Tell us an interesting fact about your town.

[Fenris]

Here's mine. In 1933, the Old First National Bank building was knocked off in broad daylight. The bank robber was not identified until the fifties, when the banker who ran Old First National saw a newsreel about a famous criminal and reportedly shouted out "That's him!" The criminal he identified was none other than Machine Gun Kelly.

How cool is that?

Learned it by accident too. Just happened to pass by the building one day and see the Texas Historical Marker plaque. Would have never have known it otherwise.

Anything cool or interesting in your town's past or present.

[DebJ]

1. The Articles of Confederation were written in my new hometown

while the Congress hid from the Redcoats here for 9 months. Anyone know where this is?

[Padraig18]

4. York, PA, IIRC.

Do I win? :)

[Fenris]

5. Indeed it was York.

Good on ya!

[DebJ]

11. Yep. The state I lived in most of my life sponsored the

convention that resulted in a call to rewrite the Articles of Confederation, which resulted in our Constitution. What city and state was that? The 'call' for this convention was written by Alexander Hamilton on September 11.

[Fenris]

28. Annapolis, MD?

The Annapolis Convention?

[DebJ]

39. yep. The Annapolis Convention. Interesting date, 9/11.

I never lived in Annapolis, but I worked there. Never seen the sights, as yet!

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. Jimmy Hoffa may have been killed here....

;) :hi:

[Fenris]

3. He might be buried there as well!

:hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. Yes! Under 6-96.

:hi: Good to see you Fenris!!

[Fenris]

21. Glad you're okay!

:hi:

Happy you're back!

[Padraig18]

6. Interesting fact? Hmmmm....

We have the highest percentage of 'greenspace' per sq. mi. of any community in Illinois.

:)

[Fenris]

12. How lush!

:D

[Padraig18]

29. Yeah! We're quite proud of our parks, etc. .

:)

[zx22778a]

8. Almonte Ontario Canada

Named after one of the heroes of the Alamo... From a Mexican perspective.

[Fenris]

10. Neat.

I've come to believe that there were no heroes at the Alamo.

[DebJ]

14. I thought they were mostly realtors at the Alamo

[Rabrrrrrr]

18. No, they're mostly car rental salespeople at the Alamo

[zx22778a]

26. I don't really know how heroic Almonte was

His name's pronounciation has been anglicized completely. Just two sylables, and that final "E" is completely silent.

It's a beautiful old mill town on the Mississipi river about 40 miles west of Ottawa. The really interesting question would be if the Ontario claim to the Mississipi River predates the American claim.

[UCLA02]

9. Ridgecrest, CA pop. ~30K

Claims to have the most PhDs per capita. We have a Navy weapons test base here with every type of computer, mechanical, structural, chemical engineer you could want. Too many of them, actually. Dockers pants with polo shirts and loafers everywhere!! YUK!

[Fenris]

Eek! Weapon builders!

:scared:

[UCLA02]

22. Yup. I used to be a weapon "loader" in a former life...

USN, 2/93-8/97. Loaded bombs and missiles on F/A-18s on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier 13 hours a day. Two trips to the Gulf for our planes to fly over Iraq to enforce the no-fly zones. And I was so in to it, too...

Now I look back and I don't know who the hell that stupid kid was...

[oneighty]

13. The Venus Landers

were manufactured here as were the pressure spheres for the Navy's DSRV (Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle) and other similar exotic metal works.

180

[Fenris]

17. Venutian history!

:thumbsup:

[Rabrrrrrr]

15. Washington was inaugarated here, it's the capital of the world,

was the site of a major terrorist attack, was bought from the native americans, used to be owned by the Dutch before the English before it became part of America, King's college used to be here, it's the home of Julliard and Barnard and Union Seminary, the revolutionary war was fought here, Alexander Hamilton had his farm here (I live on his land!), and 1/4 of all the world's money flows through here every day.

Oh, and it's home to the world's greatest baseball team, and also the Mets.

[Fenris]

16. Indeed, the first American capitol.

Washington ran the damn country from there.

[Rabrrrrrr]

Yeah, ran it into the ground, setting up over 200 years of mismanagement

until our great high exalted George assWipe Shrub came to fix everything!

[DebJ]

19. wow! you live on what was once the Grange??!! I LOVE LOVE

Alexander Hamilton. Just bought the latest biography at Borders, bringing my collection of Alex books to 8 plus two on Aaron Burr. Haven't had time to read them all yet, but have read several. Wow! To be able to say I live on Alex's farm!
They better damn side NOT take his face off the $10 bill for anyone!

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. Yep! His house is just a couple blocks from me

Nestled between a church and a large apartment building.

I just bought the Hamilton book, too, though I won't get to it until I finish John Adams biography by McCulloch (however it's spelled) and Clinton's book.

I know very little of Hamilton, except what I've learned from my visits to his house, so when I saw the book at B&N for 30% off, I snatched it, thinking, "I live on the guy's land, I really should learn something about him."

Plus the more our country goes to the shitter - ever since January 20, 2001, I've been VERy interested (finally!) in reading about the early American history and the people who formed the country. I was utterly sure they were nothing like Shrub and his cabal would think they are, and, by God, so far I've been utterly right.

[DebJ]

31. Is the house privately owned? Can you go through it? Adams

biography is great. I just read it recently. McCullough is a fantastic writer. I'm going to get the Truman book when I get the bucks....gotta buy the hardcover the soft cover will obviously rip apart before you get through the first chapter. Howard Dean loves Truman and highly recommended McCulloughs' book. I just bought the Clinton book myself. The largest biography of Hamilton I have read was by William Sterne Randall.

[Rabrrrrrr]

40. His house is a national park, free admission

and never any one there, so the rangers are always willing to give personalized tours. :-)

We discovered one Sunday morning while out walking around and I looked down the street and said "Why is a Park Ranger sweeping the sidewalk?" So we walked down, and lo and behold, there's a little half-acre or so national park there, with Hamilton's house wedged between those two large buildings and a huge national parks sign in front.

Oddly enough, they are going to put the park on the back of a truck soon and move it over into a larger actual park. So far as I know, the only mobile national park. :-) (it's been moved at least once already)

[DebJ]

45. wow! I HAVE to go. Hubby just said yes. We are going to

vacation this summer in the Northeast United States. I am a US History freak, he is an ancient history freak (conspiracy theorist also). Last year we did Europe; this year I get to do my stuff. Want to hit Boston and other places. Thanks so much!

[Rabrrrrrr]

46. No problem! Everyone should visit NYC

Sadly, it's not so often touted as a great place to come to learn and see American history, but it really is. Federal Hall, where Washington gave his inaugaral address, is still there. And of course Ellis Island. But also lots of revolutionary war era stuff here. There's a few battle sites not far from my apartment that are markered, and there's Fort Clinton down at the south tip of Manhattan, and the Stock Exchnage, and the ever famous Fraunce's Tavern (I think that's the name - the place that Washington and others plotted and schemed) still stands and is in operation.

Maybe not quite the dramatically cool stuff that Boston has, or the obvious plethora of stuff of DC, or the drama of Philly, but NYC is a mighty important city also in relation to the founding and beginning of the country.

[sbj405]

20. Home of the "World's oldest continuously operating airport"

That being said it was nearly shut down after 9/11 for being too close to DC.

[DebJ]

24. BWI?? Or the one in Virginia?

[sbj405]

27. College Park

Just private planes and medical/police helicopters.

http://www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com/

[DebJ]

32. I've been there! Late at night, 1973, with a bunch of drunken

companions....drinking Boone's Farm Apple Wine (they were, not me, I kinda object to drinking formaldehyde, which was a component of that stuff back then!!!) Never saw the place in daylight, though! I graduated from Northwester Senior High (on Ager Road, I believe?) right down the street from UMCP.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

51. OMG...

I must've known you...

It's on Belcrest. The old school's gone now, except for the auditorium. The new one looks pretty spiffy from the outside.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

33. That's about a mile from my house

in Riverdale! They have a great little museum there.
Hi neighbor!:hi:

[DebJ]

35. Ah yes, Riverdale! I just moved to York Pa last year, but

lived in Hyattsville from 1962 to 1975. Watched DC burn from my neighbor's backyard high on a hill in 1968.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

50. I lived in Hyattsville then...

Graduated from Northwestern HS in 76...

[freetobegay]

23. Middlesboro, KY.

Has the second oldest golf course in the U.S.

[LostInAnomie]

30. Dave Thomas founder of Wendy's...

...was born in my hometown.

[Padraig18]

36. Dublin, OH? n/t

[LostInAnomie]

44. Nope

That is where Wendy's was founded, but not where Dave was born.

[HawkerHurricane]

34. The Spirit of St. Louis was built here.

And the flight started here, too.

[NickB79]

76. Too cool, our towns have something in common

My town supplied the pilot for your airplane :-)

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

37. The pedestal that the Statue of Liberty stands on is made of granite

quarried there.

[Champ]

38. Mesa, AZ

Winter home of the Chicago Cubs

Yes that is a line the city uses, that is pretty much all we got here.

[NMDemDist2]

49. ROFL champ, but Tempe has a lake

:9

[welshTerrier2]

41. the electric clock was invented here

we're also the original starting line of the Boston marathon until they moved it to a neighboring town ...

we are also the location of the first toxic superfund site in the country ... we're very proud of this ...

[AlCzervik]

42. The Lt. Governer of California lives

a couple streets over from me and so does Michael Newdow.

[liberalitch]

43. Largest naval installation in the world/still has mace

Norfolk, Va. is...
we also are one of the the only towns in the united states to still have its ORIGINAL mace. Yup! in the chrysler museum

http://www.norfolk.gov/About/MaceFacts.asp

[NightTrain]

47. East Hartford, CT....

Katharine Hepburn was from here.

As for Coventry, CT, to which I'm moving this weekend: Nathan Hale was hanged there.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

48. Our town was on the grounds of a large plantation, Riversdale,

that was built from 1801-1807. If you're into the War of 1812, this area is quite a treasure trove, as one of the few land engagements from that war, the Battle of Bladensburg, occurred not far from Riversdale, and was documented by the mistress of the plantation, Rosalie Stier Calvert. You can read about it here: http://www.pgparks.com/places/eleganthistoric/riversdale_history.html

On April 9, 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse successfully tested his device by transmitting a message from the nation's capital to Riversdale. This test came 45 days before the more celebrated event when Morse sent the message 'What hath God wrought!' from Washington to Baltimore on May 24, 1844. Morse was a friend of the Calverts who lived in the mansion.

[GOPisEvil]

52. Austin was originally called Waterloo...

...back before it was selected as the capital of the Republic of Texas.

[havocmom]

53. National Geographic, in a cover story in 1999, called it the most remote

community in the lower 48 states. No doctor, no dog catcher, no homeowners association of any sort.

But I had DSL before my kin in AZ, one of the perks of the great phone service demanded by the FBI and CNN a few years back :evilgrin:

[Southsideirish]

54. Richard Speck killed those 9 student nurses here - about 5 miles

from my south side house.

[m-jean03]

55. Kenneth Biancha, a.k.a. The Hillside Strangler

murdered two women here from the local university, and left their bodies very near where I now live. :scared:

The DC snipers also lived in Bellingham for a number of years; my dad often saw John Muhammed and his "son" at the YMCA, said they "seemed pretty normal". :eyes:

We've had other notorious criminals pass through this town as well.

[mongo]

56. Zanesville, Oh

Birthplace of Zane Grey, author.
2nd capital of the state of Ohio
Home of the world famous y-bridge, where you can cross the bridge and still be on the same side of the river.

[Rabrrrrrr]

58. Hey - I've been there! Stayed a night, even

at a church. And went on that bridge. :-)

Very hospitable people, at least in the church.

[Doug Decker]

57. Porno capital of the WORLD...

top that. (that's a double entendre and I swear I didn't notice until I was proofing this post.)

The San Fernando Valley, a suburb of Los Angeles, is the biggest producer of adult videos in this solar system.

hahaahhahhahahahaha

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

61. "In some way or another we are all going to Reseda."

...and the radio man says.....

[TheMightyFavog]

59. The nearby town of Pound, WI

Was featured in an ad campaign for Slim-Fast in the early 90s.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

60. The pop-top was invented here, as was freon.

Oh boy.

[SW FL Dem]

62. My little town has been on CNN 3 times in the past 3 years

We "caught" the Muslim med students who allegedly made threats in a Georgia restaurant and charged them for failing to pay a $1.50 toll (which charge was dropped when the toll keeper admitted she lied and tapes showed they paid.); We made the news when a nasty neighbor complained about a kid's lemonade stand. This week as Matcom posted, we made the news when a mom filed legal charges against a local non profit when they dared to show her kid a bare breast while screening the movie Amelie in a summer art class

[AwakeAtLast]

63. I'm only 15 miles away from the (hold your breath)

WORLD'S LARGEST BALL OF PAINT!

<sigh> That's all I've got.

[Wapsie B]

64. John Dillinger robbed a bank

in Mason City during his reign.
Oelwein,Iowa lays claim to being the birthplace of Chrysler Motor Company.

[SOteric]

65. Asa Mercer imported women from Massachusetts, for the most part

to provide marriagable women to local lumbermen. But he told the women they'd be given positions as teachers and thus founded the University of Washington. The site of their original dormitory is now the Olympic Four Seasons Hotel on University Street in downtown Seattle.

Also interesting: Seattle is yet another city built on 7 hills. One of those hills, Queen Anne, is so steep that back in the days of cable cars, a counterbalance had to be hung to help the cars over the hill and to aid in braking on the way down. Many old-timers and local natives still refer to the hill simply as "The Counterbalance."

Then too: Seattle takes it's name from the mispronounciation of a Duwamish Indian Chief, Sealth.

[Tom_Foolery]

66. My town was the site of the last public hanging in the US...

and that's just one of the many interesting things that have happened here. I've always thought that this town has had a lot stuff happen in it even though it's such a nowhere place to some.

[boobooday]

67. Source of limestone that built the Empire State Building

The Pentagon, and many other famous buildings around the world.

We're STONY.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[worksux]

71. TX and KY

in Lexington KY- best college basketball teams EVER (somebody say it ain't so!) -that's where me boyfriend is from..
me? Dallas TX, eww. I really dislike it here after 13 years in Phoenix prior.
Probably that there are more churches per capita than aanywhere else? LOL

Cheers,
Kathryn:kick:

[bleedingheart]

68. One of the founding families of our town founded Denver

The Larimer family originated here in Irwin Pa....

There is loads of history around here....the French and Indian battlefield of Bushy Run isn't far away...(and a note to the gals...the re-enactments include very well built, nearly naked indian warriors...)

Some houses are associated with the Whiskey Rebellion....

...and we have some Civil War dead buried in one of our local cemetaries.

[SarahB]

69. It was the US silk manufacturing capital of the 19th Century.

[TOhioLiberal]

70. We have a baseball team and...

a restaurant that has been mentioned on a classic TV show!

Betcha can't guess!

[HEyHEY]

72. It's a shithole

But the town I'm from was the last stop for the first trans-Canada Railway

[Solly Mack]

73. The first church in the state is located here

the first territorial capital is as well

[kevinam]

74. The Dukes of Hazzard, was filmed here.

Okay, maybe not kewl or interesting, but it is something. Also, the tv show IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT was filmed here. There is still a water tower that says "Sparta" on it, even though it is in Covington GA...Kevin.

[NickB79]

75. Charles Lindberg grew up there

Little Falls, MN. There's a park dedicated to him and his cross-Atlantic flight with poles flying both the US and French flags. After the whole French-hating fiasco that erupted last year, some Freepers in the town petitioned to have the French flag removed. Thank God common sense shined through, though, and the French flag stayed put.

http://www.littlefallsmn.com/LindberghSite.php

[jus_the_facts]

77. The first man to EVER bottle Coca-Cola....moved here in 1913......

....his family still OWNS this town...their bible museum is world famous as well...bunch o'rich fundie pukes they are. :eyes:

here's a link that provides the history....for anyone interested...

http://www.bmuseum.org/cocacola.htm

[RoyGBiv]

78. OKC : Sit-In Movement for Desegregation

In 1958, the NAACP Youth Council, under the advisement of Clara Luper, staged one the first major sit-in movements at lunch counters in response to ML King's request for "direct action." Due to its success, the tactic was copied across the nation, leading to the more famous examples.

[Solon]

79. The Oldest city on the Missouri River...

Founded as "Les Petite Cotes" (The Little Hills) in 1765 by Louis Blanchette, also the organizational point for the Lewis and Clark expedition. On another note we were also the first State Capital of Missouri from 1821 to 1826.

[oblivious]

80. It is the most densely populated city on earth. True.

[peacefreak]

81. Harriet Beecher Stowe

wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin in Brunswick, Me.

[radfringe]

82. Lehman, PA

Population: 237

we have more cows than people

Town sign says "welcome to Lehman" on both sides... sign is only 3" thick

Lake Lehman High School Band has approx. 39 members and has won Tournament of Bands for past 5 years