What's historical in your area?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

What does your hometown have that's of historical interest?

This doesn't have to be just kings and battles- any good local history stories are welcomed.

[Kuciwalker]

I live just outside Washington, D.C. There's too much to count (particularly civil war battlefields).

[Wernazuma III]

OK, let's start.

Graz.

Almost everything historical or mythological-historical in town is related to either

a)the Turks
b)Napoleon
c) The Nazis

ad a) Being a bastion in the defense against the Ottomans, Graz stockpiled the largest collection of armory and weapons of the 16th/17th centuries, which still can be visited. Allegedly, Graz was under siege once [actually not even that is true] and Ibrahim Pasha himself resided in a house in today's Sporgasse, at the foot of the castle hill. One day, just when a slave wanted to serve him his Schnitzel, a cannon ball shot the Schnitzel right from the plate. One officer wanted to jump after it but got stuck in the window, where he still remains, because after that Ibrahim Pasha decided not to lose another Schnitzel and ended the siege abruptly.



ad b) Napoleon OTOH really besieged Graz. He besieged the castle for three weeks, then they gave up. Then, Graz suffered the same fate as basically every town with a nice castle from Spain to Russia: Napoleon told a few naive girls that "Graz has the nicest women in Europe" (every person in Graz believes this and is proud of it), and the citizenry had to pay a large sum to save at least the bell- and the clock tower of the castle from destruction.

ad c) Oh, and last but not least, Graz was infamous before 1938 for being a Nazi infested town. The citizenship toppled the magistrate already a day before the Anschluss and installed a Nazi mayor. As a special honor, Graz was awarded the title of "Stadt der Volkserhebung" (City of popular insurgence). Now that's something we're still very proud of!

[Imran Siddiqui]

I live just outside of Atlanta. There are a number of items of historical interest in this area. There is the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr. and where he lived and worked for the cause of Civil Rights. The founding of Coca-Cola was in Atlanta. As well as the Battle of Atlanta during the American Civil War. There are a number of other things, but those are probably the most important.

[Cort Haus]

OMG where do I start?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Pick the one that interests you most, and tell all about it.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Here's a favourite of mine- Farleigh Hungerford castle.

Farleigh Hungerford was begun in the 1370s by Sir Thomas Hungerford, Speaker of the Commons, and extended in the 15th century by his son Walter, Lord Hungerford, Agincourt veteran and distinguished medieval statesman. The remains of their fortress, built in the most up-to-date and fashionable quadrangular style of the time, includes two tall corner towers, along with a walled outer court incorporating a complete castle Chapel and attendant Priest’s House.

Crowded with fine family monuments and bedecked with wall-paintings, the chapel stands above a crypt where the lead coffins of 16th and 17thcentury Hungerfords are still visible. These have ‘death masks’ of the deceased indented into them, and are probably the best examples of their type in Britain. The colourful Hungerford family included two members executed during the Wars of the Roses and another – who imprisoned his wife here for four years – beheaded for alleged treason and witchcraft by Henry VIII. One Lady Hungerford was hanged for murdering her first husband and burning his body in the castle’s kitchen oven, another was charged with adultery and attempted poisoning.

The chequered history of Farleigh and its owners is told in interpretation panels, extensive displays in the Priest’s House, and an audio tour.

"Chequered" is putting it mildly. The Hungerfords could be used as an archetype for sinister and evil aristocrats. There's a lovely copy of a letter sent by one Lady Hungerford pleading to the king for help because her husband was making repeated attempts to poison her, and was strangling her servants in front of her.

It also reveals that the Hungerfords were spectacularly thick. The castle is immediately overlooked by higher ground on three sides, allowing beseiging enemies to drop arrows into the keep at leisure. As a defensive structure it's about as effective as a damp paper bag.

[Eli]

Everything. Although we built shiny new white buildings over most of it.

[Arrian]

The town I live in now... I don't think very much.

Andover was incorporated as the 146th town in Connecticut in May, 1848. Its lands were taken from the much older towns of Hebron and Coventry.

...

Settlement of the Andover area began shortly after the building of the Hartford - Norwich Road (much of old route 6 and route 87) in 1700. This road provided an overland route between the two settlements. Previous to the building of the road, travel between the two towns required water navigation down the Connecticut River, along Long Island Sound, and up the Thames River. Many of the earliest settlers built homes in the "mile and a quarter" which was initially not part of any town, thus making its residents free of civil government. However, by 1723 these lands were divided at Hop River and added to the neighboring towns of Coventry and Lebanon.

...

During its years as a parish, the people of Andover saw many important travelers pass through. The Hartford - Norwich Road was an important and heavily used route. During the revolutionary war, General George Washington used this route to travel from Hartford to Newport, R. I. in order to confer with General Rochambeau of the French Army. While it is not known if General Washington stopped in Andover, we do know that General Rochambeau dined at the Black Horse Tavern, which is still standing on Hutchinson Road, on several occasions as he traveled between Newport and Wethersfield. And certainly one of the greatest spectacles ever witnessed in Andover must have been the arrival of General Rochambeau and his army as they marched to General Washington's aid in Yorktown, Virginia. In June of 1781, four regiments of the French Army came marching through the parish.

At the time of Andover's incorporation it claimed approximately 500 residents.

Well, there are about 3300 now. A veritable metropolis.

The town I grew up in ...

Easton CT is located in the heart of Fairfield County and has retained much of the rural character that has attracted residents for decades.

North Fairfield, a part of the town of Fairfield, land was purchased from the Aspetuck Indians in 1670 for thirty pounds and an amount of trucking cloth. In 1762 the Connecticut General Assembly established the parish of North Fairfield. The Legislature in 1787 combined the parishes of North Fairfield and Norfield into the town of Weston. In 1845, the former parish of North Fairfield was divided from Weston and became Easton. It is still governed by the town meeting.

Samuel Staples died in 1787 leaving his entire estate to establish the Staples Free Academy. A fund descended from this beginning still provides a scholarship for college students from Easton. By 1867, there were thirteen school districts in town. The town hall was built in 1937, the gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer and Judge John F. McLane. Until 1910, Easton was primarily a farming community with many small businesses and industries. Forty percent of the town area is devoted to reservoirs an watershed in keeping with the rural and residential character of this community. The water from these reservoirs is a critical element in serving the growing residential population in surrounding towns.

...

On June 1, 1968, the deaf and blind activist Helen Keller died at the age of 87 in her Easton, Connecticut home, where she chose to spend her final days. Her house is still intact today and has been owned by several families since her death.

Population 7500.

So yeah, not much there, besides Easton's claim to fame Hellen Keller. But then I'm American

Of course, I could cheat and go with New York City, the place of my birth. I have no memory of living there, though.

-Arrian

[Dauphin]

Aside from a couple of Roman villa ruins, there is Fort Halstead, where the first British nuclear bomb was purportedly built.

In 1892 a protective ring of fortresses was built around London to keep out any would-be invaders. The idea was that they should be manned by volunteers in the event of a crisis and one of them was built at Halstead, high on the downs.

It was never really used until the take-over many years ago by the Government who placed its Ministry of Supply there and then it became the headquarters of the Royal Armament and Research Development.

They have employed thousands of people over the years, who have had to sign the official secrets act, but it’s no secret now that Britain’s first atom bomb was developed at Fort Halstead under the directorship of Williams Penny. The bomb was conveyed in a frigate to Australia and successfully exploded in the Monte Bellow islands.

In 1955 when we were all concerned about a nuclear attack, the local council came to the conclusion that Fort Halstead could be a Soviet target, so many strenuous efforts were made to protect citizens before it was too late. They spoke about bunkers and slit trenches and places safe from radioactive fall-out but by the time the debates were finished the scare was over.

Fort Halstead has been vital to the defence of our country. So I recommend you raise a glass, if you have one, to this famous village, its connection to Edith Nesbit, Halstead Hall, Halstead Place and, especially the delightful church of St Margaret's.

[Arrian]

Raise your glass

-Arrian

[Ekmek]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Luis_Rey

[Wernazuma III]

I only know the bridge of San Luis Rey.

[Guynemer]

Columbus, Ohio?

Well, it was Ground Zero for the theft of the 2004 Presidental Election, but other than that, the place is a cultural wasteland.

[Dis]

my town is only a little bit over 100 years old.

absolutely nothing.

we have remnants of an old mormon mission, some indian carvings/paintings in the area. other than that, it's all modern.