History and Geography Posts

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History of Sumeria covers 5th to 3rd millennium BC in southern Mesopotamia and is believed to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods. Sumeria was the oldest known civilization in the region and ended with the fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur around 2004 BC.

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝟓𝟑𝟔 𝐀𝐃: 𝐀 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐧
In 536 AD, a strange and thick fog enveloped Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, lasting for 18 months. This fog was so dense that it blocked out the sun, leading to a dramatic drop in temperatures, crop failures, and widespread famine. Historians and scientists believe the fog was caused by massive volcanic eruptions, possibly in Iceland, which threw vast amounts of ash into the atmosphere. This event led to what is often referred to as the “worst year to be alive,” as the lack of sunlight and ensuing famine caused untold suffering across civilizations.
𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬:
- Michael McCormick, Harvard University
- The Byzantine Historian Procopius
- Geophysical Research Letters

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"Texas State Historical Association"

September 8th, 1938 -- Port Arthur and Orange County connected by bridge.

On this day in 1938, the bridge over the Neches River connecting Port Arthur and Orange County was dedicated, replacing the Dryden Ferry. As a result of a contest in 1957 it became known as the "Rainbow Bridge." The bridge was financed by the county, state, and federal governments under the Public Works Administration at a cost of $2,750,000. Beaumont representatives opposed the bridge until a compromise of 176 feet clearance was reached. The clearance was to allow the tallest ship afloat at the time (the Navy dirigible tender USS Patoka) to pass and reach Beaumont's upstream dock. This made the bridge the most elevated highway bridge over tidal waters in the world and the largest bridge built by the Texas Highway Department. No ship ever came close to hitting the bottom of the bridge.

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Under pressure from Huns to their east and seeing the Roman garrisons to their south and west weakening, on December 31, 406 A.D., Vandals and other Germanic barbarian tribes began to cross the Rhine River into the territory of the Roman Empire. It was one of the most momentous events in world history.

Although it has never been definitively determined, it is likely that the Vandals migrated into what is now Germany from Scandinavia centuries earlier, after passing first through modern Poland. Throughout the first four centuries A.D. they had looked enviously across the Rhine at the wealth of the Roman civilization in Gaul (modern France) but the might of the Roman legions kept them at bay.

But by the beginning of the 5th century Rome was in trouble. Goths had penetrated the empire from across the Danube, inflicting a stunning defeat on the Romans at the Battle of Adrianople in 378 A.D. As Roman forces pulled back to defend the Italian peninsula, the defenses along the Rhine were weakened and, in many cases, abandoned.

In the winter of 406 Germanic tribes—Vandals, Alemanni, Franks, Burgundians, and others— were gathered along the north/eastern banks of the Rhine. When the river froze, they swarmed across and into Gaul, changing the course of world history.

Edward Gibbon, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, writes: “On the last day of the year, in a season when the waters of the Rhine were most probably frozen, (the barbarians) entered without opposition the defenseless provinces of Gaul….This memorable passage of the Suevi, the Vandals, the Alani, and the Burgundians, who never afterwards retreated, may be considered the fall of the Roman Empire in the countries beyond the Alps; and the barriers, which had so long separated the savage and civilized nations of the earth, were from that fatal moment levelled with the ground.”

The Vandals pillaged and plundered their way across Gaul and into what is now Spain, before eventually crossing into and conquering much of North Africa. Eventually they would sack Rome itself.

Throughout Europe the barbarian conquests ushered in what came to be known (controversially these days) as “the Dark Ages.” With the collapse of the frontier, the Romans were forced to abandon Britannia, which fell into a precipitous cultural and economic decline. In time, all of western Europe came to be dominated by Germanic invaders and their descendants.

The Vandals and their barbarian allies crossed the Rhine 1,617 years ago today.

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There Is A Document With Cleopatra's Handwriting. The papyrus in question dates back to around 33 B.C., a time when Cleopatra was deeply involved in the political machinations of the Roman world, largely through her relationship with Mark Antony. The document itself pertains to a tax exemption, a gesture of favor to a friend of Antony, highlighting Cleopatra’s political acumen and her ability to exercise power in a male-dominated world.

What makes this document particularly fascinating is Cleopatra’s signature. Rather than her full name, she signed the document with a Greek word, "ginesthoi," which translates to "make it happen" or "so be it." This succinct and authoritative command encapsulates her role as a sovereign ruler, directly intervening in the administrative matters of her realm.

Via Babun Mitra

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Evadale, Texas 

Evadale is at the junction of U.S. Highway 96 and Farm roads 105, 1131, and 2246, twenty-five miles northeast of Beaumont in southwestern Jasper County. During the 1830s and 1840s the site was called Richardson (Richardson's) Bluff, for early settler Benjamin Richardson, who operated a ferry on the Neches River and who also served as postmaster in 1839. Town lots for the area were listed in county tax rolls as early as 1859. After Richardson's death in 1849, the land was sold to John A., Philip U., and Charles T. Ford. At this time the site was often referred to as Ford's Bluff. Hoping to establish a sawmill, Philip Ford went to New Orleans to buy machinery but contracted yellow fever there and died shortly after returning to Jasper County. Nonetheless, Ford's Bluff became an important collection point for logs, which were floated down the river to Beaumont mills. In 1893 John Henry Kirby chartered the Gulf, Beaumont and Kansas City Railway and rebuilt a tram line that already ran from Ford's Bluff to Buna as part of his larger common carrier project. Kirby renamed the site for Miss Eva Dale, a teacher at Jasper's Southeast Texas Male and Female College, and constructed a mill there by 1904, when the post office was established. By 1914 the Evadale plant, known as Mill U, included kilns, a circular sawmill, and a planing mill with a daily capacity of up to 70,000 board feet. Evadale had a population of 300 by 1920. The Kirby mill closed during the Great Depression, and by the late 1940s the town's population had fallen to 100. Economic revitalization began in 1948, when the Champion Paper and Fiber Company acquired riverfront acreage for a pulp mill. By the 1970s the giant Temple-Eastex pulpwood and paper mill dominated the local economy. With the new activity, the population in Evadale reached 700 by the early 1960s. In 1984 the town had twenty-two businesses and an estimated 715 residents. In 1990 its population was 1,422 and in 2000 it was 1,430.

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The first officially recorded baseball game in the United States was played on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey:

When: June 19, 1846

Where: Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey
Who played: The New York Nine defeated the Knickerbockers 23–1 in four innings
Significance: Many baseball historians consider this game to be the birth of modern baseball 
 
The rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over the next 50 years, based on the Knickerbocker code. 
 
The history of baseball in the United States began in the 19th century when amateur enthusiasts and boys played a baseball-like game with homemade equipment and their own informal rules.

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On this day in 331 BC, a 25-year-old Alexander the Great defeats Darius III at Gaugamela in present-day Iraq. The Persian emperor famously flees the battlefield and will later be killed by his own lieutenants.

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Sir John Harrington made the first modern toilet that could be flushed in 1596. He put one up for Queen Elizabeth I, who is his grandmother. A water tank and a flush valve were part of his design. For 250 years, though, people wouldn't like the flush toilet very much. In medieval Europe, most toilets were either holes in the ground, outhouses for everyone to use, or chamber pots.
You might have used a garderobe (from the French word for "wardrobe") if you were lucky enough to be born into a lot of money. These were small rooms that were built next to castle walls in the Middle Ages. The toilet was linked to a tube that went straight down to the ground.

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During the 1700s lobsters were so plentiful that they used to wash ashore on Massachusetts beaches in piles up to 2 feet high. Lobsters were considered the “poor man’s chicken” and primarily used for fertilizer or fed to prisoners and slaves. Some indentures servants even revolted against being forced to eat the meat and the colony agreed that they would not be fed lobster meat more than three times a week. 

As the American rail transportation system began to develop it made it easier for people to travel from state to state. Train workers realized that they could serve lobster to passengers because it was plentiful and cheap. Unaware of the negative stigma that was attached to these crustaceans, the passengers believed they were eating a decadent food and began requesting lobster even when they weren’t on the train. 

Amazing how perspectives can change once you can make money from something.

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The Colmesneil highway.....  

 

U.S. Route 69 is a north-south highway in the central United States, stretching from the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur, Texas, to the Minnesota-Iowa border. Covering approximately 1,100 miles, it runs through five states: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa.

In Texas, Route 69 serves as a key route through cities such as Beaumont, Lufkin, and Tyler. It continues north into Oklahoma, passing through towns like Durant and Pryor. In Kansas, it is one of the main highways leading into Kansas City. In Missouri, Route 69 runs briefly before entering Iowa, where it terminates near the border with Minnesota.

The highway is essential for regional traffic, often serving as a truck route and a commuter road, especially near major cities. Some sections have been upgraded to freeway standards, particularly in Texas and Kansas, while other parts remain two-lane roads that pass through rural landscapes.

U.S. Route 69 holds historical and economic significance, especially as a connector between smaller towns and larger urban areas. It plays a vital role in local economies, and like many U.S. highways, it offers scenic views of farmland, forests, and small-town America along its route.

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U.S. Route 59, commonly referred to as US 59, is a significant north-south highway in the central United States. Stretching approximately 1,911 miles (3,075 km), this route begins at the Mexican border in Laredo, Texas, and extends all the way to the Canadian border in Lancaster, Minnesota. As it traverses the central states, US 59 crosses Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota, passing through a variety of landscapes and connecting numerous communities.

The route serves as a major corridor for travel and commerce, linking important cities like Texarkana, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Houston, Texas. In Texas, part of US 59 is designated as the Zapata Highway, a name that reflects its significance within the region. Historically, the route was added to the U.S. Highway system in 1934, making it an established part of the nation’s road network.

US 59 intersects with several major interstate highways, with portions overlapping Interstate routes, especially in states like Kansas and Oklahoma. In Minnesota, some segments of the highway are designated as scenic byways, offering travelers views of the state’s natural beauty. At its endpoints, US 59 connects to international borders, joining the Rio Grande in Laredo and extending to Canada near Lancaster. This dual-border connection underscores its role as a critical route for cross-border trade and travel.

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Exploring U.S. Route 190: A Journey Through Texas and Louisiana

U.S. Route 190 (US 190) is an iconic east-west highway stretching across the southern United States. Spanning approximately 875 miles (1,408 km), this route provides a vital connection between west Texas and southeastern Louisiana, offering travelers a glimpse into the diverse landscapes, history, and culture of the region.

Established in 1926, US 190 has evolved over the decades, extending to connect with various major highways and transport routes. Its western terminus begins at Interstate 10 (I-10) in Pecos, Texas, and it continues eastward until reaching its end point at US 90 in Slidell, Louisiana. Throughout its length, US 190 functions both as a main travel artery and a scenic route, winding through rural areas, military bases, and vibrant cities.

In Texas, US 190 takes travelers through cities such as Fort Hood, with notable junctions at US 83, US 281, and I-45. Its presence in these areas highlights the highway’s importance for both military and civilian travel, as it connects key destinations within Texas. US 190 intersects with I-35 in Belton, a major north-south highway, making it a strategic route for regional connectivity.

Crossing into Louisiana, US 190 remains a crucial passageway, especially through central parts of the state. Notable destinations include Baton Rouge, where US 190 crosses the Mississippi River via the historic Huey P. Long Bridge. From there, the route continues to Opelousas, intersecting with I-49, and passes through scenic regions until reaching its eastern terminus in Slidell.

Whether as a practical route for locals and commuters or a scenic drive for travelers exploring the Southern states, US 190 captures the essence of the American road. With its varied landscapes and communities, this highway is more than a roadway; it’s a journey through the heart of Texas and Louisiana, inviting travelers to explore both the landmarks and hidden gems along its path.

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U.S. Route 84 is a major east-west highway in the United States that spans across several states, playing a crucial role in connecting various regions. The highway begins in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and stretches all the way to Midway, Georgia, covering a distance of approximately 1,919 miles. It passes through Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, providing a vital link between these states. The route offers diverse landscapes and experiences, from the mountainous terrains of Colorado to the flat plains of Texas and the forested areas of the Deep South.

Established in 1926 as part of the original U.S. Highway System, it has undergone numerous modifications over the years. Initially, it was shorter, but extensions and realignments have made it the extensive route it is today. It serves both rural and urban areas, connecting smaller communities with larger cities, facilitating economic and social interactions. Notable cities along the route include Abilene, Texas; Monroe, Louisiana; and Dothan, Alabama.

The highway has significant historical and cultural importance, with many stretches following old trade and migration routes. It is known as "El Camino Real" in some parts of Texas and New Mexico, a nod to the Spanish colonial roads that preceded it. The highway is also a part of the Great River Road system in Louisiana, which follows the Mississippi River and highlights the cultural heritage of the region.

U.S. Route 84 is more than just a transportation corridor; it represents a journey through the heart of the southern United States, showcasing the varied geography, history, and culture of the regions it traverses. Its role in connecting communities and promoting regional development underscores its importance within the national highway network.

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U.S. Highway 96 (US 96) is a north-south United States Numbered Highway that runs entirely within the state of Texas. It spans approximately 117.11 miles (188.47 km). The route's numbering is an anomaly because, according to the standard U.S. Highway numbering convention, even-numbered two-digit highways are typically east-west routes, not north-south.

As of 2004, US 96's southern terminus is located in Port Arthur, where it intersects State Highway 87 (SH 87), also connecting with US 287 and US 69. The northern terminus of US 96 is in Tenaha, Texas, where it intersects US 59 (which will eventually become part of Future I-69) and US 84 (which will also be part of Future I-69).

US 96 serves as an important regional route in Texas, connecting communities across the eastern part of the state, particularly in areas such as Beaumont, Lumberton, and Nacogdoches.