Historic Marker

POMFRET

The Town began as the “Mashamoquet Purchase,” 15,100 acres bought by twelve proprietors in 1686 from James Fitch of Norwich, who had acquired it from the Indian sachem, Owaneco. In 1713 the Town was incorporated and named for Pontefract in Yorkshire, England.

NOBSKA LIGHTHOUSE

Since 1828, Nobska Light has provided a familiar beacon for “all who go down to the sea in ships”. 87 feel above sea level, Nobska’s flash every six seconds is visible 17 miles out to sea. This 28,000 candlepower light used a 1000-watt lamp magnified by a Fourth Order Fresnel lens. The red section visible on the east side of the lantern house warns ships away from Hedge Fence and L’Hommedieu Shoals south of the Cape.

TUCUMCARI

Population 6,765 - Elevation 4,096

This area was troubled by both Comanches and Comancheros, New Mexicans who traded illegally with the Indians, until the military campaigns of 1874. With the coming of the railroad in 1898, the small community of Liberty, eight miles to the north, moved here to form the nucleus of Tucumcari, which was incorporated in 1908. The Rock Island-Southern Pacific Depot built in 1927 is an outstanding example of a Mission Revival style depot and recently restored.

THE HUMPBACK WHALE

The waters of Maui County are the winter destination of the humpback whale, huge leviathans over 40 feet long and weighing over 40 tons. From November through May, they can often be seen from this point, caring for their young which are born here each year. Watch for their spouts and broad flukes as they surface, sometimes very close to shore.

TAMIAMI TRAIL

The Tamiami Trail links the two great cities for which it was named -- Tampa and Miami. It bridges the everglades, tying together south Florida's Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Its official opening on April 25, 1928, by Governor John W. Martin climaxed thirteen years of planning and working.

OLD STONE DAM, CIRCA 1765

This dam, typical of those found in some areas of the English countryside, was erected about 1765. Later, two mills, one on either side of the river used the waterpower to turn wheels for manufacturing. The remains of one of the sluiceways are still visible immediate to this sign. Originally called Carpenter's Mills, the dam now sits between the towns of Hopkinton on the west and Richmond on the east.

In 1745 old Albemarle County was organized at Scott’s landing, its first county seat, here on the great horseshoe bend of the James River. In 1818 the town was incorporated as Scottsville, beginning in 1840 it flourished as the chief port above Richmond for freight and passenger boats on the James River and Kanawha Canal. It played a vital role in the opening up of the west. The 1840s and ’50s were its golden era.

With his brother, Orville, he began studying flight, 1896; built first model airplane, 1899; began gliding, 1900; and achieved first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, December 17, 1903.

Sakakawea won her place in history as the indomitable guide of Lewis and Clark on their trip to the Pacific in 1805. She was a member of the Shoshoni tribe dwelling near the Big Horn mountains in Montana. In one of the frequent tribal conflicts she was captured and taken to North Dakota as a war captive. Here she was purchased by a fur trader named Tousant Charbonneau, who according to custom made her his wife. Lewis and Clark, in search of an interpreter for their trip west, tried to hire Charbonneau, but he would not go unless his wife was permitted to accompany him.

HIGHLANDER FOLK SCHOOL

1932-1962