In the year 1857 Simon Hernsheim, a native of New Orleans, established a tobacco company in the city. Born in 1839, Hernsheim was but only 18 years old when he founded the business. The tobacco trade, a booming American industry, received much demand from overseas markets.Continue Reading
Johns Hopkins, a Quaker and a strong proponent of abolition, was a Baltimore businessman who made his fortune in business as well as in the railroads. Upon his death, it was Hopkins’ intent that the bulk of his fortune be used to establish a Baltimore hospital and university. In addition,Continue Reading
It wasn’t until the 1830s that carbonated beverages became popular by the American public. Until that time, manufacturing carbonated water was a very difficult and time consuming process. English Chemist Joseph Priestley in 1767 discovered a method for creating carbonated water by infusing plain water with carbonContinue Reading
German-Americans living in 19th century Baltimore, many of whom had just recently emigrated to the United States, pooled their resources, raised funds, and established a Schuetzen Verein just outside the city’s border in the 1850s.Continue Reading
A bookseller and stationer in Norfolk Virginia, R. C. Barclay was in business during the middle part of the 19th century. As a means to advertise his business, Barclay had one-cent store card tokens struck. He would issue them to customers as changeContinue Reading
During the closing days of the Civil War, Washington’s Schuetzen Park was opened. Schuetzen Parks were quite popular with German-American citizens at the time, and many cities throughout the U.S. had them.Continue Reading
The community of Hiawatha, Utah was founded on or about the year 1910 on the grounds of an old cattle ranch. Sitting at the headwaters of Miller Creek, the town sat just south of Price, Utah, where rich veins of coalContinue Reading
Situated in Raleigh County, West Virginia, the town of Eccles is thought to have been named after the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Holy Bible. Not to be confused with Eccles Collieries in the UK, the town is located in the south central part of the state, about 5 milesContinue Reading
For many workers and families who worked mines and inhabited coal towns, English was a second or third language. As new immigrants recently settled in the United States, they were just learning to speak the language. Many others, who weren’t immigrants, were unable to read and write.Continue Reading
