Lies across America: what our historic sites get wrong

In what ways were we warped?

Some functions of public history

The sociology of historic sites

Historic sites are always a tale of two eras

Hieratic scale in historic monuments

The Far West

Alaska : Denali (Mt. McKinley) : The tallest mountain, the silliest name

Hawaii : Honolulu : King Kamehameha I, the Roman!

California : Sacramento : The flat Earth myth on the West Coast

California : Sacramento : Exploiting vs. exterminating the Natives

California : San Francisco : China Beach leaves out the bad parts

California : Downieville : Killing a man is not news

Oregon : La Grande : Don't "discover" 'til you see the eyes of the Whites

Washington : Cowlitz County : No Communists here!

Washington : Centralia : Using nationalism to redefine a troublesome statue

Nevada : Hickison Summit : What we know and what we don't know about rock art

Nevada : Nye County : Don't criticize Big Brother

The Mountains

Idaho : Almo : Circle the wagons, boys, it's tourist season

Utah : North of St. George : Bad things happen in the passive voice

Arizona : Navajo Reservation : Calling Native Americans bad names

Montana : Helena : No Confederate dead? No problem! Invent them!

Wyoming : South Pass City : A woman shoulda done it!

Colorado : Leadville : Licking the corporate hand that feeds you

New Mexico : Alcalde : The footloose statue.

The Great Plains

Oklahoma : Oklahoma City : The Oklahoma State History Museum Confederate Room tells no history

Kansas : Gardner : Which came first, wilderness or civilization?

Nebraska : Red Cloud : No lesbians on the landscape

South Dakota : Brookings : American Indians only roved for about a hundred years

North Dakota : Devils Lake : The devil is winning, six to one

The Midwest

Minnesota : St. Paul : "Serving the cause of humanity"

Iowa : Muscatine : Red Men only : no Indians allowed

Missouri : Hannibal : Domesticating Mark Twain

Wisconsin : Racine : Not the first auto

Illinois : Chicago : America's most toppled monument

Indiana : Graysville : Coming into Indiana minus a body part

Indiana : Indianapolis : The invisible empire remains invisible

Kentucky : Lexington : Putting the He in Hero

Kentucky : Hodgenville : Abraham Lincoln's birthplace cabin : built thirty years after his death!

Michigan : Dearborn : Honoring a Segregationist

Ohio : Delaware : Who menaced whom?

The South

Texas : Gainesville : "No nation rose so white and fair ; non fell so free of crime"

Texas : Alba : The only honest sundown town in the United States

Texas : Pittsburg : It never got off the ground

Texas : Fredericksburg : The real war will never get into the war museums

Texas : Galveston : This building used to be a hardware store

Arkansas : Little Rock : Men make history ; women make wives

Louisiana : Laplace : Suppressing a slave revolt for the second time

Louisiana : Colfax : Mystifying the Colfax Riot and lying about Reconstruction

Louisiana : New Orleans : The White League begins to take a beating

Louisiana : Baton Rouge : The toppled "Darky"

Louisiana : Fort Jackson : Let us now praise famous thieves

Mississippi : Itta Bena : A Black college celebrates White racists

Alabama : Calhoun County : If Russia can do it, why can't we?

Alabama : Tuscumbia : Confining Helen Keller under house arrest

Alabama : Scottsboro : Famous everywhere but home

Tennessee : Fort Pillow : Remember Fort Pillow!

Tennessee : Woodbury : Forrest rested here

Georgia : Stone Mountain : A Confederate-KKK shrine encounters turbulence

Florida : Near Cedar Key : The missing town of Rosewood

South Carolina : Beech Island : The Beech Island Agricultural Club was hardly what the marker implies

South Carolina : Fort Mill : To the loyal slaves

South Carolina : Columbia : Who burned Columbia?

North Carolina : Bentonville Battlefield : The last major Confederate offensive of the Civil War

Virginia : Alexandria : The invisible salve trade

Virginia : Alexandria : The clash of the martyrs

Virginia : Richmond : "One of the great female spies of all times"

Virginia : Richmond : Slavery and redemption

Virginia : Richmond : The liberation of Richmond

Virginia : Richmond : Abraham Lincoln walks through Richmond

Virginia : Appomattox : Getting even the numbers wrong

Virginia : Stickleyville : A sign of good breeding.

The Atlantic States

West Virginia : Union : Is California West of the Alleghenies?

District of Columbia : Jefferson Memorial : Juxtaposing quotations to misrepresent a Founding Father

Maryland : Hampton : "No history to tell"

Delaware : Reliance : The reverse Underground Railroad

Pennsylvania : Philadelphia : Telling amusing incidents for the tourists

Pennsylvania : Valley Forge : George Washington's desperate prayer

Pennsylvania : Lancaster : "You're here to see the house"

Pennsylvania : Gettysburg : South Carolina defines the Civil War in 1965

Pennsylvania : Philadelphia : Remember the "Splendid Little War" : forget the tawdry larger wars

Pennsylvania : Philadelphia : Celebrating illegal submarine warfare

New Jersey : Trenton : The Pilgrims and religious freedom

New York : Manhattan : Making Native Americans look stupid

New York : Alabama : Which George Washington?

New York : North Elba : John Brown's plaque puts Blacks at the bottom!

New York : Manhattan : The Union League Club : traitors to their own cause

New York : Manhattan : Selective memory at U.S.S. Intrepid

New England

Connecticut : Darien : Omitting the town's continuing claim to fame

Massachusetts : Boston : The problem of the common

Massachusetts : Amherst : Celebrating genocide

Vermont : Burlington : Shards of minstrelsy on a far-north campus

New Hampshire : Peterborough and Dublin : Local history wars

New Hampshire : Concord : "Effective political leader"

Rhode Island : Block Island : "Settlement" means fewer people!

Rhode Island : Warren and Barrington : Fighting over the "Good Indian"

Maine : Bar Harbor : At last, an accurate marker.

In What Ways Were We Warped? Some Functions of Public History The Sociology of Historic Sites Historic Sites Are Always a Tale of Two Eras Hieratic Scale in Historic Monuments The Far West. Alaska Denali (Mt. McKinley): The Tallest Mountain - The Silliest Naming ; Hawaii Honolulu: King Kamehameha I, The Roman! ; California Sacramento: The Flat Earth Myth on the West Coast ; California Sacramento: Exploiting vs. Exterminating the Natives ; California San Francisco: China Beach Leaves Out the Bad Parts ; California Downieville: Killing a Man Is Not News ; Oregon La Grande: Don't "Discover" 'Til You See the Eyes of the Whites! ; Washington Cowlitz County: No Communists Here! ; Washington Centralia: Using Nationalism to Redefine a Troublesome Statue ; Nevada Hickison Summit: What We Know and What We Don't Know About Rock Art ; Nevada Nye County: Don't Criticize Big Brother

The Mountains. Idaho Almo: Circle the Wagons, Boys - It's Tourist Season ; Utah North of St. George: Bad Things Happen in the Passive Voice ; Arizona Navajo Reservation: Calling Native Americans Bad Names ; Montana Helena: No Confederate Dead? No Problem! Invent Them! ; Wyoming South Pass City: A Woman Shoulda Done It! ; Colorado Pagosa Springs: Tall Tales in the West ; Colorado Leadville: Licking the Corporate Hand That Feeds You ; New Mexico Alcalde: The Footloose Statue The Great Plains. Oklahoma Oklahoma City: The Oklahoma State History Museum Confederate Room Tells No History ; Kansas Gardner: Which Came First, Wilderness or Civilization? ; Nebraska Red Cloud: No Lesbians on the Landscape ; South Dakota Brookings: American Indians Only Roved for About a Hundred Years ; North Dakota Devils Lake: The Devil Is Winning, Six to One

The Midwest. Minnesota St. Paul: "Serving the Cause of Humanity" ; Iowa Muscatine: Red Men Only - No Indians Allowed ; Missouri Hannibal: Domesticating Mark Twain ; Wisconsin Racine: Not the First Auto ; Illinois Chicago: America's Most Toppled Monument ; Indiana Graysville: Coming into Indiana Minus a Body Part ; Indiana Indianapolis: The Invisible Empire Remains Invisible ; Kentucky Lexington: Putting the He in Hero ; Kentucky Hodgenville: Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace Cabin - Built Thirty Years after His Death! ; Michigan Dearborn: Honoring a Segregationist ; Ohio Delaware: Who Menaced Whom?

The South. Texas Gainesville: "No Nation Rose So White and Fair; None Fell So Free of Crime" ; Texas Alba: The Only Honest Sundown Town in the United States ; Texas Pittsburg: It Never Got Off the Ground ; Texas Fredericksburg: The Real War Will Never Get into the War Museums ; Texas Galveston: This Building Used to Be a Hardware Store ;

Arkansas Grant County: Which Came First, the Statue or the Oppression? ; Arkansas Little Rock: Men Make History; Women Make Wives ; Louisiana Laplace: Suppressing a Slave Revolt for the Second Time ; Louisiana Colfax: Mystifying the Colfax Riot and Lying About Reconstruction ; Louisiana New Orleans: The White League Begins to Take a Beating ; Louisiana Baton Rouge: The Toppled "Darky" ; Louisiana Fort Jackson: Let Us Now Praise Famous Thieves ; Mississippi Hazlehurst: The End of Reconstruction ; Mississippi Itta Bena: A Black College Celebrates White Racists ; Alabama Calhoun County: If Russia Can Do It, Why Can't We? ; Alabama Tuscumbia: Confining Helen Keller Under House Arrest ; Alabama Scottsboro: Famous Everywhere but at Home ; Tennessee Fort Pillow: Remember Fort Pillow! ; Tennessee Woodbury: Forrest Rested Here ; Georgia Stone Mountain: A Confederate-KKK Shrine Encounters Turbulence ; Florida Near Cedar Key: The Missing Town of Rosewood ;

South Carolina Beech Island: The Beech Island Agricultural Club Was Hardly What the Marker Implies ; South Carolina Fort Mill: To the Loyal Slaves ; South Carolina Columbia: Who Burned Columbia? ; North Carolina Bentonville Battlefield: The Last Major Confederate Offensive of the Civil War ; Virginia Alexandria: The Invisible Slave Trade ; Virginia Alexandria: The Clash of the Martyrs ; Virginia Richmond: "One of the Great Female Spies of All Times" ; Virginia Richmond: Slavery and Redemption ; Virginia Richmond: The Liberation of Richmond ; Virginia Richmond: Abraham Lincoln Walks Through Richmond ; Virginia Appomattox: Getting Even the Numbers Wrong ; Virginia Stickleyville: A Sign of Good Breeding

The Atlantic States. West Virginia Union: Is California West of the Alleghenies? ; District of Columbia Jefferson Memorial: Juxtaposing Quotations to Misrepresent a Founding Father ; District of Columbia Lincoln Memorial: A Product of Its Time and All Time ; Maryland Hampton: "No History to Tell" ; Delaware Reliance: The Reverse Underground Railroad ; Pennsylvania Philadelphia: Telling Amusing Incidents for the Tourists ; Pennsylvania Valley Forge: George Washington's Desperate Prayer ; Pennsylvania Lancaster: "You're Here to See the House" ; Pennsylvania Gettysburg: South Carolina Defines the Civil War in 1965 ; Pennsylvania Philadelphia: Remember the "Splendid Little War" - Forget the Tawdry Larger Wars ; Pennsylvania Philadelphia: Celebrating Illegal Submarine Warfare ; New Jersey Trenton: The Pilgrims and Religious Freedom ; New York Manhattan: Making Native Americans Look Stupid ; New York Alabama: Which George Washington? ; New York North Elba: John Brown's Plaque Puts Blacks at the Bottom! ; New York Manhattan: The Union League Club: Traitors to Their Own Cause ; New York Manhattan: Selective Memory at USS Intrepid

New England. Connecticut Darien: Omitting the Town's Continuing Claim to Fame ; Massachusetts Boston: The Problem of the Common ; Massachusetts Amherst: Celebrating Genocide ; Massachusetts Boston: What a Monument Ought to Be ; Vermont Burlington: Shards of Minstrelsy on a Far-North Campus ; New Hampshire Peterborough and Dublin: Local History Wars ; New Hampshire Concord: "Effective Political Leader" ; Rhode Island Block Island: "Settlement" Means Fewer People! ; Rhode Island Warren and Barrington: Fighting Over the "Good Indian" ; Maine Bar Harbor: At Last - An Accurate Marker

Snowplow Revisionism

Getting into a Dialogue with the Landscape

Appendices. Selecting the Sites ; Ten Questions to Ask at a Historic Site ; Twenty Candidates for "Toppling".