Forsyth Place was the first large park created in Savannah. Stylistically, the park was influenced by the urban renewal of Paris in the nineteenth century, when broad boulevards and parks were created.
Auto Trail News
Lost Landmark-Albion State Bank Building, Albion (OK)
Photo courtesy of koknor
This structure was built in 1910. By 1911, Albion had a population of 300 and a hotel and a general store.
Albion’s future commercial success seemed assured to the town’s businessmen, one of whom, John T. Bailey—who also named the town—built Albion State Bank in 1910. Bailey built the bank on the northwest corner of the public square—no longer extant as a square; it has been bisected by U.S. Highway 271—at the corner of Pearl Street. Bailey’s brother, Edgar Bailey, operated a dentist office in the rear two rooms.
Continued and enduring prosperity eluded Albion, however, and in approximately 1927 banker Bailey transferred the bank to Talihina, Oklahoma. The building remained empty until 1930, when J.M. (John Melvin)Armstrong, another prominent Albion businessman, purchased it and opened a grocery store. He closed the store in 1950, converting it into his family residence, where he lived until his death in 1963. His widow continued living there until her death in 1972.
In 1975 the building was purchased by Mrs. Lorene Barnett, who operated a succession of small businesses there. In 1979, at the time of an architectural survey, the building was vacant but in good condition. Its wood plank flooring was original, and also in good condition.
The building was a one story structure constructed of red brick in a rectangular footprint. It measured 40 feet long and 25 feet wide. The windows were originally arched. The interior ceilings were of pressed copper bearing a decorative design. The original bank vault painted with the words, “Albion State Bank” was mounted in a brick wall and was still present during the survey in 1979.
A water well dug in approximately 1933 was outside the back door.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It was demolished after 1980.
Forgotten Landmark-Town of New Fork (WY)
Photo courtesy of Google Maps Streetview, accessed 10/15/2011
The New Fork town site consists of several log and wood frame structures representing one of the
earliest settlements and commercial centers in the isolated upper Green River
Valley. The small ranching settlement was established by John Vible and Louis
Broderson in 1888 near the New Fork and East Fork Rivers. Both men were Danish
emigrants who had come to America in 1884. They met while working on the Oregon
Short Line railroad in western Wyoming and Idaho. The two men pooled their
meager resources into an informal partnership. They planned to file on
homesteads in order to raise cattle and to start a mercantile business by
locating a store close to the Lander Cut-off of the Oregon Trail. The partners
built a small log structure which served as the store, trading post, and living
quarters. The location became known as New Fork.
By the end of 1908, the town boasted a school, a saloon, a hotel, a barbershop, a livery and a
blacksmith shop, and a wood-frame house with a bay window owned by the saloon
keeper Frank Seabolt, in addition to the Vible stores and residence. In 1909
and 1910, John Vible contracted with locally prominent carpenters to build a
large frame dance hall. He named it Valhalla after the Norse Heaven populated
by heroes slain in battle. The dance hall became the focal point of community
activity including dances and political rallies.
By 1918, the post office was discontinued and mail was then delivered to nearby Boulder. New Fork had
gradually been eclipsed by other communities, including Pinedale which became
the county seat when Sublette County was created in 1921. Transportation
patterns had changed over the years, and the Lander Cut-off fell into disuse.
Railroad transportation never reached the upper Green River Valley. A scarlet
fever and diphtheria epidemic struck the Vible family in late 1915, and John
Vible, his daughter and two elder sons died within a period of two weeks. These
factors contributed to the demise of New Fork.[i]
[i]
New Fork, National Register of Historic Places; Wyoming State Preservation
Office; http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/NationalRegister/Site.aspx?ID=379
Atlantic City Historical Society (WY)
An eclectic collection of
folks–Atlanticans and others–comprise the Atlantic City Historical Society.
The group is interested in
preserving the history of Atlantic City, Wyoming, the surrounding gold mines and
mills, and the stories told and recounted by local area residents and
those who knew or know the characters of the region.
Society members gather
once a year on August’s fourth Saturday to visit area attractions and share
tales of the miners and the mining era.
If you have pictures or stories you’d like to submit for inclusion, please go to
the Miner’s Delight Inn B&B’s “Reach us” page and send
the inn an email; Barbara and Bob will ensure your information gets into the
right hands.
Lost Landmark-Juana Briones House, Palo Alto (CA)
Listing in our guide, Historical Cities-San Francisco:
Site of
Juana Briones de Miranda Home on Rancho La Purisma Concepcion (4157 Old
Adobe Road)
In
1843, Apolinario Miranda, husband of Juana Briones de Miranda, was sent before
the sub prefect for not living harmoniously with his wife and, shortly
thereafter, Juana and her seven children arrived at Rancho la Purísima
Concepción. In 1856 this property was duly confirmed to her, and she lived in
this adobe until, crippled by rheumatism, she was forced to move[i].
Updated Information from the National Trust for Historical Preservation’s Preservation Magazine (September/October 2011 issue):
“Beginning in the 1900’s, the core of the vernacular ranch house was significantly renovated and altered. In recent decades, the structure sat vacant and deteriorating despite local landmark status. After a demolition permit was filed by new owners, the National Trust named the site to its 2010 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. An appeals court ultimately concluded that the permit was valid, and crews demolished the house in June (2011).”
[i]
Santa Clara County; Office of Historic Preservation – California Department of
Parks and Recreation; http://ceres.ca.gov/geo_area/counties/Santa_Clara/landmarks.html
New Trails
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