OT: What historical place(s) do you bike/live near?

[crazycanuck]

I'm bored

I thought of this today & I swear there's a thread lurking out there with the same question. I'll ask it again :p

What historical place or places do you live near?

I know the ladies in Boston,Washington, Albeqerque & SF live near some pretty cool historical places but what about the rest of you?

The only historical things I live near (that people outside of Aust would know of) are:
Fremantle where the America''s cup was held in 87 and the Rabbit Proof Fence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_proof_fence)

So, do tell.

C

[missymaya]

I live near Ft. Christmas (an old fort from when Florida was first settled), Eatonville (oldest incorporated black community in the US and birth place of Zora Neal Hurston) and where I grew up, I lived near St. James Landing (now incorporated Geneva) where back in the day, the settlers built a train line to the St. John's river and logged Cypress and sold it. The bank vault still stands, which is pretty neat to me. There's St. Augustine further up the coast, but that's not that close to where I live, but a pretty cool place. That's it so far. I'm sure there's some other places but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

[missymaya]

Oh and there's a weekend ride that goes out to Ft. Christmas and we break there for food and liquid. We eat right on the porch of one of the old homes that's been restored. Kinda like stepping back for a brief moment.

[Cyclo Kitty]

I'm lucky, I live in Providence and I work at a historic site so my daily commute takes me to College Hill and around the Brown University campus. I get to see Benefit Street (one of the oldest intact historic districts in the US; the Stephen Hopkins house--one of RI's signers of the Declaration of Independence--and China Trade mansions like the Sullivan Dorr house (his son fomented rebellion here in 1842 for expanded voting rights).

On Power Street is the house that Edgar Allen Poe's lover Sarah Whitman lived in. The Athenaeum Library where they used to meet is on Benefit Street (they have a bike rack). Across from that is the Rhode Island School of Design founded in 1877 and housed in a mixture of historic and modern buildings.

Weekends, I ride down to the head of Narragansett Bay at Fox Point, where China trade ships came in (the first from RI was 1788) and where slave ships docked as well. Down South Main to the site of Sabin's Tavern where the Gaspee plot was hatched, and then down the bay to Gaspee Point, where the HMS Gaspee was run aground and burned in what they like to call the first act of open rebellion in the colonies, June 10 1772.

The East Bay Bike Path runs from East Providence to Bristol, and from it you can see lighthouses, old men's clubs, historic homes and the old fishing/trading ports of Bristol and Warren. You can also ride past the Herreshoff Marine Museum, where Nathanael Greene Herreshoff designed some of the fastest America's Cup yachts.

There are lots of historic sites to ride past and to here, and you can do alot of it in one day. It's a great place to visit, but you do have to look out for the drivers!

[SheFly]

Living in New England is great! Just on Sunday, we rode past Walden Pond, where Hawthorne lived and wrote. Downtown Concord and Lexington have historical monuments and buildings from the revolutionary war. Then there is Alcott House in Concord, the Old North Bridge, Sleepy Hollow Cemetary (with author's row - Alcott, Hawthorn and a monument to Poe), Minuteman National Historic Park...and that doesn't even begin to get you into downtown Boston....

I LOVE live here for the rich history.

SheFly

[mimitabby]

um, we have Bruce Lee's grave and Jimmy Hendrix's grave. And I work right next to the historic building where they built the B52 bombers in WWII.

Not real exciting compared to you east coast folks, I guess.

[mimitabby]

I'm bored

Fremantle where the America''s cup was held in 87 and the Rabbit Proof Fence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_proof_fence)

So, do tell.

C

Is it really rabbit proof? We saw the movie Rabbit proof fence, it was excellent.

[Tri Girl]

Not too much historical in Oklahoma City (would love to live in Boston, tho- oh the history). There are a lot of neat places that date back to early statehood (early 1900's- I know you east coasters and Europeans are thinking- whoop dee doo- but it's all we have :rolleyes: ).
If this counts as historical (can 12 years ago be "historical?"). I live near the Murrah Bombing Memorial. Beautiful, peaceful place. http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/

[Kimmyt]

http://www.philatips.com/images/waterworks.jpg
The Philadelphia Art Museum, beautiful greco-roman architecture and yes, a very pivotal scene from Rocky.

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/DRI/87~Philadelphia-Boathouse-Row-w-Moon-Posters.jpg
Boathouse Row, site of the annual Dad Vail Regatta (and near where I will be swimming my tri)

And lots of pics of where I am lucky enough to do the majority of my hill riding and running, Valley Forge National Park, site of the winter headquarters of the American troops during the Revolutionary war, chocked full of really cool historic buildings and a nice warm bathroom in the visitor's center which I like to make use of :)

http://americasbesthistory.home.att.net/vfmemarch.jpg
war monument

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/PTGPOD/424541~Valley-Forge-National-Historic-PArk-PA-Posters.jpg
I think this is a view of Gen. Washington's headquarters...

http://www.russfinley.com/d/12782-1/098-01-002.jpg
Some cool soldier's huts that you can walk into

[Veronica]

The town I grew up in has the Kate Douglas Wiggin House. She wrote Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. It's owned by the former postmaster of our town (just coincidence) but he's also the dad of a good friend from high school.

Sometimes I miss small town life. Couldn't stand it when I was younger. :D


The town I live now use to be the site of a coal mine. The coal mines are now a regional park. Great mountain biking there!


V.

[bmccasland]

Riding the Mississippi River levee on the east side of New Orleans proper then up river to the end of the path (total of approximately 20 miles), will take you past a couple of plantations - Ormond and Desterhan (the upriver end). This part of the river is a "working" river, not much for historic anything.

[missymaya]

Oh kimmyt looking at the pic of boathouse row gave some good memories;) . I love philadelphia and would love to go to boston b/c of the rich history. But one of my favorite historical cities is Charleston.

[SouthernBelle]

I could ride to the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home. A couple of week's ago we rode by the Sam Davis home, confederate hero. There are various plantation type places plus several in Nashville.

Interestingly, on my Saturday ride in Kentucky, we had a rest stop at the Jefferson Davis Memorial which I did not know existed until then. It was huge.

Stones River Battlegrounds.

Drat, I'm blanking.

[TsPoet]

If you are into mass destruction, I live near the Hanford Nuclear Site.
If you are into exploration, I live near (right on) the Columbia River - where Lewis and Clark hung out for awhile.
Actually, those two things are intimately related (need water to process plutonium).
Neither results in good picts, really.
I've kayaked down the Hanford Reach a couple of times. Once with a guy who was involved with the cleanup of the nuclear sites, interesting talks from him about the processing plants you can see along the banks. Not allowed to get out of the kayaks (above high water line) 'cause it's all the nuclear reservation.
http://www.fws.gov/hanfordreach/

[Deborajen]

We live along the Chisholm Trail. There isn't much left to see anymore - the wagon ruts are pretty much washed away or covered by buildings, and there are a few monuments & museums. In the country, though, it's wide open and you can get a sense of the huge prairie crossed during the old cattle drives. No mountains, but impressive in its own way.

Deb

[Pax]

I laughed out loud when I read the thread title, I live in the middle of nowhere Illinois so as far as historical goes...not so much. :p

We do have the Morrow Plots (http://www.cropsci.uiuc.edu/research/rdc/urbana/morrow.cfm) if agriculture is your thing. ;)

[snapdragen]

The Winchester Mystery House is down the block from my office.

http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/

[enzed]

Since, I'm still awake, I thought I would show some photos of my adopted city - Sydney, Australia.


The Opera House
http://www.answers.com/topic/sydney-opera-house-sails-jpg

The Harbour Bridge
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/SydneyHarbourBridge1_gobeirne.jpg

Town Hall
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/1/12/250px-SydneyTownHall_gobeirne.jpg

[Popoki_Nui]

Hmmm...Victoria itself is 'historical' in that it was the main British outpost and Hudson's Bay trading center in the 1800's, when this are was being eyed by the Brits as a future colony. Ft Victoria was the centre of the British sphere of influence from the Yukon down to the Columbia River (hence the name British Columbia), until the international boundary was decided at 49 degrees. It was also the chief staging point for the Cariboo gold rush.
The observatory (http://www.hia-iha.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/dao/index_e.html) where I worked was the largest in the world back in 1918, and the original 72" telescope is still in operation today. There is a pretty cool museum up there with many of the original instruments on display.

[trekin']

I live on the north end of Mount Hope Bay on the Mass./RI border, very near the sight where the King Phillip Indian Wars started in the mid 1600's. From my house can see the hill where King Phillip (Metacomet) was captured and killed.

Lizzie Borden's summer home is just down the street from my house.

Dighton Rock is on one of my bike routes...it has ancient hyroglyphics (sp.?) etched into it, and nobody knows if it was cave men, Indians, or Vikings who did it.

I like to ride around in Little Compton, RI, where the Rhode Island Red chicken came into being (there's a bit of a feud between 2 families as to who owns the bragging rights!).

I also like to ride in Newport, RI where the America's Cup USED to be! It's fun to ride by the summer "cottages" of the Vanderbilts and other "robber barons"...oh, and that's where Sunny Von Bulow O.D.'d on insulin and where socialite Doris Duke kept her llamas...and former RI governor Sundelin once shot at racoons out the back window of his mansion...it's a quiet town...

Nearby Bristol, RI has the oldest continuously held 4th of July Parade in the Country...and is the start/end of the East Bay Bike Path, which runs all the way to East Providence...14 miles...very pretty and flat...

Nearby New Bedford...that's where Herman Melville wrote Moby ****...now it's the fishing capital of the country...and where you can get the fast ferry to beautiful Martha's Vineyard, where John Belushi is buried...

And you thought New England was all about Boston and Plymouth Rock!

[eclectic]

Everyone has such interesting sites! I want to go visit them all :D

I have ridden by and canoed from Fort Mandan where Lewis and Clark spent their first winter, met Sacajawea and that is where she had her baby, Pomp. It is a full scale replica of the fort. And down river (Missouri/Knife) is a rebuilt Mandan village with fully equipped earth lodges.

If you go the other direction from here you end up at the geographical center of North America - Equal distance to all beaches :D

Ride north from there and we have the International Peace Garden - you can take your picture standing in the US and Canada at the same time.

For the non faint of heart we have the Maah-Daah-Hey mountain bike trail. Vitals: 110.00 miles (176.99 KM) miles Steep At Times
This trail takes you through Teddy Roosevelt's old stomping grounds in the ND badlands
I have NOT ridden that.

[Deanna]

We've got quite a few in my area, most of them are related to regional or state history.

Luther Burbank Home & Gardens
http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/default.aspx?PageId=708

Jack London State Historic Park
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=478

Fort Ross
http://www.fortrossstatepark.org/

The town of Sonoma was the location of the Bear Flag Revolt:
http://www.californiahistory.net/5_PAGES/mexamwar_revolt.htm

There are quite a few smaller sites, many of the wineries in the area have historic buildings.

[RolliePollie]

I live near the Marshall Gold Discovery Site in Coloma, CA. This is where the Gold Rush began when James Marshall found gold there in 1848.

http://www.coloma.com/gold/

The old Gold Rush town of Placerville, also known as Hangtown, has a neat old downtown with lots of history, including Hangman's Tree Tavern, which, if you look closely at the picture, has a man hanging from a noose out front (Tacky? Perhaps. Unique? Definitely!):

http://www.brightbill.net/cgi-bin/suid/thomasb/lm/one-site?site=43

Lake Tahoe has some interesting historical sites as well. Vikingsholm is a neat old stone "castle" on Emerald Bay. Have not been there yet, but I hear the old Thunderbird Lodge is pretty neat as well.

The Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority even has a cycling section on their web site:

http://www.bluelaketahoe.com/visitors/recreation.php?s=5&l=2

[margo49]

About 7 km from home is an tiny archeological museum with finds from a neolithic civilisation which flourished in the area in the 6th millenium BCE. It was "discovered" and excavated in the 1940's.
They were an interesting lot with a fertility type religion involving those clay woman figure sculptures like you find all over with the huge t*ts and tummies and spread legs.

[texas_emily]

If you are into mass destruction, I live near the Hanford Nuclear Site.
http://www.fws.gov/hanfordreach/

Continuing with the nuclear legacy, I used to live in Oak Ridge, TN. One of my favorite rides used to take me past the gates to Oak Ridge National Lab, the Y-12 weapons facility, and the former K-25 plant (where uranium was processed for the Manhattan Project). The gates and ultra-industrial infrastructure were pretty wild.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-25

[Tuckervill]

Not too much historical in Oklahoma City (would love to live in Boston, tho- oh the history). There are a lot of neat places that date back to early statehood (early 1900's- I know you east coasters and Europeans are thinking- whoop dee doo- but it's all we have :rolleyes: ).
If this counts as historical (can 12 years ago be "historical?"). I live near the Murrah Bombing Memorial. Beautiful, peaceful place. http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/

Well, that is definitely historic. I visited it last year, but I couldn't describe it as beautiful, so much. It's too sad. Refined and elegant and respectful. I really don't feel a sense of peace there, either. It just reminds me of pain and suffering. It is very touching, though.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

I live on the edge of former "Indian territory" (Oklahoma), right next to the Cherokee Nation, whose headquarters is located in Talequah, OK, about 40 miles southwest. (There are many other nations nearby.) My town was once on the edge of the frontier, but didn't exist before the Trail of Tears. A link to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas' entry on the founder of our town: http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=353

My two older sons are directly related to Chief John Ross, who led the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears. One of his wives and children died in Little Rock and their graves are in Evergreen Cemetary.

Also, I live about 30 miles from each of two Civil War battlefields, Prairie Grove and Pea Ridge. http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/prairiegrovebattlefield/

Pea Ridge: http://www.nps.gov/peri/

Both of these parks have paved trails which you could ride, but they're not very long.
Karen

[Fredwina]

a bit more modern, perhaps
Rancho Cucamonga is where Frank Zappa record his first album:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pal_Recording_Studio
Riverside is home to first navel orange in the US (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navel_orange#Navel_orange) and the Mission inn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Inn)
San Bernardino is where the site of the first McDonalds (http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/mcd_history_pg1.html)
http://www.route-66.com/mcdonalds/history.htm
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977006745
and I only live a block from Route 66:
http://www.wigwammotel.com/
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/CA-InlandEmpire.html

[TsPoet]

Continuing with the nuclear legacy, I used to live in Oak Ridge, TN. One of my favorite rides used to take me past the gates to Oak Ridge National Lab, the Y-12 weapons facility, and the former K-25 plant (where uranium was processed for the Manhattan Project). The gates and ultra-industrial infrastructure were pretty wild.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-25

Actually, uranium was mined in Oak Ridge and processed in Hanford, then sent on to Los Alamos where it was put into the bomb.
No one knows about Hanford - but all three labs were necessary to build the darned thing.
I ride my bike out to the gates, which are still access with government clearance only. Hot, brown terrain with a giant river running through it.

[TsPoet]

a bit more modern, perhaps
Rancho Cucamonga is where Frank Zappa record his first album:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pal_Recording_Studio
Riverside is home to first navel orange in the US (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navel_orange#Navel_orange) and the Mission inn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Inn)
San Bernardino is where the site of the first McDonalds (http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/mcd_history_pg1.html)
http://www.route-66.com/mcdonalds/history.htm
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977006745
and I only live a block from Route 66:
http://www.wigwammotel.com/
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/CA-InlandEmpire.html


I love this list. Especially the site of the first McDonalds! Truly an American list.

[ridethewind]

I laughed out loud when I read the thread title, I live in the middle of nowhere Illinois so as far as historical goes...not so much. :p


I'm in total agreement, Queen. Nowhere, indeed. :p

[MomOnBike]

My house is a couple blocks from William Jennings Bryan's house, Fairview. ...but that's only interesting to those interested in the edges of American History.

I used to live near the fort that Kit Carson commanded for a short time, Ft. Garland.

Um, other than that, nothing.

[Crankin]

Ditto everything SheFly said. My commute home also includes part of the 7 mile march that the Acton Minutemen made on their way to the Battle at the North Bridge in Concord. I ride by the bridge on almost every ride I do and it never stops amazing me that I live in such an awesome place. There is even a cafe open for lunch by this spot now and I think it would be a very nice place to end a ride before going home, which is only about 3.5 miles. On Tuesday we rode by all of the "authors" houses and I realized that I haven't visited them since I was a kid. So even though I complain about how crowded Concord Center gets with tourists, it's still really cool to live there!

[Hub]

If you're into the blues, Hwy 61 goes though Cleveland . . . and Hannibal Lecter's Mom lives here. What I should say is that Thomas Harris, the guy who wrote the Hannibal Lecter books lives here in Cleveland.

[ShubieGA]

Nothing as exciting as some of the previous posts, but the closest to work is the Martin Luther King Center historical district (BRAG's Bike Atlanta fest met there last year). It's a great place to visit. Also President Carter's library, Margaret Mitchell's house, Centennial Park from '96 Olympics. There are also civil war battlefields and cemeteries - they are pretty cool. New attractions include the World of Coke (interesting for the history of Coke and to taste all the flavors sold around the world) and the Georgia Aquarium.

[IFjane]

Oh wow - lots here.

Thomas Jefferson's home http://www.monticello.org/

James Madison's home http://www.montpelier.org/

Zachary Taylor's birthplace http://www.visitocva.com/history.htm

James Monroe's home http://www.ashlawnhighland.org/

We sit in the middle of lots of civil war battlegrounds, if you are into that kind of stuff, including the burial site of Stonewall Jackson's arm (really!) http://www.visitocva.com/ellwood.htm

Many of our rides start in the parking lot of the oldest continuously operating Lutheran church in the country http://www.germanna.org/church.html

and on and on and on......

[GLC1968]

There is tons of historical stuff around me but admittedly, except for early American history (I grew up in New England), I don't know as much about it as I should. :o

Let's see what I can recall:

The Woolworth's where the 4 black students took a stand by eating at the 'white' lunch counter as a major turning point in the civil rights movement? That's a couple of miles from my house in our downtown area.

http://www.sitinmovement.org/assets/contact/pic1.jpg http://www.sitinmovement.org/assets/musuem/pic1.jpg

There are tons of Civil War historical sites around here including battlegrounds (part of my commute is on Old Battleground road where I ride by a few old cannons). Tons of early southern plantations, as well...This is the heart of tobacco country. This is a pic of the Chinqua-Penn plantation that I took on one of our rides:


http://www.tranquilitysystems.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0365.JPG

And on another of our rides, we passed this house...made entirely of rocks!
http://www.tranquilitysystems.com/gallery/files/4/Rockhouseback.JPG

There is WAY more history, but this is the stuff extremely local to me that I see daily. I'm also sure I'm forgetting some majorly important places as well. :rolleyes:

[weathergal]

I currently live in Dodge City, Kansas (http://www.legendsofamerica.com/OZ-DodgeCity.html), which was once called "The Wickedest City in the West" or "Hell on the Plains". Wyatt Earp lived here briefly, and it was a proverbial "Wild West" town with gambling, prostitutes, and salloon fights. The TV show Gunsmoke was set in Dodge City, but of course, was filmed in California, not here.

Now, Dodge is mostly focused on agriculture and meat packing. Part of the original Front street burned down in the 1880s, and the rest was torn down for "urban renewal" in the 1960s. So, all we have is a replica at Boot Hill that leans towards the tourist trap-y side. Still, many people in town are trying to improve things and promote the interesting history here.

[Python]

I live in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. We're only 11 miles from Avebury Stone Circle and 34 miles from Stonehenge. Both are prehistoric monuments with lots of history. Nearby to Avebury is Silbury Hill. It is a man-made hill but no-one knows what it was made for. It is possibly an ancient burial mound. It is currently being strengthened and repaired as it was in danger of collapsing. In our neck of the woods we get a lot of crop circles. In the aerial view of Avebury you can see a couple of them in the fields. Fascinating place. Avebury is also popular with motorbikers from all over the world and the local pub (reputed to be one of the most haunted pubs in Britain), the Red Lion is always full of bikers - either the motorised variety or the pedal variety.

http://www.avebury-web.co.uk/

Stonehenge is known world-wide. The Druids conduct the Summer Solstice ceremony every year - 21st of this month. I've never been to the Solstice ceremony yet. Usually there are so many people there you can't really get near it.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.313

[amymisk]

I live in the very historic area around Philadelphia, the first capital.

I routinely bike in Valley Forge.

This area is overwhelming with history.

Lancaster is only 1 hour away. Amish history, Mennonite history, Strausburg Railroad, and much more!

I cannot leave out the Colonial Theatre in Pheonixville, PA. This is the theatre featured in the original "The Blob" starring Steve McQueen!

Brandywine Battlefield is also close by.

I almost forgot Hopewell Furnace. Part of the industrial revolution.

I have enjoyed reading about all the history in the US and abroad. Great stuff!

[DebW]

I sometimes bike past Longfellow's Wayside Inn http://www.wayside.org/history.html

and the gristmill

and the schoolhouse http://www.wayside.org/POPUPfiles/schoolpopup.html purportedly of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" fame.

[Tri Girl]

Well, that is definitely historic. I visited it last year, but I couldn't describe it as beautiful, so much. It's too sad. Refined and elegant and respectful. I really don't feel a sense of peace there, either. It just reminds me of pain and suffering. It is very touching, though.

Karen


I guess I find it beautiful and peaceful because I remember the chaos, carnage and devastation of that morning. When I go there I sit and look at the reflecting pool, and hear the birds and the water and find peace. Strange to some, I guess... ;)

[Kimmyt]

Amy, I used to live in Spring City too! Now I'm in Collegeville...

K.

I live in the very historic area around Philadelphia, the first capital.

I routinely bike in Valley Forge.

This area is overwhelming with history.

Lancaster is only 1 hour away. Amish history, Mennonite history, Strausburg Railroad, and much more!

I cannot leave out the Colonial Theatre in Pheonixville, PA. This is the theatre featured in the original "The Blob" starring Steve McQueen!

Brandywine Battlefield is also close by.

I almost forgot Hopewell Furnace. Part of the industrial revolution.

I have enjoyed reading about all the history in the US and abroad. Great stuff!

[amymisk]

Kimmyt- that's so close! I love this area.