Lonely and bored with rural life in 1856, young Bella Lee Dunkinson began to hang around the local railroad. Engineer John Hardiman took a liking to the spirited girl and gave her a boy's responsibili
Slavery in the United States became illegal in the 1860s. Before that, many slaves found their way north by following the Big Dipper, or the Drinking Gourd as they called it. Our story begins in 1880
In the early 1800s, white settlers and missionaries were intent on bringing the English language to the illiterate Native Americans. Sequoyah was intrigued by these leaves of paper with strange marks
Most people take it for granted: riding a bike. In the late 1800s, the bicycle first came to the United States from Europe. This new "steel horse" was wildly popular. But for women, who either worked
A steamboat pilot recalls the day in 1807 when he saw a steamboat designed by Robert Fulton, the first on the Hudson River, and the people around him thought it must be some kind of monster.
