Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: History

  • Saint Marys River

    I’ve certainly noticed Florida’s northeastern bump above Jacksonville, and then the Georgia dip just to the west, both of which contrast with their generally straight remaining border. Sure, we’ve all seen it before and taken note of it. The meandering border through that segment follows the St. Marys River that rises from the depths of…

  • Multichillicothe

    Chillicothe served as the initial capital of the State of Ohio, a fact Twelve Mile Circle noted recently. The name didn’t sound as if it derived from a European language. Indeed, it came from the language of the Shawnee, an Algonquian-speaking people. Chillicothe, the former Ohio capital, may have been the first town of that…

  • Ohio Capitals

    I enjoyed researching the migrating state capitals of Alabama and Georgia. So why not try another state? Yes, I think I will focus on Ohio. I discovered an interesting website in the process too, Ohio History Central “researched and written by staff at the Ohio Historical Society” It seemed to be a well-written site in…

  • Sydney Tentacles

    It’s been a long time since I visited Sydney, Australia, as evidenced by the lousy quality photograph I took of the city skyline from the Taronga Zoo. That happened during the pre-digital era, or at least my pre-ownership-of-anything-digital era. Digital cameras probably existed although my cheapness would have prevented me from purchasing something until much…

  • Taking a Bath

    I continued to ponder how I might complete my county-counting adventures for the 133 counties and independent cities within the Commonwealth Virginia, with a dozen still remaining on my list. It might be feasible after a long weekend of concentrated efforts, I considered. Maybe someday. How lucky to be from somewhere like Delaware with only…

  • Elvis is Everywhere

    My recent trip to Graceland put Elvis Presley, or more properly what I call the “cult of Elvis” at the forefront of my mind once again. It never wanders far, lurking in my subconscious as it does, simply waiting for a proper triggering event. And Graceland certainly qualified. So go ahead and play “Elvis is…

  • Pueblo Deco

    I learned about an uncommon, unusual design style known as Pueblo Deco as I researched Pre-Nazi Swastika Architectural Details. Native American tribes of the US Southwest such as the Navajo used a symbol that that the general public today would call a swastika. That element carried forward to some of the derivative Pueblo Deco buildings…

  • Sensing Senses

    Five senses came to mind; sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. They were very traditional human-centric senses I conceded, given various other senses in existence like echolocation, magnetoception and others. So I ignored those. I also ignored the so-called sixth sense, extrasensory perception, ESP. But you already knew that, though (kidding!). Could I find five…

  • A Local Journey Briefly Through Time

    Google released its back catalog of Street View images recently, allowing users to understand locational changes since the introduction of Street View in 2007. I figured I’d let the hype die-down a bit and check it out. Succinctly, I considered it an interesting novelty and probably not much more than that at the moment. So…

  • Schoolcraft Daze

    Now where were we before I took off for a couple of weeks on my Riverboat Adventure? I believe I was discussing Henry Rowe Schoolcraft and various places named in his honor scattered through the Upper-Midwest of the United States, principally Michigan and Minnesota. So I learned long ago that leaving things unsaid could be…