Amazing Tales About History

One-room schoolhouses. A simpler time? No outhouses, poor ventilation and lighting, no insulation, and no drinking wells. Girls couldn't expose their ankles under their skirts and students had to carry firewood from home. Still, they served us for 200 years.

Putnam Park in Redding, CT, is called CT’s Valley Forge. 3,000 Patriot soldiers spent the winter of 1778 there, protecting Hudson River to Long Island Sound. Low pay and insufficient food and clothing led to a mutiny action and desertions. Two gruesome executions would follow, to teach the troops a lesson.

The first American unit to undertake a cavalry charge in combat was the Second Light Dragoons. They also started the Pony Express and the infamous Culper Spy Ring around New York City, while providing security for George Washington throughout the war, often riding at up to 40 miles an hour.

Ella Grasso. She was self-made in a man's political world at the time. She became the first female elected in her own right to a governorship in U.S. history, rising from a home of Italian immigrants where only broken English was spoken at home. A terminal illness ended her outstanding career.

Today, we drive by LED road signs. In the Colonial era, there were slabs of stone planted each mile by the side of the road. In-scripted on them: the abbreviation for the County seat and Roman Numerals to show how many miles were still to go. There were 600. Now, just 150 or so.

Eastern MA and CT hold acreage that's half the size of Grand Canyon Park that's still 85% undeveloped, with hiking, open space, bald eagles, and historic villages. The Last Green Valley is a designated National Heritage Corridor. On nighttime satellite photos, it's the only dark spot between Washington, D.C. and Boston.

William Campbell is the only British soldier during the Revolutionary War who was buried by Americans with honors. A monument and dedicated parcel of land includes the Union Jack flag flying next to his grave. Why was he honored right after 3,000 British soldiers had committed numerous atrocities during their raid?

Nuclear missiles hidden in silos in three towns without residents' knowledge, underground buildings built on springs to withstand shaking from nuclear blasts, an Army train moving highly radioactive nuclear material past elementary schools. Just some military activities from the 1950-60s.

More than a century of top aviation contributions. The first helicopter, leading  jet engines, a famous air balloonist, and possibly the first to fly (earlier than the Wright brothers). Connecticut's offerings to aerospace have been enormous.

Stagecoaches were the main mode of transportation for 50 years, starting in the late 1700s, until trains came along. Stagecoach routes followed the early dirt turnpikes, delivering people and mail around the Colonies. They were cramped, bumpy, and subject to frequent breakdown.

Four trains collided with each other within 10 minutes in 1891, setting a record in U.S. history. Aside from the death, injuries and property damage, a railroad engineer's premonition of tragedy saved his life when he declined to work that day.

Imagine that you're renovating the dirt floor in your basement. You're trying to make it level. Instead, you uncover a skeleton. And then another. In all, four skeletons. And now, the state archeologist is knocking on your door because you've found the remains of Revolutionary War soldiers.

They could have gone undiscovered. Thousands of dinosaur tracks. Hidden beneath layers of compacted dirt. Uncovered by an alert backhoe operator. He saw three-toed prints and stopped his machine. The find was one of the largest in the eastern U.S.

It used to be a copper mine. Then, Newgate Prison in East Granby, CT. Revolutionary War captives were held there. Inmates were lowered 40 feet into damp, dark caverns. Many escaped through rear tunnels. Some climbed back out at night. And you can still experience those conditions today.

When you drop a pickle on the floor, it should bounce a little bit, right? If it doesn't, is it illegal? In Connecticut, this became an issue. In 1948, two men were arrested when their pickles didn’t bounce. It's not the only unusual law.

The British primarily attacked coastal towns in the Revolutionary War. Their superior navy overwhelmed communities. The one time they came inland in CT, they faced stiff opposition. Benedict Arnold took part in the Battle of Ridgefield. This forgotten encounter was significant in the war's development.

Sherlock Holmes. "Elementary my dear Watson." His trademark hat and pipe. These trademarks were created by CT stage actor William Gillette. He built a castle on a hill, which you can visit. One of the most iconic and mysterious homes you'll ever see.

They say some of Captain Kidd’s loot is buried there. But, watch out for the curse. At low tide, a magical sandbar appears allowing you to walk to Charles Island from shore. When the tide returns though, you're trapped. Did the curse burn the island's resort? Or kill a number of swimmers near the sandbar?

The Civil War wasn't just fought in the south. People in the north disagreed about the sense of fighting our countrymen in the south. Why not let them have slaves and maintain the Union? The other side: because slavery is wrong. When one argument got out of control, the Battle of Charcoal Run occurred.

It’s considered southern New England's worst natural disaster. Three storms - hurricanes and tropical storms; two in one week and the third two months later. Some communities were flooded twice. Mind-boggling flood waters. 80 deaths, thousands injured, billions in damage (in 1955 dollars) in CT, MA, and RI.

The Moravian sect is the oldest Protestant religion. They sent missionaries in the 1700s to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Over 15 years, they converted several dozen. In fact, their main preacher was so revered that Native Americans buried him on their land, an honor.

Minerals and gemstones. Highly profitable rock formations have been unearthed across CT. It's where the first gold strike occurred east of the Mississippi River. Iron deposits led to the first cannon balls. One mine supplied the granite for the Statue of Liberty, Grand Central Station, and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Grave robbing is rare today. It was common in the 1800s. Stealing valuables buried with the dead occurred. So did the removal of recently-buried corpses - used by medical institutions to learn more about the human body. One notorious case involved Yale University. Finally, the practice had to be outlawed.

Mass murders are common today. In the 1700s, they were unheard of in Colonial America. Until the case of Barnett Davenport. He brutally murdered 5 people in a farmhouse. As grisly as the murders were, so was the manner in which capital punishment was carried out in those days.

When the Hubble space telescope first sent back photos, NASA called it the single most important contribution to outer space knowledge since Galileo. It was the first telescope sent beyond the “waviness” of Earth’s atmosphere, giving crystal clear views. Building it was a monumental challenge.