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Small Towns With Big Histories

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By Victor Block

California is remembered for the gold rush that attracted fortune-seekers in the mid-1800s. New Orleans is famous for its touches of French-inspired architecture and culture. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is renowned as the site of a bloody battle in 1863 between Union and Confederate troops that changed the course of the Civil War.

These and other familiar destinations around the country rightly attract visitors seeking to remember and relive chapters of American history. In addition, there also are small towns which, while much less well known, recapture intriguing aspects of the nation's past and provide an immersion into important parts of it.

Deadwood, South Dakota (population about 1,200), was a lawless frontier town that became famous when gold was discovered there in1876. Along with prospectors, gamblers and gunslingers, the suddenly famous community attracted the likes of Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.

These and other stories are told at the Days of 76 Museum, which is a repository of artifacts ranging from horse-drawn wagons and stagecoaches to pioneer clothing, early firearms and Native American items.

The first major gold rush began even earlier, in 1829, in Dahlonega, Georgia (7,500). That town's name came from the Cherokee Native American word for "yellow" or "gold." A look at this little-known historic footnote is provided at the Dahlonega Gold Museum through an introductory film and displays of gold nuggets and coins, panning equipment and other gold-related paraphernalia.

Gold also attracted miners to a site perched high in the Colorado Rocky Mountains in 1859, but it turned out to be too difficult to recover. However, deposits of a silver-lead combination that were easier to extract also were found, and the town of Leadville (2,600) was created. The Leadville Historic District, which is designated as a National Historic Landmark, contains many historic homes and other structures along with sites that recall that mining era, including 70 blocks of Victorian buildings.

Wealth in the form of cattle was the goal of other 19th-century Americans. Abilene, Kansas (6,500), named for a passage in the Bible meaning "grassy plains," was founded in 1857 as a stagecoach stop. After stockyards were built, cowboys herded cattle there to be loaded onto trains headed for their final destination. That time is brought to life by reenactors, a cattle drive and other activities. A Cowboy Art Trail is comprised of oversize decorated rancher boots located throughout the community.

Granbury, Texas (11,000), has been named three times by USA Today as the "Best Historic Small Town in America." It began as a log cabin courthouse and village square, which now are surrounded by more than 40 Historic Texas Landmarks. Locals express their Texas pride through events such as an annual rodeo and Cowboy Symposium and decorating their mailboxes with images of the state flag.

Pirates rather than cowboys were visitors in the past to both the North and South Carolina coastlines. The infamous Blackbeard spent much time in Beaufort, North Carolina (4,500), and evidence of his presence is on display. Among exhibits at the North Carolina Maritime Museum are artifacts from his flagship, ranging from cannons to medical devices to bones of livestock that were consumed on board. Walking tours, festivals and other events add to the investigation of buccaneers from bygone times.

Shots also were fired in Mooresville, Alabama, during the Civil War, and the Union Army occupied the tiny town several times. The entire early 19th-century picturesque village (population 50) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Original buildings include the Old Brick Church, post office and Stagecoach Inn and Tavern.

A town whose influence in the Civil War was much larger than its population (currently 270) is Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. Named for a settler who operated a ferry there in the mid-18th century, it was where abolitionist John Brown in 1859 used weapons taken from the town armory to launch a revolt by enslaved people. The raid failed, and Brown was tried and hung for treason. The attention the incident attracted, however, became a prelude to the ensuing conflict between the states. Historic landmarks including John Brown's Fort have been rebuilt and preserved by the National Park Service.

Another waterfront town, located along the 30-mile-long Cane River in Louisiana, is Natchitoches (population 18,000). It was established in 1714 as a French enclave and named after the Indigenous Natchitoches people. This community retains a European flavor through its heritage, architecture and lifestyle.

The Historic District, with structures dating back to the 1790s, displays a collection of magnificent Creole buildings. The Magnolia and Oakland plantations are among the most intact 19th-century farmstead complexes in the nation.

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WHEN YOU GO

cityofdeadwood.com

dahlonega.gov

cityofleadville.colorado.gov/visitor-info

abilenekansas.org

visitgranbury.com

visitbeaufortnc.com

mooresvilleal.com

nps.gov

natchitoches.com

Victor Block is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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