Author: Ms. R.

A tall, slender white marble tombstone, topped with a Grecian urn, marks the final resting place of William Davis, a 37-year-old coal miner who lost his life during a protest outside a company-owned pumping station and power plant in 1925. His death would have repercussions that are still felt in coal-mining communities across the province of Nova Scotia. Born in England in 1887, William Davis came from a coal mining family; he had even lost a brother in the……

Read More

In the heart of Waikīkī, in between the Duke surfing statue and the police station, sit four large stones that represent a Hawaiian tradition of healing and inclusion that is all but unknown to the millions of locals and visitors passing by.  According to legend, these boulders honor four mahu—people of dual male and female mind, heart, and spirit—who long ago brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawai’i and used their spiritual power to treat disease. The stones……

Read More

John McCullen steps through a gate and into a small, green pasture. Like so many fields north of Dublin, this five-acre section of the McCullen family farm is gently rolling and lush even in late winter. His steps are purposeful, his gestures deliberate and emphasized with a short walking stick as he approaches the centerpiece of the pasture: an old stone tower that looks no more remarkable than the multitude of other ruins scattered around County Meath. McCullen had……

Read More

What’s a county to do when its oldest house is slated for demolition? In the case of Harford County, Maryland, the answer involved moving said house piece by piece to a new location, 11 miles away, and rededicating it as a visitor’s center. That’s exactly what happened in 2016 with the historic Joesting-Gorsuch House, which served as a farmhouse, family home, and golf pro shop before being moved from Winters Run Golf Course in Bel Air to its new……

Read More

Raymond Chandler’s noir stories, which blazed the trail for the genre, are famously set in the ever-squalid, neon-lit city of Los Angeles. It served as a sultry muse for Chandler as he created one of literature’s most iconic private eyes, Philip Marlowe, and his exploits with sleazy thugs, corrupt cops, and femmes fatales. “I had an office in the Cahuenga Building,” Marlowe narrates in the 1943 novel The High Window, “sixth floor, two small rooms at the back. One I……

Read More

Tucked away in the Cazenovia Public Library is a cabinet of curiosities and a collection hearkening back to the eclectic collection habits of the 19th century. Beautifully presented and preserved, the library’s website describes its collection as “our community’s attic.” Visitors can explore exhibits including the WonderCabinet, Exploring Egypt, and Treasures from the Attic, along with natural history and local history collections.   Perhaps the star of the show, however, is Hen: a roughly 2,000-year-old mummy from Egypt who has……

Read More

This two-story brick masonry townhouse was home to abolitionist activist, poet, and educator Charlotte Forten Grimké and her husband, Rev. Francis Grimké, from 1881 to 1885. Charlotte “Lottie” Forten was born in 1837 to Robert Bridges Forten and Mary Virginia Wood, prominent Black abolitionists in Philadelphia. After her mother’s untimely passing in 1840, Forten was raised by her maternal grandmother Edy, and aunt Annie. Edy died in 1846, at which time Annie was adopted by abolitionists Joseph Cassey and Amy Matilda Cassey…….

Read More

Agua Caliente park brings visitors a unique combination of history, wildlife, and geology. Sitting on the site of what was at different times a Native American village, cattle ranch, orchard, and health spa, this quiet park transports visitors into an oasis featuring three restored historic buildings, ample birding opportunities, and an abundance of wildlife. “Agua Caliente” literally means “hot water,” referring to the hot spring that once existed here. However, you won’t find any “Agua Caliente” here anymore. In……

Read More

In 1980, Fredericksburg, Virginia became a sister city to Fréjus, France, a small city founded by Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, on the French Riviera located between Cannes and San Tropez. Remnants of Roman architecture from that timeframe can still be found there. Fréjus Place in Fredericksburg is a small park that celebrates the bond between the two cities. It features a small plaque in a sitting area with benches, a wall with additional plaques, and a sundial that……

Read More

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit an archaeological site in Phonsovan, Laos, that is one of the most important and dangerous in Southeast Asia. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join……

Read More