<p>The Anglican Church of St John in Skilgate, Somerset, England was built in the 14th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The church was built in the 14th century and the tower remains, however the rest of the structure was rebuilt as a Victorian restoration in 1872. Further restorations were undertaken in 1933 and 1972.</p><br>
<p>The parish is part of the Dulverton with Brushford, Brompton Regis, Upton, Withiel Florey and Skilgate benefice within the Diocese of Bath and Wells.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The stone building has Hamstone dressings and a slate roof. It consists of a two-bay nave with a north aisle, chancel, vestry and south porch. The two-stage tower has stepped buttresses.</p><br>
<p>Within the church is a plaque commemorating those who died in World War I. A new organ was installed in the 21st century.</p><br>
<p>In the churhcyard is the remains of a cross.</p><br>
<p>Pongok , sometimes known as Liat, is an Indonesian island which is part of the Pongok Islands subdistrict of the South Bangka regency, Bangka Belitung. It comprises over 95% of the subdistrict&#39;s area and most of its population, with an area of 48.3 square km. It is the 5th largest island in the province, being far smaller than Bangka and Belitung in addition to the islands of Lepar and Mendanau.</p><br>
<p>The smaller island of Celagen, off the western coast of the island, holds the remaining population of the subdistrict. Before its division in 2012, the island was part of the Lepar Pongok subdistrict.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The island is located approximately halfway between Bangka and Belitung, in the middle of the Gaspar Strait, resulting in it sometimes being referred to as "Middle Island".</p><br>
<p>The island stretches approximately 10 km north-south and 8.5 km east-west. Several small streams flow in the island. The terrain is largely flat with little prominent elevations, the highest point on the island being only 125 m above sea level. The island is accessible by boat, with a three-hour journey from mainland Bangka.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>The island, as Pongok Village, has a population of 5,377 with a sex ratio of 1.14 and divided into 916 households (5.8 persons per household).</p><br>
<h2>Economy and administration</h2><br>
<p>The island is part of the Pongok Village in the subdistrict, and is further subdivided into 7 hamlets (dusun). A solar power plant with a peak capacity of 125 kilowatts was established on the island in 2015.</p><br>
<p>A stark majority of the labor force are engaged in fisheries and agriculture, with a fish production of about 6,850 tonnes throughout 2016. Several public-funded schools are present on the island, ranging from kindergarten (TK) to senior high school (SMA).</p><br>
<p>Mendanau is an island in the Bangka Belitung province of Indonesia. Located about 6 km off the west coast of Belitung and 20 km from the town of Tanjung Pandan, it is the fourth largest island in the province after Bangka, Belitung and Lepar with an area of approximately 113 square kilometers. Administratively part of the Selat Nasik subdistrict of Belitung Regency, it is home to over 4,000 people mostly spread in 3 settlements.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The island is located in the Gaspar Strait separating the two large islands. Being the largest island in its archipelagic subdistrict, Mendanau is the second largest island in the strait after Lepar, and is surrounded by a handful of smaller islands, most of which are uninhabited. It borders the Natuna Sea to the north and Java Sea to the south. Due to its small size, the island consists of a long coastline with a forested interior.</p><br>
<p>Mostly having a flat terrain, the highest elevation of the island reaches about 179 m. The coastline of the whole island is fringed by a fringing reef from the Holocene, measuring about 75 km. The monthly average temperature of the island hovers around 26 C throughout the year, and the local climate is classified as tropical rainforest (Af) in the Köppen climate classification.</p><br>
<p>The island comprises the majority of the populations and territory of 3 out of 4 villages within the Selat Nasik subdistrict: Suak Gual, Petaling and Selat Nasik. The subdistrict office is located in the latter.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>During the Indonesian Revolution, as NICA forces retook Tanjung Pandan, local members of the TKR engaged them in a brief armed clash which killed several in both sides before the pemuda surrendered unconditionally.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>The island&#39;s population, combined with a handful of satellite islets, was 4,232 individuals separated into 1,234 households in 2016. Of this, 2,448 were aged between 15 and 55. Throughout 2016, there was a net migration of 25 persons leaving the subdistrict from the island, larger than the net difference between birth and death which was 14 in the same year.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>As with other islands in the area, agriculture and fisheries dominate the island&#39;s economy. In 2016, local fishermen landed 4,601 tonnes of fish. Rubber, pepper and coconut are important cash crops with palm oil plantations beginning to grow within the island.</p><br>
<p>About 30 kilometers of paved road are present in the island. A single public fish market is present in Selat Nasik village, the only one in the subdistrict. A diesel-powered electricity plant, with a total capacity of 1.2 megawatts, is under construction to provide all-day electricity for the island&#39;s inhabitants.</p><br>
<p>Tawhai Hill, formerly Niggerhead until 2016, is a 1,395 metre hill next to Lake Sumner in the Southern Alps in North Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>Tawhai Hill did not have an original name given to it by the Māori people of the South Island. Arriving British settlers gave it the name of "Niggerhead" around the 1860s, for reasons outlined in the 1880s at the Alexander Turnbull Library as ".... was probably given because the peak is bush-clad excepting for the patch of grass on top".</p><br>
<p>In 2015, following a complaint from a member of the public who stated the name might cause offence, the New Zealand Geographic Board (NZGB) published proposals to rename Niggerhead as Tawhai Hill. The English name "Beech Hill" was considered after a suggestion from the original complainant. However, after consultation with the Ngāi Tahu who had mana whenua over the area, the Māori name of Tawhai Hill was considered more appropriate as a contemporary Māori name for the local Tawhai tree as the hill had no original Māori name. A public consultation was undertaken which lasted for three months and which included the similarly named Nigger Stream and Nigger Hill. Eventually the change was agreed to by the NZGB in 2016. However because there were objections to the proposed new name, the proposal had to be referred to the Land Information New Zealand Minister for a final decision, where she agreed to the change of name to Tawhai Hill. The change was confirmed on 15 December 2016 when it was published in the New Zealand Gazette.</p><br>
<p>The Conway Public Library serves the town of Conway, New Hampshire. It is located at 15 Greenwood Avenue in Conway village, in an architecturally distinguished Classical Revival building built in 1900 as a gift to the town from Sarah and Lydia Jenks. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.</p><br>
<h2>Services</h2><br>
<p>The Conway Public Library offers a collection of books and other media for lending to residents of Conway and Albany, as well as educators and students at area schools. It provides a community meeting space for small organizations, and offers access to the internet and select online databases. It has special collections on local history.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>The Conway Public Library occupies a prominent position in Conway&#39;s central village, facing north toward Main Street (New Hampshire Route 113) at its junction with New Hampshire Route 16. It is a two-story structure, built out of brick and stone, with Classical Revival features. The traditional main entrance is sheltered by a projecting brownstone portico, and a clocktower with a four-face clock and a copper dome. A modern addition extends east of the original building. The interior of the original building retains many period features, including quarter-sawn oak wainscoting and stained glass windows.</p><br>
<p>The library was founded in 1895 by the Conway Women&#39;s Club, and the present building was constructed in 1900. It was designed by Thomas Silloway, better known for his many churches and the Vermont State House, and may be his only library design. The clock in the tower was provided by George M. Stevens.</p><br>
<p>The Richards, Dexter, & Sons Woolen Mill, also known locally as the Dexter Mill, is a historic industrial property at 169 Sunapee Street in Newport, New Hampshire. Built in 1905, it is a well-preserved example of period mill architecture, which served as an important area employer for many years. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Dexter Mill is located about 0.5 mi east of downtown Newport, with Sunapee Street (New Hampshire Routes 11 and 103) to the north and the Sugar River to the south. The complex includes the main mill building, an office building, and a dam across the river. The primary structure is a three-story brick building, with a five-story tower at the southwest corner. The tower has narrow round-arch windows at its lower levels, and has an open fifth level with banks of larger round-arch openings. Connected to the mill via a tunnel is a small brick office building. The dam across the river is a concrete structure built in 1948, replacing an older stone structure, some of whose remains are still visible.</p><br>
<p>The mill site east of Newport has a documented industrial history back to at least 1848, when the first known mill was built at the site. The present mill building was constructed in 1905 for the Richards family, prominent local businessmen and industrialists. It was designed by Peterborough native Edward A. Buss, and is stylistically typical of industrial buildings of the period. The Richards family operated the mill until 1926, after which a consortium produced woolen goods using the name Gordon Woolen Mill.</p><br>
<p>The Francestown Town Hall and Academy and Town Common Historic District encompasses a collection of historic 18th and 19th-century civic resources in the center of Francestown, New Hampshire. Located at the junction of New Boston and Greenfield Roads are the towns 1846 Greek Revival town hall and academy building, a former academic dormitory building, and the towns historic common, which includes a rare example of an early 20th-century platform scale. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The town of Francestown was settled in the late 1740s, and was incorporated in 1772. In that year John Fisher gave the town 4 acre of land for use as a town common and civic center. The northern part of this land was dedicated for the town cemetery and for its first meetinghouse, which was used for both civic and religious functions. The southern portion remained open land until 1846, when the town hall and academy building was built. This structure has seen a wide variety of civic uses over the years, including as town hall, school (these functions overlapping for many years), and post office, but has retained a great many original features despite its varied uses. Adjacent to this building is one known locally as "The Beehive", which was built as a dormitory for students at the academy.</p><br>
<p>The open area of the common between the meetinghouse and town hall has been somewhat encroached upon by road widening projects, and a small triangular section has been isolated from its bulk. On this section are found a granite watering trough, installed in 1889, and the surviving elements of a public platform scale, installed in 1908. The scales, whose working elements were provided by the Fairbanks Company, were installed by the town in collaboration with a local hotelier, who probably also acted as a hay merchant. The town purchased the scales outright in 1923.</p><br>
<p>The Hitchcock-Schwarzmann Mill was a historic industrial building at the junction of Foote and Vineyard Roads in Burlington, Connecticut. Built about 1781 and repeatedly enlarged and altered, it was the town&#39;s only surviving 18th-century mill building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and has subsequently been demolished.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Hitchcock-Schwarzmann Mill stood in a rural area of northern Burlington, at the northeast corner of Foote and Vineyard Roads. The mill was a rambling collection of attached wood-frame structures, its main building set over a branch of Burlington Brook, which provided the power used by the mill. The main block was a 2-1/2 story timber-framed building, with heavy pegged timbers and kingpost roof trusses. South of this was a shed-roof single-story element, and there were three smaller structures attached to the western end. To the south was an 18th-century miller&#39;s house, a 1-1/2 story Cape style house with a five-bay facade and central chimney, and a similar house was also located on the property a short way to the northeast. All of these buildings have been demolished.</p><br>
<p>The main mill building was built about 1781, apparently by Jared Tyler, and was initially used for the grinding of grain. In the early 19th century the miller was Joel Hitchcock, and the property was purchased in 1880 by George Schwarzmann. By then it had been expanded to include a sawmill. The Schwarzmann family operated the mill until 1972, also adding a cider mill and shingle mill to the operation. The mill complex was purchased in 1976 by the Burlington Historical Society, which had the intention of adapting it as a museum property. At that time, it housed much of its original equipment, although its original waterwheel had been replaced in the 19th century by a then-modern turbine.</p><br>
<p>Lake Koman  is a reservoir on the Drin River in northern Albania. Lake Koman is surrounded by dense forested hills, vertical slopes, deep gorges, and a narrow valley, completely taken up by the river. Besides the Drin, it is fed by the Shala and Valbona Rivers. The lake stretches in an area of 34 km², its width being 400 m. The narrowest gorge, which is surrounded by vertical canyon walls, is more than 50 m wide. The reservoir was constructed between 1979 and 1988 near the village of Koman with a height of 115 m.</p><br>
<p>The combination of specific topography and hydrological conditions, have contributed to the formation of different habitats. The golden jackal, red fox, european badger, eurasian otter, beech marten, european polecat are the primary predatory mammals. A high number of bird species have been observed in the region, including the common kingfisher, common quail, grey heron, eurasian wryneck, great spotted woodpecker and black-headed gull.</p><br>
<p>The Lake Koman Ferry operates daily on the lake from Koman to Fierza. The ferry connects the city of Bajram Curri to the region of Tropojë. The journey takes about two and a half hours and is also popular with the foreign tourists. Smaller boats bring people and goods to remote villages, which are often far away from the lake, but can only be reached by water.</p><br>
<p>Celagen is a small island in Bangka-Belitung Province which consists one of the two administrative villages of the Pongok Islands subdistrict in South Bangka Regency. It is located just around 200 meters west of the larger, more populated island of Pongok and is just separated from the main settlement at Pongok by a small strait. It is located 2 hours from mainland Bangka. With an area of just 354 hectares , it is inhabited by 1,311 people, one-fifth of the subdistrict population, living in 358 households.</p><br>
<p>As with Pongok, the island was formerly part of the Lepar Pongok subdistrict with the larger Lepar Island until the subdistrict was divided in 2012. In 2016 and 2017, diesel generators capable of generating 150 and 300 kilowatts were installed in the island by PLN, giving the islanders access to 24 hours of electricity.</p><br>
<p>Transport between Celagen and Pongok is commonly served by motorboats, which charge a small fee. The inhabitants mostly work as fishermen. Bugis people comprise about 90 percent of the inhabitants.</p><br>
<p>Karamian is a small island in the Java Sea, about 100 km off the coast of Borneo, which is administratively part of Sumenep Regency in East Java. Part of the Masalembu Islands, it is its own administrative village  and is populated by about 4,000 people.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Karamian is surrounded by the Java Sea, being one of the most isolated inhabited regions of Sumenep Regency. It is located over 200 km away from the regencys capital, with ships needing a 17-hour voyage to reach the island. The islands waters are also shallow, forcing cargo vessels to call at 2 miles off the island&#39;s shores. It has no prominent geographical feature, with the highest elevation being just 7 meters above sea level.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>In 2015, the island has a population of 3,986 (Statistics Indonesia estimate) living in 1,657 households. Islam is the majority religion by a large margin.</p><br>
<h2>Economy and services</h2><br>
<p>Fisheries employ about 1,000 in the island, compared to agriculture which employs just under 400 with coconuts and corn as the main crops. There is a public elementary school, with madrasa counterparts of elementary and junior high schools, but the island lacks a senior high. A Puskesmas sub-branch is also present.</p><br>
<p>Emery Farm is a historic farm property at 16 Emery Lane in Stratham, New Hampshire. The farmhouse, built about 1740, is a fine example of period architecture, with later 19th century stylistic alterations. The property is notable as one of New Hampshire&#39;s first market garden farms, a practice adopted by John Emery in 1855. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>Emery Farm is located in the dispersed center of Stratham, on the west side of Emery Lane, a former through road now bypassed by Portsmouth Street (New Hampshire Route 108) just to the east. The property includes a large house and barn. The house is a large 2-1/2 story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, central brick chimney, and clapboarded exterior. Windows are framed by simple moulded trim, while the centered entrance is framed by pilasters and a corniced entablature. Its interior follows a typical center-chimney plan, with a narrow vestibule that has a winding staircase, and parlor spaces to either side of the chimney. A two-story ell extends to the rear. The barn is a large 19th-century structure, with an attached corn crib, several animal stalls, and space used historically as living space by farmhands.</p><br>
<p>The main block of the house was built about 1740, and in its early years served as Chases Tavern, a meeting place at which civic and commercial activity took place in the rural community. It was enlarged by the Emery family to accommodate several generations. In 1855 John Emery began producing cash crop vegetables, which he sold door-to-door in communities from Dover to Portsmouth. This is believed to be the first instance of market garden farming in the state, and the practice spread to a number of Strathams other farms. Emery is also credited with introducing fresh strawberries to Portsmouth, something that had otherwise been a scarce commodity. The property continued to be used for many years as a market garden farm by Emery&#39;s son John Fred Emery.</p><br>
<p>Sawtell Peak, also spelled Sawtelle Peak is a mountain in the USA State of Idaho. It is located in the eastern portion of the Centennial Mountains. Sawtell Peak is located in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest near the border with Montana.</p><br>
<p>The summit is located near Henrys Lake and Big Springs, headwaters of the Henrys Fork of the Snake River as well as Brower&#39;s Spring, headwaters of the Missouri River, both of which being located near the Continental Divide. It was named after Gilman Sawtell, who settled the Island Park area in 1868. There are two ridges, the north one being much less accessible.</p><br>
<p>Sawtell Peak is the starting point of the easiest route to climb nearby Mount Jefferson.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Sawtell Peak is the easternmost peak in the Centennial Range, which run east to west, contrary to many other fault block ranges in the Basin and Range Province. This east to west structure is likely due to movement with the Yellowstone Hotspot. The mountain and surrounding area is covered by block lava flows that are approximately 1,000 ft thick on top of underlying strata from the Paleozoic era. This strata is by cut by feeder dikes. North of Sawtell Peak and the Centennial Range are canyons that were once heavily glaciated.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and Fauna</h2><br>
<p>The surrounding area contains the same wildlife as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The lower reaches of Sawtell Peak contain meadows filled with sagebrush and native grasses. Evergreen forests fill the midsection of it, with flowers blooming toward the end of summer. Some of these flowers include indian paintbrush, western columbine, and varieties of sunflower.</p><br>
<p>Big game such as white tail deer can be found in the forest on slopes of Sawtell Peak. There are also birds, such as western tanager and small game like the marmot. Grizzly bears can also be seen on occasion.</p><br>
<h2>Communication</h2><br>
<p>Sawtell Peak is used for communications for various agencies and organizations. The Federal Aviation Administration operates a long-range radar site that, since the September 11th attacks has been tied into the Joint Surveillance System. The radar is part of the Western Air Defense Sector, headquartered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington.</p><br>
<p>There is an amateur radio repeater near the summit that is linked to the Intermountain Intertie. This repeater provides coverage to portions of Yellowstone National Park, and the Intertie provides access to amateur radio operators to communicate as far south as Las Vegas, Nevada and Flagstaff, Arizona. Also near the summit is a translator for KBYI-FM, a radio station owned by Brigham Young University - Idaho and affiliated with National Public Radio.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>Sawtell Peak can be accessed by a heavily trafficked road leading from US 20 south of Henrys Lake. The road is about 13 mi long and involves a 3,440 ft climb from US 20 to the summit. The road can be dangerous, and at the high altitude, drivers could encounter abrupt snow storms. The snow can be up to 25 ft deep and avalanches are a hazard. The road to the summit is closed from November 1 to June 1, but is maintained by the FAA. During the closure, the road is only accessible for personal associated with the communications facilities at the top. Snowmobiling is not allowed on the road. There are no roads or trails leading to the north summit.</p><br>
<p>From the top, visitors can see Yellowstone, the Centennial Valley, the Teton Range in Wyoming and the Pioneer Mountains in Montana.</p><br>
<p>Masalembu is an island located in the Java Sea and is the largest island in the Masalembu Islands. It is administered by the Masalembu Subdistrict of the Sumenep Regency which is centered in the island of Madura, and is made up by two administrative villages of Sukajeruk and Massalima.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The island measures about 7 km west-east and 6 km north-south, with a total land area of 23.86 square kilometers. It is located halfway between Borneo and the island of Madura, with a distance of about 150 km from either. It is largely flat, with the highest elevation reaching just 12 meters above sea level.</p><br>
<p>The interior of the island has largely been taken over by local agriculture. The island has no natural surface freshwater sources, and is reliant on ground water.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>18,485 individuals (Statistics Indonesia, 2015 estimate) live on the island in 9,158 households, and the population has a sex ratio of 98.19. Administratively, the locals live in 2 villages of Massalima (pop. 10,325) and Sukajeruk (pop. 8,160), although the main settlement in the island lies across the two&#39;s administrative boundaries.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>Fisheries employ a workforce of about 3,100 and agriculture employs about 1,800. Coconuts and corn are the primary crop taking up most of the island&#39;s land, with an assortment of vegetables being cultivated as well. Electricity on the island is supplied by diesel generators. 290 families are classified as poor families (i.e. incapable of fulfilling basic needs).</p><br>
<h2>Facilities</h2><br>
<p>State-funded public schools and madrasas are present on the island, providing elementary and high school level education (SD, SMP and SMA). The only puskesmas of the subdistrict is also located on the island.</p><br>
<p>The island is mainly accessible by boat and ship, requiring a 12-hour trip from Sumenep. Boats also provide transportation to other islands in the subdistrict such as Karamian and Masakambing. A government-subsidized pioneer ship service carries passengers and various goods in and out of the island, although service interruptions happen occasionally.</p><br>
<p>An airfield is currently under the process of construction on the southern part of the island, with plans for a routine service to and from Trunojoyo Airport in Sumenep.</p><br>
<p>The Govan Stones are early medieval carved stones displayed at the Govan Old Parish Church in Glasgow, Scotland.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The stones are thought to have been created to commemorate the power and wealth of the rulers of the lost Kingdom of Strathclyde. and the stones mistaken for debris.</p><br>
<p>The remaining stones are a sarcophagus, five hogback stones and thirty-one recumbent gravestones.</p><br>
<p>The centrepiece of the collection is the sarcophagus which is thought to commemorate St. Constantine, the son of Pictish king Kenneth MacAlpin. It features carvings of hunting scenes and warrior figures. Carved from solid stone, the sarcophagus is the only one of its kind from pre-Norman, Northern Britain.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The stones have been dated back to the 9th-11th centuries when the Vikings raided the Clyde region. The Vikings destroyed Dumbarton, at the mouth of the Clyde, in 870AD. This fortress, known as Alt Clut, was the centre of an ancient kingdom of Britons. With the king of Alt Clut, Artgal, either killed or enslaved by the Vikings</p><br>
<p>The presence of the five hogback stones in Govan suggest the area was settled, or at least, partly settled by Vikings. These large sandstone blocks were found exclusively in areas of Northern Britain where the Vikings settled and were used to make tombs look like mighty buildings in the Norse style. Nowhere else are there hogback stones quite as large as the five in Govan.</p><br>
<p>"It underpins this idea that this British kingdom of Strathclyde has some strong connections with the Scandinavian world. My feeling is that this is meant to represent a lords hall or a chieftains hall." - Stephen Driscoll, professor of historical archaeology at Glasgow University.The sarcophagus was discovered in the graveyard in 1855 when a grave was being dug to the south east of the church. Recognising their significance and to protect the stones from the elements, they were moved from the surrounding graveyard and placed on display within the church itself in 1926. Until that point, the stones had lain undisturbed for over a thousand years.</p><br>
<h2>Scotland's hidden gems</h2><br>
<p>The British Museum affirmed the importance of the collection when they have took one of the hogback stones to London as part of the exhibition Vikings: Life and Legend (March 2014 to June 2014). In August 2017, the Govan Stones were voted Scotlands best hidden gem&#39; in a nationwide competition, receiving more than two thousand votes in the nationwide poll.</p><br>
<p>Masakambing is a small Indonesian island in the Masalembu Islands of the Java Sea, and is part of the regency of Sumenep. It is administered as its own village of Masakambing.</p><br>
<p>The island is home to the only remaining wild individuals of the abbotti subspecies of the Yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea).</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The island is located in the middle of the Java Sea approximately halfway between Java (more precisely Madura) and Borneo. It is about 9 km north of the slightly larger, more populated island of Masalembu. It measures around 4 km north-south and 3 km west-east, with a published land area of 7.79 square kilometers. Due to its small size, there is little prominent features on the island which is largely flat with a peak elevation of just 8 meters above sea level.</p><br>
<p>The island is surrounded by mangrove trees, which provides habitat to the remaining Abbott&#39;s Cockatoo (C. sulphurea abbotti). The subspecies had a spread across the archipelago, until the clearing of vegetation from the islands for agriculture.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>1,280 people in 544 households live on the island in 2015, with a sex ratio of 91.62.</p><br>
<h2>Economy and facilities</h2><br>
<p>Agriculture is the main employment of the island, with 282 jobs in 2015 followed by fisheries at 216. The only schools present on the island are two elementary schools, one publicly funded and the other a madrasa. Some tourists visit the island in order to observe the endemic parrots.</p><br>
<p>The island is dependent on Madurese mainland for various basic supplies. However, high waves in the waters often impede both the supply deliveries and the local fishermen from going out to sea.</p><br>
<p>Lake Vouliagmeni  is a small brackish-water lake fed by underground currents seeping through the mass of Mount Hymettus located to the south of Vouliagmeni, Greece.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The lagoon formed about 2,000 years ago. It was once a large cavern that collapsed following an earthquake. The outline of the collapsed cavern roof can be clearly discerned from a distance.</p><br>
<p>The lake has quite unique environmental conditions: it is supplied with warm seawater (28-35ºCelsius) via an underground channel spreading through a network of flooded caves, so its temperature never drops below 18 °C (usually ranges around 21-24 °C), whereas a freshwater spring reduces its salinity to brackish levels (14.5-18 psu).</p><br>
<p>It continues deep inside the mountain in an underwater cave never fully explored, as its end seems impossible to trace even by employing sonar detection. Many underwater expeditions have been carried out in order to chart it, and a few amateur divers have drowned trying.</p><br>
<p>Because of its constant warm water temperature and its rich content in hydrogen sulphide, the lake functions as a spa since the end of the 19th century.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>The lake hosts the only existing population of Paranemonia vouliagmeniensis. It has been declared a natural monument by the Greek State and is part of a Natura 2000.</p><br>
<p>Castell Caer Seion is an Iron Age hillfort situated at the top of Conwy Mountain, in Conwy County, North Wales. It is unusual for the fact that the main fort contains a smaller, more heavily defended fort; complete with its own distinct defences and entrance, with no obvious means of access between the two. The construction date of the original fort is still unknown, but recent excavations have revealed evidence of occupation as early as the 6th Century BC; whilst the smaller fort can be dated with reasonable certainty to around the 4th Century BC. Whilst the forts were constructed in different periods, archaeologists have uncovered evidence of concurrent occupation, seemingly up until around the 2nd Century BC. The larger fort was host to around 50 roundhouses during its lifetime, whereas examinations of the smaller fort have turned up no more than six. The site was traditionally associated with Maelgwyn Gwynedd , but there is no evidence pointing to a 6th Century occupation. The fort and wider area beyond its boundaries have been said to retain significant archaeological potential, and are protected by law as a scheduled ancient monument.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<h2>Confusion surrounding name</h2><br>
<p>Writing in Archaeologia Cambrensis, W.E. Griffiths and A. H. A. Hogg identify Caer Seion as the older and more genuine name of the hillfort, for which they cite evidence dating as far back as the 9th Century. The alternative name Castell Caer Lleion, seems to date to the late 17th Century and probably came about due to a mistranslation. Indeed, Castell Caer is somewhat of a tautology, translating into English as Castle Fort. Because there is no standardised name for the site, it is referred to variously as Caer Seion, Castell Caer Seion, Castell Caer Lleion, Castell Caer Leion and Conwy Mountain hillfort. An antiquated name, no longer in popular use but recorded by John Leyland in his 1530s Itinerary in Wales, is Sinnodune&#39;.</p><br>
<h2>Archaeological excavations</h2><br>
<p>There have been three principal excavations at the site. First in 1906 and 1909, then in 1951 and 1952, and finally in 2008. The dearth of datable finds meant that until the early part of the 21st Century, the dating of the site was largely inferential. Each excavation has revealed a little more about the site, with modern techniques enabling archaeologists to date the earliest known occupation of the fort to within 200 years.</p><br>
<h3>First excavation: 1906, 1909</h3><br>
<p>The first recorded excavations - carried out by Harold Picton and W. Bezant Lowe - were begun in 1906, before a delay caused them to briefly abandon the project and resume it in 1909. Their excavations revealed little, but they are the first to record finding sling stones at the site, and they also turned up a rubbing stone. Bezant Lowe noted the possible existence of a semi-circular defence facing the entrance to the smaller fort. In one of the huts at the south-western end of the small fort they uncovered a stone floor, haphazard for the most part, but carefully laid and fitted together at one side of the hut. Picton notes that there was no evidence of the floor being used as a hearth, but does not speculate further as to the nature of the feature.</p><br>
<h3>Second excavation: 1951, 1952</h3><br>
<h3>Third excavation: 2008</h3><br>
<p>The third excavation was small in scale, but important for being able to offer definitive dating evidence pertaining to the occupation of the two forts. It was carried out by George Smith of the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust, on behalf of Cadw; with environmental reports by Astrid E. Caseldine and Catherine Griffiths, from the University of Wales. They were inspired to carry out this undertaking because of a 1991 survey (and subsequent report) by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, which remarked that the 1956 excavation had identified charcoal-rich layers that could be targeted for future research. It was the excavation and radiocarbon analysis of this charcoal which allowed the team to place the earliest known occupation of the original fort at somewhere between the 6th-4th Centuries BC; and the construction of smaller fort around the 4th Century BC. These investigations were not able to place a date on the construction of the original fort, but did put the known occupation of the site back by a number of centuries; whilst also suggesting it was abandoned sometime before the 2nd Century BC. This would make a popular theory that the fort was torn down as a result of the Roman invasion of Wales in 48 AD, unlikely to be correct. Analysis of pollen, grain and wood also allowed reasonable speculation to be made as to the likely diet and occupation of the fort&#39;s inhabitants; and the also to the make-up of the wider landscape. (See environment for further details).</p><br>
<h2>Huts</h2><br>
<p>Only a small number of the more than 50 roundhouses known to have existed on site have ever been archaeologically excavated. The style of these huts seems largely contiguous throughout the two periods of the fort construction; with a general similarity in size and material found within. This contrasts to other sites which had occupation (or reoccupation) throughout the Roman period and beyond, where a distinct mix of architectural styles and hut shapes can often be observed. The roofing arrangements do however, show some development on the site, with the dearth of post holes in the huts dated to the first period (Huts 1 and 3) suggesting some kind of wigwam roofing; whereas the hut that was examined from the later period (Hut 4) shows evidence of two systems of roof timbering involving internal posts. Many of the huts lay along a terrace behind the main southern rampart, where it has been speculated that the inhabitants would have been protected from the wind.</p><br>
<h2>Entrances</h2><br>
<p>Three definite entrances were identified at the site, with another possible one speculated, but not confirmed. The only one to be examined fully was the main entrance to the earlier fort, whilst the other two were cleared of recent additions and surveyed in less detail.</p><br>
<h3>Main entrance</h3><br>
<p>The main entrance, located in the southern rampart slightly to the east of Hut 1, was 17 feet long and 8.6 inches at its narrowest point (see first fort entrance on the annotated plan). The entrance appears to have been paved at one time, but the stones have now eroded and only slight traces remain. The thickened rampart of the outside entrance was supported by a plinth of large, flat blocks, set into a foundation trench, which extended 17 feet to the East; and sat flush with the surface of the subsoil, suggesting it would have been invisible when in contemporary use. This plinth was necessary to support the heavier parts of the rampart on the slope of the ground to the south. It is likely that four large, square post holes found at the East and West sides of the entrance passage, belonged to a wooden bridge over the gateway; and would have supported the (likely timber) gate itself, probably on a pair of outer posts. The gate opening was 6 feet wide and could therefore have been secured by a single door.</p><br>
<h3>Entrance to the smaller fort</h3><br>
<p>Little is known about the entrance to the smaller fort as it has not been fully excavated, but the existence of large, square post holes similar to those found in the main entrance suggest that they probably served the same function as those found in the entrance to the main fort. The only notable difference was their location, with the post holes being situated not inside the passage itself, but around the corner of the passage, against the inner rampart.</p><br>
<h3>Outwork entrance</h3><br>
<p>The third entrance was in the defensive outwork structure located at the south-east of the site, (see blocked entrance to outwork on the annotated plan). Minimal investigation was made of this feature, but enough to establish that it formed a passage about 19 feet wide and 23 feet long, set between the overlapping ends of the ramparts and faced with orthostats (a large stone with a more or less slab-like shape), some of which have been described as almost megalithic in character. The North side had collapsed, blocking the entrance, but the archaeologists speculated that it must have been an impressive structure in its original form, and possibly designed with this effect in mind.</p><br>
<h2>Defences</h2><br>
<p>The main defences of both forts were stone-built walls of varying construction, sometimes accompanied on their outer side with a ditch. The larger fort remained almost unchanged during its lifetime and was protected by a single wall which enclosed the site on the three accessible sides, following the best natural line for defence. The smaller fort had two distinct periods of construction and was more strongly fortified than the main enclosure; its original incarnation being larger and more elaborately fortified, than its latter. Whilst most structural details of the site were simple, the defences of the small fort were particularly unusual in the context of other Iron Age hillforts, as they were designed to be defended against the inside of the main enclosure, as well as from outside attack.</p><br>
<h3>Primary rampart</h3><br>
<p>The primary rampart which enclosed the site on three sides (East, South and West), was said to follow a sinuous course along the hill top, selecting the line most suitable for defence. The outer southward face of this rampart was described as being much ruined, about 10 feet thick, built of fairly large stones, and potentially containing a number of slabs laid on edge. The inner face was built partly of laid masonry and partly of slabs laid on edge; the slabs were differing sizes but some are described as very large. Around the entrance to the larger fort the rampart is noted as having double-facing, and further along to the east the outer face of the rampart is described as being well-preserved, with a pronounced batter (meaning it was deliberately constructed with a receding slope for stability). The steep cliffs to the North and north-east meant that no extra defences were needed on that side of the fort, but where the incline is shallower to the north-west, the remains of a rampart could be traced. It was described as much ruined and overgrown with turf, and the investigators could not make out its construction, although they did note an additional defensive ditch along its outside face (marked on the annotated map as D1). This ditch extended the length of the rampart and continued to the south-west, around a rocky outcrop at the extreme West of the site (see D2).</p><br>
<h3>Small fortress</h3><br>
<p>The south wall of the small enclosure was measured as being wider than that of the original rampart, being estimated at 12-16 feet thick; and built of laid masonry. Outside the south-west wall of the small fort, an additional defensive wall was examined and found to end on a rock outcrop at the westernmost point of the site (see R1 on map). The defensive ditch which followed the north-west rampart of the main fort, carried on around this wall, and where it rounded the western outcrop, there was clear evidence that a smaller, additional ditch had been cut (see E1). The larger of the ditches continued parallel to the southern wall of the smaller fort, ending just in front of the defensive outwork (see D3). Inside the large fort, and running parallel to the eastern wall of the small fort was an additional bank-and-ditch defence combination, which was interrupted by low causeways (see F1).</p><br>
<h3>Outwork</h3><br>
<p>The outwork was notable for the fact that it was constructed in a different fashion to the other walls on the site, being faced by large blocks laid flat - or as was the case near the entrance - with slabs on edge; and filled with small stones and earth.</p><br>
<h3>Huts associated with defence</h3><br>
<p>Two huts were also associated with the defences; hut 1 because of its location just inside the entrance to the larger fort, and also the hut adjoining hut 3 on its east, for the same reason. Bolstering this theory is the fact that in hut 1 the investigators found 612 sling stones, half of which lay stacked in a neat pile against the inner face of the south-east wall, suggesting their likely use as a defensive arsenal. Whilst the hut immediately to the East of hut 3 was not actually examined by the archaeologists; the discovery of a number of sling stones by Picton and Bezant Lowe at this site in 1909, somewhat corroborates this speculation.</p><br>
<h2>Material finds</h2><br>
<h2>Environment</h2><br>
<p>Analysis of pollen indicated that the area in and immediately around the fort was a heath and grass dominated environment, much the same as is in existence today; whilst pollen and charcoal analysis suggest it likely that the site existed close to a woodland containing hazel, birch and alder.</p><br>
<p>The Caves of Kesh, also known as the Keash Caves or the Caves of Keshcorran, are a series of limestone caves located near the village of Keash, County Sligo, Ireland. The caves are situated on the west side of Keshcorran Hill, and consist of sixteen simple chambers, some interconnecting.</p><br>
<p>The caves have been used by man over several millennia, and it has long been suggested that they were the site of ancient religious practice or gathering such as Lughnasadh.</p><br>
<p>Excavations carried out in the early 20th century, particularly those by Robert Francis Scharff, discovered significant animal remains. Among others, these included bones of brown bear, arctic lemming, Irish elk, and grey wolf.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The sixteen interconnecting caves of white cherty limestone are found at the base of a line of low cliffs, on the western slope of the hill. They were formed from the atmospheric weathering of carboniferous limestone, and run perpendicular to the rock face. Quartz crystals are abundant, and glacial boulder-beds can be found at the mouth of some of the caves, showing that Keshcorran was at one time buried beneath an ice sheet. The caves bear evidence of being washed out by water, and a layer of breccia containing limestone blocks can be found in many of them. Stalagmite floors are rare, and when present appear to have been burrowed into by foxes and badgers.</p><br>
<h2>History of exploration</h2><br>
<p>The first thorough exploration of the caves at Keshcorran occurred during five weeks in 1901, and was initiated after a portion of a bear&#39;s skull had been discovered some years earlier. These excavations, headed by Robert Francis Scharff, R. J. Ussher, and Robert Lloyd Praeger, recovered bones of deer, ox, goat, pig, bear, horse, sheep, donkey, hare, mouse, rat, badger, fox, dog, wolf, and stoat. For the first time in Ireland, evidence of the Arctic lemming was also discovered, drawing headlines around the country. Another important recovery was that of a metacarpus of reindeer, discovered above an area of burnt charcoal. This suggests that reindeer in Ireland survived until the human period.</p><br>
<p>Also recovered from the excavations were the four oldest species of molluscs found in Ireland at the time, the remains of several fish, and numerous species of bird, most notably the ptarmigan, smew, and little auk. Another recovery of note was that of several fossilised frog bones found in the lowest stratum, which disproved a common belief that the species had only been introduced in 1699.</p><br>
<p>Finally, the excavations found evidence of occasional human habitation going as far back as the Neolithic, with more regular occupation being identified from the 10th century onward. Five human teeth and the humerus of a male were found in the caves, and man-made artefacts that were recovered include two bone needles, a bone comb, a stone celt, an iron saw, two bronze pins, and a stone axe of adze type. Shells of mussel and oyster were also found, further supporting human settlement.</p><br>
<p>Further explorations took place in 1929 and 1930, and these led to the recovery of more bones of lemming, reindeer, mouse, pig, hare, horse, frog, rabbit, sheep, fox, stoat, bear, dog, ox, badger and rat. The excavations also discovered remains of elk, cat, shrew, and duck.</p><br>
<p>In more recent times, some of the mammal bones recovered from these excavations have been re-analysed with radiocarbon dating, confirming a late-glacial estimate for the bones found in the lower layers. Those of the bear, deer, hare, and wolf were dated to around 10,000 BC, while those of the stoat and horse were dated to around 6000 BC and 400 BC respectively.</p><br>
<p>The most recent discovery from the caves occurred in 1971, when a left tibia of an adult was recovered in a pool of water. It has subsequently been dated to the turn of the 11th century, coinciding with an entry in the Annals of the Four Masters for 1007 AD</p><br>
<h2>Folklore and mythology</h2><br>
<p>The Kesh Caves featured prominently in medieval myths and stories, with folk versions of these tales continuing in oral transmission until the 20th century. The caves are often presented as being associated with the otherworld, and as places to be respected and feared. Cath Maige Mucrama tells of the birth of Cormac mac Airt at the foot of Keshcorran. He is reputed to have been raised by a wolf in the caves, in a tale reminiscent of Romulus and Remus.</p><br>
<p>The caves also feature in three stories about Fionn mac Cumhaill. The first, found in Duanaire Finn, relates a journey by Fionn to an otherworld smithy located inside the caves. The second tale, known as Bruidhean Cheise Corainn, tells of the warrior being captured and bound in the caves by the Tuatha Dé Danann. Another tale, the Death of Diarmuid in the Boar Hunt, mentions Diarmuid and Gráinne as taking refuge in the caves from a vengeful Fionn.</p><br>
<p>A more modern tale regarding the caves of Keshcorran can be found in a 1779 diary of Gabriel Beranger</p><br>
<p>The Anglican Church of St Mary Magdalene in Withiel Florey, Somerset, England was built in the 12th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Parts of the church date back to the 12th century. In the 15th century the nave was extended and the tower and porch added. In 1848 a Victorian restoration was carried out and the vestry added.</p><br>
<p>In 1959 proposals were made to demolish the church. These were defeated and further restoration undertaken.</p><br>
<p>The parish is part of the Dulverton with Brushford, Brompton Regis, Upton, Skilgate and Withiel Florey benefice within the Diocese of Bath and Wells.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The stone building has red sandstone dressings and a slate roof. It consists of a two-bay nave, two-bay chancel with two-storey vestry and a south porch. The aisle is 62 ft long and 14 ft wide.</p><br>
<p>The two-stage tower is supported by diagonal buttresses.</p><br>
<p>Inside the church is a Norman font. Most of the other fitting including the pulpit, harmonium and wrought iron alter rails are from the Victorian era.</p><br>
<p>The Anglican Church of Mary Magdalene in Clatworthy, Somerset, England was built in the 12th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The tower of the church survives from the 12th century, however the nave was lengthened and the tower added in the Middle Ages. The nave and chancel were rebuilt as part of a Victorian restoration in the 1860s and 1870s.</p><br>
<p>The parish is part of the Wiveliscombe and the Hills benefice within the Diocese of Bath and Wells.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The stone building has Bath stone dressings and a slate roof. It consists of a two-bay nave and north aisle, a chancel and a north east vestry. The two-stage tower has buttresses to the east front.</p><br>
<p>The fittings including the pulpit and pews were installed in the first half of the 19th century.</p><br>
<p>The Anglican Church of St Mary in East Quantoxhead, Somerset, England was built in the 14th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The church was built in the 14th century on the site of an earlier church which had been on the site at least since 1259. It was restored in 1698 with further Victorian restoration in 1860. The church is next to Court House which housed the Lords of the Manor who are commemorated in the church.</p><br>
<p>The parish is part of the Quantock Coast benefice within the Diocese of Bath and Wells.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The stone building had sandstone dressing and slate roofs. It consists of a two-bay nave with a , north east vestry and a south porch. The three-stage tower is supported by diagonal buttresses.</p><br>
<p>Inside the church the rood screen was restored in the 19th century but has parts from the 14th. The pulpit was built in 1633.</p><br>
<p>In the churchyard is a 14th century cross which was restored in the 19th century.</p><br>
<p>The Anglican Church of St Michael in Minehead, Somerset, England was built in the 15th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The church was built in the 15th century on the site of a previous building from which parts of the south porch can still be seen. William de Mohun gave the church to Bruton Priory in the 12th century. They held the advowson until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.</p><br>
<p>Its tower used to display a beacon light for ships approaching the harbour. After being caught in a violent storm at sea, Robert Quirke dedicated a ship and its cargo to God&#39;s service, as well as donating a cellar near the quay for prayers to be offered for those at sea. Dating from 1628 and known as the Gibraltar Celler, it is now the Chapel of St Peter. Quirke also donated money from the sale of the ship and its cargo to build almshouses.</p><br>
<p>The church underwent Victorian restoration in 1880 and was further restored in 1974.</p><br>
<p>The parish and benefice of Minehead are within the Diocese of Bath and Wells.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The blue lias building has red sandstone dressings and a slate roof. It consists of an aisle with a projecting north east chapel. The nave and chancel are each of eight bays and have slim octagonal piers and double-chamfered arches. The tower is supported by set back buttresses. The oldest of the bells in the tower was cast in 1607.</p><br>
<p>Inside the church at a 15th century font and late medieval rood screen and rood stair. The pulpit is from the 17th century. There are various memorials and the coats of arms of Queen Anne and George II. There is a stained glass window designed by Sir Henry Holiday, which appeared on postage stamps in 2009.</p><br>
<p>The Statue of Queen Anne in Minehead, Somerset, England was built in 1719. It is a Grade II* listed building.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The statue depicts Queen Anne in full court dress. It was deigned by Francis Bird, who had previously made a sculpture of the queen for St Paul&#39;s Cathedral, after a commission by Sir Jacob Bancks the local member of parliament for Minehead. Statues of the queen were a "fashionable ornament" during her reign.</p><br>
<p>It was removed from its original site in St Michael&#39;s Church during restoration work in 1880. It was to have been placed in the town hall, but following a public subscription for the canopy it was re-erected at its current site in 1893.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The statute is made of alabaster. The pedestal and canopy which were added by H Dare Bryan in 1893 are of Carrara marble. Above the statue is a dentilled pediment and cornice</p><br>
<p>The Judah Holcomb House is a historic house at 257 North Granby Road in Granby, Connecticut, Built in 1776, it is a well-preserved example of late Georgian architecture, notable for its elaborate entry surround and its wealth of interior woodwork. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Judah Holcomb House stands northwest of the village center of Granby, on the west side of North Granby Road north of Kearns Drive. It is a 2-1/2 story wood frame structure, with a gambrel roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. Its main facade is five bays wide, with a central entrance. The entrance surround is particularly fine, with fluted pilasters rising to an architrave and dentillated cornice. Sash windows are surrounded by simple trim, with those on the second floor butting against the plain box cornice. The interior of the house follows a typical central chimney plan, including a winding staircase in the front vestibule, parlor spaces to either side of the chimney, and the kitchen behind it. The downstairs rooms are notable for being entire sheathed in vertical board paneling that is unusually wide, typically 18 to 20 in in width, a quantity not seen in other period houses in the state. Other chambers in the house also exhibit some amount of similar wainscoting.</p><br>
<p>The house was built about 1776 by Judah Holcomb, when the area was still part of Simsbury. Holcomb&#39;s grandfather was an early settler of the area, and he was politically active, serving as a justice of the peace and in the state legislature. The house remained in the Holcomb family until 1894. It is notable for its entry surround, which is rare within the state as a vernacular flat-top surround, contrasting with more widely found broken-scroll pediments.</p><br>
<p>The Gov. Prentice Cooper House is a historic house in Shelbyville, Tennessee, USA.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The house was built in 1904 for William Prentice Cooper, based on the design of a house he owned in Henderson, Kentucky. Cooper Sr. served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1915 to 1916. His son, Prentice Cooper, served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1923 until 1925 and in the Tennessee Senate from 1937 to 1939, and as the Governor of Tennessee from 1939 to 1945; he was appointed as the United States Ambassador to Peru in 1946, and he served in this capacity until 1948. By 1950, Cooper Jr still lived in the house with parents and his wife, although a new guesthouse was built for them by Peruvian builders in 1952. By the 1970s, the house still belonged to the Cooper family, including his son Congressman Jim Cooper.</p><br>
<h2>Architectural significance</h2><br>
<p>The house was designed in the Victorian architectural style.</p><br>
<p>The John Hollister House is a historic house at 14 Tryon Street in the South Glastonbury village of Glastonbury, Connecticut. Built about 1675, it is the town&#39;s oldest surviving colonial structure, built by one of its early settlers. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The John Hollister House stands on the west side of the village of South Glastonbury, on the north side of Tryon Street (Connecticut Route 160) just west of Roaring Brook. It is a 2-1/2 story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. Its front facade is five bays wide, with a center entrance and a slightly overhanging second floor. The roof has a shallow pitch, and has a deeper than normal eave over a simple box cornice. The window bays are 19th-century enlargements of what were originally smaller openings, and the present siding is laid over what is believed to be original period clapboards. A two-story gabled ell extends to the rear.</p><br>
<p>The house was built about 1675 by John Hollister, who is also credited with building Glastonbury&#39;s first house (which no longer stands). Local lore says that this house was built in the meadows west of its present location, and was moved to its present location about 1720; there is no documentary or architectural evidence to support the idea. The house was originally built as a two-room structure with chimney, and its chimney structure suggests that the leanto structure on the rear is a later addition. In the 19th century a portion of the leanto was raised a full two-stories in height.</p><br>
<p>The Absalom Lowe Landis House, also known as Beech Hall, is a historic house in Normandy, Tennessee, USA.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The house was built in 1866 for Absalom Lowe Landis, a veteran of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War who served as a member of the Tennessee Senate. It was later acquired by his daughter Melissa and her husband J. M. Shoffer, followed by their granddaughter Argie and her husband William Prentice Cooper, who served as the mayor of Shelbyville, Tennessee. The Coopers also owned the Gov. Prentice Cooper House in Shelbyville, and they summered at Beech Hall. Their son, Prentice Cooper, served as the 39th Governor of Tennessee from 1939 to 1945, and redesigned the cellar in the 1950s. Their grandson, Jim Cooper, serves as a member of the United States House of Representatives.</p><br>
<h2>Architectural significance</h2><br>
<p>The house was designed in the Greek Revival architectural style.</p><br>
<p>The Anglican Church of St Mary in Brompton Ralph, Somerset, England was built in the 15th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Parts of the church, including the tower and south door are from the 15th century. The first church on the site was established by 1291. Other parts were rebuilt in the 16th century and again in 1738. The north aisle was added in 1847. The whole church underwent Victorian restoration in 1881. Further restoration of the church was carried out in 2013.</p><br>
<p>The parish is part of the Wiveliscombe and the Hills benefice within the Diocese of Bath and Wells.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The red sandstone building has a slate roof. It consists of a four-bay nave with a north aisle, chancel with barrel roof, south porch, and a vestry. The three-stage tower is supported by diagonal buttresses.</p><br>
<p>Inside the church is a medieval rood screen which was partially restored by Frederick Bligh Bond. Most of the furniture and fittings are from the 16th century, including the font.</p><br>
<p>The Guy and Margaret Fleming House, also known as Torrey Pines Reserve Ranger Residence, is a historic house in the Torrey Pines State Reserve, California. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in June 1998.</p><br>
<p>Guy Fleming was a naturalist and the park custodian of Torrey Pines Reserve. He served as a guide during the Panama-California Exposition of 1915-16 and was noted for his conservation efforts throughout California, in particular his work founding the Anza Desert, Cuyamaca, and Palomar State Parks.</p><br>
<p>Margaret Eddy Fleming (1888-1977) was a landscape artist and naturalist. The Margaret Fleming Nature Trail in the Torrey Pines Reserve Extension Area was named in her honor.</p><br>
<p>The two-story wood-framed house was built in 1927 by Fleming and his father in the Pueblo Revival style.</p><br>
<p>Topolnița Cave  is a karst cave located in Mehedinți County, Romania. It is the fourth-longest cave in Romania: only Peștera Vântului, Humpleu-Poienița Cave, and Hodobana Cave are longer. Most speleological sources estimate its length at. Some Romanian news sources report a more conservative 11,000 metres . It is considered a natural monument of Romania.</p><br>
<p>The cave was first historically documented in 1880 by V. Dumitrescu. The first serious attempt at scientific exploration was made in 1956 by Professor Sever Popescu of Turnu Severin. Finally, specialists from the Emil Racoviță Institute of Speleology at the Romanian Academy began true systematic exploration in 1962.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>Topolnița Cave is located at 30 km from Drobeta-Turnu Severin, between the villages of Marga and Cireșu. It has at least four entrances. The cave&#39;s primary entrance is in the central part of the Mehedinți Plateau, where the Topolnița River plunges down into the earth. The river later emerges farther downstream at the foot of a hill.</p><br>
<p>Topolnița Cave has a huge number of passages and galleries arranged over five floors, many of which have attracted fanciful names as a result of the speleothems that have formed in them. Other features within the cave include lakes, waterfalls, rapids, and massive forests of stalactites and stalagmites. Neolithic remains have also been found within the cave.</p><br>
<h2>Cave access</h2><br>
<p>Best described as "labyrinthine", Topolnița Cave is a difficult cave to explore even for experienced cavers. Access for tourists is permitted only once per year, on a feast day in August, where guides lead tours into the cave to view the Racoviță Gallery. Otherwise, the cave is gated and access is only available by permission of the Romanian Academy. In the 1980s, there was some government interest in adding tourist-access features such as stairs, railings, and electric lights, but funding fell through before the Romanian Revolution and nothing was completed.</p><br>
<h2>Fauna</h2><br>
<p>The cave&#39;s temperature hovers between 8.2-10.8 &deg;C, making it a relatively warm cave.</p><br>
<p>In 2009, a pair of bearded vultures was spotted at the cave by hunters. The sighting was treated with some excitement, as the bearded vulture is no longer extant in Romania.</p><br>
<p>Plenty of invertebrate species live in or around Topolnița Cave. Specimens of Clausiliidae, or door snails, such as Macedonica marginata, have been found in the cave. A number of species of Opiliones, colloquially known as harvestmen, have been recorded.</p><br>
<p>River Side Farmhouse is a historic farmhouse in Shelbyville, Tennessee, USA.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The land was acquired by John Shofner, a settler from North Carolina, in 1815. Shofner built a loghouse, which was later demolished by his son Michael. A new house was built by Michael Shofner, but it was also demolished thereafter. By 1890, Michaels son, Jacob Morton Shofner, built this farmhouse. Jacobs grandson, Prentice Cooper, was born in this house; he went on to serve as the 39th Governor of Tennessee from 1939 to 1945. The house is still owned by the Cooper family, which includes Congressman Jim Cooper.</p><br>
<h2>Architectural significance</h2><br>
<p>The house was designed in the Queen Anne architectural style.</p><br>
<p>Valley Home is a historic mansion in Wartrace, Tennessee, USA.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The house was built for Jeremiah Cleveland, a farmer from North Carolina, circa 1835. Cleveland lived here with his first wife, Sarah Elizabeth Stone, and their three children; he became widowed and married her sister, Mary S. Stone, with whom he had three more children. Professionally, Cleveland helped expand the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway; he was also the owner of 50 slaves by the 1850s. The Clevelands owned the house throughout the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, only to sell it to Dr John Lane Walker in 1908.</p><br>
<h2>Architectural significance</h2><br>
<p>The house was first designed in the Greek Revival architectural style.</p><br>
<p>The Bill Chivers House, on 3rd St. in Challis in Custer County, Idaho, is a historic house built in 1900. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.</p><br>
<p>It is a one-story house asserted to have elements of Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles. Its Idaho State Historical Society review states:The most decorated one-story Queen Anne-style house in Challis is still pretty plain. The Bill Chivers House survives in good and apparently unaltered condition except for the asphalt shingles. Features common to Challis domestic buildings are exemplified in this building: the blend of Queen Anne and American colonial revival features, the use of delicate porch posts and hipped porch roofs, and the nearly invariable enclosure of eaves.</p><br>
<p>It was built by Australian-born farmer Thomas Jose for his daughter and her husband Bill Chivers.</p><br>
<p>Courtlandt Place, Houston is a residential subdivision consisting of a single street, south of downtown Houston, planned in 1906. Courtlandt Place is a member of the Neartown Houston Association.</p><br>
<h2>Overview</h2><br>
<p>Courtlandt Place, Houston is a subdivision of Houston, Texas. Courtlandt Place Historic District has been NRHP-listed since 1980, and the district includes eleven houses which carry individual NRHP-listings. "Courtlandt Place" denotes a residential boulevard, a subdivision, and a Historic District, all of which occupy the same location. The Courtlandt Improvement Company developed Courtlandt Place as a single street, gated on both ends, based on private places in St. Louis, which are designed to restrict access to non-residents. Although the company began planning and building infrastructure in 1906, the first houses were built in 1909 or 1910. The Courtlandt Improvement Association also established extensive deed restrictions which regulated house size, land use, and minimum building cost. Unlike many covenants which specified a length of tenure, Courtlandt Place restrictions were written to never expire. In addition, they prohibited all forms of commercial land use.</p><br>
<p>What made Courtlandt Place a private place was its private street. The residents owned the street, not the City of Houston, nor any other government entity. The residents faced a challenge from a developer of an adjacent neighborhood. J.W. Link, who laid out a landscaped Montrose Boulevard with termini at Hathaway Avenue (now part of Westheimer) and Richmond Avenue, built his own mansion there. Attracting high-dollar lot sales would be difficult without good street access to downtown. His Lovett Boulevard was blocked by a wall at the west end of Courtlandt Place, and he lobbied the City of Houston to condemn the private street in order to make it a public one. Anticipating that the City of Houston would win its suit against them, the residents of Courtland Place agreed to a compromise with the City of Houston near the end of 1912: they would open access to their street in exchange for city services. These included street paving and maintenance, installation of lights, and a promise to control traffic. For seventy years, Courtlandt Place remained a public street until the neighborhood paid $103,115 to the City of Houston to re-privatize the street, which allowed them to rebuild the fortification closing the western gate again.</p><br>
<h2>History of houses and residents</h2><br>
<p>Notable architects who designed houses in the neighborhood included Birdsall Briscoe, Alfred C. Finn, John Fanz Staub, Carlos B. Schoeppl, Sanguinet & Staats, and Warren and Wetmore. Fourteen of the properties were developed between 1910 and 1916, while the other five properties were developed between 1920 and 1927.</p><br>
<h3>C.L. "Baron" Neuhaus House</h3><br>
<p>The C.L. "Baron" Neuhaus House at 6 Courtlandt Place was designed in the Colonial Revival style by Sanguinet & Staats for the local banker in 1910 (NRHP-listed). This was the first home finished in the subdivision.</p><br>
<p>The house is named for Franz Charles "Charley" Ludwig Neuhaus (18571930). Originally from Hackberry, Texas, he moved to Houston in 1906, where he served as a director for the Texas Rice Mill Company and Union National Bank, and was an investment banker. He co-founded the Houston Golf Club and he joined the Houston Country Club as a charter member. He was a developer of Courtlandt Place as he was a principal of the Courtlandt Investment Company, and also served as a trustee. His wife, Emilie "Millie" Joanna Boettcher Neuhaus (18611843), came from a family of Central Texas Germans, and she hired cooks who knew the food of this culture. As a child, Millie left Texas to attend school in Germany.</p><br>
<h3>Sterling Myer House</h3><br>
<p>The Sterling Myer House at 4 Courtlandt Place (NHRP-listed) was another home built in 1910 by Sanguinet & Staats. Sterling Myer (1872—1938), from Plantersville, Texas, was the managing partner of the Courtlandt Improvement Company. He was a partner with the legal firm Campbell and Myer, which also represented Courtlandt Place until 1912. Sterling and his wife Alice Bentley Myer (1873—1968) resided there for just a few years.</p><br>
<h3>A. S. Cleveland House</h3><br>
<p>The A. S. Cleveland House at 8 Courtlandt Place (NRHP-listed) was built by Alfred C. Finn and Sanguinet & Staats in 1911. The Colonial Revival includes some Italian Renaissance details. However, another source credits design to A.E. Barnes with Sanguinet & Staats. John Staub executed a commission in 1929 to redesign the interiors. Staub added a first floor dressing room, and decorated the living room with birch paneling and the fireplace with marble cladding.</p><br>
<p>Alexander Sessums "Sess" Cleveland (18711954) was a son of W.D. Cleveland, the owner of the leading grocery and cotton factoring house in Houston.</p><br>
<p>The elder Cleveland&#39;s business later fell into distress, but two of his sons were able to cover his debts. Sess sold the cotton factoring house, prior to falling prices for the commodity during the 1920s. He married Virginia Cunningham (18751965) of Savannah, Georgia in 1896. The couple lived in this house from 1911 to 1950. Cleveland was a cotton factor and grocer in Houston. He was also a civic leader, serving as president of the American Red Cross (Houston Chapter), president of the Houston Chamber of Commerce, trustee for Rice University and University of the South, and served on the Houston school board. Their daughter and their son-in-law, William A. Kirkland, moved into this house sometime in the 1950s. The Kirklands later resided 10 Courtlandt Place.</p><br>
<h3>James L. Autry House</h3><br>
<p>The James L. Autry House (Courtlandt Place, Houston), 5 Courtlandt Place, was a house designed and built for James Lockhart Autry, II by the Houston office of Sanguinet & Staats in 1912 (NRHP-listed). The house is still used as a residence and is NHRP-listed. Autry was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1859 and moved to Texas in 1876. Autry served as a general counsel for Joseph Cullinan&#39;s oil ventures, following Cullinan to the Texas Company, better known as Texaco. 3 Courtlandt Place was built concurrently with 5 Courtlandt Place in 1912.</p><br>
<h3>J. J. Carroll House</h3><br>
<p>The J.J. Carroll House at 16 Courtlandt Place (NHRP-listed) was built in the neoclassical style by Birdsall Briscoe in 1912. However, another account claims that Carroll himself used a pattern design for the house, the only home in Courtlandt Place which was not a custom design. In 1924, the Carrolls commissioned Briscoe to make extensive enhancements to the interior.</p><br>
<p>The house is named for Judson J. Carroll (18771938), who married Lena Carter (18791971), a daughter of W.T. and Maude Carter, and a sister of Frankie Carter Randolph, all Courtlandt Place residents. Judson had worked as an executive for the Carter Lumber Company, but he is better known as an expert avocationist on regional ornithology, and won awards for his photography in the field. He was an advocate for protecting coastal environments for birds, and was honored with the naming of Carroll Island, along the southern Texas coast. For a time, his house served as a regional office for the Audubon Society. The house was restored in the 1970s.</p><br>
<h3>W. T. Carter, Jr. House</h3><br>
<p>The W.T. Carter, Jr. House at 18 Courtlandt Place (NHRP-listed) was also designed by Birdsall Briscoe in 1912, and was the only home in Courtlandt Place built in the Prairie style. Briscoe collaborated with Olle J. Lorehn.</p><br>
<p>The house was built for W.T. "Bill" Carter, Jr. (18871957) and Lillie Neuhaus Carter (18901966). Bill was both the nephew and adopted son of W.T. Carter, Sr., of 14 Courtlandt Place. Starting in 1919, Bill assumed the management of W.T. Carter&#39;s banking and real estate interests, and later built a formidable real estate empire of his own, including his Carter Investment Company. He was the brainchild of the Houston International Airport, later known as Hobby Airport.</p><br>
<h3>E.L. Neville House</h3><br>
<p>Birdsall Briscoe built this Tudor home at 11 Courtlandt Place in 1914.</p><br>
<h3>Mrs. W. T. Carter, Sr. House</h3><br>
<p>The Mrs. W.T. Carter, Sr. House at 14 Courtlandt Place was another Tudor-style home on the block that was designed by Birdsall Briscoe. The home was completed in 1920.</p><br>
<p>Prior to her family locating in Courtlandt Place, Frankie Carter (18941972) attended the Baldwin School in Pennsylvania. Aubrey, her older brother, matriculated at the University of Virginia during part of her time at the Baldwin School. In 1918, Frankie married Aubreys college classmate, Robert Decan "Deke" Randolph (18911989). Prior to their union Deke served the United States Naval Air Corps in France. In 1920, Deke and Frankie Randolph Carter moved their family to her parents home at 14 Courtlandt Place. Deke entered the family business, working for the Carter Lumber Company. After 1924, he began a long career in banking. Frankie Carter Randolph was a founding member of the Houston Junior League and the League of Women Voters. She was the first white Houstonian to join the NAACP. She was a Democratic activist, who supported the candidacy of Adlai Stevenson for President of the United States.</p><br>
<h3>J. W. Garrow House</h3><br>
<p>The J.W. Garrow House at 19 Courtlandt Place represents the third Birdsall Briscoe design in the neighborhood from 1914, this one a Colonial Revival/Beaux Arts hybrid.</p><br>
<h3>John M. Dorrance House</h3><br>
<p>The John M. Dorrance House at 9 Courtlandt Place (NRHP-listed) is a stucco house designed by Sanguinet & Staats in 1914.</p><br>
<h3>Thomas J. Donoghue House</h3><br>
<p>The Thomas J. Donoghue House at 17 Courtlandt Place (NHRP-listed) was designed for the executive vice-president of the Texas Company in 1916 by Warren and Wetmore, the firm that designed Grand Central Station in New York City.</p><br>
<h3>Judson Taylor House</h3><br>
<p>The Judson Taylor House at 20 Courtlandt Place (NHRP-listed) is the last of six works that Birdsall Briscoe completed in the neighborhood, a Colonial Revival finished in 1916.</p><br>
<p>This house was originally home to Dr. Judson Ludwell Taylor ((18811944) and Jessie Carter Taylor (18811947). Jessie was a daughter of Maude and W.T. Carter, Sr. The couple married in 1903, the same year Judson earned a degree in medicine from the University of Texas. In 1912, Dr. Taylor retired from the United States Navy and established a general surgery practice. He later specialized in orthopedic surgery, practicing at Houston Shriners&#39; Hospital and Hermann Hospital. He later co-founded Jefferson Davis Hospital, where he also worked as an surgeon. He assumed various leadership positions within the Houston medical community, including the Baylor College of Medicine, and the Harris County Medical Society. On the other hand, Jessie used the house for unconventional entertainment. During prohibition, she transformed her basement into a gambling room and also sponsored boxing matches.</p><br>
<h3>Underwood Nazro House</h3><br>
<p>The Underwood Nazro House at 25 Courtlandt Place is a Colonial Revival completed in 1916. Sanguinet & Staats designed this home, and it represents their seventh and last commission in the neighborhood.</p><br>
<h3>Jones-Hunt House</h3><br>
<p>The Jones-Hunt House at 24 Courtlandt Place (NHRP-listed) was built in 1920. Alfred C. Finn, this time commissioning residential work with his own firm, moved a 1890 Victorian structure to the site and added brick cladding to recreate it in a Spanish-mode. In all, Finn performed architectural work on three properties in the neighborhood, two while he worked for Sanguinet & Staats, and the Jones-Hunt House, which was designed by his own Firm.</p><br>
<p>Sarah Brashear Jones was the mother of Murray Brashear Jones, who moved into the house next door in 1925. She purchased the lot from Captain James Addison Baker. Her father, Isaac Brashear, first arrived in Houston in 1839, just a few years after the city&#39;s founding, and established a farm that was later a part of the Houston Heights.</p><br>
<h3>Murray B. Jones House</h3><br>
<p>The Murray B. Jones House at 22 Courtlandt Place is a stucco building with colonial elements, completed in 1925. The architect is unknown according to one source. Another source attributes the architectural work to Birdsall Briscoe, and chracterizes the style as Georgian Revival.</p><br>
<p>The Murray B. Jones House represents Courtlandt Place connections to an old-guard Houston family. Captain James Addison Baker purchased the lot, then built this home for his daughter Alice Baker Jones (18871978) and her husband, Murray Brashear Jones (18861963). Captain Baker practiced law with Baker, Botts, and Baker, a top law firm in Houston founded by his father, who was also named James Addison Baker. The Bakers were long-associated with William Marsh Rice, and the firm bearing their name represented Rice&#39;s estate after he died under suspicious circumstances.</p><br>
<p>Murray Jones also had deep Houston roots, though with humbler origins through the his grandfather, Isaac Brashear. Murray matriculated at the University of Texas and Princeton University, and again at the University of Texas to study law. He practiced law in Texas between 1910 and 1960. However, Murray and Alice Jones did not stay together for much longer, divorcing in the 1920s. Alice remained in the house until 1946.</p><br>
<h3>Johnelle Bryan House</h3><br>
<p>The Johnelle Bryan House at 15 Courtlandt Place is of an Italian Renaissance design by Carlos B Schoeppl, his only commission in the neighborhood, which he finished in 1925.</p><br>
<h3>John W. Parker House</h3><br>
<p>The John W. Parker House at 25 Courtlandt Place (NRHP-listed) represents the only work in Courtlandt Place by John Fanz Staub (1925-1926).</p><br>
<h3>William A. Kirkland House</h3><br>
<p>The William A. Kirkland House at 10 Courtlandt Place was built in 1927. The architect is unknown.</p><br>
<p>The Donaldson Rowles House, located on North Ave. in Challis, Idaho, was built in 1910. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.</p><br>
<p>The house is a log house built of sawn logs by Challis carpenter Donaldson Rowles (b.1885), who was son of Donaldson Rowles, a sheriff living in Challis in 1900. Its original plan, a lateral rectangle with a forward-facing ell, is similar to that of the Bill Chivers House, another NRHP-listed house in Challis. It had a dirt roof which was replaced in 1930 with sheet metal over round log purlins. It was expanded by Rowles in 1926 to add a kitchen and other rooms in board and batten and horizontal log lean-tos on the east and north sides.</p><br>
<p>It is notable as an "owner-built example of late log architecture in Challis. The house represents the persistence of horizontal log construction into the twentieth century and the use of sawn logs, a rarity in Idaho log construction."</p><br>
<p>Sirpur Group of Monuments are an archaeological and tourism site containing Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments from the 5th to 12th centuries in Mahasamund district of the state of Chhattisgarh, India. Located near an eponymous village, it is 78 km east of Raipur, the capital of the state. The site is spread near the banks of the river Mahanadi.</p><br>
<p>The town of Sirpur (aka Shirpur) has been mentioned in epigraphic and textual records dated to the 5th to the 8th centuries CE. The city was once the capital of the Sarbhapuriya and Somvanshi Kings of Dakshin (south) Kosala state. It was an important Buddhist, Hindu and Jain settlement of the South Kosala kingdom between the 5th and the 12th century CE. It was visited by Hieun Tsang, the 7th Century Chinese Buddhist pilgrim. Recent excavations have uncovered 12 Buddhist Viharas, 1 Jain Vihara, monolithic statues of Buddha and Mahavira, 22 Shiva temples and 5 Vishnu temples, Shakti and Tantric temples, underground granary market and a sixth century bath house.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Sirpur, also referred to as Shripur and Sripura (literally, "city of auspiciousness, abundance, Lakshmi") in ancient Indian texts and inscriptions, is a village on the Mahanadi River 78 km east of Raipur. In the second half of the 1st millennium CE, it was the capital city with major commercial and religious significance for the Dakshina Kosala kingdom. The earliest documented evidence states that it was first a capital of Sarabhapuriya dynasty, followed by Panduvamsi dynasty. The Sarabhapuriya dynasty itself is dated to the late 5th century CE, but inscriptions mention its first capital to be Sarabhapura, as yet an unknown site.</p><br>
<p>The abundant inscriptions of the mid-6th century CE in the region mention the Hindu Shaiva king Teevardeva and 8th-century king Shivagupta Balarjuna establishing temples and monasteries for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains in his kingdom. The Chinese pilgrim and traveller Huen T&#39;sang mentions visiting Sirpur in 639 CE in his memoirs. He wrote that the king was a Kshatriya and benevolent to the Buddhists, the region was prosperous. According to his memoir, some 10,000 Mahayana Buddhist bhikshus (monks) lived here in some 100 monasteries, and there were over 100 temples.</p><br>
<p>The earliest dated Sirpur monument is the Lakshamana temple, dated to 595-605 CE. Along with it, numerous other temples along the Mahanadi River stretching over 150 km from Rajim to Kharod have been located and dated to between 600 and 710 CE.</p><br>
<p>The South Kosala kingdom, along with the capital Sirpur, was taken over by the Kalachuri dynasty in the 11th century, with eastern parts of the South Kosala taken over by the Somavamshi kingdom to their east. The 12th century and 13th century history of the region is unclear. Excavations in the region have yielded layers of deposits, traceable from the mid 1st millennium BCE, the Gupta Empire period, through the late medieval period with the youngest layer of deposits being ruins mixed with chilum (smoke pipe) and Sultanate era coins suggesting that Sirpur was an active human settlement at least through the early Delhi Sultanate.</p><br>
<h3>Archaeological site</h3><br>
<p>Sirpur became a major archaeological site after it was visited in 1882 by Alexander Cunningham, a colonial British India official. His report on a Laxman (Lakshmana) temple at Sirpur brought it to international attention. The site remained neglected in early 20th-century during the decades of the World Wars, and excavations resumed in 1953. There were further excavations in 1990s and then particularly after 2003 when 184 mounds were identified and some selectively excavated. Those excavations have so far yielded 22 Shiva temples, 5 Vishnu temples, 10 Buddha Viharas, 3 Jain Viharas, a 6th/7th century market and snana-kund (bath house). The site shows extensive syncretism, where Buddhist and Jain statues or motifs intermingle with Shiva, Vishnu and Devi temples.</p><br>
<p>There are two theories on the demise of Sirpur city and what led to the capital&#39;s sudden ruin. One posits that an earthquake leveled the entire region and people abandoned the capital and the kingdom. Another posits a catastrophic destruction after invasion and plunder. Coins of Sultan Alaud din Khalji of the Delhi Sultanate have been found among the ruins, and the stairs of one of the monuments show signs of partial caving in, neither establishes nor rules out the proposals. The discovery of Khalji era coins mixed with the ruins during the excavation can be attributed to other reasons such as trade between Delhi Sultanate and Dakshina Kosala kingdom, and a spot caving in can be because of localized soil subsidence.</p><br>
<p>Sirpur is also a major archaeological site for "bronze sculptures from the early medieval period". According to Geri Hockfield Malandra, Sirpur was a significant bronze workshop of ancient India and the Buddhist bronze artwork excavated from Sirpur are among the "finest bronze sculptures" of that era. There are striking similarities between the artwork in Sirpur and the Ellora Caves as well as Ratnagiri, according to Malandra, and this may suggest a flow of ideas and artists between the two regions.</p><br>
<h2>Hindu monuments</h2><br>
<h3>Lakshamana temple</h3><br>
<p>The Lakshamana temple, also spelled Laxman temple, is a 7th-century brick temple, mostly damaged and ruined. The garbhagriya entrance along with the tower and door carvings of the Lakshamana temple at Sirpur are reasonably intact enough to be studied. Above the sanctum doors lintel are carvings show a reclining Vishnu on Sesha (Anantasayana Vishnu) and a panel on Krishna from Bhagavata Purana. Around the door are bands of carvings which show the ten avatars of Vishnu along with daily life and couples in various stages of courtship and mithuna. The temple stands on a stone jagati platform (about 40x80&#39;) with wide enough space for circumambulation. The temple itself is built of brick except for the carved frame around the grabha-griya (sanctum) made of stone. The sanctum opens to the east. In front of the sanctum is the outline of an antarala (vestibule), and an oblong mandapa (ceremonial community hall). The hall shows stub places for pillars, all now lost to history. Except for the sanctum and the tower, much is in ruins. The sanctum stone frame outside is a 22x22 feet square, inside it is about 10x10 feet square. The sanctum walls are plain like typical Hindu temples. The original statue of sanctum is missing. The site management has installed several small statues for visitors from what was found in the ruins pile.</p><br>
<h3>Rama temple</h3><br>
<p>Rama temple is situated less than 100 meters southeast of the Lakshamana temple, but it is almost entirely in ruins. The Rama temple site, however, does preserve the foundation outline of several shrines as well as brick stub of the lower part of the original Rama temple.</p><br>
<h3>Gandheshwar temple</h3><br>
<p>Gandheshwar Temple: an active Shiva temple, Gandheshwar temple is situated on the banks of the Mahanadi River. From the river, there are stone stairs to walk to the sanctum. The temple is routinely re-washed and re-painted. It likely includes recovered ruins from the area, in which the locals have included Hindu, Buddhist and Jain iconography. A stone slab that is part of the temple wall has a Sanskrit inscription in Nagari script, starting with Om symbol and dedicated to Shiva, which has been dated to the 8th-century.</p><br>
<h3>Baleshwar Mahadev temples</h3><br>
<p>Baleshwar Mahadev temples group: A Shiva temple about 50 meter northwest of the Teevar dev monument, across the Sirpur road. It consists of several temples. For three Shiva temples excavated, a circumambulatory Jagati in the form of a high rise platform, similar to Lakshmana temple survives. For another only the foundation is visible. The cluster was built by the Shaiva king Shivagupta Balarjuna, and is dated to the mid 8th century. Two of the temple are located side by side, and unlike most Sirpur temples, these open to the west. Both have a mandapa, an antarala and have a star shaped garbha griya made out of bricks and stone. The stellate sanctum is formed out of two squares, one rotated by 45 degrees. Some of the artwork discovered during excavations are displayed, and these show women and couple standing dressed up in 8th-century attire. The sanctum has Shiva linga made from marble.</p><br>
<h3>Surang tila</h3><br>
<p>Surang tila: It is the largest temple complex in Sirpur, with a pillared terrace raised 30 feet above the group, stone steps connecting the terrace to the ruined mandapa platform remains below. The stairs have partially caved it in a spot from ground subsidence. The pillared terrace on the top was likely a mandapa, as it has ruins of many carved pillars in navaranga pattern. The terrace connects with five sanctums, which have two gray Shiva linga, one features a black granite Shiva linga and other two are dedicated to Vishnu. The temple is made out of white stone. It used to be a soil mound with tunnels (surang) used by the locals, but the temple was excavated between 2006 and 2007. An inscription was found during the excavation which is now in the Raipur museum. According to this inscription, this temple was operating during the time of Shivagupta Balarjuna, and the temple is dated to 7th or 8th century. Below the temple terrace, are ruins of two buildings, one likely a residence for priests and monks, another a small tantric temple with 16-edge Shiva linga possibly from later centuries.</p><br>
<h3>Other monuments</h3><br>
<p>Rakela Tal, fort ruins and other temples: located south near the Rama temple on the east side of the Sirpur road is a man made lake full of lotus flowers. Around the lake are ruins of an old fort, several Hindu and Buddhist monuments mixed in with farmlands and a modern era Krishna temple. Sirpur has over 20 other excavated medieval temples and 50 additional unexcavated mounds spread over a three square kilometres area.</p><br>
<h2>Buddhist monuments</h2><br>
<h3>Ananda Prabhu vihara</h3><br>
<p>Ananda Prabhu Kuti vihara: a temple and 14-room monastery, built by Bhikshu Anand Prabhu, called Ananda Prabha in some inscriptions, with sponsorship from the Hindu king Sivagupta Balarjuna. The monastery and temple ruins included a monument to Avalokiteśvara and Makarwahini Gange. A stone inscription found at the site, in Sanskrit written in Nagari script and dated to mid 8th century CE uses a mix of Vedic meters (Anustubh, Sragdhara, Arya, Vasantatilaka and others). The inscription states starts with auspicious symbol Om and Siddham, praises Sugata (Buddha) then lauds king Balarjuna. It thereafter mentions monk Anandaprabha, devoted to the Buddha the Maravarin (enemy of Mara) and the destroyer of the cycle of rebirth and death. The inscription says the king established a "vihara kuti" (monastery residences) and a free feeding house for all the monks there furnished with setike and vyanjana (rice meal with condiments) for "so long as the sun adorns the sky" (perpetuity). The inscription poem thereafter reminds the monks to remember the spirit of the king&#39;s gift, the impermanence of wealth, that dharma is the only saving grace to suffering-filled worldly existence. The inscription is signed by the artist who created it for the monastery.</p><br>
<h3>Swastika vihara</h3><br>
<p>Swastika vihara: excavated in the 1950s, the aerial view of this monument&#39;s layout reminds of the swastika sign. This site yielded a Buddha statue and metallic idols relating to the Buddhist era. Along with Buddha was the image of Padamapani carrying a fly whisk.</p><br>
<h3>Teevardev</h3><br>
<p>Teevar dev: a monastery from the Dakshin Kosala era, this Vihara, also referred to as Tivradeva, is located near a Shiva temple and is about 1 km away from the Lakshmana temple. The temple is syncretic, built by a Shaiva king and his Buddhist queen, it shows Hindu and Buddhist themes. The monument is a syncretic collection of Buddhist and Hindu arts, as it shows along with Buddha statues and Buddhist artwork, Hindu themes such as Ganga and Yamuna goddesses, kama and mithuna scenes, Panchatantra tales as well as Gajalakshmi.</p><br>
<h2>Jain monuments</h2><br>
<p>One Jain basati and monastery ruins has been discovered near the river banks and about 100 meters from an 8th century Shiva temple. A bronze image of Adinatha (Rishbha, the first Tirthankara) was found in the ruins, and the image is dated to the 9th century.</p><br>
<h2>ASI Museum</h2><br>
<p>A museum managed by Archaeological Survey of India in the Lakshamana temple premises preserves the artwork parts and pieces of archaeological ruins found during excavations in the 1950s and in the 2000s. These belong to Shaiva, Vaishnav, Buddha and Jain religions and variously dated to between 6th and 12th centuries.</p><br>
<p>Batudaka is an island of the Central Sulawesi province, located in the Gulf of Tomini. The largest island in the Togian archipelago, it has a land area of over 110 square kilometers and is divided administratively into 10 villages which are part of the Una-Una Subdistrict of the Tojo Una-Una Regency.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>It is located in the Gulf of Tomini, separated with the island of Togean by only a narrow strait. The island has a forested, slightly hilly interior with a maximum elevation of 351 meters. Its land area is 266 square kilometers, stretching 30 km west-east and 20 km north-south.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>The island consists part of the Una-Una and Batudaka Subdistricts.</p><br>
<p>The populace largely consists of the Bajo people, referred locally as "boat men".</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>The island attracts domestic and foreign tourists, and has seven guesthouses with a combined total of 57 rooms in Wakai. There is a single cash office of Central Sulawesi Bank as well.</p><br>
<p>The island is accessible from either Gorontalo (12 hour trip), Ampana or Luwuk (both 4 hour trips) by speedboat. A hospital is also on the island.</p><br>
<p>Agriculture is an important sector, with coconuts, cloves, corn and cocoa beans taking up the largest cultivation areas. Two markets - one daily and the other weekly - serve the local population.</p><br>
<p>Dancing Point is a historic property on the north bank of the James River in rural Charles City County, Virginia. Located off Sandy Point Road and projecting into the river, the property has archaeological sites dating to the early colonial period of Virginias history that may shed light on the interaction between the early settlers of nearby Jamestown and the surrounding Native American communities; it is known to the be site of the 1619 Smiths Hundred settlement. The property is more recently notable for a Post-Modern landscape design by Thomas Church, executed in the 1970s, that is believed to be his only surviving commission in the state. A house from the same period was designed by Robert W. Stewart.</p><br>
<p>The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.</p><br>
<p>The Centerville Township Bridge Number S-18 is a historic stone arch bridge on 294th Lane in rural Turner County, South Dakota, west of Centerville. Built in 1938, it is one of a modest number of surviving stone arch bridges built in the county with funding from New Deal jobs programs. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Centerville Township Bridge Number S-18 is located in southern Turner County, about 4 mi west of Centerville, carrying 294th Lane across an unnamed stream east of its junction with 458th Avenue. The bridge is a two-arch stone structure, each arch measuring about 4 ft in length. It is built out of local fieldstone which is mostly granite, and has wing walls that angle outward and slope downward. The stones are joined by concrete mortar.</p><br>
<p>This bridge is one of 180 stone arch bridges built in Turner County as part of a New Deal-era federal jobs program. The county administration was able to build stone bridges at a lower cost than then-conventional steel beam bridges because of the availability of experienced stone workers, and the federal subsidy to the wages they were paid. The county was responsible for supervising the work crews and providing the building materials. This bridge was built in 1938 by a county crew.</p><br>
<p>The William Jerome I House is a historic house at 367 Jerome Avenue in Bristol, Connecticut. Probably built in 1742 by one of Bristols early colonial settlers, it is one of the citys oldest surviving buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The William Jerome I House stands in what is now a suburban residential setting in northeastern Bristol, at the southwest corner of Warner Street and Jerome Avenue. It is a 2-1/2 story wood frame structure, with a side gable roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. Its main facade is five bays wide, with a center entrance framed by fluted pilasters and a corniced entablature, and a slightly overhanging second floor. A leanto section extends to the rear, giving the house a classic colonial saltbox profile. The interior has a typical Georgian central chimney plan, with parlors on either side of the chimney and the former kitchen behind. The front entry vestibule, which originally had a narrow winding stair, has been modernized. The main building timbers have been cased in beaded board, and there are still original doors and a corner cabinet in one of the parlors.</p><br>
<p>William Jerome was one of the early settlers of Bristol, arriving in 1740 when it was part of Farmington. Jerome was one of the towns wealthiest residents, and the only to be listed as a slaveowner in the 1790 census. Jeromes son William II built a house that also survives, north of this one. Only a small number of 18th-century houses survive in Bristol.</p><br>
<p>The Flemington Historic District is a historic district in Flemington, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, USA</p><br>
<p>After evaluation by the state historic preservation office (SHPO) it was listed on New Jersey Register of Historic Places (NJRHP #1587)) and the National Register of Historic Places(NRHP #80002493) in 1980. One has been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS).</p><br>
<p>Among the contributing properties (CP) are:</p><br>
<p>Union Hotel - Early 19th century hotel in downtown Flemington that served as a restaurant until its 2008 closure. The current structure dates to 1877, built on the site of what had been a stagecoach stop that dates to 1814.</p><br>
<p>Hunterdon County Courthouse - Historic court house where the Lindbergh Trial took place. Now used for County offices.</p><br>
<p>Fleming Castle / Samuel Fleming House - First house in Flemington, 5 Bonnell Street. Purchased by the Borough of Flemington in 2005 and operated as a historical museum by the Friends of Fleming Castle.</p><br>
<p>The Millers Tavern Rural Historic District encompasses a large rural landscape in western Essex County, Virginia, extending partly into eastern King and Queen County. In an area of 3,900 acre is a landscape that has seen only modest alterations since the 17th century, with predominantly agricultural uses persisting. Most of the farm properties in the district are modest, with vernacular building stock dating from the late 18th century to the mid-20th century. Sprinkled throughout the district are a few churches and grist mills, as well as the eponymous Miller&#39;s Tavern. The district is roughly bounded by USA Route 360 and Howerton, Dunbrooke, Latanes Mill, and Midway Rds.</p><br>
<p>The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.</p><br>
<p>The Murray D. Van Wagoner Memorial Bridge is a bridge carrying M-156 over Silver Creek in Morenci, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Morenci was founded in 1852 and served as an important industrial and grain mill center. At one point, a 40 ft Pratt pony truss was constructed at this site. However, by the early 1930s, this bridge was in very poor condition. In 1935, the state of Michigan entered into a cooperative venture with the Taft Memorial Highway Association, which had been founded in 1930 to create a memorial highway extending from Florida to Michigan to honor William Howard Taft. Part of the venture involved replacing the bridge at this location.</p><br>
<p>The state hired Monroe-based W.H. Knapp Company to construct the bridge at a cost of $35,700 (equivalent to $ in ). The bridge was dedicated on July 31, 1935, and featured a speech by Murray Van Wagoner, after whom the city council had named the bridge. Van Wagoner was the head of the Michigan State Highway Department from 1933 until 1940, when he was elected governor.</p><br>
<p>The bridge was rehabilitated in 2000. In 2004, the 1893 Sterling Road truss bridge was relocated from Hillsdale County to the adjacent site for use as a crossing on the pedestrian trail.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The bridge is 45 ft long and carries a span with a 41.4 ft deck with a 33 ft roadway bordered by sidewalks. The deck is edged by railings made of concrete posts with ornamental metal lattice sections fixed in between. Approach railings are bolted to the inner face of each endpost. The substructure of the bridge is made up of concrete abutments and wing walls with a decorative stepped motif.</p><br>
<p>The Wallace Historic District, which is roughly bounded by Oak, Silver, C, Mullan, Canyon, Fir, and 1st Sts. in Wallace in Shoshone County, Idaho, is a historic district. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The listing was modified twice later.</p><br>
<p>The original listing was an 8 acre area roughly bounded by Pine, Bank, 5th and 7th Sts. It included 485 contributing buildings, many built during 1890-91. It included Classical Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Late Victorian and vernacular architecture.</p><br>
<p>The Wallace Historic District was modified by a Boundary Increase listing in 1983. The modified district includes about 500 residences, plus the Carnegie library (separately listed as Wallace Carnegie Library) and other non-residential buildings in Wallace.</p><br>
<p>The 100 acre increase included 301 contributing buildings.</p><br>
<p>There was also a boundary decrease, with refnum 90000360, of March 14, 1990.</p><br>
<p>The Southeast Water Trough is an historic structure located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It is the last of 15 National Humane Alliance fountains that were placed around the city by the Iowa Humane Alliance. They were also named Ensign fountains after the founder of the National Humane Alliance, Herman Lee Ensign. This was one of two placed in Des Moines in 1906. The 6 ft tall granite structure features a rectangular shaft that is surrounded by a 6 ft bowl. Four small cups are located at the base to provide water for smaller animals. The fountain rests on a base of tiles. It is a reminder of the horse and buggy era before the prevalence of indoor plumbing. While it served a practical function of watering horses, it also served a social function as a place where people in the local community could gather. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.</p><br>
<p>S. Walker&#39;s Hotel, also known as the Brick Walker Tavern, is a former hotel/tavern located at 11705 US-12 in Cambridge Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Sylvester and Lucy Walker were married in New Berlin, New York in 1816. By the mid-1830s they had moved to Cooperstown, New York where they ran the Union Hall hotel. In about 1838 they moved to Michigan and likely leased the inn and tavern located across the road from this site from the owner, Calvin Snell. At the time, traffic along what was then called the Chicago Road was increasing, as it was the primary route between Detroit and Chicago. In 1842, the Walkers purchased the tavern, renaming it the Walker Tavern. The Walker Tavern still stands. The Walkers continued to run the older, frame tavern until 1853. However, in that year, Walker augmented his business by beginning construction on a new brick hotel at the present site.</p><br>
<p>The new building was completed in late 1852, and had a separate dining room and taproom on the first floor, guest rooms on the second floor, and a ballroom on the third floor. The Walkers continued to own both the frame Walker Tavern and the new hotel until 1863. Although traffic along the Chicago Road was decreasing due to the construction of railroad lines through southern Michigan, the Walkers likely kept in business through the taproom catering to local residents. In 1859, Walker sold the hotel to Silas Giles of Detroit, but remained living in the hotel until his death in 1868.</p><br>
<p>Silas Giles sold the hotel to William Graves and George Curtis in 1863, who in turn sold it to Lyman Nearing later that same year. Lyman Nearing was born in 1817 inLafayette, New York and moved to Michigan just before purchasing the hotel. In 1864, he married Jane Turner, and the couple moved into the hotel. In 1865, they changed the name to the Nearing House, and owned and managed the establishment until 1887, when the mortgage was foreclosed and he lost the hotel. Walker B. Sherman purchased the hotel at the sheriff&#39;s sale, and after his death in 1892 it was sold to Edwin B. Culver. The hotel was sold again in 1898 to Frank Fitzgerald, and in 1900 to George Burton. Burton owned and managed the hotel until 1922, but with mixed success.</p><br>
<p>In 1922, Frederick Hewitt purchased the property. Hewitt was born in England in 1876, and emigrated to Canada in 1891. He eventually received a degree in theology from Huron College in</p><br>
<p>1899, and took a position at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Detroit, staying until 1905. Over the next decade, he took positions at various churches throughout Michigan. Hewitt was charismatic and a skilled orator, and made numerous friends; among them were Alex J. Groesbeck, who went on to become governor of Michigan, and auto magnate Henry Ford.</p><br>
<p>In the early 1920s, Hewitts interests began to turn toward antiques. He was familiar with the Irish Hills area, having served a stint at St. Peters Episcopal Church in Tecumseh. In 1920 he purchased a cottage at Evans Lake and opened an antiques shop, and in 1922 purchased both the wooden Walker Tavern and Walker&#39;s Hotel. He refurbished the hotel, and continued to rent out rooms and run a restaurant on the premises, but he also added an antique shop to the building. In 1926, Chicago Road had been paved, drawing an influx of tourists, and Hewitt realized that the antiques business was a sufficient money-maker. He ceased providing means and rooms, and turned to antiques full-time. Here his influential friends paid off, as both Alex Groesbeck and Henry Ford visited the antique store on a regular basis, with the latter purchasing many items for his Greenfield Village museum. Other clients included University of Michigan football coach Fielding Yost (as well as other UM faculty), and the wife of the poet Robert Frost.</p><br>
<p>Hewitt&#39;s antique business was so successful that he opened two more shops, one in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1924, and one in Chicago in 1929, and he purchased the Springville Inn a few miles from the hotel. In 1930 he built a home near the wooden Walker Tavern, and in 1931 opened the entire Brick Tavern to the public as a combination antique shop and museum. In 1934, due to the Great Depression, Hewitt sold his subsidiary stores, and concentrated on managing the Springville Inn. He turned over the management of the wooden tavern to his daughter and her husband, Forest Keith, and turned over the brick hotel to his son, James, to run as an antiques shop.</p><br>
<p>In 1965, the Hewitts sold the wooden tavern to the state of Michigan, and in 1967 sold the brick hotel to antique dealers Nells and Joseph Schmidt. Since that time, the building was operated by various people as an antiques shop. In the mid-2000s, it was purchased by Tom Lee, who restored it to operate as a wedding and event center known as the Brick Walker Tavern.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>S. Walker&#39;s Hotel is a three-story, side-gable building with a symmetrical five-bay front facade with a center entrance, displaying both Greek Revival and Italianate architectural elements. It is constructed of solid, load-bearing red brick walls with yellow-brownish sandstone trim. A two-story ell projects from the rear. The eaves of the shallow roof are supported by regularly spaced brackets, and two brick chimneys are placed at either end of the roof.</p><br>
<p>The front facade contains a center entrance with two windows on either side; the entryway itself contains sidelights and a transom above. The stories above each contain six regularly spaced windows, unaligned with the fist story openings. The side elevations each contain four windows in each story. Nearly all the windows are six-over-six double-hung units, many with original glazing. Sandstone lintels cap all the windows.</p><br>
<p>The building is set very close to the highway, and upon a slight rise, with a concrete retaining wall supporting the hillock. Opposite the highway, the hill falls away, exposing the basement story of the hotel. Across the highway is the wooden Walker Tavern, now part of the Cambridge Junction Historic State Park. Three historically contributing outbuildings are also located on the property, two board and batten barns dating from c. 1870, and one board-sided barn constructed in the 1920s.</p><br>
<p>The Big Creek Schoolhouse, also known as Polk City Schoolhouse and Polk City City Hall, is a historic building located in Polk City, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1863 when the community was known as Big Creek. It is the work of master builder John Adam Schall, who was able to adapt heavy timber framing for the construction of the two-story Greek Revival structure. It served as a schoolhouse and community center from the time it was built until 1893. It became Polk City&#39;s city hall the following year, and contniued to serve as a community center. A full-size addition was completed on the back of the building in 1915. Two one-story additions were constructed later in the 20th century. A frame addition was built in 1964 on the southwest corner of the main block, and a frame lean-to was added onto the north elevation in 1984. In 1966 the outside staircase, which was the only way to access the second floor, was removed.</p><br>
<p>Unused portions of the first floor and the whole second floor of the building was leased to the Big Creek Historical Society, which converted the space into a museum. Restoration took place from 2005 to 2009. The rest of the building continues to serve as city hall. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.</p><br>
<p>The Valley Junction-West Des Moines City Hall and Engine House is a historic building located in West Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Valley Junction was incorporated in 1893, and it was named for the junction of three lines of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad where it was located. This two-story brick building was constructed to house the community&#39;s city hall and fire station, even though the fire department would not be established until 1905. The fire station was located on the first floor, and the city hall was located on the second floor. It was located a block north of the train depot. An interurban railway connected the town to Des Moines, and its proximity to the Iowa coal fields contributed to its growth. By 1911 the town grew to be the second largest community in Polk County, and its name was changed to West Des Moines by 1940. The building was used for city hall until 1952. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.</p><br>
<p>The Camp Dodge Pool District, also known as the Camp Dodge Swimming Pool Complex, is a nationally recognized historic district located in Johnston, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. It consists of a 2,300,000 gal swimming pool, a bathing pavilion, and a concession stand. The complex was built at Camp Dodge, the headquarters of the Iowa National Guard. When it was completed in 1922, the pool could accommodate between 1,000 and 2,000 people and it may have been the largest in the country. The following year, however, a larger pool was built in San Francisco.</p><br>
<p>The swimming pool complex was designed by the architectural firm of Pearse, Robinson & Sprague. The pool was built by Stark and Knotts, and the single-story stuccoed pavilion was built by Sugarman Construction Company. They were completed for $33,102. It was always intended that the pool would be used by the local community outside of the National Guard&#39;s annual encampment. It was thought it was inappropriate for the Guard to operate a public pool so the Play Ground Association of Des Moines agreed in 1923 to operate the pool when the Guard was not using it. The concrete block concession stand was built in the 1930s as a Works Project Administration project. It was designed by William N. Nielsen. The significance of the pool complex is based on its association with the value of recreation for both the military and the local community.</p><br>
