iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 2m

Haunted or not, Camp Floyd, Utah, and the Stagecoach Inn are unique and interesting historical sites worth exploring. Camp Floyd is an intriguing former military post that housed the largest concentration of Army troops in the U.S. from 1858 until 1861: www.legendsofamerica.com/ut-campfloyd/

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 14m

On October 7, 1856, the first rescue party left Salt Lake City with 16 wagons of food and supplies, attempting to reach two Mormon Handcart Companies struggling against the weather. Despite their attempts, more than 210 would die along the way. Read more: www.legendsofamerica.com/mormon-handc...

Handcart Company across the Sweetwater River. Painting by Clark Kelly Price.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 20h

On October 6, 1866, one of the first train robberies in America occurred when the Reno brothers boarded a passenger train in Indiana. Train robberies were a distinctly American crime, seldom occurring in other nations. More on Train Robberies of America: www.legendsofamerica.com/train-robber...

Union Pacific Railroad Rangers around 1900.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Settlers arrived here in 1870, and a town sprang into existence in 1888. First called Saint Peter, the town was renamed named Aurora in 1906 because the railroad supply camp's spotlights illuminated the area for miles, resembling the Northern Lights. More: legendsofkansas.com/aurora-kansas/

Aurora, Kansas Opera House, photo by Kathy Alexander.

021

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

In 1876, a mining camp called "Sitting Bull" was established. Placer mining kept the South Dakota camp in business, and in 1885, the town was renamed Mystic. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Let's adventure to Mystic, SD: www.legendsofamerica.com/mystic-south...

In 1930, the Presbyterian Church built the McCahan Memorial Chapel and named it for a woman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who provided the funds. Frink’s Sawmill and the community’s men supplied the building materials and labor. Regular services were held until 1952. Photo by Kathy Alexander, 2006.

020

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Born October 4, 1861, Frederic Remington produced over 3,000 signed paintings and drawings, 22 bronze sculptures on various subjects, a novel, a Broadway play, and over 100 articles and stories, immortalizing the Western experience. More about Remington: www.legendsofamerica.com/frederic-rem...

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

His people knew this Lakota Sioux Chief as Spotted Elk / Uŋpȟáŋ Glešká. He is thought to have been born around 1826, the son of Chief Lone Horn, and became chief of the Cheyenne River Reservation upon his father’s death. He died at Wounded Knee in 1890. 👇 www.legendsofamerica.com/big-foot-sit...

Spotted Elk, a.k.a. Big Foot, headman of the Miniconjou Lakota, taken in 1888.

011

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

When a post office was established on October 3, 1881, the main attraction and the cause that gave rise to Chautauqua, Kansas, was the presence of mineral springs. These springs were highly valued for their medical properties. More about Chautauqua, KS: legendsofkansas.com/chautauqua-k...

Livery Stable in Chautauqua, Kansas, early 1900s.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Some of the greatest moments in American baseball history took place in historic fields across the New York area. At the Polo Grounds on October 3, 1951, the Dodgers played the Giants in the first sporting event televised live nationwide. Learn more: www.legendsofamerica.com/new-yorks-hi...

October 8, 1912, Game 1 of the 1912 World Series at the Polo Grounds, Manhattan, NY.

010

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

On October 2, 1835, a garrison of Mexican soldiers attempted to seize a cannon belonging to the defense of Gonzales, Texas. Though the Texans resisted and forced the Mexicans to leave the field, this was the first official battle of the Texas Revolution: www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-revolution/

Fall of the Alamo, during the Texas Revolution, by Robert Jenkins Onderdonk, 1903.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Trail of Blood on Ice was a Civil War Campaign in 1861 in which pro-Union Native Americans were led by Upper Creek Indian Chief Opothle Yahola to Fort Row in Kansas. Nearly 2,000 of them died on the way. Learn More: www.legendsofamerica.com/trail-of-blo...

001

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Located in Prairie Crow Canyon, Koehler (pronounced KAY-lor), New Mexico, was named for Henry Koehler Jr., a banker from St. Louis, MO. Today, Koehler is the only mining camp on the Vermejo Park Ranch that still displays structures from its past. See more: www.legendsofamerica.com/koehler-new-...

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

From 1886 until 1916, the United States Army administered and managed Yellowstone National Park. On October 1, 1916, the newly created National Park Service assumed responsibility. Read about Fort Yellowstone, Wyoming – Preserving the First National Park: www.legendsofamerica.com/wy-fortyello...

Soldiers drill on Parade Ground at Fort Yellowstone, Wyoming, circa 1910.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Founded in 1879, the town of Belpre, KS, derives its name from the French words “belle prairie,” meaning “beautiful meadow." By 1910, it had a new depot, strong retail trade, a bank, post office, and a population of almost 500. More about Belpre, Kansas: legendsofkansas.com/belpre-kansas/

Belpre, Kansas Train Depot, 1930. The Barton County Historical Society acquired this 1910 building and moved it to Great Bend for use as a museum.

001

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The oldest permanent seacoast fortification in the continental United States, Castillo de San Marcos, in St. Augustine, FL, was built between 1672 and 1756. After the U.S. took control, the fort was temporarily renamed Fort Marion. More about the fortress: www.legendsofamerica.com/fl-castillos...

Castillo de San Marcos Soldier Quarters. Photo by Kathy Alexander.

Castillo San Marcos Courtyard, photo by Kathy Alexander.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Shafter, TX, was the first major mining town in West Texas and the only successful silver-mining area. This once-bustling town had a population of as many as 4,000 people, but today it is mostly quiet. That may change soon. More about Shafter, Texas: www.legendsofamerica.com/shafter-texas/

Old Storefront in Shafter, Texas, photo by Kathy Alexander, 2011.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Palo Duro Canyon, dubbed the “Grand Canyon of Texas," is a 60-mile-long, 800-foot-deep canyon and the second-largest canyon in the United States. It's also the site of the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon on September 28, 1874. Adventure to Palo Duro Canyon👇 www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-paloduro/

Caves and other hidden crevices provided superb hiding places for the Indians who once lived in Palo Duro Canyon. Photo by Kathy Alexander.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the “Royal Road of the Interior,” was the earliest Euro-American trade route in the U.S., enabling Spanish conquest and military occupation of a large borderland area from 1598 to 1885. More about this Historic Trail: www.legendsofamerica.com/camino-real-...

At one time, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro enjoyed the distinction of being the longest road in North America.

011

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The last Indian battle in Kansas was on September 27, 1878, in Scott County. Now called Battle Canyon, the fight occurred after U.S. troops caught up with the Cheyenne, who left their reservation in Oklahoma to move back North. More about Battle Canyon: www.legendsofamerica.com/battle-punis...

The battle site is about one mile southeast of Lake Scott State Park. The Scott County Historical Society owns the site, and a marker designates it. A monument has been placed over Sanctuary Cave.

110

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Once part of Pawnee County, Kinsley, Kansas, is now the county seat of Edwards County. It was first called Peters in 1872, but was renamed Kinsley in 1874, after Edward Wilkinson Kinsley agreed to build a church for the town. More on Kinsley, KS: legendsofkansas.com/kinsley-kans...

In 1939, Edwards County became famous when its road sign made the cover of The Saturday Evening Post and was nicknamed “Midway USA”. From its publication date, the location was recognized as the halfway point, equidistant from the East Coast state of New York and the West Coast city of San Francisco.

010

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Named after a historical region of Greece, Attica, Kansas, settled in 1880, was one of the few towns that more than doubled its population between 1900 and 1910. After its peak in 1930, the population declined. Today, only about 500 remain. More on Attica: legendsofkansas.com/attica-kansas/

010

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

On September 25, 1867, Oliver Loving, cattle rancher and pioneer of the cattle drive, succumbed to wounds from a Comanche attack while recovering at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Along with Charles J. Goodnight, he developed the Goodnight-Loving Trail. More: www.legendsofamerica.com/we-oliverlov...

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Though Toyah, TX, still has about 60 people, it is a shell of its former self today. Once home to over 1,000, the town began as a trading post for the area's large ranches and took its name from an Indian word meaning “flowing water" More on Toyah, Texas: www.legendsofamerica.com/toyah-texas/

Crumbling building in Toyah, Texas. Photo by Kathy Alexander.

010

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The acquisition of horses by the Plains Indians in the early 18th Century transformed the lives of most tribes between the Rockies and the Mississippi. Almost overnight, they found a much more effective way to hunt buffalo. Read about Indian Horse Culture: www.legendsofamerica.com/na-horsecult...

Gros Ventre (Atsina) demonstrating Moving Camp, by Edward S. Curtis, 1908

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Born in Homer, Ohio, on September 23, 1838, Victoria Claflin Woodhull was a suffragist, feminist, and writer who was the first woman to run for President and the center of a national scandal. More about Victoria Woodhull – First Woman to Run for President: www.legendsofamerica.com/victoria-woo...

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Anthony, Kansas, started as a lone house on the prairie, then became a county seat built on railroads, salt, and a whole lot of frontier drama. Take a look at the wild rise (and fall… and rise again) of Anthony, KS – Harper County Seat. 🔗 legendsofkansas.com/anthony-kansas/

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Although many of the mounds sit on private land, state and federal laws protect them. In years past, many were irreparably damaged or destroyed. Those remaining stand as a testament to the complex societies of long ago. More Mound Builders of Mississippi: www.legendsofamerica.com/ms-moundbuil...

Bynum Mounds along the Natchez Trace, photo by Kathy Alexander, 2012.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Some may think that a Chuck Wagon was part of every traveling caravan, but that wasn't the case. The Chuck Wagon was invented specifically for Texas cowboys driving their herds along the trail to the nearest railhead or market. More on the Chuck Wagon: www.legendsofamerica.com/we-chuckwagon/

Mess time on the Belle Fourche Ranch in South Dakota, by John C. H. Grabill, 1887.

010

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Once a booming town of 9,000, Dawson, New Mexico, is now a complete ghost. Only graves show the story of what once was, and it may have been lost forever if it weren't for two brothers and a metal detector in 1991. Read "The Ghosts of Dawson, New Mexico": www.legendsofamerica.com/nm-dawson/

The top image shows what may be the last remaining building in Dawson, NM, as viewed from Cemetery Road. The bottom image is the Dawson Cemetery, which was placed on the National Register on April 9, 1992.

110

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Born September 20, 1809, Sterling “Old Pap” Price was a lawyer, planter, politician, Missouri Governor, and Confederate General in the Civil War. He never surrendered after the war and settled in a colony of former Confederates in Veracruz, Mexico. More: www.legendsofamerica.com/sterling-pri...

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Wovoka died on September 20, 1932. A Paiute medicine man, he originated the Ghost Dance, which spread among Native American tribes, causing white officials considerable anxiety and ultimately leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre. More about Wovoka: www.legendsofamerica.com/na-wovoka/

Wovoka (Jack Wilson). Photo courtesy of the University of Michigan.

044

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A post office was established in 1818 and named Apple Creek for the many crabapple trees. It was officially platted in 1847, and its name was changed to Appleton in 1856, then to Old Appleton in 1917. Today it is a semi-ghost town. More on Old Appleton, MO: www.legendsofamerica.com/old-appleton...

Casper Ludwig’s Saloon in Old Appleton, Missouri.

011

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The town began as a station on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. It was platted in 1888 and named for Robert Brewster, a railroad foreman who helped lay tracks through the area. More about Brewster, Kansas: legendsofkansas.com/brewster-kan...

001

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

On September 19, 1827, what became known as the Sandbar Fight, near Natchez, MS, began as a duel and ended up launching Jim Bowie into legend, giving birth to the Bowie Knife. More about the Sandbar Fight: www.legendsofamerica.com/sandbar-fight/

011

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

On September 19, 1881, after only 200 days in office, President James Garfield ultimately succumbed to his assassination attempt in July. A lawyer and Civil War general, he served nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. More on our 20th President: www.legendsofamerica.com/president-ja...

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City was the oldest continuously operating correctional institution West of the Mississippi River when it closed in 2004. Once called the "Bloodiest 47 acres in America," it's no surprise it is allegedly haunted. 👻 www.legendsofamerica.com/missouri-sta...

Missouri State Penitentiary, photo by Kathy Alexander.

Missouri State Penitentiary Prisoners around 1925.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

On September 15, 1877, Amos Landon started the first building, a hotel. Landon also built the first house in Onaga, starting work on it on September 19, 1877. Today, Onaga, Kansas, is a small town along the Vermillion River in the Flint Hills of Kansas: legendsofkansas.com/onaga-kansas/

010

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

On September 15, 1857, just days after the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Brigham Young proclaimed martial law, forbidding “all armed forces of every description from coming into this Territory, under any pretense whatsoever.” More about the Utah War: www.legendsofamerica.com/utah-war/

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The old company town of Gilman, CO, sits on the side of Battle Mountain. Founded in 1886 by miners searching for silver, Gilman became an official ghost town in 1985 when the Battle Mountain Corporation evicted its remaining residents. More on Gilman, CO: www.legendsofamerica.com/gilman-color...

Buildings still remain in Gilman, Colorado, during our visit in 2017. Photo by Dave Alexander.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Early written records and cultural material show that the Hidatsa lived in earth lodge villages overlooking the Knife and Missouri Rivers for 500 years. In 1974, the site was designated a National Historic Landmark. More on Knife River Indian Villages, ND: www.legendsofamerica.com/nd-kniferive...

Hidatsa Lodge, Knife River, North Dakota. Photo by Kathy Alexander.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Do you believe in ghosts? A family moved into an old house in Union, Missouri, expecting a new home. Instead, they encountered unexplained cold spots, a dark figure, terrifying screams...and something that seemed determined to keep them there. Read more: www.legendsofamerica.com/mo-unionhaun...

011

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Established as a mining camp in 1902, Goldfield, Nevada, quickly reached its peak population in 1906, when the town had over 30,000 residents and as much as $10,000 a day in ore was being taken from the mines. However, the prosperity didn't last. More: www.legendsofamerica.com/nv-goldfield/

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The Long Walk of the Navajo, also called the Long Walk to Bosque Redondo, was a government Indian removal effort in 1863 and 1864. 8,500 men, women, and children were marched almost 300 miles to a desolate tract on the Pecos River in eastern New Mexico: www.legendsofamerica.com/na-navajolon...

Navajo at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, during the Long Walk.

012

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Benedict, Kansas, began in 1886, when the railroad was built through the territory. The town's population peaked at 275 in 1920; however, it still hangs on and has a post office with limited hours. More on this small Kansas town on the Verdigris River: legendsofkansas.com/benedict-kan...

An old playground in Benedict, Kansas. Photo by Kathy Alexander.

010

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Delaware Chief Half-Moon originally owned the land where downtown Edwardsville, KS, now stands. Today, Edwardsville is part of a unified local government that includes Kansas City, KS, a portion of Bonner Springs, and about a quarter of Lake Quivira. More: legendsofkansas.com/edwardsville...

Downtown Edwardsville, Kansas, around 1915.

011

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

On September 10, 1879, Con Stapleton passed away at age 31. Although many think he was just a dim-witted character in an HBO series, Stapleton was a real person who was elected marshal of Deadwood in 1876. More about Con Stapleton here: www.legendsofamerica.com/sd-constaple...

010

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Native American alliances varied during the Civil War, often motivated by a desire to protect tribal lands. About 3,503 Native Americans served in the Union Army. Many more allied with the Confederacy, in part to protect slavery in Indian Territory. More: www.legendsofamerica.com/native-ameri...

Ely S. Parker, a member of the Seneca tribe and General Ulysses S. Grant’s military secretary, drew up the articles of surrender that General Robert E. Lee signed at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. Parker, a trained lawyer once rejected for army service because of his race, was the highest-ranking American Indian in the Union Army, a lieutenant colonel.

020

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Rhyolite, NV, once had a population of around 10,000 in the early 1900s. By the end of 1909, the population was well below 1,000, as the town continued to struggle to survive, hoping for a new boom that never came. Adventure to Rhyolite, Nevada: www.legendsofamerica.com/nv-rhyolite/

Rhyolite, Nevada and the Bullfrog Hills, 1909.

John S. Cook Bank building, built in 1908, in Rhyolite, Nevada. Photo by Dave Alexander.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Founded in 1860, it was first named Mill Creek. A post office was established in February 1889; however, just months later, the town was moved and renamed Devon for Devon, England, and the post office name was formally changed on September 9, 1889. More: legendsofkansas.com/devon-kansas/

Devon, Kansas. Photo by Kathy Alexander.

000

Legends of America @legendsofamerica.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Eleanore Dumont, better known as Madame Mustache, was one of America's first professional blackjack players. For over thirty years, she made a name for herself across the mining camps of the American West. Continue reading: www.legendsofamerica.com/we-eleanored...

000