Family History
The Old Train Depot and the Town That Grew Around It
How one railroad stop shaped a whole main street.
Read moreAdvertisement
Rootline DNAFind your family storyDNA kit and family-tree builder.$40 offStart now
Author
Walter Hayes
Walter taught history for 34 years and now writes about local history, genealogy and antiques.
Family History
Starting Your Family Tree: The First Five Steps
Begin with yourself and work backward, one generation at a time.
Read more
Antiques & Finds
My Best Antique Shop Find in 30 Years
A $12 box, a stack of letters and a mystery solved.
Read more
Antiques & Finds
Old Barns of the Rural South
Tobacco barns, cotton gins and the craftsmen who built them.
Read more
Family History
Reading a Town Through Its Old Buildings
Cornerstones, ghost signs and rooflines tell the story.
Read more
Family History
How to Interview Your Grandparents
Questions that open doors, and a recorder that stays out of the way.
Read more
Antiques & Finds
Antique Shopping 101: How to Tell Old From Old-Looking
Saw marks, nails and the smell of real age.
Read more
Antiques & Finds
Castles and Ruins: My Trip Through Old Europe
Forty years of teaching about these places — then finally standing in them.
Read more
Family History
The Courthouse Square: 150 Years in One Block
Elections, parades and one famous lost dog.
Read more
Family History
What Census Records Can (and Can’t) Tell You
A guide to the decade-by-decade snapshots of American life.
Read more