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I've posted some of the local stuff near me before, but here goes...
I live near Swedesboro, NJ which was an original settlement of the New Sweden Colony. Within that colony was a church, the first of which was Lutheran, but then became Anglican/Episcopalean. The congregation itself is among the longest continuous congregations in North America. The church and its members thankfully kept extensive records that date back to 1638. This is the church's website (the current bulding dates to the late 1700's) and their history section. It's interesting not only because of the mentioning of wide ranging events, but the local history that occurred:
I also live relatively close to the Red Bank battlefield in National Park, NJ. It was the site of a smaller engagement during the Philadelphia Campaign of the Revolutionary War. Fort Mercer in Red Bank served as one of the anchors for the defenses of Philadelphia and the Delaware River in concert with Fort Mifflin. This site is notable because the first British (primarily Hessian units) attack on the fort was repulsed and was a major morale victory for the colonials who were otherwise not having a good time defending Philadelphia. The battle is also interesting, because the routes of attack and the troop movements cover most of the area of South Jersey. South Jersey essentially consisted of many farms, but had three prinicple towns: Moorestown, Haddonfiled and Swedesboro. All of these towns were linked by a road called "King's Highway". That road still exists under the same name and serves as the main street for each of these towns:
My town was where the fellow American textbooks call "Prince Henry, the Navigator" set up his headquarters while he was busy on his project to compile the navigational knowledge of the era, and move beyond it. He set up a kind of research center a few miles down the road, and the work resulted in Portugal's venturing down the coast of Africa and finally around to India, and then to Japan. It was the beginning of the Age of Discovery.
A downside was that the first consignment of black slaves was brought to our town and sold as the result of one of the early voyages. And this initiated the modern European traffic in black African slaves.
During the era when North African Muslims ruled most of the Iberian peninsula, the capital of eastern Andalucia (the Muslim territory) was not far north of our town.
I live on top of a trade route between New Spain and the French and English colonies on the east coast. The area was patrolled by Spanish soldiers and they fought with Indian's nearby. During the days of "old Texas," this was Comanche country and they raided around here regularly. In fact, just a couple of miles away is the site of a battle between a white hunting party and a band of Comanche, which the hunters lost. They're still buried there.
Later, the first railroad into Texas crossed the Red River about 4 miles from my place and I attended junior high on the site of the first free public school in the state, a school paid for by saloon owner Justin Raynal. Within 3 miles of my house is the birthplace of President Dwight Eisenhower. I went to high school with "Sully" Sullenberger, though I did not know him.
And, of course, I was born here which makes it a very unique place.
I live on top of a trade route between New Spain and the French and English colonies on the east coast. The area was patrolled by Spanish soldiers and they fought with Indian's nearby. During the days of "old Texas," this was Comanche country and they raided around here regularly. In fact, just a couple of miles away is the site of a battle between a white hunting party and a band of Comanche, which the hunters lost. They're still buried there.
I had a relative who was killed by Comanches in the mid 1820s on his way from Missouri to Santa Fe. You were askin' for it traveling through their territory.
Yes. A lot of Apaches lived in my area where they gained a well-deserved reputation for being fierce fighters and raiders. Unfortunately in the 1870's the United States government decided they didn't have the right to live as they liked and wiped out their bravest warriors in a series of attacks and skirmishes. The Army then systematically destroyed the food supply of the Apaches and succeeded in starving most of them to death.
Those who survived were eventually rounded up and forced onto the San Carlos Reservation which was called "Hell's Forty Acres".
There is a supermarket and a dry-cleaners and a bank on the road that leads to the site of one of the bloodiest fights. I highly doubt most people going in and out, talking to the cashiers and depositing their paychecks, have any idea of what happened just a few miles away.
Last edited by DewDropInn; 08-20-2012 at 03:20 PM..
I've posted some of the local stuff near me before, but here goes...
I live near Swedesboro, NJ which was an original settlement of the New Sweden Colony. Within that colony was a church, the first of which was Lutheran, but then became Anglican/Episcopalean. The congregation itself is among the longest continuous congregations in North America. The church and its members thankfully kept extensive records that date back to 1638. This is the church's website (the current bulding dates to the late 1700's) and their history section. It's interesting not only because of the mentioning of wide ranging events, but the local history that occurred:
I also live relatively close to the Red Bank battlefield in National Park, NJ. It was the site of a smaller engagement during the Philadelphia Campaign of the Revolutionary War. Fort Mercer in Red Bank served as one of the anchors for the defenses of Philadelphia and the Delaware River in concert with Fort Mifflin. This site is notable because the first British (primarily Hessian units) attack on the fort was repulsed and was a major morale victory for the colonials who were otherwise not having a good time defending Philadelphia. The battle is also interesting, because the routes of attack and the troop movements cover most of the area of South Jersey. South Jersey essentially consisted of many farms, but had three prinicple towns: Moorestown, Haddonfiled and Swedesboro. All of these towns were linked by a road called "King's Highway". That road still exists under the same name and serves as the main street for each of these towns:
Depending on how far I cast the net there is a lot that happened in the area, particularly during the early colonial and Revolutionary War days.
Interesting tale of historical doings in a different section of my home state, Goat! I'll have to get over there one of these days. I'm Episcopalian, and would LOVE to visit that church.
Not my home church, but near my home, and a few years younger than Old Swedes:
Since it was an "Anglican" church, patriots wanted to burn it, but it was decided to save it and the continental army used it for a headquarters. The church still has a piece of the original steeple, which has a Revolutionary War musket ball embedded in it. They also have the original deed from 1706 when the church fathers purchased the land on which the current church stands from a local Indian. The historic cemetery contains the remains of many early settlers, and on Old Monmouth Weekend, the "dead actors" dress in costume to represent some of the people buried there and tell their stories.
Same here with the "casting of the net". Monmouth Battlefield is not far, the site of the longest single day of fighting in the American Revolution.
When I was growing up I lived in Germantown in Philadelphia. The British had an encampment 2 blocks from the future location of my home. George Washington spent the summer of 1793 at the Deshler Morris house a few blocks down Germantown Ave. Gilbert Stuart did his famous portrait of Washington a few blocks away in the other direction. The first American Abolition Society was founded up on our corner.
Later we moved up the Avenue. According to the plaque on the corner, this was the spot where the Colonials met the first line of the British in the Battle of Germantown. Part of the battle would have taken place in my backyard, literally.
As kids we roamed through the Wissahickon Woods. During the Revolution, the British had an encampment on the heights on the other side of the creek.
I could go on.
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