A retired history teacher’s notebook: local stories, family trees, antique finds and old places worth the drive.
How one railroad stop shaped a whole main street.
I taught history for thirty-four years. Now I chase it — in archives, antique shops, old barns and my own family tree.
How one depot built a main street — and how it was saved.
The railroad arrives and a depot is built.
The courthouse is rebuilt after a fire.
Main Street gets its first paved road.
Passenger trains stop; the depot goes quiet.
The depot reopens as a town museum.
Main streets, depots and courthouse squares.
A $12 box, a mystery solved.
One local story, one research tip and one find of the week. Join 6,000 history lovers.
Send me historyBarns, castles and ruins worth the drive.
Longer stories first.
Four steps to your family story.
How one railroad stop shaped a whole main street.
Read MoreBegin with yourself and work backward, one generation at a time.
Read MoreCornerstones, ghost signs and rooflines tell the story.
Read MoreQuestions that open doors, and a recorder that stays out of the way.
Read MoreSaw marks, nails and the smell of real age.
Read MoreForty years of teaching about these places — then finally standing in them.
Read MoreFrom your first question to the shoebox of letters.
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Vote, then see what 5,000 readers said.
— Walter
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