Area History

Generally speaking, if you were to read an essay about the Great Blue Heron, it would be shelved under “Natural History” and not so much under “Local History.” This essay however, takes a broader perspective of herons through time and culture, through mythology and meaning; through art and iconography in Richland County. So good luck […]

Question: What is underground and in plain sight? Answer: A station of the Underground Railroad—one of the few in Richland County still standing since its period of history before the Civil War. More than 150 years ago, before the Civil War, when United States still had slavery in the Southern States, there was a secret […]

There is not a lot written about Sam McCluer. But then, anyone engaged in secret illegal activities doesn’t really want to attract a lot of attention in the community… even if the law-breaking will one day be considered an act of heroism, and even if the criminal will eventually be regarded as a selfless humanitarian. […]

Depending on which decade you happened to walk past the Library, the building immediately east would be a shopping store of some sort. In the 1920s, 30s and early 40s it was the Sears, Roebuck & Co. retail outlet. After that, in the late 40s and 50s it was Richman Brothers men’s clothing store. The […]

When I was a scout we had a camp out by the Clear Fork Lake, and I spent enough nights around a campfire there to hear plenty of ghost stories about how those woods were haunted. I was a pretty gullible kid but even I didn’t believe it, because I spent so much time wandering […]