Dismantling an entire village piece by piece and relocating it more than 300 miles away is no easy task — especially by oxcart, railroad and horse and wagon. Yet Virginia McClurg, a local resident of the Manitou Springs, Colo., area, … Continue reading →
With apologies to Plato and Frank Zappa, sometimes necessity is the mother of reinvention. In the 1930s, Leavenworth, a picturesque hamlet of 2,000 residents nestled in the Cascade Mountains, began to die. The tracks of Great Northern Railway Company, the … Continue reading →
The place is big — really big. The main building of the Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott, Iowa, encompasses more square footage than a pair of football fields. The complex includes eight restaurants; a convenience store; gift shop; 30,000-square-foot “Super … Continue reading →
At the eastern tip of Dauphin Island, Ala., a barrier island stretching 14 miles east to west but measuring only 1 3/4 miles at its widest point, lies Fort Gaines, a rugged piece of centuries-old history. Construction on the fort, … Continue reading →
Thousands of ships have averted disaster on the treacherous shores of Block Island, R.I., thanks to the two lighthouses that bookend the Atlantic tourist haven a dozen miles south of the mainland. The historic nautical siblings, simply dubbed the North … Continue reading →
Atop one of the scenic rolling hills of Williamstown, Ky., population 3,931, rests a boat — a really big boat. Hailed as the world’s largest timber-frame building, the life-size replica of Noah’s ark towers seven stories above the ground and … Continue reading →
The most endearing American love story of World War II started out as a mistake. On a cold winter evening days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a group of townsfolk laden with food, homebaked goodies and Christmas gifts gathered on … Continue reading →
Dorothy Hustead was hot, tired and trying to stave off the discouragement of a failed career experiment. In December 1931, she and her husband, Ted, had rolled into Wall, S.D., with their 4-year-old son, Ted’s $3,000 inheritance from his father … Continue reading →
There are — literally — some big things in Casey, Ill. The mailbox can garage a school bus. The golf tee towers three stories above the clubhouse and a grown man could lie across the tee’s head with neither head … Continue reading →
Is the Mystery Hole just outside of Anstead, W.Va., a unique location where the laws of gravity have somehow gone haywire? Or is it merely a cleverly constructed subterranean attraction designed to make visitors think so? The real answer is … Continue reading →
Some say the town of Mayberry, N.C., existed only on a television lot in Hollywood. Others insist it is a state of mind more than a physical location. But Mayberry does exist — in Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy, … Continue reading →
