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The lighthouse being seen farther by the beach.
Talacre, Wales

Point of Ayr Lighthouse

This 1776 beacon on the coast of Wales is said to have a ghost called Raymond, the last lighthouse keeper.
Guangfulin Relics Park.
Shanghai, China

Guangfulin Relics Park

This theme park presents 5,000 years of Shanghai history and includes a "sunken" exhibition hall.
Permanently Closed
Stoney Lonesome Cemetery, 2019.
Lorton, Virginia

Stoney Lonesome Cemetery

A small, forgotten prison cemetery marked only by a wrought-iron fence and eerie depressions left in the ground.
Mistley, England

Old Knobbley

This ancient oak tree sheltered accused "witches" in the 17th century.
Chadron, Nebraska

Museum of the Fur Trade

This Great Plains museum pays tribute to both the prosperity and tragedy of the North American fur trade.
Brother Jonathan celebrates the American centenary by straddling the towers of the main building at the Philadelphia World's Fair of 1876.
independence day

Before America Got Uncle Sam, It Had to Endure Brother Jonathan

Brash, bold, and bigoted, he made for an uneasy national mascot.
Adee Braun July 4, 2019
The head of the Statue of Liberty at the 1878 International Exposition in Paris.
islands

The Statue of Liberty Was Well Traveled Before She Reached Her Final Home

Parisians called her the “Lady of the Park,” and then said, "Au revoir."
Winnie Lee July 4, 2019
Congress gets its first gander at the Declaration of Independence in this painting by John Trumbull.
independence day

The German-Language Newspaper That Got the Scoop on American Independence

On July 5, 1776, only the "Pennsylvanischer Staatsbote" reported the big news.
Daniel Crown July 3, 2019
Was Katharina Schraderin, “the baker witch," killed for her gingerbread recipe?
fairytales

How a Literary Prank Convinced Germany That 'Hansel and Gretel' Was Real

A 1963 book purported to prove that the siblings were murderous bakers.
Jordan Todorov July 3, 2019
The Staple Street Skybridge in Tribeca.
New York, New York

Staple Street Skybridge

Imagine having a street run right through your home, or better yet, a historic bridge three stories high.
Peninsula, Ohio

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

A throwback train ride transports passengers through one of the lesser-known national parks in the country.
hoaxes

Why Historians Are Reexamining the Case of the Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits

Mary Toft staged an elaborate hoax, but the pain was real.
Sabrina Imbler July 3, 2019
Aydon Castle
Corbridge, England

Aydon Castle

This medieval manor house was hastily fortified when it found itself in the middle of the Scottish fight for independence.
Silver Lake Reservoir
Staten Island, New York

Silver Lake Park

Staten Island's original central park is the former home of the city water supply as well as thousands of immigrant graves.
The Bessie Sheppard memorial stone.
Mansfield, England

Bessie Sheppard Stone

This lonely memorial marks the supposedly haunted site of a brutal 19th-century murder.
Looking up the pass. The trestle seems a lot narrower than it is.
Winter Park, Colorado

Devil's Slide Trestles

These decaying bridges 1,000 feet high are a reminder of the skill it took to cross the Colorado Rockies by rail.
The state has decided that it's time to revisit its historic plaques.
plaques

Michigan Is Trying to Make Its Historic Markers More Accurate and Less Racist

It can take a lot of time—and some heavy bureaucratic lifting—to tell an honest story about a state's past.
Jessica Leigh Hester June 28, 2019
Midnight feasts and fudge-making were mild forms of college rebellion.
food

America's Early Female College Students Held Illicit Fudge Parties

"Vassar chocolates" became emblems of women's education.
Anne Ewbank June 28, 2019