Fredericksburg is located in central Texas, about 78 miles west of Austin. It was founded in 1846 and is best known for its German heritage and numerous wineries, over 50 in the county. Southern Living magazine voted it the best small town in Texas, part of the magazine’s best small towns in the South listing. Numerous other impressive accolades can be found at visitfredericksburg.com. Among the town’s many interesting sites are:

Vereins-Kirche Building

The original building occupied the middle of Main Street for 50 years and was used as a meeting place, church, and school. The first photo is dated 1896–the year the building was demolished. The second photo shows the dedication of a replica in 1935. It is now the Pioneer Museum.

Main Street as seen in this late 1800s photo.

Blum Building in an undated photo.

Nimitz Hotel, now the National Museum of the Pacific War. Photo is undated.

Preiss Building in an undated photo.

Central Hotel in an undated photo. Current photo is credited to the occupant–The Fredericksburg Good Art Co.

Railroad Tunnel seen here in a 1912 photo.

High Street

WW1 soldiers are seen here marching down High Street ca.1918. Second photo is thanks to David T. Gilbert.

Shenandoah Street ca.1900

Note St. Peters Church sitting prominently above the town. The street along side is part of the Appalachian Trail.

Stairs leading to St. Peters Church. The first photo is undated and the second is dated 1891.

Jefferson’s Rock.

A path along side of St. Peters Church leads to Jefferson’s Rock, named for Thomas Jefferson who visited the site in 1783. He said of the view “This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic.” The rock once swayed with a slight push so four stone pillars were installed in the 1850s. The first photo is undated and the second is dated 1920.

Harpers Ferry is a small, (pop.285), historic town at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. During the Civil War, it was the northern most point of Confederate controlled territory and was the site of John Browns Raid in 1859. Most of the town was destroyed in the Civil War and was again extensively damaged in the Flood of 1936. The area known as Lower Town was rebuilt by the National Park Service which then created Harpers Ferry National Park. The Park encompasses much of the town and surrounding area as seen on this map.

Appalachian Trail hikers consider Harpers Ferry the halfway mark on the 2,190 mile trek.

Major sites in the area include:

Town View from Overlook Cliff (Maryland side) Photo dated 1861.

An in-town view showing John Brown’s Fort in 1862. Originally built as a firehouse, the building was relocated across the street in 1968, and a monument was erected on the former location. Note the same red building appears in all three photos. For more information on the building, see this blog March 2017.

Lock 33 on the C&O towpath located directly across the Potomac River from Harpers Ferry at the base of Maryland Heights. The first photo is dated 1900. Note the old lock house ruins in the second photo.

Lower Town in a photo dated 1880.

Duck Rock. Chiricahua National Monument. Photo dated 1940s

Garden of the Gods CO. Photo dated 1894.

More rocks without the “then” starting with Big Bend TX.

Petrified Forrest AZ.

Chiricahua National Monument CO.

Mushroom Rock KS.

Arches National Park CO.

Most balancing rocks occur as a result of being deposited by glaciers or eroded by wind and water. Some of the more impressive ones are:

North Salem NY. Photo is undated.

Pittsfield MA. Photos are undated.

Twin Falls ID. Forty tons of rock balancing on a 3 foot 17 inch base! Photo is dated 1937.

Camden ME. First photo is dated 1889. Second is undated.

Quincy Market

Quincy Market opened in 1826. It has grown to include Faneuil Hall and two other historic buildings and is now known as Faneuil Hall Marketplace. The first photo is dated ca. 1904.

Revere House

Paul Revere’s house was built in 1680 and is downtown Boston’s oldest building. Many commercial tenants occupied it until 1908, when the Paul Revere Memorial Association was formed to ensure it would not be demolished. The first photo is dated 1898.

South Station

New England’s largest railroad station opened in 1899 and, by 1913, was the busiest in the world. The first photo is undated.

Temple Place

Temple Place is an historic district comprised of 15 well-preserved buildings, the earliest is from the 1830s. The first photo is dated ca. 1915.

Tremont Street

The first photo is dated 1895 and the second is from 1904.The third photo is credited to Derek Strahan from his book and website Lost New England. For a deep dive into Boston then and now, check out his website. It has 46 pages on the city!

Boston was founded in 1639, making it one of the oldest cities in the U.S. Many historic structures have survived, some of which are shown below, but first, a few fun facts. Boston:

Has the oldest public beach–1896

Built the first subway–1897

Has the oldest public park–1634

Had the first chocolote factory–1765

Built the first lighthouse—-1716

Has the oldest original baseball stadium still in use–1912

Has the first college–Harvard 1636

Some Historical Sites

Copley Square

Copley Square is an open, public land surrounded by some of Boston’s most recognizable buildings. Trinity Church is pictured in this 1906 photo.

Corner Bookstore

This is the oldest commercial building in Boston, having been built in 1718. It began as a bookstore in 1828 and is seen here in an 1898 photo.

Custom House

The current custom house building was constructed in 1850, and the tower addition was completed in 1915. In 1986 Customs moved, and the City of Boston purchased the building. It sat idle for 14 years until Marriott converted it into a time-share hotel. The first photo is dated 1859, and the second was taken in 1913.

Faneuil Hall

Faneuil Hall is a marketplace and meeting hall that was completed in 1761. The first photo is dated 1900.

Fenway Park

Fenway opened in 1912 and is the country’s oldest ballpark in continuous use. Its first game was overshadowed by the sinking of the Titanic five days earlier. The first photo shows opening day in 1912.

Old State House

The Old State House was completed in 1713, making it one of the oldest public buildings in the country. The “new” Declaration of Independence was read from the second floor balcony to a large, enthusiastic crowd on July 18, 1776. The first photo is dated ca. 1860.

Munger-Moss Motel

The Munger-Moss Motel is located in Lebanon, Mo. It was built in 1946. The famous sign was intended to compete with the rival motel chain– Holiday Inn. The first photo is undated.

Oatman CA.

The many burros seen about town are descendents of those used by the early miners. Oatman’s population is 128 humans and 2,000 burros.. The first photo is dated 1929.

Odell IL Gas Station

The town of Odell IL owns the gas station seen here in an undated photo. It was built in 1932 and was saved from deterioration by a $55,000 grant. It is now a visitors center.

Route 66 has many fun current roadside attractions some of which are:

Blue Whale Catoosa, OK

Cadillac Ranch Amarillo TX

Drive-In Carthage MO

World’s Largest Ketchup Bottle Collinsville, IL

World’s Largest Rocker Fanning, MO.

Milk Bottle. Oklahoma City OK.

Gemini Man. Wilmington, IL

WigWam Motel. San Bernardino, CA.

“Standin on a corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine site to see…”

“Take It Easy” By the Eagles 1972

Route 66 opened in 1926 and ran from Chicago to Santa Monica CA. It was used by migrants heading west especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, which was when John Steinbeck coined the phrase “The Mother Road” in his novel The Grapes of Wrath. Change came with the passage of the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 when new, high-speed roads were built, sometimes next to the old highway, but often bypassing cities and towns. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985. However, preservation efforts have saved many of the stops along the way. Several of these are:

Ariston Cafe

Ariston Cafe started in 1924 and moved to its present location in Litchfield IL in 1935. It is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, restaurant on Route 66. The first photo is from the 1930s.

Ash Fork AZ – 1940s

Blue Swallow Motel. Tucumcari NM

Photo dated 1939, the year Blue Swallow opened.

Boots Court, Carthage MO

Boots Court Motel also opened in 1939; the postcard is dated 1949.

Chain of Rocks Bridge, Madison IL

Opening day 1929.

Cool Springs Gas Station, Tucumcari NM

Cool Springs Gas Station started in the 1920s but burned down in the 1960s. The first photo is undated and the second shows the well done reconstruction, which utilized the ruins. It reopened in 2004.

Phillips 66 Gas Station, Wichita KS.

This 1927 photo shows the very first Phillips gas station on opening day. The famous logo came later as an attempt in 1930 to tie Phillips to Rt 66.

Leadville is located about 20 miles south of Vail Colorado at an elevation of 10,152 ft., making it the highest city in the U.S. It was founded in 1877 by two men, one being Horace Tabor–owner of the Matchless Mine and several prominent businesses in town. Within three years of its founding on “desolate flat land,” Leadville had gas lights, 28 miles of streets, five churches, three hospitals, six banks, and a school. Having been built of brick, many historical sites have survived. Some are:

Harrison Ave.

Along Leadville’s main street are many surviving structures. General Ulysses Grant can be seen in this 1880 photo admiring them.

Here is a photo dated ca.1915 taken at the other end of Harrison Ave. looking back towards downtown.

Hyman Club on Harrison Ave. Photo dated 1905.

Tabor Opera House next to Hyman Club.Photo dated 1881.

Tabor Grand Hotel a/k/a Vendome Hotel. Photo is undated.

Matchless Silver Mine. Photo dated 1928.

Railroad Depot. Photo dated 1915.

Modern day Leadville has an annual event called skijoring where a skier is pulled along by a rope attached to a horse galloping down Harrison Ave.