Crawford County Messenger and CCHS News

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7 Peculiar Tales from Conneaut Lake

From a 1907 postcard, Conneaut Lake’s main thoroughfare (Water Street) facing west. With summer now if full swing, many area residents and vacationers have already made their way to Conneaut Lake to enjoy the many...
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Revisiting Oakwood Park

Oakwood Park, Meadville PA In the late 1890’s, after acquiring a parcel of approximately 35 acres, the Meadville Traction Company established Oakwood Park as a destination resort. Located in what is now West Mead Township,...
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Samuel and Alic Thurston: Ballooning Daredevils

As colorful balloons fill the skies over Crawford County for the annual Thurston Classic, it’s always a worthwhile venture to dig into the histories of father and son, Samuel and Alic (sometimes Alex) Thurston, the...
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The Story of James Densmore and the First Typewriter

James Densmore As you string out words into strings of sentences across the screen of your computer, tablet, or mobile phone, know that the keyboard layout we have all become so familiar was conceived in...
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Mapping History: How Chasing Sanborn’s Show What Once Existed

The Sanborn Map Company Those interested in the past often obsess over the “when” of things. The first person settled in 1822. The first brick home was built in 1845. The first train arrived in...
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Ida Tarbell’s Influence on National Geographic Magazine

On January 27, 1888, the National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, D.C., for “the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.” What many may not realize is that the publication of the society’s famous periodical,...
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Don’t Fence Me In: A.C. Huidekoper’s Government Tangle Over Public Lands

A.C. early ranching days Friction between ranchers and the federal government over the use of public lands recently witnessed in the news is nothing new in our history. Prominent Meadville businessman and Civil War veteran,...
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