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

[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.

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

[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.

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.



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:




And on another of our rides, we passed this house...made entirely of rocks!


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.

[weathergal]

I currently live in Dodge City, Kansas , 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/s...onProperty.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.