. Fifty buildings were auctioned off and moved, yet remaining ones give a good picture of how the Fort appeared and what life there was like. The Fort became a National Monument in 1938 and a National Historical Site in 1960.The first photo is undated and shows the barracks building, which was built in 1876. Click all to enlarge.

The sutler’s (post trader) building was built in 1849 and is seen here in an 1877 photo.

Known as “Old Bedlam” the bachelor officers’ quarters was built in 1849 and is seen here in a 1938 photo. It is the oldest documented building in Wyoming.

The Captain’s Quarters building was built in 1870 and is seen here in an undated photo.

A great aerial view of Fort Laramie.

Fort Thomas is located in the town of Fort Thomas, KY. It was an induction center during WWI and WWII,  handling 80,000 inductees during those two conflicts. General Sheridan chose 111 acres on a site high atop the Ohio River, and the Fort was established in 1887. He called it the “West Point of the West.” It was decommissioned in 1964 and is now occupied by a VA Hospital, the City of Fort Thomas, the U.S. Army Reserve, and Corps of Engineers. The first photo shows the iconic water tower under construction. The third photo shows the parade ground and barracks in the early 1900s.  Next is the mess hall, which is now a community center. Last are the officers’ quarters shown in 1907. The 1890 structures are now being renovated and sold as private residences. Click to enlarge.

The Royal Gorge Bridge is located near Canon City, CO. It was built in 1929 and was the highest bridge in the world until 2001 and the highest suspension bridge in the world until 2003. It is still the highest bridge in the country (955 ft. above the Gorge). Amazingly it took only six months to build at a cost of $350,000, an estimated $20 million today. And this was at the start of the Great Depression! The first photo shows the 1929 dedication, the second is from the 1940s, and the fourth shows the Chicago White Sox in 1910 at the Hanging Bridge, which was built over the Gorge in 1879 and is still in use.