Articles written by Jim Rada

Hawaii Becomes the 50th State: The Issues Debated About Allowed the Islands Into the Union

On March 20, 1899, Martha Place earned her place among the infamous by becoming the first woman executed in the electric chair. more...

Mar 12, 2009

Category: Modern US History

Hawaii officially became the 50th state in the United States of America on August 21, 1959, but the actual vote took place on March 12, 1959. more...

Mar 4, 2009

Robert Fulton and Napoleon Bonaparte: The Search for the Ultimate Warship

Category: French History

While the Nautilus is famous as the fictitious submarine in Robert Louis Stevenson's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, it is also the name of the first viable submarine. more...

Feb 11, 2009

Reburying James Monroe: A Native Son Returns to Virginia 27 Years After Death

Spanish Flu in Allegany County, Maryland: When an Avian-Flu-Like Epidemic Killed Hundreds in One Month

Buried in New York after his death, the re-interrment of President James Monroe's remains made national news. more...

Feb 3, 2009

Category: Modern US History

The Spanish Flu was a worldwide pandemic that affected nearly every corner of the world. Here's how it attacked a rural Maryland county. more...

Jan 24, 2009

A History of Chewing Gum: How the World’s Oldest Candy First Came to Be

The Haunting of Conewago Chapel: Turn-of-the Century Ghostbusting in Adams County, PA

An average American will chew more than 300 pieces of gum each year, but where did the idea for gum come from? more...

Jan 17, 2009

Western Maryland Floods of 1924: Cumberland Gets Two Floods in One Year

The Conewago Chapel near Hanover, PA had long been considered haunted until paranormal investigators proved differently. more...

Jan 11, 2009

Category: Modern US History

Even with the flood-control initiatives taken throughout the city, Cumberland still seems to experience at least one major flood a decade. more...

Jan 3, 2009

Assassination Attempt Against Theodore Roosevelt: Secret Service Thwarted Armed Lunatic’s Mission to See President

Many Miss Historic Emmitsburg on Their Commutes: Maryland Town is Part of the The Journey Through Hallowed Ground

Theodore Roosevelt who became President of the United States because of the assassination of President William McKinley once nearly had to face his own would-be assassin. more...

Dec 29, 2008

Category: Maryland Travel

Emmitsburg, Maryland's downtown is one of the sites along "The Journey Through Hallowed Ground," the 175-mile area along the U.S. Route 15 corridor. more...

Dec 18, 2008

Benjamin Franklin's Glass Armonica: America’s First Musical Instrument

Category: Colonial America

Benjamin Franklin is well known as a publisher, statesman, scientist and inventor, but he was also a musician who created the first American musical instrument. more...

Dec 10, 2008

America's First Match Manufacturer: Jacob Weller of Thurmont Created Friction Matches

Dobbin House is As Old As the United States: Popular Restaurant Was an Underground Railroad Stop

Matches are a throwaway item in today's society, but when they were first introduced, they were considered the devil's work. more...

Dec 9, 2008

Category: Pennsylvania Travel

While the Founding Fathers were working to build a nation in Philadelphia in 1776, in south-central Pennsylvania, Rev. Alexander Dobbin was building his house. more...

Dec 4, 2008

Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: Many Stops on the President’s Journey to Dedicate Cemetery Remain

Category: Pennsylvania Travel

President Abraham Lincoln's stops in Gettysburg are part of The Journey Through Hallowed Ground. more...

Nov 23, 2008

Life After a Failed Assassination: John Surratt’s Last Years in Life

Category: US Civil War

A jury had failed to convict would-be Presidential assassin John Surratt for either the assassination of Abraham Lincoln or treason. more...

Nov 23, 2008

The Plot Against Abraham Lincoln: How John Surratt Conspired With John Wilkes Booth

Category: US Civil War

Mary Surratt was hanged, many believe, for the sins of her son. When she was died on July 7, 1865, she became another link in the unlucky chain of John Surratt, Jr. more...

Western Maryland Railway's Worst Accident: The Ransom Train Wreck in 1905

Category: Modern US History

On the after noon of June 17, 1905, 13-year-old Emil A. Caple was walking near the tracks on his way to the Patapsco Post Office and General Store. He was expecting to se more...

Why Train Schedules Are Critical: The Ransom Train Wreck of 1905

Category: Modern US History

Because of a moment of lapsed judgment, three Western Maryland Railway locomotive engines collided in Ransom, Md. in 1905, killing 28 people. more...

Nov 6, 2008

The Growth of a Chicago into a Metropolis: 1868 is an Example of How Fast a City Can Grow

The Decline of Iron Smelting: Catoctin Furnace in its Declining Years

Chicago has had a history of fast growth and the figures from 1868 demonstrate just how quickly the city could grow. more...

Oct 19, 2008

Catoctin Iron Furnace's Claim to Glory: The Furnace is Believed to Have Built Parts for the First Steamship

Catoctin Furnace played a role in building the America for more than a century, but times change and iron smelting technology moved beyond what the furnace could do. more...

Oct 12, 2008

Category: Colonial America

The Catoctin Iron Furnace represents an example of how iron smelting took on such an integral part of America's economic growth. more...

Oct 4, 2008

Catoctin Iron Furnace's Beginnings: The Birth of an Industry and the Creation of a Legend

Category: Colonial America

"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
That's what the newspaper editor tells James Stewart's character in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. It's also what h more...

Sep 27, 2008

On the Way to Gettysburg: The Occupation of Emmitsburg by Both Union & Confederate Forces

Category: US Civil War

The Battle of Gettysburg may be the most-famous battle of the Civil War, but it was nearly fought 12 miles south in the small Maryland town of Emmitsburg more...

Sep 18, 2008

Hot Dogs, Sausages, Weiners & Frankfurters: The History of Sausages & Hot Dogs

Category: Barbecue/Picnic Foods

Sausages are the worlds first prepared food. They are made from ground meat, fat, salt and spices that are packed into a casing. more...

Sep 14, 2008

The Attempt to Steal Lincoln's Body: How Counterfeiters Attempted to Hold the President’s Body Hostage

Civil War Counterfeiting: Fake Currency Nearly Collapsed the Union Financial System

In the 1870's a gang of counterfeiters turned grave robbers in an attempt to free one of their members by holding Abraham Lincoln's body hostage. more...

Sep 6, 2008

Category: US Civil War

Since the founding of the country, counterfeiters had been devaluing currency through the use of fake bills and coins and the Civil War provided such an opportunity. more...

Sep 4, 2008

Mary Peck Butterworth: A Master Counterfeiter in Colonial America

Category: Colonial America

With counterfeiting all the rage in Colonial America, it took a mother and housewife to turn it into a successful business. more...

Aug 21, 2008

Burying Abraham Lincoln: Finding the President’s Final Resting Place Sparked a Controversy in

Category: US Civil War

While Abraham Lincoln's death showed the divisions in the U.S., his burial showed the division among his own supporters. more...

Jul 17, 2008

The Canal Era Ends: When the C&O Canal Closed For Good

Category: Modern US History

The construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal marked the height of America's canal age and its closing marked the end of canal as general transportation in the U.S. more...

Jul 12, 2008

Building the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal: The End of America’s Canal Building Golden Era

George Washington and the Mount Vernon Compact: Meeting About Potomac Canal Paved Way For Constitutional Convention

The C&O Canal was one of America's first major transportation projects and obsolete before it was finished. more...

Jul 8, 2008

Category: Colonial America

A meeting between Maryland and Virginia in 1785 showed that the states could cooperate to mutual benefit of both and led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. more...

Jul 6, 2008

George Washington's Dream: Making Water Run Uphill

Category: Colonial America

George Washington had two obsessions in his life. One was Mount Vernon and its continual improvements. The second was to make the Potomac River navigable. more...

Jul 4, 2008

America's Canal Age: Canals Helped Open Up the West

Category: Colonial America

American canals saw a short era in American history, but they served to help connect the eastern United States with its growing western frontier. more...

Jul 3, 2008

History of Ancient Canals: Egyptians, Romans & Chinese Used Artificial Waterways

Category: Ancient History (general)

Canals as a method of travel and transport date back to 4,000 B.C. with the Babylonians. The idea was further refined by the Egyptians, Romans and Chinese. more...

The White House's French Wallpaper: How a Bargain Purchase Found its Way to Washington

Wallpaper purchased for $50 became the wall adornment for the White House Diplomatic Reception Room in 1961. more...

Manufacturing Wallpaper: How Antique French Wallpaper was Created

Category: French History

Quality wallpaper of the past could take up to a year for 50 men to produce, but the result was a product that would last for centuries. more...

Jun 8, 2008

How Goldfish Were Harvested: Farmers Used Ponds to Make Extra Money Raising Goldfish for Sale

Category: Animal Husbandry

Farming goldfish involved more than planting seeds and watering them, but it wasn't much more difficult than that. more...

May 27, 2008

Goldfish in America: How the U.S.’s First Non-Indiginous Fish Came to America

Before Goldfish Came to America: A Short History of Goldfish in the Orient and Europe

Though goldfish had been raised in the Orient for centuries, they didn't come to America until the 19th Century. Just when they first came to the U.S. is still unknown. more...

May 24, 2008

Category: Freshwater Fish (general)

Before goldfish became a popular dime-store pet in America, they were considered the mark of Chinese royalty. more...

Jun 15, 2009

The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake: Structural Damages Lead to Earthquake-Resistant Schools

Category: Modern US History

California is known for its earthquakes, but in 1933, the people were still learning how to best deal with them. more...

May 31, 2009

New York City Subway System Breaks Ground: Rapid transit system helped people easily commute through the city

Category: Modern US History

The New York City subway system runs 229 miles of routes through 468 stations, but it began with just a shovel full of dirt. more...

May 8, 2009

The Death of Jesse James: An Old West Legend is Murdered

A Maneuverable Spacecraft: Grissom and Young fly Molly Brown in space

Jesse James, the notorious rank robber and Old West legend, was killed on April 3, 1882. He was 34 years old. more...

Apr 26, 2009

Category: Modern US History

Virgil Grissom and John Young became the first men to fly a maneuverable spacecraft in outer space on March 23, 1965 for the Gemini III space launch. more...

Apr 18, 2009

A History of Daylight Savings Time: America Joins Europe In Springing Forward and Falling Back

Uncle Tom's Cabin Was an Instant Bestseller: Story Helped Anti-Slavery Movement

In March 1918, America joined Europe in using Daylight Savings Time. more...

Mar 29, 2009

Category: US Civil War

Uncle Tom's Cabin sold tens of thousands of copies in the weeks after it was published in 1852 and became a reference for the sins of slavery. more...

Mar 12, 2009

Celebrating Statehood: Hawaii Becomes the 50th State

Category: Modern US History

The admission of Alaska as the 49th state in January 1959 opened the way for Hawaii to end 58 years of being a territory and become a state. more...

Mar 6, 2009

Mrs. Albert Einstein's Genius: Mileva Maric’s Role in Shaping Her Husband’s Thinking

Category: German History

Albert Einstein's first wife was a genius in her own right who may have helped her husband create the foundation for his famous theory of relativity. more...

Feb 17, 2009

The Journey of Einstein's Brain: After Albert's Death, His Brain Traveled the Country

Category: Modern US History

Although Albert Einstein, died in 1955, his brain was preserved and studied for decades after his death. more...

Feb 6, 2009

A Cinderella Story at Mardi Gras 1857: Young Girl’s Lost Slipper Returned on Her Wedding Day

The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic: What the Avian Flu Could Become

A young girl who had to leave the Mardi Gras ball early left behind a slipper that was returned to her when the man who found it wed her. more...

Feb 3, 2009

Category: Modern US History

As the world worries about avian flu, they need only look to the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic to see how bad things can get. more...

Jan 22, 2009

Surviving Christmas with Cancer: How Jimmy Pochon of Pennsylvania Fought Cancer and Won

Category: Cancer

Christmas is a time for miracles and a time to celebrate new life. Jimmy Pochon's story illustrates that. His small Christmas miracle gave him a second chance. more...

Jan 13, 2009

The 1936 St. Patrick's Day Flood: Deluge was Worst Flood in Cumberland, Maryland’s History

A Short History of Flooding in Cumberland: Maryland’s Queen City Has Had Many Major Floods

The worst flooding in Cumberland, Maryland's long history of flooding was also on St. Patrick's Day 1936. more...

Jan 10, 2009

From Mineral Water to Coca-Cola: The History of Soda Pop and Carbonated Beverages

Situated in a valley at the confluence of two rivers, Cumberland, Maryland, has had more than its share of floods. more...

Dec 30, 2008

Camp Flintstone Brought the War to Maryland: Green Ridge State Forest was the Site of a POW Camp

The carbonation in soda pop drinks has made brand names of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, but soda predates those two mega-brands. more...

Dec 19, 2008

Category: Modern US History

During World War II, German soldiers marched through French streets, fought in North African deserts and cut wood in Allegany County forests. more...

Dec 17, 2008

The Georges Creek Coal Mining War: 1920's Effort to Unionize Coal Mines Led to Violence

Category: Modern US History

The 1922-1923 coal miners' strike in the Georges Creek region of Western Maryland was a hard-fought effort by the United Mine Workers to unionize Allegany county mining. more...

Dec 10, 2008

A History of Matches: Using Phosphorous and Sulfur to Make Fire

Lincoln Slept in the David Wills House: Gettysburg Home Hosted President Night Before Historic Address

Matches are a throwaway item in today's society, but they have been about for more than 180 years and were a revolutionary invention in their time. more...

Dec 6, 2008

Category: Pennsylvania Travel

When Abraham Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg, Pa., he needed a place to stay for the night and finish his short speech that would become known as "The Gettysburg Address." more...

Dec 3, 2008

The Covered Bridges of Northern Frederick County: Old-Time Wooden Bridges Show Off Historic Architectural Features

Category: Maryland Travel

Though covered bridges are generally a thing of the past, Maryland's largest county still has three of them that are a popular attraction for tourists. more...

Nov 23, 2008

A Presidential Assassin's Attempted Escape: John Surratt’s Flight From Justice

Category: US Civil War

With the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, John Surratt found himself a wanted man. more...

The Aftermath of a Fatal Train Crash: The Ransom Train Wreck in 1905

Category: Modern US History

About 75 men from the Western Maryland and Northern Central railroads used two steam cranes to clear away the wreckage of the Ransom, Md. train wreck on June 17, 1905. more...

Building Railroads Across Maryland: A Short History of the Western Maryland Railway

Category: Modern US History

While the Western Maryland Railway lived in the shadow of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, it had its own success. more...

The Difference One Vote Can Make: How Ridgeley, WV Became an Incorporated Town

Category: Modern US History

Among the history of close elections, the story of Ridgeley, WV's incorporation shows how much one vote can count. more...

Oct 19, 2008

The Process of Iron Smelting: Turning Iron into Usable Metal

Shielding the U.S.S. Monitor: Catoctin Furnace May Have Manufactured Armor Plate for the Ironclad

Iron changed the world. It was a metal that could be turned into weapons, useful household implements and frames for buildings. more...

Oct 12, 2008

Category: US Civil War

The Johnson Brothers - James, Baker and Roger - originally owned the Catoctin Furnace was built at the foot of the Catoctin Mountains in Frederick County, Maryland. more...

Oct 5, 2008

Revolutionary War Ammunition: How Catoctin Furnace Helped Supply the Continental Army

Category: Colonial America

The Catoctin Iron Furnace represents an example of how iron smelting took on such an integral part of America's economic growth. more...

Sep 28, 2008

Civil War Veterinarians: Caring for the Forgotten Soldiers of the War Between the States

Category: US Civil War

While much research has been done on the casualties of the Civil War among the soldiers and civilians, one area has been overlooked...that of the animals that carried tro more...

Sep 21, 2008

Patenting Creativity: Promoting Prosperity by Protecting Inventors and Their Inventions

Category: Colonial America

Inventions are wonderful things. They improve the quality of life for people. By protecting inventor's inventions, governments encourage further creativity. more...

Sep 14, 2008

Burying George Pullman: Railroad Car Entrepreneur Feared What Employees Would Do To His Body

Fighting Civil War Counterfeiting: The Creation of the U.S. Secret Service

To rail passengers, Pullman was a savior, but to his employees, Pullman was a devil. And when the millionaire died, many of those employees wanted to make sure he stayed more...

Sep 13, 2008

Revolutionary War Counterfeiting: Attempting To Win War By Weakening Currency

With the outbreak of the Civil War, counterfeiters took the opportunity to increase their activity and pass their versions of the new national currency to unsuspecting pe more...

Sep 5, 2008

Category: Colonial America

Great Britain nearly won the Revolutionary War and not because of any battlefield move, but because the British nearly caused the financial collapse of the American Colon more...

Aug 24, 2008

Early American Counterfeiting: Fake Coins Caused Crisis of Trust

Category: Colonial America

Where there is money, someone always seems to try to get it for nothing. Early colonial America was no exception. more...

Aug 10, 2008

Early American Embalming Methods: The Civil War Helped Develop Methods to Preserve the Dead

Baltimore's Considers Building Canal: Maryland Considered Extending C&O to Baltimore

Though embalming the dead has been done for millennia, modern embalming methods that rival those of the ancient Egyptians have only been around for about 160 years. more...

Jul 12, 2008

James Rumsey's Walking Ship: The Man Who Pioneered Steamships First Invented Another Type of Ship

As the C&O Canal and B&O Railroad raced towards Cumberland, Maryland, officials in Baltimore tried to hedge their bets on the railroad. more...

Jul 8, 2008

Category: Boats (general)

Years before James Rumsey sailed his steamboat on the Potomac River, he created a boat that, in essence, walked against the current. more...

Jul 6, 2008

George Washington's First Presidency: The Patowmack Canal Sought to Make the Potomac River Navigable

Category: Colonial America

George Washington accepted his first presidency in 1785, not of the United States but for the Patowmack Company, which sought to make the Potomac River navigable. more...

Jul 5, 2008

How Canals Operate: Locks, Aqueducts and Weirs Create Artificial Rivers

The Golden Age of Canals: Europe Embraced Canal Usage and Development

During America's Canal Age, men with little training as engineers created a way for water to run uphill using canals. more...

Jul 3, 2008

Category: W European History (general)

Many European nations added to the development of canals, but all of them saw the benefits of canals, which helped usher in the region's Industrial Age. more...

Jun 21, 2008

Evolving Use of the Umbrella: No Longer a Woman’s Shade, an Umbrella Protects all from the Rain

Category: UK/Irish History (general)

An umbrella began as a fashion statement and way to protect women from the sun, but it eventually evolved its uses as an inexpensive way to protect anyone from the rain. more...

Bargain Shopping for Wallpaper: A $50 Wallpaper Purchase Netted $12,500

Category: Modern US History

An antique shopper saved wallpaper from demolition for $50 and sold it to the White House for $12,500. more...