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CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SITES
In 1991, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore paid $6 million for 24 Woodside acres; 30 years later, his estate placed the property under a permanent conservation easementIn 1991, Gordon and Betty Moore acquired Mountain Meadow, a historic estate nestled in Woodside, California. They dedicated significant res...
In 1977, Rich Man, Poor Man star Peter Strauss paid about $225,000 for a run-down 64-acre California ranch; 10 years later, it became a National Park Service sitePeter Strauss purchased a ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains in 1977 and sold it to a state agency in 1983. The land has a rich history, i...
In 1884, a ship disappeared near Nantucket after a powerful winter storm. More than a century later, another major storm has brought part of the shipwreck back to the surfaceThe Warren Sawyer was a wooden schooner that ran aground near Nantucket in 1884 during a storm. Recent erosion from a nor’easter revealed p...
Scientists found something T. rex bones could never show: First known trackway reveals how the dinosaur actually walked 66.5 million years agoIn 2025, Kent Hups discovered unusual impressions in North Dakota's Hell Creek Formation believed to be T. rex footprints. Paleontologists ...
California’s oldest family-owned winery files for bankruptcy after more than 160 years. Why exactly this winery went out of business?Gundlach Bundschu Winery, a landmark in California's rich vinicultural history, has initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings due to moun...
In 1932, a pilot spotted giant human and animal figures carved into California's desert; the largest stretches 171 feet from head to toeGiant desert drawings near Blythe, California, have been dated using rock varnish. These ancient figures are now estimated to be at least o...
In 1906, John Otto, a trail builder fell in love with Colorado’s red-rock canyons; five years later, they became a national monument and he became their custodian for $1 a monthIn 1906, John Otto, a trail builder fell in love with Colorado’s red-rock canyons; five years later, they became a national monument and he...
In 1894, gold turned Rainy Lake City, Minnesota, into a boomtown of several hundred; just 7 years later, it was abandoned after yielding only $4,500A small gold discovery in 1893 near the Canada-Minnesota border sparked a rapid boomtown. Rainy Lake City grew from nothing to hundreds of ...
In 1799, a boy found a big yellow rock in a North Carolina creek; it was used as a doorstep and his father sold it for $3.50 without knowing it was gold. What happened next changed the fate of one family and North Carolina foreverIn 1799, one bored adolescent boy found a piece of yellow rock at the family farm. The stone, which served as a doorstop for three years at...
Between 1997 and 2005, officials removed 282 buildings from California’s Giant Forest; the project gave 231 acres back to giant sequoiasGiant Forest sequoia grove underwent extensive restoration efforts. Commercial activity and 282 buildings were removed from the grove. Ecol...
How Trump's war on EVs derailed America's auto-factory revival | ExplainedUS electric vehicle projects and jobs face setbacks due to policy shifts. Automakers canceled billions in investments and thousands of jobs...
In 1921, Simon Rodia, an Italian immigrant began building towers in his Los Angeles yard; 33 years later, his handmade creation included a tower more than 99 feet highIn 1921, Italian immigrant Sabato “Simon” Rodia began an ambitious project on his small property in Los Angeles. Working alone during night...
Lake Michigan looks calm from shore, but a 2013 11 kg of red dye experiment revealed its hidden waters can spread far faster than scientists expectedA 2013 dye experiment in Lake Michigan revealed that water in the lake’s open interior can spread surprisingly quickly. Researchers traced ...
California researchers mixed discarded tomato waste into soil and covered it for biosolarization. The decomposing food waste raised temperatures by about 2°C and created conditions that could help kill soil pestsCalifornia researchers explored an unusual way to reuse discarded tomato waste by mixing tomato pomace into soil for biosolarization. The d...
In 1991, Berkeley transformed a landfill into Cesar Chavez Park. 35 years later, the former dump is a scenic waterfront park with an annual kite festival for localsAtlas Obscura identifies César Chávez Park as a former landfill that hosts an annual kite festival and notes that the Berkeley Kite Festiva...
In 2014, East Bay Regional Park District began restoring Dotson Family Marsh, creating channels that reconnected it to the San Francisco Bay. 6 years later, tidal wetlands had returnedHistory of Dotson Family Marsh helps explain why its recovery matters. The broader 150-acre property was acquired by the East Bay Regional ...
In 1956, this Californian grandmother began building with discarded bottles. Years later, she had created an entire village out of plastic wasteTressa Prisbrey transformed waste into wonder by creating Bottle Village, a whimsical collection of thirteen structures crafted from discar...
Founded in 1859, this California mining town once had 2,000 buildings and 8,000 people. This ‘ghost town’ still preserves abandoned beds, toys, books and vintage suppliesBodie, a historical ghost town in California, draws interest with its well-preserved mining heritage. The discovery of gold and silver in 1...
Abandoned since 1989, American buys Spanish village for $363,000 as he plans $7 million tourism revival with 44 homes, church, school and barAbandoned since 1989, Spain’s Salto de Castro village has a new owner after American Jason Lee Beckwith bought the historic settlement for ...
In 1862, silver transformed Aurora in Nevada Territory from a mining camp into a town of about 7,000 people; years later, only about 500 remained, and many mills had been dismantledOnce an empty expanse, Aurora surged into a thriving community of seven thousand within two short years, thanks to promising silver mines. ...