Seeking Squanto and the First Thanksgiving

“A spetiall instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectations.”

 Gov. William Bradford (Regarding Squanto)

                  I can clearly recall the day, in 6^th grade we began to study the landing of the Plgrims in Massachusetts. The colony was ill-equipped for the weather and they were starving when suddenly a Native American appeared, speaking fluent English, and offering assistance. Even then I wondered where this man learned to speak fluent English. Little did I know how convoluted the story was and how intertwined the lives of the Indigenous people and the Pilgrims were. Tisquantum, known in legend as Squanto, has faded into much of the story of the first Thanksgiving but his salvation of the Pilgrims, by interpreting for them and teaching them about New World food techniques and sources, is less prominent in the overall chronicle.

Squanto was born around 1580 into the Patuxet Tribe of the Wampanoags, People of the First Light. He, and about 25 other natives, were enticed aboard a British slave ship bound for Spain. As many as 5.5 million natives were enslaved from 1492 and 1880. With assistance he escaped, fled to London and was employed by John Slaney the treasurer of Newfoundland. From Newfoundland he worked aboard another ship that took him closer to Patuxet. #Squanto

In the New World European explorers spread the plague, The Great Dying, from 1616-1619. The plague wiped out 2/3 of the 70,000 indigenous people in the 69 Patuxet villages. When the Pilgrims landed the bones of the dead littered the landscape and they viewed it as a sign that God had made a way for the Puritan faith to flourish. 

In 1609 the Puritans had immigrated from England and settled in Leiden in the Netherlands, for 11-years, but the Britishcontinued to harass them. Finally, in 1619, the Dutch Merchant Adventurers financed a land patent near the Hudson River including provisions, two ships, the Mayflower and the Speedwell.

The Leiden American Pilgrim Museum is housed in Leiden in a house constructed in 1365. The 2-room museum has exhibits reflective of a room the Pilgrims might have inhabited and a room that showcases medieval décor. Due to its size reservations are encouraged.

The Pilgrims sailed from the port of Delfshaven near Rotterdam. On August 1, 1620. The Speedwell, originally a 1577 warship, docked in Southampton to board passengers but it began to leak. The 102 Pilgrims were then placed aboard the 106-ft. Mayflower. The Mayflower landed near Plymouth Rock on December 18, 1620. More than 50% of the party died the first winter in Massachusetts, The Starving Time. The first Blacks arrived in Plymouth Colony between 1623 and 1640. They were accepted into the Plymouth community and served in the Plymouth militia. 

Squanto appeared shortly after the Pilgrims came ashore. He functioned in a variety of roles including peacemaker, notably for Chief Massasoit of the Pokanoket tribe. Squanto helped negotiate a peace treaty with Chief Massasoit. The two groups shared a harvest feast, Thanksgiving, in 1621, to solidify their “partnership.” A majestic sculpture of Chief Massasoit on the First Thanksgiving stands in Plymouth.

                  Squanto was the last member of his tribe. He had been kidnapped, enslaved, traveled the world and is believed to have been poisoned by either the natives or the Pilgrims as a result of a belief that he had helped betray one group or the other.

                  The Mayflower Pilgrims landed on a 600-million-year-old rock of Dedham granodiorite. It has been moved several times and is today in a granite portico, the first national landmark. It is inscribed with the year 1620, placed there at a later date.

Plimoth Patuxet Museums immerses visitors into the 17^th century and invites you to a number of living history sites, the Mayflower II, Plimoth Grist Mill, 17th-Century English Village and Historic Patuxet. 

Historic Patuxet interprets the culture and lifestyle of the Native population. Inside a reconstructed wetu (home). You can participate in activities in the campsite including cooking, weaving, gardening and toolmaking. The tribe also consists of Wampanoag descended from those the English enslaved in the 1670s.

                  The original site of the English Village is 2.5-miles from the recreated colony. Homesites are denoted along Leyden Street by historical plaques. Structures are interpreted by authentically clad docents.

                  Plymouth Colonists’ original 1636 grain mill is situated on Town Brook. Tours are offered.

                  No one is certain what happened to the original Mayflower. Many historians theorize that after it returned to England it was scrapped for timber. A full-sized replica was constructed in England and sailed to Massachusetts in 1957. In 2020 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. plimoth.org

The 81-ft. tall National Monument to the Forefathers is on a hilltop in Plymouth, Mass, the largest freestanding granite monument in the world. Faith, a 36-ft statue is carved with symbols that represent the ideals of the Pilgrim Forefathers and was dedicated in 1889. Faith looks back to Plymouth, England with a foot on Plymouth Rock. A star atop her head represents wisdom.

                  Massachusetts is a year-round destination that affords the opportunity to get up close and personal with and understand those who impacted on North American history from its beginning. #VisitMa.com

                  Give thanks every day!

 

                  

 

Hunting History in Winston-Salem

“In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love.” –Moravian Motto

                  Winston-Salem, one of the oldest cities in the state, is actually two cites, the oldest, Salem, dates from 1752. The Moravians, a protestant sect that originated in what is now the Czech Republic, originally settled in Pennsylvania but eventually a group moved to 100,000-acres in North Carolina and named their colony Wachovia, the land of streams and rivers. In 1766, Salem was chosen as the administration center site.

                  Salem has been a destination since its founding as a congregational town in 1766. The village had the first public waterworks in the country by 1788 and 3-years later George Washington visited to see it and spent 2 nights in the Tavern. In 1849 land was sold by Salem to establish Winston but it was not until 1913 that the two towns officially incorporated. VisitWinstonSalem.com

                  Interestingly, some of the greatest innovations the area has to offer are to be found in historic Old Salem dating from 1760-1850s. The district has more original historic structures than Williamsburg and 8 restored gardens surrounded by historic fencing styles. 

                  The Heritage Bridge visually and physically connects modern Salem with Old Salem Historic District. Fishcetti designed this 1999 replica of an 1800s frame bridge. As you walk the 120-ft. bridge you can almost feel the centuries slide away and then you step out into the Moravian world, as it existed between 1766 and 1840. www.oldsalem.com

Old Salem Museums & Gardens preserves more than 70 structures and is an important and well-regarded living history site. The Old Salem Visitor Center was constructed in 2003 and provides an orientation to Old Salem through an introductory video and themed exhibitions. Housed in the James Gray Auditorium is a Pennsylvania, restored, 1800 David Tannenberg Organ

The country’s largest collection of southern furniture and decorative arts is situated adjacent to the visitor center in the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA). African American crafts and craftsmen are prominently represented throughout. Three of the most renowned artists whose works are included are Joshua Johnson, David Drake the Potter and Thomas Day. In the late-1700s Johnson was the first African American portraitist in the country. Only one of his portraits was signed. Dave the potter was born in 1801 and was taught to read and write by his owner. He included original poems on some of his works and he signed some of his pieces. In his 30s he lost a leg and could no longer operate the treadle on the pottery wheel. The slaveowner paired him with another slave who had crippled hands but could work the treadle. During the Civil War his owner had him make pots to hide his fortune. mesda.org

African Americans were always an integral part of Salem. They made the bricks, helped construct the structures and were artisans, craftsmen, tradesmen woven into the settlement’s fabric. The majority of the enslaved were bilingual, speaking both German and English, and were called upon to serve as translators. Four years after Salem was established records reveal that Africans and African Americans were approximately 20% of the population. 

Attitudes towards the enslaved changed in the 1800s and in 1822 blacks organized their own church funded by the Female Missionary Society of the Moravian Church. The “Negro Church” was log and stood 32-ft. by 28-ft. The Missionary Society established a school there in 1827 that operated until teaching African Americans to read became illegal. The congregation outgrew the church and in 1861 built a new one. The church became a Freedman’s Hospital after the Civil War. In 1999 it was reconstructed on its original.

In 1861, the congregation constructed a Greek revival brick church. Union Chaplain, Reverend Clark, read the Emancipation Proclamation from the pulpit on May 21, 1965. In 1914 the church was officially named St. Philip’s Moravian Church in reaction to its being known as the slave church. stphilipsmoravian.org

Moravians were originally buried together in God’s Acre (1766) by choir, or gender group and non-Moravians were buried in the Stranger’s Graveyard. The first black burial was Catarina (Sukey) in 1799 and the final one was in 1813. In 1816, it was determined that burials should be segregated and “Negro God’s Acre” was established at the opposite end of town

In the 1990s, efforts were made to locate and identify the gravesites. Excavations determined there are more than 100 graves. One elderly woman recalled hearing that there were gravestones beneath the church steps, acting on this information they recovered 12 gravestones. 

                  The village was laid out in a grid pattern with a main square flanked by a street on a north-south axis. At one end of the town a tavern for use by “outsiders” was erected in 1784. No windows were built in the side that faced the village. It now functions as the Tavern Museum and reflects the experience of a person lodging there. It is believed to be haunted and is one of two National Historic Landmarks in Old Salem.

The 1769 Single Brothers’ House, the second landmark, housed the unmarried brethren. 

Winkler Bakery has one of the oldest operating dome ovens in the nation and is wood heated. This functioning bakery sells both Moravian cookies and their famous sugar cake. Mrs. Hunters’ Moravian Cookies are hand-rolled, hand-cut and hand-packed at the rate of more than 10-million annually. Oprah Winfrey listed them as one of her favorite things. Hanescookies.com

In the 1930s Vernon Rudolph began making doughnuts in a rental property in Old Salem. The secret recipe was purchased from a chef in New Orleans and went on to become known as Krispy Kreme doughnuts. 

Richard Joshua Reynolds founded a tobacco company in Winston-Salem and established one of the world’s largest tobacco firms in 1874. In 1912 40 dependencies on their 1,067-acre formed a model farm estate. The residence, Reynolda House, is considered one of the last and best-preserved examples of American Country House architecture. The 64-room, interior is filled with the best American craftsmanship of the era with metalwork by Caldwell & Company and furniture ordered from Wanamaker Department Store’s. The original furnishings have survived and are largely Italian Renaissance and English Tudor. A 2,566 pipe Aeolian organ, one of only 899 made, is situated in the two-story Reception Hall and is played daily. The house has four levels in the center with two additional wings. Ironically, Reynolds, responsible for the first successful packaged cigarettes, did not smoke cigarettes or cigars.

Reynolda House Museum of American Art exhibits the best collection of American Art in the Southeast United States. Tours are self-guided and audio guides are available. Continue your visit in Reynolda Gardens, a fine example of the American Garden Movement. reynoldahouse.org

Maya Angelou was a resident of Winston-Salem and both her 75^th birthday party and her funeral repast were hosted by Oprah Winfrey and held at the Graylyn Estate. World class cuisine and 85 accommodations are on offer there.graylyn.com

 

Color Your Senses on the Blue Ridge Parkway

            The Blue Ridge Parkway, recognized as "America's Favorite Drive," was constructed by President Roosevelt’s New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps and Italian and Spanish stone masons in 1930. The Parkway runs along the rim of the Blue Ridge Mountains for 469-miles scenic miles with panoramic views. The drive was created to connect Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park with North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park of North Carolina. Mileposts are used to mark distances on the trail. Beginning with zero in the Shenandoah Valley and increasing in number as you drive southward.

               The Parkway traverses 29 counties and features 26 tunnels, 176 bridges and six viaducts. Bluff Mountain Tunnel, located at milepost 53.1, is the only tunnel in the Virginia section of the Parkway. Winter weather may cause closings of portions of the road so drivers should check for alerts prior to any trip. The National Park Service operates the Blue Ridge Parkway and it is the most visited unit in the National Park System. www.nps.gov

                 The Blue Ridge Mountain and foothills were the homeland of the Cherokee, Monacan, Saponi and Tutelo indigenous tribes. It is the Cherokee of North Carolina who first named the mountains Shaconage, “land of the Blue Mist,” denoting the blue haze that cloaks parts of the mountain. Additional names along the Parkway reflect the Indian presence. The Peaks of Otter Visitor Center Museum, at milepost 85.9, interprets the archeological finds in the area including tools. The entrance to the Cherokee Indian Reservation is located at milepost 457.7 and at Lickstone Parking Overlook, milepost 458.9, there is an informational plaque.

               European settlers entered the area to establish homesteads bringing with them their unique arts and culture and the Parkway showcases a number of pioneer buildings in their original settings. The first of these clusters is found at MP 5.8 at the Humpback Rocks Visitor Center and Mountain Farm. An easy self-guided path takes visitors to a group of 19^th-century farm structures. The center offers seasonal history programs.

            MP 85.9, the Peaks of Otter, offers a loop trail to a farm owned by the Johnson Family for generations. Polly Woods Ordinary, believed to be the oldest edifice on the Parkway is also situated here. Constructed of logs in the early 1800s it functioned as an inn, run by the widow Polly, from the 1830s to the 1850s. She was licensed to run an ordinary, an inn that catered to the ordinary needs of travelers. Eventually it closed because Polly’s retired.

            The Claudill Cabin (MP 241) is considered one of the finest pioneer cabins along the Parkway. The cabin is isolated and is accessed by a 9.4-mile trail. The Jesse Brown Farmstead (MP 272.5) is a complex inclusive of a cabin, spring house and Cool Springs Baptist Church. Jesse Brown was a preacher who rode the circuit. Services were held outdoors and the church was only used during inclement weather. The structures, believed to have been built prior to the 1860s, have been relocated to land he owned.

            The region’s pioneers engaged in industries remnants of which remain. Yankee Horse Ridge parking area (MP 34.4) has a portion of reconstructed narrow-gauge railroad track, known as the Irish Creek Railway and a display on logging. MP 63.6, the James River visitor center has a restored lock dating from the mid-19th century. 

            Mabry Mill Trail (MP 176.2) is a series of structures including Matthew’s Cabin a blacksmith’s shop, whiskey still, wheelwright’s shop and the Mabry Mill. The Mill was constructed by Mr. Mabry circa 1903-1914 and functioned from 1905-1935. The water powered mill is the most photographed edifice on the Parkway, hosting more than 100,000 visitors annually. 

            There are several stories regarding the naming of the Peaks of Otter at MP 86. My favorite is that they were named after a form of the Cherokee name, ”Otari,” meaning high places. Native Americans visited this area for more than 8,000 years and considered it a place of power. Today it continues to be a place of stunning beauty. Surrounding Abbott Lake are the Peaks, three mountain peaks, Sharp Top, Flat Top and Harkening Hill. Thomas Jefferson wrote of the Peaks of Otter, believing they were taller than they were. Virginia was so in awe of the Peaks that they sent stones to be used in the construction of the Washington Monument. Visitors can contemplate the view from the Otter Lodge and restaurant.

            Nine miles from the Peaks of Otter, just off. the Parkway, is the town of Bedford, Virginia, home to the astonishing National D-Day Memorial. The quiet town of Bedford had the highest per capita losses in the nation on D-Day. The memorial’s invasion tableau is particularly powerful. A self-guided tour takes you through the planning stages, through the battle and ends at a victory arch.

            Back on the Parkway at MP 407.6 there is a trail to the top of Mt. Pisgah. The hike is strenuous up the 5,721-ft. peak but the views are rewarding. The Pisgah Inn is located at MP 408.7. The only inn and restaurant on the Parkway in Virginia. The inn is situated at 5,000-ft. and while dining you can bask in the view from the restaurant’s big windows.

            The 1,234-ft. Linn Cove Viaduct in North Carolina was completed in 1987. It clings to Grandfather Mountain and is considered an architectural marvel at MP 304. This concrete s-shaped bridge is comprised of 153, 50-ton, sections.

            There are entrances and exits to the interesting sites adjacent to the Parkway. Downtown Roanoke is a short drive from MP 120 and at the other end Asheville exits (MP 382, 393).

            North Carolina is a perfect place to purchase traditional, local, mountain handcrafts. Three places on the Parkway are Northwest Trading Post MP 258.6, Parkway Craft Center MP 294.1 and the Folk Art Center MP 382. #Visitnorthcarolina

            The Blue Ridge Parkway is considered one of the bucket list road trips in the United States with world class scenic panoramas of mountain vistas. If you are planning a trip all pertinent information is available at Blueridgeparkway.org

 

            

 

 

THE CROOKED ROAD: VIRGINIA’S HERITAGE MUSIC TRAIL

“Where words fail music speaks.”  Hans Christian Anderson

            Music critic Nat Hentoff told a story of Charlie “Yardbird” Parker on a break during a New York club gig. Bird was observed selecting songs on a jukebox and to his friend’s amazement they were country songs. When jokingly asked why those songs he responded, “Listen to the words.” The lyrics and emotions were a focal point of tunes, that the 17^th-century English, German, Irish and Scottish colonists and African brought to the new world. These basic songs would incorporate elements of Blues, spirituals and gospel as the people migrated inland to areas in the Appalachians recalling their homelands and this synthesis of musical tradition, emotion and lyrics. The music they created is considered the second oldest musical genre in the US, with Native American music recognized as the oldest.

                  Southwest Virginia inaugurated the Crooked Road Heritage Music Trail in 2004 with the goal of promoting and presenting Appalachian old time and bluegrass music. The trail is 333-miles long and features 10 major sites, 60 smaller locations and 50 towns. This is a spectacular year to travel the road at your own pace to celebrate and pay homage to this cultural trail and join celebrations of the 20^th-anniversay of both The Crooked Road and the Ralph Stanley Museum, the 10th Anniversary of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, the 40th Anniversary of the Floyd Country Store Friday Night Jamboree and the 50^th-Anniversary of the iconic Carter Family Fold. thecrookedroadva.com

                  An ideal place to begin your road trip is in Bristol, Virginia, a unique city that abuts Bristol, TN. Once  the site of a Cherokee village in 1771 a trading post and fort were constructed there to provide aid to westward travelers. In 1890 both Bristol, TN and VA were chartered as Bristol. In 1901 a line was drawn down the middle of State Street as a boundary between the two states. Bristol, VA has a congressional designation as the “Birthplace of Country Music.”

                  Brass markers etched with the state names denote the state line and visitors can straddle a marker for a photo op. In 1910 the iconic Bristol Sign was placed atop a hardware store. In 1915 the 25-ft sign was moved to State Street. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are more than 50 venues in the downtown district that offer shopping, dining and entertainment. #bristolva

                  On State Street in 12 days in August 1927 nineteen artists recorded 76 songs in a former hat factory. Victor Talking Machine Company representative Ralph Peer produced the first commercial country music recordings including songs by the Carter Family and the event is widely recognized as “the big bang” of country music. Bristol was selected as the site of the sessions because it was accessible to the railroad. #loveVA

                  Over two floors The Birthplace of Country Music Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, relates stories of the Bristol Sessions, music, instruments, individuals and pivotal events through state-of-the-art displays, artifacts, memorabilia, 4 films, galleries, performances and live WBCM Radio Bristol @ListenRadioBristol.org. Highlights of the exhibitions are Jimmie Rogers’ stage guitar and galleries on the contributions of African Americans to the genre including the African genesis of the banjo and race recordings.

                  Union 41, helmed by Torrece “Chef T” Gregoire, adapted the open kitchen style to present masterful menus with local, fresh, ingredients and a taste of her island roots. The infusion of flavors unique to the African diaspora make each dish a culinary masterpiece. She adds tastes to her cuisine as people contributed to the music. Her skills have been displayed on Hell’s Kitchen Season 14 and Food Network’s Big Restaurant Bet. @union41bristol 

                  Continue the Crooked Road experience with a stay at the Sessions Hotel. Rooms are curated to reflect the ethos of country music’s birthplace. Guest rooms and public spaces harken back to the session’s era and events through art and accoutrements. The hotel presents performances on an outdoor stage, offers comfort food in the Southern Craft restaurant and helps you feel like a star in the Vision Salon and Star Barber Shop.

The Carter Family recorded 300 songs from 1927-1942 and A. P. Carter, head of the family, often traveled throughout the area to obtain unrecorded songs. He hired Lesley Riddle, an African American, to accompany him and memorize the music as he memorized the lyrics. Riddle’s style was unique because he had lost two fingers and a leg in two different accidents. His 5-year contribution is acknowledged at the Birthplace of Country Music and the Carter Family Fold. He has been credited with teaching Maybelle guitar techniques.

The Family Fold was founded to memorialize the memory and legacy of the Carter Family. The original family lived on the land here in the foothills of Clinch Mountain in SW Virginia. The complex includes A.P. Carter's old general store museum, the reconstructed original A.P. Carter Homeplace and a concert venue. In August a concert will be held to commemorate the anniversary of Alvin Pleasant Carter, his wife Sara, brother Ezra and sister-in-law Maybelle formed the original Carter Family band. The museum showcases photographs, instruments, stage outfits and other family items donated by June Carter and Johnny Cash. A. P.’s birthplace is a furnished log cabin near the store.

Carter Family Memorial Center was established in 1979 to nurture and preserve traditional bluegrass and folk music. The 800-seat auditorium presents scheduled concerts. Johnny Cash returned to The Fold when his health began to fail. He called it his home and his final concert was played there.

Wayne C. Henderson School of Appalachian Arts in Marion is named for Wayne C. Henderson, an international ambassador for the music of the Southern Appalachian region. Workshops are offered on the creation of guitars, fiddles, stained glass, quilts and letterpress. You can build your own guitar and then participate in an on-site jam session. @waynechendersonschool 

The Blue Ridge Music Center highlights evolving musical traditions and the influence of American Roots music. Galleries in the interpretive center include a museum, theater and gift shop. Live music is regularly scheduled on the breezeway of the center. @brmusiccenter

Floyd Country Store is an extraordinary site to end this portion of the road. It is in this authentic general store that the community would gather in the early 1900s for Friday night jamborees. On the weekends you can still participate in the ongoing Appalachian experience. This is still a functioning store and includes a café. You can learn to dance or show off your skills along the Crooked Heritage Road. @thefloydcountrystore 

 

 

Heritage Hunting in Houston, Texas

“Houston is a city of resilience and strength.” – Beyoncé

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                  Texas was the final region to receive word of emancipation, in June of 1865, after the Civil War. It was also the place where enslaved African descendants were brought by the Spanish into Spanish Texas. Their entry preceded Jamestown’s 19 blacks by nearly 100-years, arriving around 1528. Until 1836 Texas was Mexican territory and they outlawed slavery in 1824. Stephen Austin established a colony on a grant inherited from his father in 1821 and in order to lure settlers to his colony he contracted ownership of 80-acres for each bondsman they brought with them. Slavery was a tenuous Texas institution until after the Texas Revolution and the 1845 admission of Texas to statehood. By the 1850s thirty percent of the population was comprised of slaves and at the start of the Civil War they numbered 182,566. The Civil War did not stop the trade, in fact, Texas is the only state where the enslaved population actually grew. Southern owners moved their slaves to the interior of Texas because they were considered “safer.” #explorehouston

                  Houston was established on 6,600-acres at the juncture of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak bayous in 1836. Two brothers, John and Augustus paid $10,000 for land to build a trading post. The settlement was named after Sam Houston and was Texas’ capitol for 2-years. In 1839 Houston was divided into four wards numbered clockwise and were designated, geographical, political districts.

                  The city boasts seven sites on the international UNESCO Slave Route. The route was initiated in 1994 to combat the general lack of knowledge surrounding the international slave trade and its ramifications. The Houston sites include Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Emancipation Park, Gregory School African American Library, Olivewood Cemetery and three historic homes, the Kellum House, Fourth Ward Cottage, and the Yates House, 

                  Many emancipated slaves migrated to Houston after freedom was official. They founded a settlement that became known as Freedmen’s Town in the Third Ward. It became a center of culture and business and in the 1930s housed 33% of Houston’s black residents. The 10-acre Emancipation Park dates from 1872 and was purchased by former slaves for $1,000. Some of the streets feature handmade and paved bricks that date from 1865. Freedmen’s Town was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1984. @visit_houston

                  Texas Southern University (TSU), once named the Houston College for Negroes, is one of the largest HBCUs in the US. It was founded as an outgrowth of H. Sweatt’s quest to go to Univ. of Texas’ School of Law. The school refused to integrate and instead created TSU to get around the law.

                  Third Ward was the place where Beyoncé grew up. Her home is privately owned but can be viewed from the exterior.

                  In the Fourth Ward the 1866 Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, the first African American Baptist Church in Houston, stands. On their third site 9 former slaves erected the first brick structure in Houston to be built and owned by African-Americans in 1879. 

                   The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection is on view at the Houston Holocaust Museum and it is not to be missed. The Kinsey Collection features paintings, sculptures, photographs, documents and artifacts highlighting African American life from 1595 to present day. The exhibit juxtaposes the Holocaust experience with that of African American slavery. A life-sized rail car is particularly poignant. hmh.org

                  The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum is dedicated to collecting and preserving the stories of the African American military. The museum is divided both thematically and chronologically with artifacts, photographs, dioramas, artwork and videos. A special exhibit, “The Blue Helmets in Action,” focuses on the 93rd Infantry Division, the first WWII activated African American combat division. Buffalosoldiersmuseum.org

                  NASA/Space Center Houston offers an opportunity to get closer to space through tram tours, videos and exhibits. Highlights of a visit include a facilities tour, Historic Mission Operation Control Room, Artemis Exhibit, Astronaut Training Facility and a tactile experience with a moon rock!

                  La Maison in Midtown, an urban bed and breakfast, provides perfect accommodations for a Houston visit. Each room is creatively furnished and offers all the amenities including WIFI. A full breakfast is chef prepared and served daily.

                  Barbara Jordan, a graduate of TSU, was the first African American female Congresswoman and the first African American state senator since 1883. A life-sized sculpture of a seated Jordan is on the exterior of what was a historic post office building. The building is now a multi-use structure with shops, a food court and the country’s largest rooftop urban farm. The roof has public spaces and breath-taking, panoramic, city views. 

                  Toast your trip at Pur Noire Urban Wineries, the first Black-owned urban winery in the downtown area. Pur Noire is owned by Carissa and Kenneth Stephens and a visit is an adventure in culture, camaraderie, soul food and exceptional wine. #houstontx

 

AMAZING ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

“For our elders and ancestors, whose voices were silenced but whose courage created us.”

The earliest recorded documentation on the area that is now Arlington, Virginia was recorded by Captain John Smith in June 1608. Smith painstakingly described the geography and indigenous villages, approximately 200, he encountered while in command of a 30-foot-long shallop manned by 14 men. The land was traditionally the ancestral home and hunting ground of the Doeg, Pamunkey, Piscataway and Tauxenent tribes. To date, greater than twelve prehistoric Native American sites have been located within the county. #allinarlington

Gulf Branch Nature Center, located in the Gulf Branch Stream Valley, was a Native American fish camp. The 19th-century log cabin’s main exhibit showcases park artifacts, Woodland Indian information, pottery and a replicated version of Smith’s 1608 map. 

By the end of the 17th-century there were a few colonists and remaining natives in Arlington. In 1841 it was ceded to the government to become part of the Federal District of Columbia, the nation’s new capital. In 1847 it was retroceded to Virginia and became Arlington County. At 26-square-miles It is the smallest self-governing county in the US. Petite though it may be, Arlington County has so much to offer that it is a destination in itself as well as a convenient hub for daytrips to the surrounding area. 

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has 11 stations in Arlington, one of which, Rosslyn Metro Station, houses one of the world’s longest continuous escalators. The ride is 194-feet, 8-inches and takes more than 2-minutes. For those preferring to see Arlington in several different ways there are 10 walkable, eclectic neighborhoods to investigate, 1,100-acres of parks to explore and 75-miles of multi-use trails. Arlington earned the title of Fittest City in America 2018 to 2023 from The American College of Sports Medicine. No matter what your transportation options the menu of sites and attractions will leave you in awe. 

Arlington, because of its location, has always played a significant role in US history. There are 34 sites on the Black Heritage Trail, showcasing their history from the colonial to the modern era. 

Benjamin Banneker was a free man who surveyed Washington, DC. He was an astronomer, mathematician, clockmaker, writer of his own almanac and abolitionist. An original 1-foot-square Benjamin Banneker Boundary Stone marked on the north side with 1791 is situated in a fenced in area in Benjamin Banneker Park. 

Dr. Charles Drew ‘s childhood home is a National Historic Site viewable from outside only. His research in blood transfusions led to the ability to develop blood banks, saving thousands of lives, in WWII. In 1941 he was named Director of the first American Red Cross Blood Bank.

The Ball-Sellers House is the oldest extant house in Arlington. John Ball, the original owner, built the house on 166-acres in 1742. The Carlin family moved into the house after Ball’s death and owned at least 3 slaves, who worked inside the home, Nancy and two unnamed men. Bronze markers, inscribed in remembrance, have been placed on the lawn. These “stumbling stones” are the first dedicated in the state.

The most visited sites in the 640-acre Arlington National Cemetery, the second largest in the country, are those of the heroes who are interred there, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, John and Robert Kennedy, Joe Louis, Medgar Evers, Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Changing of the Guard. The best way to tour the cemetery is by tram with narration and 6 tour stops. 

Arlington Cemetery sits on land that was once the plantation of Robert E. Lee. The estate was confiscated by the Union in May 1861 to build forts and establish headquarters because of its proximity to southern lines. Fleeing African Americans settled there to be safe and eventually Freedman’s Village, more a campsite, was established there in 1863. In 1865 the Freedman’s Bureau took over and founded a real village with homes, shops and schools.

On May 13, 1864 Brig, Gen Montgomery C. Meigs began burials on the grounds to ensure that the Lee’s never lived there again. Mrs. Lee left the grounds in 1861, leaving the house and Washington relics in the care of her enslaved housekeeper, Selena Gray. Selena protected the property to such an extent that the George Washington items were cataloged and taken to the Smithsonian and 33% of the furniture on the

tour is original to the mansion, saved by Selena.

James Parks was born on Arlington Plantation in 1843. When they took control he joined the Union and became the first gravedigger. Prior to his death in 1929 he requested to be buried there. According to the law he was not military and could not be interred there. The government passed a special act to permit his burial with full military honors and he rests in Sec. 15, Grave 2. President Truman desegregated Arlington in 1948.

The 1802 Greek Revival mansion sat on 1,100-acres overlooking DC. The Lees wed in the parlor. Tours are available. The plantation had as many as 200 enslaved and 2 restored slave quarters are on view in the rear of the house. The quarters were those of the house workers and are original.

The free Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Museum ‘s mission is to relate the history of drug use, explore the i

mpact of drugs on the individual and society and interpret the role of DEA agents. Featured exhibits are a Pablo Escobar death mask and a prison suit and two gold and diamond-encrusted guns owned by El Chapo. @stayarlington

Residence Inn Arlington Rosslyn is perfectly located to access all the activities in Arlington and Washington. It offers all of the bedroom amenities and a full kitchen, fitness center and full breakfast. 

Be amazed in Arlington!