November 2010

The Emperor of Spain, Phillip II, decreed in 1576 that plazas in the "New World" colonies were to be created following his rigid requirements, namely that plazas were to be placed in the center of each settlement, with major government, commercial, residential and church buildings facing the plaza. Since the founding of Mayagüez, its inhabitants have used Plaza Pública for social, cultural and political purposes. Despite a fire that destroyed much of the town, residents remodeled the plaza in 1842. In 1896, a bronze statue of Columbus was added to the plaza.

Located on an isolated point with white lime cliffs surrounded by lagoons and marshes, Cabo Rojo, built in 1882, marks the southeast entrance from the Caribbean Sea through Mona Passage into the Atlantic Ocean. Cabo Rojo's lighthouse has simple decorative elements including an unelaborated cornice that is repeated in the tower. Although originally housing two keepers and an engineer, the lighthouse was left unmanned following a 1967 renovation and automation. The old cast-iron, copper and glass lantern still houses the original illuminating apparatus, a lenticular lens manufactured by the French firm Sautter, Lemonnier and Company.

The stories of Roanoke Island are told by exhibits, artifacts and the 17-minute park video Roanoke: The Lost Colony. In the summer, park rangers offer interpretive programs and activities. Earthen works restored on the site are associated with England's colonization efforts that were sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh from 1584 to 1590. An adjacent spot has confirmed evidence of metallurgical activity from the 1585 exploration expedition.

The Thomas Hariot Nature Trail offers a 20-minute pocket wilderness experience of the island's natural setting. Wayside signs on the trail relate what English explorers observed of the natural resources and the commodities that could be made from them. The Freedom Trail leads 1-¼ miles from the nearby Elizabethan Gardens through the park land to the island's western edge, offering a viewshed that the native Algonquians enjoyed from their island home. At the trail's west end, signs discuss the Civil War Battle of Roanoke Island and of freedom found on the island by escaped slaves.

Ocmulgee National Monument is a memorial to the relationship of people and natural resources in this corner of North America. We preserve a continuous record of human life in the Southeast from the earliest times to the present, there is evidence here of more than 12,000 years of human habitation. A diversity of natural and cultural resources combines to provide an abundance of reasons to visit.

It was a swelteringly hot and clear Monday, June 27, 1864, when some of the heaviest fighting of the Atlanta Campaign occurred here.

Preserved are historic earthworks, cannon emplacements and monuments. Interpreted here are the historic events where over 5,350 soldiers were killed in the battle fought here from June 19, 1864 through July 2, 1864.

Visitors can tour the battlefield and inspect original artifacts from the battle at the Visitors Center.

Spanish colonists established Villa de San Germán de Auxerre, also known as Nueva Salamanca, in the early years of the 16th century. The town of San Germán grew out of the settlement formally established in 1573, and it is this original urban core, transformed by rapid growth from the 1830s to the 1940s, that comprises the San Germán Historic District. Today, the San Germán Historic District includes more than 100 significant buildings. Visitors can see numerous beautiful homes in the district, including the noted Victorian-style Juan Ortiz Perichi House on Luna Street, which architect Jorge Rigau once called "one of the best developed spatial sequences in residential architecture in Puerto Rico." Also, many famous Puerto Ricans came from the San Germán Historic District; among them was Lola Rodríguez de Tió (1843-1924), the well-known poet and political leader who wrote the lyrics of Puerto Rico's unoffical national anthem, "La Borinqueña."

The Church of San Germán Auxerre overlooks the town of San Germán's main plaza. Spanish settlers founded San Germán parish in 1510 and built the first permanent church in 1688. Puerto Ricans repaired and reconstructed the church between 1717 and 1739 after it had suffered earthquake damage. Between 1834 and 1897, new repairs were made to the building, and in 1920, the tower was rebuilt after a 1918 earthquake.

Dominican friars built the Convento de Porta Coeli in 1609 at the crest of a hill in what is now San Germán. During the 18th century the Convento was reconstructed and a church built next to it. The single nave church was constructed of rubble masonry with stucco surfaced walls and a dramatic wood truss roof. Today, only ruins--a gable-end wall and belfry attached to the church--remain of the old Convento. Restored in 1960, the Converto de Porta Coeli now houses a Religious Art Museum.

Whether you are a Carter enthusiast, a researcher, or just curious how a small town influenced a young boy who would become the president of the most powerful nation in the world, odds are you will find a visit to the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site interesting. The history and culture of this rural community can provide a look into why the Carters' ties to Plains, Georgia, have endured the stresses of public life; yet remain as strong as they were decades ago.

A visit to the site provides an opportunity to explore the historic resources and rural southern culture that had an influence in molding the character and political policies of Jimmy Carter.

The site includes: The Plains High School, The Historic District of Plains, The Plains Train Depot, The Carter Boyhood Farm, and The Carter Private Residence and Compound, which is not open to the public.

Hacienda Buena Vista, considered one of Puerto Rico's best remaining examples of a coffee plantation, consists of an 87 acre agricultural complex constructed in the mid-19th century. The hacienda's principle buildings, grouped together within a three acre area, include the hacienda manor house, a carriage house, horse and mule stables, a caretaker's house and office, two warehouses, a hurricane shelter, a corn mill and slave quarters. A canal, beginning at the top of "Vives Waterfall," goes through an aqueduct and on to the coffee mill, which is a two-story wooden building located to the northwest of the Hacienda Manor House. At its height Hacienda Buena Vista produced and processed more than 10,000 pounds of coffee per year for shipment to Europe. The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico purchased the land and buildings from the Vives family in 1984.