War Eagle Mill - Northwest Arkansas

One of the most scenic historic attractions in Arkansas is the War Eagle Mill. Located just 12 miles east of Rogers and 25 miles southwest of Eureka Springs, the mill and adjacent War Eagle Bridge are among the state's most unique historic sites.

In addition, War Eagle Mill is the site of one of the largest and best known Arts and Craft Fairs in the South.

Our new War Eagle Mill page is now online at www.exploresouthernhistory.com. Just follow the link and look for the link under Arkansas in the Index section at the bottom of the page.

Thorncrown Chapel - Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Thorncrown Chapel, the beautifully constructed structure that you see here, is one of the most awe-inspiring landmarks in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Designed by the noted architect E. Fay Jones, who passed away in 2004, the chapel was named one of the top five buildings of the 20th century by the American Institute of Architects.

The chapel includes more than 6,000 square feet of glass and was designed and constructed to blend with its spectacular mountain setting.

Our new Thorncrown Chapel page is now online at www.exploresouthernhistory.com. Just click here to take a look!

News about Devil's Backbone Battlefield in Arkansas

I've received news from a friend at the Civil War Round Table of Arkansas that the Civil War Preservation Trust has voted to purchase 10 acres of the Devil's Backbone Battlefield in Sebastian County, Arkansas.

This move will preserve part of the site of the important Battle of Devil's Backbone (sometimes called the Battle of Backbone Mountain) fought near the towns of Greenwood and Fort Smith on September 1, 1863.

If you would like to read more about this battlefield or see additional photographs, please go to www.exploresouthernhistory.com and click the Battlefields and Forts link in the column at left, then just look under the Arkansas heading and you will find the link.

The Battle of Dripping Springs, Arkansas

Over the next few days we are exploring the Battle of Dripping Springs, Arkansas on our sister blog, Arkansas in the Civil War.

This battle was fought on December 28, 1862, between Confederate and Union troops in the edge of the Ozarks north of the city of Van Buren, Arkansas.

It was an important preliminary action to the Battle of Van Buren, fought later that day.

If you would like to read more, visit the blog or go to the Battle of Dripping Springs page at www.exploresouthernhistory.com (just look under the Battlefields and Forts heading in the left hand column).

Castillo de San Marcos - St. Augustine, Florida

If you are interested in historic architecture and especially old forts, the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument in St. Augustine, Florida makes for a fascinating visit.

Constructed by the Spanish more than 300 years ago, the old stone fort is the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States. It was besieged numerous times, but withstood each attack and was never taken in battle.

Today the old fort overlooks historic St. Augustine, America's oldest city, and provides visitors with a fascinating look back at the history of the city that was half a century old by the time the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

If you would like to learn more about the Castillo, simply go to http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ and look for the link under the "Battlefields and Forts" heading in the left hand column.

Mammoth Cave National Park - Kentucky

One of the natural wonders of the world, Mammoth Cave is also one of the most historic sites in the South.

Discovered thousands of years ago by early Native Americans, the cave system is known to include more than 300 miles of chambers and passages with hundreds of miles remaining to be explored. This length makes Mammoth Cave the longest cave in the world.

The huge cave system is also a noteworthy landmark in America's black history because many of the explorers and guides who opened the cave to public view during the 19th century were African American residents of the local area.

To learn more about Mammoth Cave National Park, please visit our new Mammoth Cave pages at http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/. Simply follow the link and then scroll down the page to the Kentucky heading in the Index section.

The Blue Ridge Parkway - North Carolina and Virginia

Stretching from Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, the Blue Ridge Parkway is America's most popular national park area.

Stretching 469 miles across the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains and reaching heights of over 6,000 feet, the parkway is more than just a road. It is a fascinating way to journey into the cultural and natural history of the South.

Our new Blue Ridge Parkway pages are now online at www.exploresouthernhistory.com. To learn more, just follow the link and scroll down the page to the Index section and look under both the Virginia and North Carolina headings.

A Southern ghost story and a bit of Florida history!

If you enjoy a good ghost story now and then and like to learn more about the true facts behind the legends, then you will probably enjoy the story of the "Ghost of Bellamy Bridge" at http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/.

This legend is one of Florida's oldest ghost stories and revolves around the 1837 wedding of Samuel and Elizabeth Bellamy at Marianna, Florida.

Wealthy newcomers who moved to Florida from North Carolina, the Bellamys were among the social elite of the Territory. Samuel was a physician, businessman and politician who served as a Jackson County delegate to Florida's first Constitutional Convention. His wife was the young daughter of one of North Carolina's richest families.

To learn more about the unusual story and the claims that her ghost can still be seen roaming the banks of the Chipola River near Marianna, please visit http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ and scroll down the page to the Index. Just look for the "Ghost of Bellamy Bridge" link under the Florida heading.

Please remember the tornado victims

Please take a few minutes today to think of the victims of last night's terrible tornadoes. More than fifty people have died, dozens of others are hurting and hundreds of people are homeless across much of the South.

The storms began in Arkansas and continued across the Mississippi River into Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.

Please remember the victims in your prayers and do what you can to help. One of the best ways to help in any disaster is to donate to the American Red Cross. You can do so by following this link: http://www.redcross.org/news/ds/profiles/disaster_profile_southerntornados.html.

The link also provides more information on the storms and has emergency information for the family and friends of victims.

Thank you.

The Site of Fort McRee - Pensacola, Florida

The sandy point visible in the distance on the right side of this photograph was an important site during the Civil War on Pensacola Bay. This was the location of Fort McRee, the "lost fort" of Pensacola.

A brick fortification constructed between the years 1834 and 1839, Fort McRee was located directly across the entrance to Pensacola Bay from Fort Pickens. Combined, the two forts were designed to sweep the entrance of the bay with artillery fire should enemy ships attempt to force their way into the harbor.

The fort was severely damaged during the November 1861 Battle of Pensacola Bay and eventually was destroyed by the elements.

To learn more about Fort McRee, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com and look for the new heading for Pensacola, Florida.

Robbers Cave State Park - Oklahoma

If you like natural beauty and the outlaw history of the Old West, Robbers Cave State Park in eastern Oklahoma is a must see. This photo was taken looking out from the inside of the cave that gives the park its name.

According to legend, the cave and surrounding rock formations in the Sans Bois Mountains of Oklahoma were used as a hideout by outlaw gangs during the years following the Civil War. The names Jesse James and Belle Starr are among those linked with the cave, which definitely as a Wild West feel to it.

If you would like to read more about Robbers Cave, just go to www.exploresouthernhistory.com and look for the link under the "Oklahoma" heading at the bottom of the page.

Pensacola Lighthouse - Pensacola, Florida

One of my favorite old Southern lighthouses is the Pensacola Light, seen here. Built in 1858 and first lit in 1859, the lighthouse towers 160 feet above the Florida Gulf Coast and is still in use today.

The Pensacola Lighthouse was a major landmark during the Civil War. Confederate troops darkened the light to stop the Union navy from using it to assist in navigation off the entrance to Pensacola Bay. A large artillery battery was also constructed near the base of the light. During the major bombardments in November of 1861 and January of 1862, Union artillerymen at Fort Pickens targeted the lighthouse and "Lighthouse Battery." Although struck at least 6 times by cannon shot, the tower was not significantly damaged.

To read more about the Pensacola Lighthouse and see more photographs, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com and look for the Pensacola heading.

Thank you very much!

The new statistics are out and we have seen phenomenal growth in visits at www.exploresouthernhistory.com! Thank you for making our site part of your day!

From December to January, the number of people visiting our site has grown by 45%. The number of actual visits went up by 47% and the number of pages viewed went up by 45%.

Thank you again!

Historic Pensacola, Florida

The first part of our new section on the historic city of Pensacola, Florida, is now online at www.exploresouthernhistory.com.

The site of a settlement founded by the Spanish in 1559, Pensacola is one of the oldest cities on the Gulf Coast. Noted for its beautiful beaches and sparkling waters, the city is home to an impressive array of historic sites, structures and more. With landmarks including colonial homes, a Revolutionary War battlefield and important Civil War sites such as Forts Pickens, Barrancas and Advanced Redoubt, Pensacola is a major destination for heritage tourism.

To learn more and visit phase one of our Pensacola section, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com and look for the "Pensacola" heading.

Emerald Mound - Natchez, Mississippi

This astounding Native American ceremonial mound is located just off the Natchez Trace Parkway outside of Natchez, Mississippi.

One of the largest "Indian mounds" in the eastern United States, Emerald Mound is believed to be more than 600 years old. It covers more than 8 acres and is topped by several smaller mounds.

Now protected by the National Park Service, the mound is one of the many historic points of interest along the Natchez Trace. If you would like to read more and see additional photographs, just go to www.exploresouthernhistory.com and look for the "Natchez Trace Parkway" heading.

Historic Blakeley State Park Pages now online!

Our new section on Alabama's Historic Blakeley State Park is now online.

Located off State Highway 225 just north of Spanish Fort, Alabama (across Mobile Bay from Mobile), this park preserves the site of the historic ghost town of Blakeley and the 1865 Battle of Blakeley, Alabama.

Once a thriving river town that rivaled nearby Mobile, the town of Blakeley was once the county seat of Baldwin County, Alabama. The beautiful Mobile-Tensaw Delta that gave the town its life, however, also brought about its end. Mosquito-carried diseases including yellow fever and malaria swept the town in epidemics, killing scores of residents and driving others from the lowlands.

By the time of the Civil War, the town was virtually abandoned. Due to its strategic location, however, the Confederates erected massive fortifications here to help protect Mobile from Union attack. These works were attacked and carried by Union troops on April 9, 1865, in one of the final battles of the war. The Battle of Blakeley was one of the largest Civil War battles fought in Alabama and helped assure the fall of the Confederate citadel of Mobile.

To learn more about this battle and the beautiful state park that preserves its site, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory and scroll down the page to the Index section. You will find the link under the "Alabama" heading.

Owl Creek Mounds - Natchez Trace Parkway

The Owl Creek Mounds, located off the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, are among the dozens of signficant historic sites to be found along the route of the unique national park.

The Parkway stretches from Natchez, Mississippi to the outskirts of Memphis, Tennessee and commemorates the original Natchez Trace, an important roadway used primarily during the late 1700s and early 1800s.

The Owl Creek Mounds, now maintained by the National Forest Service, are located just off the parkway south of Tupelo, Mississippi. Constructed during the Mississippian Era, they date back more than five hundred years.

To learn more, please visit our new Natchez Trace section at www.exploresouthernhistory.com. The section is not completed yet, but a number of sites - including Owl Creek - can now be explored online.

Florida's "Lost City" of St. Joseph

I mentioned a couple of days ago that our new Port St. Joe, Florida section is now at www.exploresouthernhistory.com.

This pages explore several fascinating historic sites in and around Port St. Joe, one of the most interesting of which is the site of the "Lost City" of St. Joseph.

Founded in 1835 on the beautiful shore of St. Joseph Bay, the city of St. Joseph quickly became the largest community in Florida. More than 12,000 people moved to the city within two years, making it larger than Tallahassee, Pensacola, St. Augustine and other communities of the time. In 1838-1839, the city was selected as the site of Florida's Constitutional Convention and it was here that the territory's first constitution was drafted.

In 1841, however, St. Joseph was ravaged by a yellow fever epidemic. In a matter of weeks, the population fell to only 400 people. A major hurricane in 1844 destroyed much of what was left and in time the site was reclaimed by the lush coastal forest.

To learn more about St. Joseph, visit our Port St. Joe section at www.exploresouthernhistory.com. You will see the heading on the home page when you arrive at the site.

Watch "Southern Heritage" and Chipola College TV online

Television programs on the history, culture and folklore of the South are rare these days. That is why an effort undertaken in 2007 by Chipola College TV in Marianna, Florida, is so noteworthy.

The college television station broadcasts a program on "Southern Heritage" every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The show features a fascinating array of topics, including author interviews, video reports on historic sites in Northwest Florida, looks at folklore and historic ways of doing things and more.

CCTV broadcasts on local cable but is also available online. For your convenience, I've added a link on the home page at www.exploresouthernhistory.com. The program airs Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. and to see it on the live stream, you should plan to click in at that time.

The link will also take you to CCTV any time and you might some of their other programs on Chipola College academics, athletics, arts and entertainment and more to be of interest.

New Port St. Joe, Florida pages are now online

Our new section on the historic sites of Port St. Joe and St. Joseph Bay, Florida, is now online. Although we will be expanding the section over coming days, pages now up include the story of St. Joseph, Florida's "lost city." Other pages detail Fort Creveceour, the Constitutional Convention State Museum and the historic Old St. Joseph Cemetery.

Port St. Joe now stands on the site once occupied by the historic city of St. Joseph. Home to 12,000 people during the late 1830s, St. Joseph was then Florida's largest city. The site of the 1838-1839 Constitutional Convention and home to Florida's first railroad, St. Joseph was virtually wiped out by a yellow fever epidemic and hurricane.

To learn more of this fascinating story and to explore the historic sites of Port St. Joe, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com. You will see the heading on the main page.