History Detectives | Season 6, Episode 7
SOME UNTOLD STORIES FROM AMERICA'S PAST.
Gwendolyn: THIS WEEK,
IS THIS SHELL FROM A TERRIFYING PEACETIME ATTACK
THAT ROCKED MANHATTAN LONG BEFORE SEPTEMBER 11th?
Wes: COULD THIS FARMHOUSE DOOR IN NEBRASKA
HAVE SAILED INTO BATTLE
IN ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S GREATEST NAVAL VICTORIES?
Elyse: AND DID THIS UNASSUMING HOUSE
ONCE PROTECT AN AMERICAN COLONY FROM ATTACK
ALMOST 300 YEARS AGO?
Elvis Costello: ♫WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫
♫I GET SO ANGRY WHEN THE TEARDROPS START♫
♫BUT HE CAN'T BE WOUNDED 'CAUSE HE'S GOT NO HEART♫
♫WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫
♫IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫
Gwendolyn: THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE OUR FIRST STORY PROBES A DEVASTATING ACT
OF FOREIGN SABOTAGE ON AMERICAN SOIL.
[ blows ]
WORLD WAR I:
AMERICAN IS DETERMINED TO REMAIN NEUTRAL.
THEN AN EARTHSHAKING EXPLOSION ROCKS NEW JERSEY AND MANHATTAN.
HEADLINES ATTRIBUTE THE DEVASTATION AND CARNAGE
TO AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT ON NEARBY BLACK TOM ISLAND.
BLACK TOM WAS BEING USED TO STORE AMMUNITION
BOUND FOR BRITISH GUNS, AND THE BLAST WAS NO ACCIDENT.
UNLIKE OTHER TERRIFYING PEACETIME ATTACKS, HOWEVER --
PEARL HARBOR OR 9/11 --
BLACK TOM IS LITTLE KNOWN AND STRANGELY FADED FROM HISTORY.
ALMOST A CENTURY LATER, ELAINE HARVAN-BARBINI
FROM WHITEHOUSE STATION, NEW JERSEY,
BELIEVES SHE HAS AN ARTILLERY SHELL
THAT SURVIVED THAT FATEFUL ATTACK.
MY MOTHER ALWAYS USED IT AT HOME AS A DOORSTOP,
AND I THOUGHT, "WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO FIND OUT
"MORE HISTORY ABOUT IT AND SEE IF YOU COULD TRACE IT BACK
AND ACTUALLY FIND OUT HOW IT GOT INTO THE FAMILY?"
I'M GWENDOLYN WRIGHT, AND I'M HERE
TO TAKE A CAREFUL LOOK AT ELAINE'S SHELL.
HI, YOU'RE ELAINE?
YES.
NICE TO MEET YOU.
NICE TO MEET YOU.
PLEASE COME IN.
SO THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO SHOW ME, HUH?
YES, IT IS.
WOW, THIS DOES LOOK LIKE AN ARTILLERY SHELL.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT?
VERY LITTLE.
MY MOM HAD PUT THIS PIECE OF PAPER IN IT.
IT SAYS, "BOMB -- BLACK TOM EXPLOSION."
AND SHE WASN'T SURE OF THE YEAR.
SHE PUT 1914 AND WORLD WAR I.
AREN'T YOU A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT HAVING
WHAT MIGHT STILL BE LIVE AMMUNITION IN YOUR HOUSE?
I KNOW MY MOM DID HAVE THIS CHECKED OUT, SO IT IS SAFE.
HOW OLD WAS SHE AT THE TIME OF THE EXPLOSION?
SHE WAS JUST BORN IN 1915,
SO THAT'S WHY I THINK IT LINKS BACK TO MY GRANDFATHER HERE,
JOHN HAGGESTROM.
WELL, DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
HIS CONNECTION TO THIS SHELL?
WELL, HE WAS A TOOL AND DIE MAKER.
NOW, DURING BLACK TOM, HE WAS WORKING
FOR THE VICTORY TYPEWRITER COMPANY IN NEW YORK,
BUT IF HE HAS A LINK TO IT, I'M NOT REALLY SURE.
TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT YOU'D LIKE FOR ME
TO FIND OUT ABOUT THIS SHELL.
I'D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW IF IT ACTUALLY IS FROM BLACK TOM
AND HOW IT COULD HAVE GOTTEN
INTO THE POSSESSION OF THE FAMILY.
WELL, I'LL HAVE TO TAKE IT WITH ME.
OH, WHOA!
BE CAREFUL, IT'S VERY HEAVY.
IT CERTAINLY IS.
I WON'T TREAT IT LIGHTLY.
I'M NOT QUITE SURE HOW TO ANALYZE AN ARTILLERY SHELL,
BUT LET ME TAKE A CLOSER LOOK.
WELL, TO ME, THIS SHELL SEEMS IN VERY GOOD SHAPE
TO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A MAJOR EXPLOSION.
TO START, THERE ARE DIFFERENT METALS.
THIS SEEMS TO BE BRASS AND PROBABLY STEEL AND COPPER.
AND, NOW, THERE ARE SOME MARKINGS HERE
THAT MAY MEAN SOMETHING.
WELL, IT'S GROOVED INSIDE
AND SMOOTH ALL THE REST OF THE WAY DOWN.
THERE'S NOT MUCH TO GO ON.
BUT RIGHT OFF THE BAT, I DISCOVER THAT ELAINE'S MOTHER
GOT THE DATE OF THE BLAST WRONG.
IT OCCURRED IN 1916, NOT 1914.
ON JULY 30th, AT 2:08 IN THE MORNING,
A MASSIVE CACHE OF MUNITIONS ON BLACK TOM ISLAND EXPLODED,
ROCKING NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY.
MORE THAN 1,000 TONS OF TNT, GUNPOWDER, AND DYNAMITE
HAD BEEN WAREHOUSED ON TRAIN CARS AND BARGES
OWNED BY THE LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD COMPANY.
THE DEADLY CARGO HAD BEEN BOUND FOR ALLIED TROOPS
ON THE WORLD WAR I BATTLEFIELDS OF EUROPE.
EARLY NEWS REPORTS POINT THE FINGER
AT THE COMPANY THAT RAN THE MUNITIONS TERMINAL.
A FEW DAYS LATER,
NEW JERSEY OFFICIALS AND FEDERAL PROSECUTORS
ARRAIGNED AND ARRESTED OFFICIALS
OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD,
HOLDING THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCIDENT.
EIGHT YEARS LATER, LONG AFTER THE WAR HAD ENDED,
THE TRUE CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION FINALLY CAME OUT IN THE PRESS:
GERMAN SABOTAGE.
IT'S NOT UNTIL 1924, WHEN THE LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD
PRESSES CHARGES AGAINST THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT,
THAT IT'S PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED.
I'M CURIOUS WHY THIS MAJOR STORY RECEIVED
SUCH MINOR PRESS COVERAGE AND WHY IT TOOK SO LONG,
BUT MY FIRST TASK IS TO FIND OUT IF ELAINE'S SHELL
HAD BEEN PART OF THIS HISTORIC GERMAN ATTACK.
BLACK TOM ISLAND IS A 15-MINUTE FERRY RIDE
FROM THE SOUTHERN TIP OF MANHATTAN.
IT WAS ONCE PART OF A THRIVING INDUSTRIAL PORT
JUST OPPOSITE ELLIS ISLAND
AND LESS THAN 2,000 FEET FROM THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.
IT'S VERY CLOSE TO WHERE TERRORISTS STRUCK
THE TWIN TOWERS IN SEPTEMBER OF 2001.
ALTHOUGH THE 1916 BLAST
MUST ALSO HAVE SEWN WIDESPREAD PANIC AND FEAR,
I'D NEVER HEARD OF THE DISASTER.
I'M MEETING CHAD MILLMAN, AUTHOR OF THE DETONATORS,
A BOOK ABOUT THE EXPLOSION.
THIS IS WHERE BLACK TOM ISLAND WAS,
EXTENDING OUT -- IT WAS LESS THAN HALF A MILE
FROM THE STATUE OF LIBERTY...
HE EXPLAINS THE BLACK TOM MUNITIONS DEPOT
HAD ONCE SUPPLIED SHELLS TO BOTH GERMANY AND BRITAIN.
BUT WHEN THE BRITISH NAVY
STARTED BLOCKADING GERMAN PORTS,
A DESPERATE GERMANY HATCHED A PLAN
TO DESTROY STOCKPILES OF AMERICAN MUNITIONS
BEFORE THEY COULD FALL INTO THEIR ENEMIES' HANDS.
THERE WERE EXPLOSIONS AT MUNITIONS DEPOTS
IN OHIO AND IN MISSOURI AND IN DETROIT AND IN DELAWARE.
THIS HAPPENED TO BE THE BIGGEST ONE.
CHAD TELLS ME THE ATTACK REQUIRED MONTHS OF PLANNING
AND INVOLVED TOP GERMAN OFFICIALS,
INCLUDING THE GERMAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES.
THE DEVASTATING EXPLOSION ON BLACK TOM
WAS CARRIED OUT BY THREE MEN,
ONE OF WHOM WORKED AT THE DEPOT.
SO WHEN A GUARD SAW HIM, HE DIDN'T THINK TWICE
ABOUT THIS GUY BEING IN THE AREA,
BECAUSE HE WAS ALWAYS IN THE AREA.
AND THEN FROM THE SEA CAME TWO OTHER SPIES
WHO HAD ACTUALLY RODE OVER FROM NEW YORK CITY.
THE MEN PLANTED LEAD PIPES
FILLED WITH TWO DIFFERENT CHEMICALS,
SEPARATED BY A PIECE OF COPPER.
THE CHEMICALS QUICKLY ATE THROUGH THE COPPER,
MIXED, AND ERUPTED IN FLAMES,
EXPLODING THE ENORMOUS CACHE OF MUNITIONS.
CHAD SAYS THE BLAST WREAKED HAVOC
ACROSS NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND MUCH OF NEW YORK CITY.
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY WAS PELTED WITH SHRAPNEL.
ALL THE WAY UP TO MIDTOWN OF MANHATTAN, YOU KNOW,
BUILDINGS WERE -- THE WINDOWS WERE BLOWN OUT.
ALL THE WAY AS FAR AS MARYLAND,
THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE HAVING AN EARTHQUAKE.
GEOLOGISTS SAY A SUSTAINED EARTHQUAKE
WITH EQUIVALENT FORCE WOULD HAVE REGISTERED
AS A 5.5 ON THE RICHTER SCALE.
ON ELLIS ISLAND, SHRAPNEL RAINED DOWN
FOR OVER THREE HOURS.
HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED IN THE EXPLOSION?
THE OFFICIAL DEATH TOLL WAS SIX,
BUT YOU'VE GOT TO REMEMBER THIS IS THE TIME
WHERE IT'S AT THE HEIGHT OF IMMIGRATION AT ELLIS ISLAND,
AND THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
LIVING IN BOATS AND BARGES IN THE HARBOR HERE
WHO THE POLICE SPECULATE LITERALLY TURNED TO DUST.
CHAD'S NOT A MUNITIONS EXPERT, BUT HE SAYS ELAINE'S SHELL
COULD BE A SOUVENIR FROM THE BLAST THAT NIGHT.
THE NEXT DAY, THE PAPERS WERE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE
PICKING UP SHRAPNEL AND SOUVENIRS
ALL OVER JERSEY CITY AND WITHIN THE AREA,
AND ACTUALLY, THE POLICE HAD TO GO AND CORDON OFF AN AREA
WITHIN A MILE RADIUS OF THE EXPLOSION
BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE STARTING
TO GO TO PILES OF INFERNO THEMSELVES
AND TRY TO PICK THINGS OUT.
BUT IF ELAINE'S SHELL HAD BEEN PART OF SUCH A MASSIVE BLAST,
WHY DOES IT APPEAR TO BE LARGELY UNDAMAGED?
WAS IT EVEN MADE DURING WORLD WAR I?
I'M HEADED TO ABERDEEN, MARYLAND,
HOME OF THE U.S. ARMY ORDNANCE MUSEUM,
WHERE DR. WILLIAM ATWATER IS AN EXPERT IN WEAPONRY
FROM THAT PERIOD.
I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS.
I HAVE THE GUN THAT FIRES IT RIGHT OVER HERE.
WELL, THIS IS THE BRITISH 18-POUNDER GUN.
AND THIS WAS THE STANDARD DIVISIONAL ARTILLERY PIECE
FOR THE BRITISH ARMY.
WILLIAM TELLS ME AMERICA WAS MAKING MILLIONS OF SHELLS
LIKE ELAINE'S DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR.
WHEN GUNS FIRED IN THE 19th CENTURY,
THE ENTIRE GUN WENT TO THE REAR.
AND ONE OF THE BIG INNOVATIONS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR
WAS A RECOIL MECHANISM.
SO THIS PREVENTED THE GUN FROM GOING TO THE REAR,
SO IT BECAME A VERY QUICK-FIRING WEAPON.
WITH THAT NEW QUICK-FIRING WEAPON CAME A DEMAND
FOR MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF SHELLS.
AFTER TWO YEARS OF WAR,
EUROPE'S MANUFACTURING ABILITIES WERE AT THEIR LIMIT.
IN 1915, THERE WAS AN AMMUNITION CRISIS, WHERE QUITE LITERALLY,
THE BRITISH WERE RATIONING THE NUMBER OF ROUNDS
THAT THEY FIRED AT THE ENEMY.
SO THEY NEEDED TO MANUFACTURE LOTS OF THIS STUFF QUICK,
AND THEY CAME TO THE UNITED STATES TO DO THAT.
THE DuPONTS OF THIS WORLD ALSO GOT INTO THE BUSINESS,
MAINLY OF THE EXPLOSIVES.
THE BETHLEHEM STEEL CORPORATION ACTUALLY GOT INTO MANUFACTURING
THE SHELLS THEMSELVES.
BUT THE MAJORITY OF THE EARLY MANUFACTURE OF AMMUNITION
WAS BY SMALL MACHINE SHOPS.
I TELL WILLIAM THAT THE LACK OF DAMAGE TO THE SHELL
LEFT ME SKEPTICAL OF ELAINE'S STORY ABOUT ITS ORIGIN.
IF THIS SHELL HAD BEEN AT BLACK TOM,
HOW DID IT STAY IN SUCH GOOD CONDITION WITH AN EXPLOSION?
EXPLOSIVES DO FUNNY THINGS.
IF IT HAD BEEN FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM THE BLAST'S EPICENTER,
IT COULD HAVE WITHSTOOD THE EXPLOSION AND REMAINED INTACT.
THIS COULD VERY EASILY HAVE BEEN A SURVIVOR FROM BLACK TOM.
WHY DID THE PRESS TAKE ALMOST EIGHT YEARS
TO ACKNOWLEDGE GERMAN INVOLVEMENT
IN A DEVASTATING ATTACK ON A NEUTRAL UNITED STATES?
I'M MEETING JOHN COOPER,
WHO AUTHORED A BIOGRAPHY OF PRESIDENT WILSON,
AT THE WOODROW WILSON HOUSE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
HE SAYS THE PRESIDENT KNEW ALMOST IMMEDIATELY
THAT THE BLAST WAS NOT AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT
BUT ALMOST CERTAINLY THE WORK OF GERMAN SPIES.
SO YOU'RE SUGGESTING THAT HE KNEW IT WAS GERMAN SABOTAGE
BUT DIDN'T WANT THIS TO BECOME PUBLIC.
THEY HAD GOOD INTELLIGENCE ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE.
WE DON'T HAVE THE FBI YET,
BUT WE DO HAVE A BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
THAT'S ALREADY BEGINNING TO FOLLOW THIS.
AND THE SECRET SERVICE IS ALSO FOLLOWING.
OH, YEAH, YEAH, THEY KNEW ABOUT IT.
AT THE TIME, HOWEVER, PRESIDENT WILSON
WAS ONLY THREE MONTHS AWAY FROM THE NEXT ELECTION
AND RUNNING ON AN ANTIWAR PLATFORM.
THE REASON THAT THE ADMINISTRATION
SAT ON THE BLACK TOM,
THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GET INTO THE WAR.
IT'S SIMPLY YOU WANT TO KEEP IT QUIET.
THAT'S WHY THERE'S NO OFFICIAL RESPONSE TO THE BLACK TOM.
JOHN EXPLAINS THAT TENSIONS WERE ALREADY HIGH.
THE PREVIOUS MAY, A GERMAN SUBMARINE
HAD SUNK THE LUSITANIA.
APPROXIMATELY 1,200 PEOPLE WERE KILLED,
INCLUDING OVER 100 AMERICANS.
THIS IS 9/11, THAT KIND OF SHOCK AND OUTRAGE.
THIS IS WHAT BRINGS THE SHOCK OF RECOGNITION
THAT WE MIGHT BE INVOLVED IN THE WAR.
THIS ISN'T JUST SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENING TO SOMEBODY ELSE.
AS WILSON'S POLITICAL OPPONENTS --
NOTABLY TEDDY ROOSEVELT --
BELLOWED FOR AMERICAN ENTRY INTO THE EUROPEAN WAR,
PRESIDENT WILSON ALSO WORRIED
ABOUT A BACKLASH AGAINST GERMAN AMERICANS.
THE WORRY IS THAT THIS -- IF WE GET INTO THE WAR,
IT'S GOING TO TEAR THIS COUNTRY APART,
PARTICULARLY BECAUSE OF THE ETHNIC DIVISIONS.
JOHN EXPLAINS THAT DESPITE HIS COMMITMENT
TO KEEPING THE NATION NEUTRAL,
PRESIDENT WILSON DID NOT STAND IN THE WAY
OF THOSE MANY COMPANIES THAT WANTED TO SELL SUPPLIES
TO THE ALLIED FORCES.
THE AMERICAN ECONOMY WAS VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN IT.
THE BIGGEST THING WE WERE SUPPLYING TO THE ALLIES
WAS FOOD, FOODSTUFFS, AND THEN MACHINED GOODS,
LOTS OF TRUCKS.
HENRY FORD'S BUILDING LOTS OF TRUCKS
FOR THE BRITISH AND THE FRENCH.
ELAINE'S GRANDFATHER HAD WORKED FOR A SMALL TYPEWRITER COMPANY.
HAD THEY BEEN PART OF THIS NATIONAL EFFORT
TO SUPPLY SHELLS FOR THE EUROPEAN WAR?
JOHN DOESN'T KNOW,
SO I'M MEETING ARMY MUNITIONS SPECIALIST ED RUDNICKI.
HE EXPLAINS THAT THE SPECIFICATIONS
FOR PRODUCING BRITISH SHELLS WERE AVAILABLE
TO A VARIETY OF MANUFACTURERS.
WELL, A NUMBER OF PUBLISHERS TOOK ADVANTAGE
OF THE WAR IN EUROPE AND THE ALLIES' NEED
FOR MUNITIONS OF ALL TYPES TO PRODUCE INSTRUCTIONS
SO THAT VARIOUS MACHINE SHOPS COULD PRODUCE
THE AMMUNITION THE ALLIES NEEDED.
ONE OF THE ITEMS THEY HAVE IS, LO AND BEHOLD,
MANUFACTURING BRITISH 18-POUNDER HIGH-EXPLOSIVE SHELLS.
YOU CAN SEE HERE,
HERE'S AN ACTUAL DRAWING OF OUR PROJECTILE.
WELL, I SEE THESE MARKINGS HERE,
BUT I'M NOT QUITE SURE HOW TO READ THEM.
THEY'RE A LITTLE HARD TO SEE RIGHT NOW,
BUT WE HAVE A WAY TO HOPEFULLY GET AROUND THAT.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE DO IS WE TAKE ORDINARY BLACKBOARD CHALK
AND YOU CAN JUST RUB IT ON THESE --
THESE ARE STAMPED METAL MARKINGS,
SO THEY'RE ACTUALLY PRESSED INTO THE METAL SURFACE.
SO YOU CAN JUST RUB A LITTLE CHALK ON THERE.
WE CAN SEE AN ARROW, WHICH IS THE BRITISH ACCEPTANCE MARK.
IT'S CALLED THE BROAD ARROW.
WE HAVE "QF 18 PR," WHICH IS "QUICK-FIRING 18-POUNDER."
WE HAVE A NUMERICAL NUMBER,
WHICH IS THE MARK OF THE PROJECTILE.
AND FINALLY, WE HAVE A DATE OF 5/16.
AND THAT DATE'S BEFORE THE BLACK TOM EXPLOSION.
YES, IT WAS.
IT WAS PRODUCED BEFORE THE BLACK TOM EXPLOSION.
THE MAN WHO OWNED THIS HAD WORKED
FOR A SMALL TYPEWRITER MANUFACTURER.
IS THERE A SENSE THAT A SHOP LIKE THAT
COULD HAVE PRODUCED ARMAMENTS?
IT'S POSSIBLE.
IT COULD HAVE BEEN MORE LIKELY
THE FUSE COULD HAVE BEEN MADE THERE.
BECAUSE THE FUSE WAS A SMALLER, MORE INTRICATE COMPONENT,
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE LIKELY MADE
ON THE LIGHTER-DUTY MACHINES IN A TYPEWRITER SHOP.
THE SHELL BODY ITSELF
WOULD TYPICALLY REQUIRE HEAVIER MACHINES.
YOU CAN SEE, IT'S A LARGER, HEAVIER COMPONENT.
SO THESE WERE MADE SEPARATELY.
YES, THEY WERE.
YES, THEY WERE.
WHEN ED ATTEMPTS TO FIND
A MANUFACTURER'S STAMP ON THE FUSE,
HE DISCOVERS THAT THE NEARLY FADED MARKINGS
DO HAVE A STORY TO TELL.
AND WE HAVE A DATE.
IT'S TIME TO REPORT BACK TO ELAINE.
HERE YOU GO, AND I HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT IT.
OH, EXCELLENT.
THIS WAS AMERICAN ARTILLERY SHELL
MANUFACTURED HERE IN THE U.S. FOR USE AS A WEAPON
BY THE BRITISH ARMY IN WORLD WAR I.
OH.
BUT THE FAINT MARKINGS ON THE AMMUNITION'S FUSE
REVEAL THAT ELAINE'S SHELL ISN'T QUITE WHAT SHE SUSPECTED.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS THE NUMBER 80, SLASH,
WITH A ROMAN NUMERAL IV.
THAT'S TELLING US IT'S A NUMBER 80 MARK IV FUSE.
WE HAVE A DATE WHICH IS SHOWING UP AS 9/16,
TWO MONTHS AFTER THE BLACK TOM EXPLOSION.
SO IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN AT BLACK TOM
AT THE TIME OF THE EXPLOSION.
OH, THAT'S DISAPPOINTING.
ALTHOUGH ED COULD NOT IDENTIFY
THE MANUFACTURER OF THE FUSE OR THE SHELL,
ELAINE'S HEIRLOOM RECALLS A TIME
WHEN THE U.S. -- PERHAPS NAIVELY --
THOUGHT IT COULD SIT ON THE SIDELINES
AND AVOID FOREIGN ENTANGLEMENTS.
YOUR GRANDFATHER, HE WORKED AT A TYPEWRITER MANUFACTURE COMPANY,
AND THAT'S THE KIND OF PLACE
THAT IN THE BEGINNING OF WORLD WAR I
WAS PRODUCING WEAPONS FOR THE BRITISH, THE FRENCH,
AND TO SOME EXTENT FOR THE GERMANS, TOO.
SO HE MAY HAVE MADE EITHER THIS PARTICULAR SHELL
OR PIECES LIKE THIS AND THEREFORE WANTED TO KEEP IT
AS A SOUVENIR OF HIS OWN SMALL ROLE
IN THE AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT IN WORLD POLITICS.
I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY EVEN BETTER TO THINK
THAT GRANDPA COULD HAVE ACTUALLY MADE IT.
THIS HAS BEEN VERY ENLIGHTENING.
YOU'LL STILL KEEP IT, THEN?
OH, ABSOLUTELY!
AND I'LL STILL KEEP MY MOM'S NOTE INSIDE,
BUT MAYBE I'LL ADD TO IT.
IT TOOK OVER 60 YEARS TO CLOSE THE BOOKS
ON THE CASE AGAINST THE BLACK TOM BOMBERS.
DESPITE THE WILSON GOVERNMENT'S FAILURE TO PURSUE SUSPICIONS
AS TO THE TRUE CAUSE OF THE BLAST,
IN 1939, A COMBINED GERMAN-AMERICAN COMMISSION
RULED THAT GERMANY NEEDED TO PAY REPARATIONS
IN THE AMOUNT OF $50 MILLION.
THOSE REPARATIONS WERE FINALLY PAID OFF IN 1979.
EVER SINCE THE BLACK TOM EXPLOSION OF 1916,
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY'S TORCH
HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN OFF-LIMITS TO VISITORS.
THE SHRAPNEL THAT TORE INTO THE ICONIC SYMBOL OF FREEDOM
CAUSED $100,000 WORTH OF DAMAGE,
THE EQUIVALENT TO ALMOST $2 MILLION TODAY.
GUTZON BORGLUM, THE SCULPTOR OF MOUNT RUSHMORE,
REFIT THE 40-YEAR-OLD TORCH WITH 600 PIECES
OF YELLOW-TINTED CATHEDRAL GLASS.
BEFORE THE YEAR WAS UP, THE LIGHTS WERE BACK ON.
ALMOST A CENTURY LATER, CORROSION FORCED
A MASSIVE MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR RESTORATION IN 1982.
A NEW TORCH, AGAIN MADE OF COPPER
BUT NOW COVERED IN 24-KARAT GOLD LEAF,
WAS PLACED IN LIBERTY'S RIGHT HAND.
THE GLASS TORCH WAS MOVED TO ITS CURRENT HOME
IN THE MONUMENT'S LOBBY MUSEUM.
WORK WAS COMPLETED IN TIME
FOR THE STATUE'S CENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY,
JULY 4, 1986.
AND THE NEW LIGHT SHINED 2,500 TIMES BRIGHTER
THAN THAT OF THE FULL MOON.
Wes: OUR NEXT STORY ASKS IF THIS FRAGILE GLASS DOOR
ONCE TOOK PART IN A DECISIVE BATTLE
DURING THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
ON THE MORNING OF MAY 1, 1898,
COMMODORE GEORGE DEWEY STEAMS INTO MANILA BAY
IN THE PHILIPPINES FOR A CRITICAL CONFRONTATION
WITH THE MAIN FLEET OF THE SPANISH EMPIRE.
FOR THE NEXT SEVEN HOURS, THE HARBOR IS SET ABLAZE
IN A BARRAGE OF EXPLODING SHELLS.
WHEN THE BATTLE IS OVER, THE WORLD HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED.
TEN SPANISH SHIPS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED
AND THE NAVAL MIGHT OF THE ONCE-GREAT SPANISH EMPIRE
LAYS IN RUINS.
DEWEY'S VICTORY IN TURN LAUNCHES AMERICA
ONTO THE WORLD STAGE.
HE RETURNS HOME A NATIONAL HERO.
NOW, ON A SALVAGED DOOR FROM AN OLD FARMHOUSE,
EARL PEDERSEN OF FREMONT, NEBRASKA,
THINKS HE MAY HAVE PART OF COMMODORE DEWEY'S FLAGSHIP.
QUITE LITERALLY, A WINDOW ON HISTORY.
I WROTE A LETTER AND SENT IT TO THE MUSEUM
AND GOT THE REPLY BACK
THAT THIS WINDOW WAS FROM ADMIRAL DEWEY'S QUARTERS.
I SAYS, "WHOOPEE!"
I'M WES COWAN, AND I'VE COME TO LANDLOCKED NEBRASKA
TO CHECK OUT WHAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE
A PIECE OF ONE OF THE NATION'S MOST FAMOUS WARSHIPS.
EARL TAKES ME TO A SMALL STUDY
THAT WAS ONCE HIS FAMILY'S BACK PORCH.
IT CAME FROM A FARM ABOUT A MILE EAST OF WHERE I LIVE.
PLAYED SOFTBALL AND BASEBALL RIGHT IN FRONT OF THIS WINDOW.
IT'S A MIRACLE IT ISN'T BROKEN.
EARL SAYS THAT FARMHOUSE WAS HOMESTEADED
IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY
BUT ABANDONED AROUND THE TIME OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
AND THEN DESTROYED.
EARL'S FATHER SALVAGED THIS DOOR FROM THAT FARMHOUSE
AND EVENTUALLY USED IT TO REPLACE A BROKEN DOOR
IN THIS DOORFRAME.
I HAD NO IDEA WHAT SHIP IT WAS OR ITS HISTORY,
SO I WENT TO THE FREMONT PUBLIC LIBRARY,
I DID SOME RESEARCH, AND CAME UP WITH THE FACT,
TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THAT THIS WAS THE U.S.S.
OLYMPIA.
SO IF IT'S THE U.S.S.
OLYMPIA,
THAT'S LIKE ADMIRAL DEWEY'S FLAGSHIP
DURING THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
THAT'S RIGHT.
EARL EXPLAINS THAT IN 1977, HE MADE A RUBBING OF THE WINDOW
AND SENT IT OFF TO THE CRUISER OLYMPIA ASSOCIATION,
A NONPROFIT GROUP OF VETERANS AND ENTHUSIASTS
WHO WERE THEN IN CHARGE OF PRESERVING THE RETIRED SHIP.
THE ASSOCIATION TOLD EARL THAT HIS WINDOW HAD BEEN ON THE SHIP
AND MAY EVEN HAVE SEEN ACTION IN THE PHILIPPINES.
EXCEPT I HAD TO WONDER HOW IN THE WORLD
IT GOT HERE IN NEBRASKA.
BUT EARL'S YOUNGEST SON JOHN HAS ALWAYS BEEN SKEPTICAL
OF THE ASSOCIATION'S CLAIM
THAT THE WINDOW WAS PART OF THE OLYMPIA
BECAUSE THEIR RESPONSE WAS BASED SOLELY
UPON EARL'S RUBBING.
EARL'S SON CONVINCED HIM TO FINISH THE INVESTIGATION
HE BEGAN OVER THREE DECADES AGO.
I WANT YOU TO FIND OUT IF THIS WINDOW
CAME FROM ADMIRAL DEWEY'S CABIN ON THE U.S.S.
OLYMPIA.
THE LETTER EARL RECEIVED FROM THE CRUISER OLYMPIA ASSOCIATION
BACK IN 1977 ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THEY CAN'T PINPOINT
THE EXACT DATE THE WINDOW WOULD HAVE BEEN INSTALLED ON BOARD --
MANY CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE OLYMPIA OVER THE YEARS --
BUT THEY DO SOUND CONFIDENT THAT THE WINDOW IS AUTHENTIC.
HUH, LISTEN TO THIS: "THERE WERE PERIODS OF TIME
"WHEN THE ETCHED GLASS THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED
"WAS IN USE ON THE VARIOUS WINDOWS OF THE TWO CABINS
WHICH WERE OCCUPIED BY ADMIRAL DEWEY AND CAPTAIN GRIDLEY."
HE WAS THE CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP.
"IT IS OUR BELIEF THAT THE ETCHED GLASS THAT YOU SPEAK OF
IS FROM THEIR QUARTERS."
WOW.
WELL, PRETTY AMAZING,
THIS FROSTED GLASS WITH THIS VERY DECORATIVE DOOR.
AND I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THIS.
AND I'M NOT SURE THAT THAT'S THE U.S.S.
OLYMPIA,
BUT IT CERTAINLY WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME.
THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT IT, THOUGH,
THAT STRIKES ME AS STRANGE.
WHY WOULD YOU HAVE A PIECE OF DECORATIVE GLASS
ON A BATTLESHIP?
IT MEASURES 24 INCHES SQUARE.
HOW ON EARTH DID A WINDOW FROM PERHAPS
THE MOST CELEBRATED WARSHIP IN U.S. HISTORY
MAKE ITS WAY TO A NEBRASKA FARMHOUSE?
I'M LOOKING UP A LOCAL GLASS ARTIST
TO SEE WHAT HE CAN TELL ME ABOUT EARL'S WINDOW.
DICK BAINES LIVES IN NEARBY OMAHA, NEBRASKA.
HE'S SPENT MUCH OF HIS LIFE WORKING WITH DECORATIVE GLASS.
DICK, HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A WINDOW LIKE THIS BEFORE?
I HAVEN'T.
NORMALLY THEY'RE MORE PASTORAL SCENES:
A STREAM THROUGH A FOREST, MAYBE SOME DEER, ELK,
SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE WITH A SHIP ON IT.
DICK SAYS IT'S A VICTORIAN-STYLE WINDOW.
HE OCCASIONALLY STILL SEES WINDOWS FROM THIS ERA
ON FARMHOUSES IN THE AREA.
WHO WOULD MAKE A WINDOW LIKE THIS?
IT HAD TO BE SOMEONE THAT HAD A VERY PARTICULAR ATTACHMENT
TO THIS BATTLESHIP.
HOW EXACTLY DID THEY MAKE THIS?
IF YOU RUN YOUR HAND ACROSS, YOU CAN FEEL WHERE THE ETCHED AREAS
ARE ACTUALLY RAISED FROM THE GLASS SURFACE,
AND THAT INDICATES THAT IT WAS ACID-ETCHED.
IF YOU'D LIKE, I CAN SHOW YOU HOW IT'S DONE.
INSIDE EARL'S WORKSHOP, DICK BEGINS THE DEMONSTRATION.
OKAY, SO I'VE APPLIED SELF-ADHESIVE MASK TO THIS.
IT'S A VINYL, SO IT'S RESISTANT TO THE ACID.
DICK SAYS THE DESIGN ON EARL'S WINDOW
WOULD HAVE BEEN CREATED ON A SILK SCREEN
AND ATTACHED TO THE GLASS SURFACE WITH BEESWAX.
THEN I TAKE THE ACID ETCHING CREAM
AND I PAINT IT OVER ALL OF THE EXPOSED SURFACES.
AND THEN WE LEAVE IT SIT FOR ONE MINUTE.
THE ACID CHEMICALLY ALTERS THE GLASS,
CAUSING THE DESIGN TO FROST OVER.
OKAY, LET'S CLEAN THIS OFF AND SEE WHAT WE HAVE.
WOW, THERE IT IS.
ARTISTS TODAY USE A LESS TOXIC CREAM,
BUT DICK EXPLAINS THAT WHEN EARL'S WINDOW WAS ETCHED,
THEY USED HYDROFLUORIC ACID, A HIGHLY CAUSTIC SUBSTANCE
THAT WAS USED FOR GLASS ETCHING BETWEEN THE 1870s AND 1920s.
EARL'S WINDOW DOES APPEAR TO DATE FROM THE RIGHT PERIOD,
BUT WHY WOULD A WARSHIP HAVE BEEN FITTED
WITH ELABORATELY ETCHED DECORATIVE GLASS?
HEY, FRANK.
COME IN, WES.
GOOD TO SEE YOU.
GOOD TO SEE YOU.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE.
IT HAS BEEN.
DR. B. FRANKLIN COOLING IS A PROFESSOR OF HISTORY
AT THE NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY
AND AUTHOR OF A BOOK ON THE U.S.S.
OLYMPIA.
HE SAYS DEWEY'S FLAGSHIP WAS AT ONE TIME
THE MOST POTENT WEAPON ON THE HIGH SEAS.
SHE WAS BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE THAT HAD BEEN PRODUCED
IN THE NEW AMERICAN STEEL AND STEAM NAVY UP TO THAT POINT.
AMERICANS WANTED TO SHOW THE WORLD HOW SUCCESSFUL WE WERE,
HOW INNOVATIVE, AND WAR, PARTICULARLY AGAINST SPAIN,
WAS A DEVICE FOR DOING SO.
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, SPAIN HAD BEEN
ONE OF THE DOMINANT MARITIME POWERS,
ITS FLEET HELPING WIN THEM A GLOBAL EMPIRE.
BUT FRANK EXPLAINS THAT BY THE 1890s,
THAT EMPIRE WAS FALTERING,
WITH ONLY A FEW REMAINING OVERSEAS COLONIES,
SUCH AS CUBA AND THE PHILIPPINES.
THIS WEAKNESS TEMPTED
A NUMBER OF POLITICIANS, INDUSTRIALISTS, AND BUSINESSMEN
WHO WANTED TO SEIZE THESE FOREIGN MARKETS
AND EXPAND AMERICA'S ECONOMIC REACH.
THE PHILIPPINES WAS AN IRRESISTIBLE TARGET.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PHILIPPINES WAS
THAT IT WAS A STEPPING STONE FOR COAL REFUELING
OF BOTH MERCHANT AND THE NAVY
ON THIS TREK OUT TO THE FAR EAST FOR TRADE.
BUT FRANK SAYS NOT ALL AMERICANS
WERE AS EAGER TO EMBARK ON AN IMPERIAL VENTURE
AND ATTACK THE SPANISH
IN THE PHILIPPINES OR ANYWHERE ELSE.
FARMERS IN THE HEARTLAND WERE ESPECIALLY SKEPTICAL.
THE ANTI-IMPERIALISTS, THE ANTI-EXPANSIONISTS,
MANY OF WHOM WERE SMALL FARMERS,
WERE CONCERNED WITH THE COMPETITION
FROM FOREIGN PRODUCERS OF GRAIN AND GOODS.
AND CERTAINLY, COMING OUT OF A DEPRESSION IN THE MID-'90s,
THEY WERE NOT AS IN FAVOR OF ANY WAR
WHICH COULD LEAD TO FURTHER EXPANSION.
FRANK TELLS ME THAT ALL THAT CHANGED ON FEBRUARY 15, 1898,
WHEN THE BATTLESHIP U.S.S.
MAINE EXPLODED
IN CUBA'S HAVANA HARBOR.
TWO HUNDRED SIXTY AMERICAN OFFICERS, SAILORS, AND MARINES
WERE KILLED.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT AND MEDIA BLAMED SPAIN FOR THE ATROCITY,
GIVING EXPANSIONISTS A REASON FOR WAR.
A NATION DIVIDED OVER EXPANSION
NOW UNITED AGAINST A COMMON ENEMY.
DEWEY HAD THE ORDERS IMMEDIATELY TO STEAM FOR THE PHILIPPINES
AND TAKE MANILA, THE CAPITAL.
IT WAS A TURKEY SHOOT.
MANILA BAY WAS PERHAPS
THE MOST GLORIOUS OF AMERICAN VICTORIES.
NOT A SINGLE MAN WAS LOST.
A COUPLE OF SHELLS STRUCK THE OLYMPIA,
BUT NO DAMAGE WAS DONE.
AND SO, A ONCE-GREAT EMPIRE CRUMBLED,
AND THE AMERICAN CENTURY BEGAN.
FRANK SAYS THAT GEORGE DEWEY RETURNED HOME A NATIONAL HERO
AND THE VIRILE NEW SYMBOL OF AMERICAN MANHOOD.
AFTER HIS VICTORY,
DEWEY'S ORDER TO CAPTAIN CHARLES GRIDLEY
AT THE START OF THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY,
"YOU MAY FIRE WHEN YOU'RE READY, GRIDLEY,"
BECAME AS FAMOUS AS THE MAN HIMSELF.
COMMODORE DEWEY WAS PROMOTED TO REAR ADMIRAL,
AND FIVE YEARS LATER, HE BECAME THE FIRST AND ONLY OFFICER
TO EVER BE COMMISSIONED THE ADMIRAL OF THE NAVY,
A RANK HE HELD UNTIL HIS DEATH
IN JANUARY 1917.
I TELL FRANK ABOUT EARL'S LETTER
FROM THE CRUISER OLYMPIA ASSOCIATION.
HE SHOWS ME A PICTURE OF THE OLYMPIA
FROM THE TIME OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
SO WE CAN COMPARE IT WITH EARL'S GLASS.
THE CONFIGURATION OF THE HULL AND THE SUPERSTRUCTURE --
THE SMOKESTACK ARRANGEMENTS, THE MASTS,
AND ALSO THE FORWARD AND AFT GUN TURRETS --
ARE JUST ONE FOR ONE BETWEEN THE PHOTOGRAPH
AND THIS ETCHED GLASS.
THIS IS THE OLYMPIA.
BUT WHY WOULD A WARSHIP BE OUTFITTED
WITH FRAGILE DECORATIVE GLASS?
HE EXPLAINS THAT DEWEY'S SHIP WAS USED
FOR BOTH BATTLE AND DIPLOMACY.
IT WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME IN THE LEAST
THAT THIS KIND OF A GLASS WINDOW WAS ABOARD THE OLYMPIA
AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME.
THE OLYMPIA WAS BUILT SPECIFICALLY TO BE THE FLAGSHIP
OF THE ASIATIC SQUADRON.
THE CAPTAIN'S AND THE ADMIRAL'S CABINS PARTICULARLY
WERE REPLETE WITH THE FINERY OF DECORATION
THAT WERE ALL NECESSARY FOR ENTERTAINING DIGNITARIES.
BUT FRANK CAN'T SAY IF THIS SPECIFIC WINDOW
WAS PART OF THAT FINERY.
HE SUGGESTS I HEAD OVER TO PENN'S LANDING IN PHILADELPHIA,
WHERE THE U.S.S.
OLYMPIA IS PERMANENTLY DOCKED.
IF THIS REALLY IS A PIECE OF THE SHIP,
JESSE LEBOVICS, THE SHIP'S MANAGER,
SHOULD BE ABLE TO TELL US.
WHEN I SHOW HIM THE LETTER
WRITTEN BY THE CRUISER OLYMPIA ASSOCIATION,
HE'S DUBIOUS OF ITS CLAIM THAT EARL'S WINDOW
CAME FROM THE ADMIRAL'S OR CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS.
CLEARLY, THEY HOPED IT WAS OFF THE OLYMPIA.
THEY CLEARLY WANTED IT FOR THEIR COLLECTIONS.
JESSE'S FAMILIAR WITH THE ASSOCIATION,
WHICH MERGED WITH PHILADELPHIA'S
INDEPENDENCE SEAPORT MUSEUM IN 1996.
HE EXPLAINS THAT WHEN EARL ORIGINALLY CONTACTED THEM,
THE ASSOCIATION, COMPRISED MOSTLY OF WORLD WAR II VETS,
LACKED THE FUNDING AND RESOURCES
TO DO A COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION.
SO, WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON THIS?
COULD THIS HAVE COME FROM THE OLYMPIA?
IT'S POSSIBLE.
THE SHIP WAS REFIT SEVERAL TIMES,
MOST AGGRESSIVELY IN 1901-1902,
WHERE A LOT OF THE ORNATE WOODWORK
AND VARIOUS OTHER PIECES WERE REMOVED.
JESSE SUGGESTS WE EXAMINE A FEW INTERIOR PHOTOS OF THE OLYMPIA
AS SHE WAS IN 1898.
THIS IS -- AS YOU CAME INTO THE VESSEL, THIS IS THE ENTRANCEWAY.
IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE THAT ALL THE DOORS
ARE COVERED WITH WOODEN LOUVERS, NOT GLASS.
BOTH THE DOORS AND ACTUALLY ALL THE BULKHEADS AROUND THEM,
TO GET AS MUCH VENTILATION IN THERE AS POSSIBLE.
THE PHOTOS JESSE SHOWS ME
SPEAK TO THE HIGH VICTORIAN STYLE OF THE SHIP,
WITH DETAILED WOODWORK AND PLUSH CHAIRS,
BUT NONE OF THEM REVEAL EARL'S WINDOW.
WE HAVE OTHER RESOURCES WE CAN USE.
THESE ARE FROM 1895, THE ORIGINAL AS-BUILT PRINTS.
THESE ARE THE SPACES THAT ARE MENTIONED
IN THAT LETTER FROM THE CRUISER ASSOCIATION,
THE ADMIRAL'S CABIN AND THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN.
THE ONLY WINDOW WE SEE IS RIGHT HERE,
AND THIS IS ACTUALLY OUTSIDE OF THE CABIN.
THAT SHOULD BE A 24-INCH-SQUARE OPENING
IF IT POSSIBLY COULD FIT.
IF THE WINDOW FIT IN THERE, ABSOLUTELY.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S CHECK IT OUT.
IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE IT'S UNDER TWO FEET.
IT'S CERTAINLY TOO SMALL FOR YOUR WINDOW.
THERE IS ONE MORE SPACE THAT'S STILL INTACT
THAT ISN'T SHOWN ON EITHER OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS
OR THE DRAWING THAT'S WORTH TAKING A LOOK AT.
THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE CAPTAIN'S OFFICE.
AND RIGHT HERE IS A SPOT WHERE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN
VERY LARGE GLASS WINDOWS.
IT IS THE ORIGINAL STEEL OF THE VESSEL,
SO THIS WOULD NOT HAVE CHANGED.
I TAKE MEASUREMENTS OF BOTH WINDOW FRAMES:
22 INCHES WIDE BY NEARLY 29 INCHES HIGH.
EARL'S 24-INCH-SQUARE WINDOW WOULDN'T HAVE FIT.
THERE'S NO PLACE THAT THAT WINDOW
WOULD HAVE FIT ON THIS VESSEL.
SO IF EARL'S WINDOW WASN'T MADE FOR THE OLYMPIA,
WHY WAS IT MADE?
I'VE CONTACTED CRAIG BRUNS
AT THE INDEPENDENCE SEAPORT MUSEUM.
NICE TO SEE YOU.
GOOD TO SEE YOU, TOO.
COME ON IN.
HE'S SEEN HIS SHARE OF MARITIME ARTIFACTS.
MAYBE HE CAN SOLVE THE MYSTERY.
NOW, I KNOW THAT IT DIDN'T COME OFF THE OLYMPIA,
BUT HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THINGS LIKE THIS BEFORE?
OH, YES, ABSOLUTELY.
WHEN DEWEY ARRIVED IN NEW YORK, THERE WAS A HUGE NAVAL PARADE
DOWN THE HUDSON RIVER.
CRAIG SAYS THOMAS EDISON EVEN FILMED THE EVENT.
BUT IT WAS THE GIANT TRIUMPHAL ARCH IN DEWEY'S HONOR,
TEMPORARILY ERECTED IN MADISON SQUARE,
THAT REALLY CELEBRATED HIS VICTORY.
THE PROJECT COST SOMETHING LIKE $150,000.
IT WAS ONLY UP FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS
BECAUSE IT WAS ALL MADE OUT OF PLASTER.
SO IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE MOMENT,
THAT ONE BEAUTIFUL MOMENT.
CRAIG EXPLAINS THAT THIS WAS AMERICA'S COMING-OUT PARTY
AS A WORLD POWER, AND DEWEY WAS THE FACE OF THAT GLORY.
DEWEY'S IMAGE BECAME THE HOTTEST SELLING ITEM,
AND IN THE POSTWAR JUBILATION,
EVEN MANY OF THOSE AMERICANS ONCE AGAINST WAR AND EXPANSION
WERE CAUGHT UP IN DEWEYMANIA.
EVERYDAY NORMAL AMERICANS COULD PARTICIPATE
IN THIS CULT OF DEWEY BY GOING TO THE DIME STORE
AND PURCHASING PITCHERS OR A CANDY JAR.
YOU WEREN'T DRESSED PROPERLY UNLESS YOU HAD A DEWEY PIN
OR A DEWEY PENCIL.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE THERE WAS A DEWEY BRAND
AND ADVERTISERS IN PARTICULAR WANTED TO JUMP ON BOARD
THE DEWEY "BRANDWAGON" TO SELL THEIR PRODUCTS.
WE EVEN HAVE THIS GAME HERE.
AND YOU MOVE THE PIECES ALONG THE TRACK THAT DEWEY MADE
DEFEATING THE SPANISH FLEET.
HOW DOES THE OLYMPIA PLAY INTO ALL THIS?
WELL, LET ME SHOW YOU THAT.
COME THIS WAY.
OKAY.
WHAT CRAIG SHOWS ME NEXT GIVES ME MY ANSWER FOR EARL.
I'M SORRY TO SAY YOUR WINDOW NEVER WAS ON THE OLYMPIA.
DARN.
I'M SORRY TO BURST YOUR BUBBLE.
BUT DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED, BECAUSE YOUR WINDOW SPEAKS OF
A VERY, VERY PATRIOTIC TIME IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
HERE WE HAVE A CLOCK WITH OLYMPIA ON THE GLASS,
JUST LIKE YOUR DOOR.
WOW.
YOUR WINDOW IS JUST ANOTHER PIECE OF DEWEYMANIA.
FROM THE SMALLEST TOWN TO THE BIGGEST CITY,
YOU HAD TO HAVE A DEWEY ARTIFACT
TO EXPRESS YOUR PATRIOTISM.
IT WAS PART OF BEING AMERICAN.
ACCORDING TO CRAIG, EARL'S GLASS WINDOW
IS AN EXTREMELY RARE DEWEY MEMENTO.
MOST COLLECTORS HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT,
AND REMARKABLY, IT'S SURVIVED INTACT FOR OVER A CENTURY.
IT'S REALLY NICE TO KNOW WHERE THE WINDOW CAME FROM.
OR WHERE IT DIDN'T COME FROM.
AND I'VE TALKED TO PLENTY OF COLLECTORS
WHO HAVE LITERALLY THOUSANDS
OF SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR SOUVENIR ITEMS,
AND NONE OF THEM HAVE SEEN THIS PARTICULAR PIECE OF GLASS.
I EXPLAIN TO EARL HOW FARMERS LIKE HIMSELF
WERE ONCE SOME OF THE FIERCEST OPPONENTS OF THE WAR,
BUT DEWEY'S VICTORY RALLIED AMERICANS,
AND THIS SENTIMENT REACHED DEEP INTO THE HEARTLAND.
WELL, THAT'S NICE TO KNOW ALSO.
AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT NOW?
MY YOUNGEST SON, HE IS RESPONSIBLE
FOR HAVING YOU GUYS OUT HERE.
HE WILL GET IT EVENTUALLY,
OTHERWISE IT'S GOING TO BE SITTING HERE IN THIS DOOR
FOR AS LONG AS I'M AROUND.
DEWEYMANIA WAS SHORT-LIVED,
ENDING SOON AFTER HE MADE A RUN FOR THE PRESIDENCY IN 1900.
WITH LITTLE KNOWLEDGE OF POLICY ISSUES
AND POOR PUBLIC RELATIONS SKILLS,
DEWEY LOST THE BID.
ALTHOUGH HE REMAINED POPULAR UNTIL HIS DEATH,
HIS SUPPORTERS WERE UNABLE TO RAISE THE FUNDS NECESSARY
TO REPLACE DEWEY'S TEMPORARY PLASTER ARCH
WITH A MORE PERMANENT MONUMENT.
TO HEAR MORE OF MY INTERVIEW WITH JESSE LEBOVICS
AND TO TAKE A TOUR OF THE U.S.S.
OLYMPIA,
VISIT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.
YOU KNOW, EVERYWHERE WE GO,
THE LOCAL PRESS COVERS WHAT WE'RE DOING.
[ Katy Bowser's "All of My Friends" plays ]
AND IN THIS CASE, AFTER WE'D LEFT OMAHA,
THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER CARRIED A STORY
ABOUT US FILMING THE WINDOW IN FREMONT.
A SHARP-EYED READER, MARK HUGHES,
A STAINED-GLASS ARTIST IN OMAHA,
REMEMBERED SOMETHING THAT HE HAD IN HIS LIBRARY
AND HE SENT US THIS.
IT'S A 1909 CATALOG FROM THE M.A.
DISBROW COMPANY OF OMAHA.
THEY WERE MANUFACTURERS OF DECORATIVE DOORS,
WINDOWS, SASHES, AND MOLDINGS.
AND ON PAGE 85 OF THE CATALOG,
MARK SPOTTED SOMETHING
THAT HE THOUGHT WE'D BE REALLY INTERESTED IN.
AND THERE IT IS, THE LIBERTY NO.
315,
AN EXACT DUPLICATE OF THE DOOR WE FILMED IN FREMONT,
RIGHT DOWN TO THE ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS,
AND OF COURSE, THE GLASS PANEL OF THE U.S.S.
OLYMPIA.
THANKS, MARK, FOR PLAYING A PART
IN HELPING US SOLVE THIS MYSTERY.
♫ALL OF MY FRIENDS...♫
Elyse: OUR FINAL STORY INVESTIGATES A SEEMINGLY ORDINARY HOUSE
WITH A POTENTIAL EXTRAORDINARY PAST.
FEBRUARY 8, 1690:
A WINTER STORM BURIES THE FRONTIER VILLAGE
OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, UNDER SIX FEET OF SNOW.
THE COMMUNITY OF DUTCH SETTLERS HUDDLES TOGETHER,
BUT THE BITTER COLD WILL PROVE THE LEAST OF THEIR WORRIES.
THAT NIGHT, THEY ARE ATTACKED
BY A FORCE OF FRENCH SOLDIERS AND MOHAWK INDIANS.
[ shouting and gunfire ]
BY DAWN, SOME 60 SETTLERS HAVE BEEN KILLED
AND SCHENECTADY LIES IN ASHES.
THREE HUNDRED YEARS LATER,
DAN PARTINGTON AND SHARON COLE OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK,
BELIEVE THEIR HOME MAY HAVE A CONNECTION
TO THESE TERRIFYING EVENTS.
I WAS DRAWN TO THE HOUSE FROM THE FIRST MOMENT I SAW IT.
IT PULLED ME RIGHT IN.
IT TOOK ME A LITTLE WHILE TO GET USED TO IT.
IT SEEMED TO BE A LITTLE OMINOUS TO ME.
I'M ELYSE LURAY, AND I'VE COME TO SEE
DAN AND SHARON'S FRONT STREET HOME FOR MYSELF.
WOW, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL HOUSE YOU HAVE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
TELL ME, WHY AM I HERE?
WE THINK OUR HOUSE MIGHT HAVE BEEN BUILT AS A BLOCKHOUSE.
AND WHAT IS A BLOCKHOUSE?
A BLOCKHOUSE IS A FORT THAT PROTECTS
THE INHABITANTS OF AN AREA.
AND WHY WOULD A FORT BE HERE?
WELL, THIS IS THE SCHENECTADY STOCKADE,
A VERY HISTORICAL AREA,
AND IT WAS THE SITE OF THE FRENCH-INDIAN WAR IN THE 1700s.
WE LIVE IN A VERY HISTORICAL...
SHARON EXPLAINS THAT THE TOWN'S HISTORIC DISTRICT
WAS ONCE GUARDED BY A FORTIFIED PERIMETER.
THREE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, THIS PERIMETER, OR STOCKADE,
HAD LOOKOUT POSTS, ALSO KNOWN AS BLOCKHOUSES,
AT EACH CORNER.
APPARENTLY THE BLOCKHOUSES WERE MADE OF STONE.
THERE ARE NO OTHER STONE-WALLED HOUSES HERE.
SHARON AND DAN HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH ONLINE,
AND ALTHOUGH THEIR HOUSE LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT NOW,
THE BASIC SHAPE OF SURVIVING BLOCKHOUSES
FROM THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY ERA,
SUCH AS THIS ONE IN JOHNSTOWN, NEW YORK,
ARE SOMEWHAT SIMILAR.
WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU WANT ME TO FIND OUT?
WE'D LIKE YOU TO FIND OUT IF IT WAS BUILT AS A BLOCKHOUSE.
AND WHAT YEAR IT WAS BUILT.
DAN, WILL YOU COME OUTSIDE WITH ME AND SHOW ME THE HOUSE?
OF COURSE.
THE FACADE DOESN'T REVEAL MUCH.
IT LOOKS SIMILAR TO OTHER HOMES ON FRONT STREET.
EXCEPT, DAN SAYS, FOR THIS EXPOSED STONE
ALONG A NARROW PASSAGEWAY.
THE HOME HAS BEEN RENOVATED OVER THE YEARS,
AND THE REST OF THE EXTERIOR IS COVERED IN STUCCO.
WE TAKE MEASUREMENTS OF WHAT LOOKS TO BE
THE ORIGINAL FOUNDATION.
HOW MUCH IS IT?
ABOUT 24 FEET.
OKAY, 24 FEET 5 INCHES.
THAT MAKES THE HOUSE 24 FEET BY APPROXIMATELY 24 FEET.
MORE STONE IS VISIBLE IN THE CELLAR,
WHERE I GET A BETTER FEEL FOR THE ORIGINAL SHAPE
AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE HOUSE.
ALL FOUR WALLS OF THE CELLAR ARE MADE OF STONE...
AND CONTINUE ALL THE WAY UP TO THE ATTIC,
TWO STORIES ABOVE.
WOW.
UP HERE, I ALSO FIND SEVERAL WOODEN BEAMS
THAT LOOK VERY OLD.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE THERE'S A HIDDEN PART
OF THE HOUSE UP HERE.
IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE.
DATING HOUSES ISN'T MY SPECIALTY,
SO I'M NOT SURE IF THIS WOOD
WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION.
IF THE HOUSE WAS INDEED BUILT
DURING THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR,
THESE BEAMS COULD BE 300 YEARS OLD
AND MAKE THE HOUSE A RARE SURVIVING STRUCTURE
FROM OUR PRE-REVOLUTIONARY PAST.
I WANT TO GET THE TIMBERS FROM THE ATTIC DATED,
BUT FIRST I'LL NEED TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT WHY SCHENECTADY NEEDED THE PROTECTION
OF A FORTIFIED STOCKADE.
HI, ELYSE, NICE TO MEET YOU.
I'M MARY BETH.
HISTORIAN MARY BETH NORTON
HAS STUDIED THE EARLY HISTORY OF NEW YORK STATE,
WHERE AN EARLY SOURCE OF CONFLICT
WAS THE GREAT WEALTH THAT CAME FROM TRAPPING AND TRADING FURS.
THE FRENCH, THE DUTCH, THE ENGLISH WERE ALL FIGHTING
OVER WHO WAS TO BE THE PEOPLE WHO HAD THE RIGHT
TO TRADE WITH THE INDIANS TO GET THE FURS
THAT EVERYBODY IN EUROPE WANTED.
MARY BETH SAYS UPSTATE NEW YORK WAS MOSTLY WILDERNESS THEN
AND ON THE FRONTIER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
IN NORTH AMERICA.
BUT IT WAS ALSO A FRONT LINE
OF THE STRUGGLE TO CONTROL THE FUR TRADE.
WHOEVER CONTROLLED THE TOWN WOULD GAIN AN UPPER HAND.
SCHENECTADY WAS FOUNDED IN 1661,
AND IT WAS PICKED AS A SITE FOR SETTLEMENT
BECAUSE IT'S ON THE MOHAWK RIVER
AND FURS, WHICH WERE THE MOST DESIRABLE COMMODITY,
COULD BE MOVED MOST EASILY BY WATER.
I TELL MARY BETH ABOUT MY INVESTIGATION.
SHE SAYS THE FIRST BLOCKHOUSES AND STOCKADE
WERE MADE OF WOOD, NOT STONE.
BUT ON THE NIGHT OF FEBRUARY 8th,
THAT STOCKADE WOULD FAIL A CRITICAL TEST,
AS THE TOWN BECAME A BATTLEGROUND
FOR TWO EUROPEAN SUPERPOWERS.
IN FEBRUARY OF 1690, A GROUP OF FRENCH AND INDIANS
CAME DOWN FROM MONTREAL IN AN OVERLAND EXPEDITION
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WINTER.
MARY BETH SAYS A HARSH WINTER STORM
GAVE THE TOWN A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY.
AS THE VILLAGERS SLEPT, THE ATTACKERS SLIPPED PAST
THE STOCKADE THROUGH AN OPEN GATE
AND LAID SIEGE TO THE SETTLEMENT.
[ gunshots ]
SOME OF THE TOWNSPEOPLE WHO INITIALLY ESCAPED THE CARNAGE
FROZE TO DEATH IN THE SURROUNDING WOODS.
THE WOODEN BLOCKHOUSES AND STOCKADE WERE BURNED.
AND WHAT WAS THEIR REACTION TOWARDS --
DID THEY REBUILD THE TOWN, DID THEY LEAVE?
THE TOWN WAS ULTIMATELY REBUILT
BECAUSE IT WAS TOO VALUABLE FOR THE FUR TRADE
TO BE ABANDONED EVEN AFTER THAT ATTACK.
BUT THIS TIME, MARY BETH EXPLAINS,
THE BLOCKHOUSES WERE MADE OF STONE INSTEAD OF WOOD
AND RAISED TWO STORIES HIGH
TO ALLOW GUARDS TO FIRE DOWN ON ATTACKERS.
WAS DAN AND SHARON'S HOME PART OF THIS REBUILT STOCKADE?
MARY BETH CAN'T SAY,
BUT SHE DOES DOUBT THAT THEIR HOME WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT
AS A RESIDENCE.
SO THAT'S UNLIKELY TO HAVE BEEN A REGULAR HOUSE.
WHY IS THAT?
BECAUSE AT THE TIME, PEOPLE --
BOTH DUTCH AND ENGLISH PEOPLE --
TENDED TO BUILD HOUSES THAT WERE RECTANGULAR IN SHAPE.
THEY WOULD BE LIKE 20 x 40 FEET.
I'M HEADING BACK TO THE HOUSE ON FRONT STREET,
THIS TIME WITH DENDROCHRONOLOGIST
CAROL GRIGGS OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY.
SHE'S AGREED TO HELP DATE THE WOOD IN THE ATTIC.
WE LOOK FOR SAMPLES THAT HAVE A LOT OF RINGS IN THEM,
AND YOU CAN USUALLY SEE ON THE OUTSIDE
AT LEAST AN OUTLINE OF THE RING STRUCTURE.
SHE DETERMINES AGE BY DRILLING CORES FROM THE BEAMS
AND ANALYZING THE TREE RINGS.
WE LOOK FOR THE LARGER BEAMS,
WE LOOK FOR ANYTHING THAT STILL HAS BARK ON IT,
AND THERE ARE A FEW HERE.
AND THEN WE GO FROM THERE, WE START DRILLING.
IT DOESN'T HURT THE FOUNDATION OF THE HOUSE?
NO, IT'S TOO SMALL AND IT JUST TAKES OUT
ONE SMALL PART OF THE OUTSIDE OF THE STRUCTURE.
AFTER DRILLING A DOZEN CORES IN THE ATTIC AND CELLAR,
CAROL HEADS BACK TO THE LAB.
WHILE I WAIT FOR HER RESULTS,
I WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW THE COLONY
REBUILT ITSELF AFTER THE MASSACRE
AND WHETHER ANY OTHER STRUCTURE
ONCE STOOD ON THE SITE OF 9 FRONT STREET.
THE EFNER CENTER IN SCHENECTADY
HOUSES SOME OF THE TOWN'S OLDEST DOCUMENTS.
I LOCATE A TEXT CALLED
A HISTORY OF THE SCHENECTADY PATENT
IN THE DUTCH AND ENGLISH TIMES.
IT'S A COLLECTION OF CORRESPONDENCE
SPANNING SCHENECTADY'S LIFE FROM THE 1600s TO THE 1800s.
THE 1690 MASSACRE LEFT THE SURVIVORS IN A STATE OF TERROR
AND DESPERATE FOR NEW FORTIFICATIONS.
IN 1696, SIX YEARS AFTER THE ATTACK,
LETTERS FROM SCHENECTADY'S TOWNSPEOPLE MAKE CLEAR
THAT THE TOWN LIVED IN FEAR OF ADDITIONAL ATTACKS.
AS THE NEW CENTURY BEGAN,
BRITISH GOVERNOR CORNBURY IN NEW YORK
SOUGHT TO EASE THOSE FEARS BY ALLOCATING FUNDS
TO BUILD STRONGER FORTIFICATIONS.
HERE'S A REFERENCE ABOUT THE NEED
TO FORTIFY THE TOWN AFTER THE MASSACRE,
AND IT SAYS THAT THEY'RE BRINGING STONE UP THE RIVER.
THIS IS INTERESTING.
IT SAYS HERE THAT BLOCKHOUSES WERE 24 FEET SQUARE.
I DON'T FIND ANYTHING ON WHERE
THE NEW STONE FORTIFICATIONS WERE CONSTRUCTED,
BUT I DO UNEARTH A POSSIBLE CLUE.
LISTEN TO THIS:
"THE WRITER IS LED TO BELIEVE FROM REFERENCES IN THE RECORDS
"THAT THE FIRST BLOCKHOUSE
"WAS IN THE NORTH ANGLE OF THE STOCKADE
"AT OR NEAR THE JUNCTION OF FRONT AND WASHINGTON STREET.
THIS WAS DESTROYED IN 1690 BY THE FRENCH."
FRONT AND WASHINGTON IS VERY CLOSE
TO DAN AND SHARON'S HOUSE.
IF THE NEW STONE FORTIFICATIONS WERE BUILT
NEAR THIS ORIGINAL SITE,
THEN IT'S POSSIBLE 9 FRONT STREET
WAS BUILT AS A BLOCKHOUSE.
IT'S TIME TO CHECK BACK WITH CAROL,
WHOSE LAB HAS NOW DATED THE BEAMS FROM THE HOUSE.
OKAY, SO THESE ARE THE WOOD SAMPLES THAT YOU TOOK.
CAROL HAS PREPARED THE CORE SAMPLES
BY GLUING THEM BACK TOGETHER
AND SANDING THE EDGES TO EXPOSE THE TREE RINGS.
SHE USES A HIGH-POWERED MICROSCOPE
TO MEASURE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN EACH RING
REPRESENTED IN THIS GRAPH.
THE COMPILED MEASUREMENTS
CREATE A UNIQUE AND REMARKABLY PRECISE TIMELINE
OF THAT WOOD'S LIFE SPAN.
WE'RE GOING TO MATCH THEIR PATTERNS
WITH THE MASTER CHRONOLOGY THAT WE HAVE
FROM NEW YORK STATE, 500 YEARS LONG.
SO IT'S LIKE A FINGERPRINT.
IT'S VERY MUCH A FINGERPRINT OF HOW THE TREES GREW OVER TIME.
HER RESULTS ARE DRAMATIC:
THE WOOD IS ALMOST 300 YEARS OLD.
WE FOUND IN THE HEMLOCKS, THERE WERE THREE SAMPLES.
THEY DATE BACK TO 1727.
THOSE ARE SOME OF THE OLDEST SAMPLES
SHE'S TAKEN FROM SCHENECTADY.
BUT I'M NOT QUITE SURE HOW TO INTERPRET THIS.
1727 IS MORE THAN TWO DECADES AFTER WE KNOW
GOVERNOR CORNBURY REQUESTED STONE BE BROUGHT UPRIVER
TO REBUILD THE TOWN.
SCHENECTADY COUNTY AND CITY HISTORIAN DON RITTNER
BELIEVES HE MAY BE ABLE TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS.
HE SAYS REBUILDING THE TOWN TOOK DECADES.
BETWEEN 1690, THE MASSACRE, AND ABOUT, OH, 1740s,
THE WHOLE -- WHAT WE CALL TODAY THE CITY --
THE VILLAGE OF SCHENECTADY WAS BEING REBUILT.
ACCORDING TO DON, OUR WOOD COULD EASILY HAVE BEEN
PART OF THE NEW STONE BLOCKHOUSES.
THE 1727 DATE WOULD FALL WELL WITHIN THAT TIME FRAME
WHEN THEY WERE REBUILDING THE FORTIFICATIONS.
THE VERY EXISTENCE OF STONE IN DAN AND SHARON'S HOUSE
MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT CLUE
THAT THE HOME ONCE PROTECTED SCHENECTADY.
THERE WAS NO STONE IN SCHENECTADY.
THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN USING LIMESTONE OR BLUESTONE,
AND WE DON'T HAVE THAT IN SCHENECTADY COUNTY.
WE KNOW AS EARLY AS 1701 FROM THE COLONIAL RECORDS
THAT THERE WAS A DEMAND
THAT EVERY SLOOP THAT CAME UP THE HUDSON
BRING STONE WITH IT.
IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN EASY TO BRING IT UP
AND IT WASN'T CHEAP,
SO IT PROBABLY WAS ONLY USED FOR MILITARY FORTIFICATIONS.
SO IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE,
YOU KNOW, AT LEAST CIRCUMSTANTIALLY
THAT THE BUILDING THAT YOU HAVE MIGHT BE A BLOCKHOUSE.
DON OFFERS TO HELP ME SEARCH
IN SOME OF THE EARLY TOWN MAPS
FOR A RECORD OF THE FRONT STREET HOME.
THIS IS THE OLDEST SCHENECTADY MAP KNOWN TO EXIST.
THIS WAS DONE IN 1698 BY WOLFGANG ROEMER.
IT SHOWS THE LITTLE FORT CALLED THE KING'S FORT.
EIGHT YEARS AFTER THE SLAUGHTER AND FIRES,
SCHENECTADY WAS RISING FROM THE ASHES.
THIS IS WHERE THE SURVIVORS OF THE MASSACRE LIVED
AND THEN WENT OUT AND STARTED TO REBUILD THEIR VILLAGE.
SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE IS A NUMBER OF HOUSES
ALREADY REBUILT, THAT'S A PROPOSED FORT,
AND IN FACT THAT'S IN THE AREA WHERE YOUR BUILDING EXISTS,
ALTHOUGH IT JUST SHOWS AN AREA
THAT'S BEEN SORT OF BURNED OVER.
BUT THERE'S A POTENTIAL PROBLEM.
THERE'S NOTHING THERE.
THERE WAS STILL NO BLOCKHOUSE AT 9 FRONT STREET
EIGHT YEARS AFTER THE MASSACRE.
HERE WE GO.
AND A MAP FROM ABOUT 60 YEARS LATER
SHOWS NO BLOCKHOUSE AT THAT LOCATION EITHER.
IT LOOKS LIKE DAN AND SHARON MAY BE WRONG ABOUT THEIR HOME.
HERE'S WASHINGTON.
THERE'S FRONT STREET.
RIGHT.
THE MAP IS A RIDDLE.
THERE'S NO BLOCKHOUSE ON FRONT STREET,
BUT THERE IS A STRUCTURE SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET
FROM WHERE DAN AND SHARON'S HOUSE NOW STANDS.
THERE'S A BLOCKHOUSE SORT OF DIRECTLY BELOW
WHERE YOUR BUILDING IS,
WHICH IS CLOSER TO THE RIVER,
ABOUT 600 FEET FROM YOUR BUILDING.
ACCORDING TO THIS MAP,
IT DOESN'T APPEAR THAT DAN AND SHARON'S HOME
WAS EVER PART OF ANY KIND OF DEFENSIVE STRUCTURE.
SO MAYBE OUR HOUSE ISN'T A BLOCKHOUSE.
DON DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF THIS.
YOUR BUILDING IS SORT OF THE RIGHT SIZE AND SHAPE
AND THE RIGHT LOCATION.
MAYBE WHAT WE SHOULD DO IS LOOK
AT SOME OF THE COLONIAL DOCUMENTS.
IT TAKES A WHILE,
BUT DON AND I EVENTUALLY UNCOVER A DOCUMENT
THAT UNKNOTS OUR MYSTERY.
IT'S A LETTER FROM GOVERNOR CORNBURY
WITH A PLAN TO PREVENT A REPEAT OF THE 1690 FRENCH ATTACK.
AH, THIS IS INTERESTING.
IT'S TIME TO TELL DAN AND SHARON
WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT THEIR HOME.
THE FIRST THING YOU ASKED ME WAS ABOUT THE DATE.
AND YOU KNOW THAT WE HAD THE WOOD TESTED.
IF WE HAD TO DATE YOUR HOUSE, WE WOULD DATE IT AROUND 1727.
WOW!
THAT'S A LONG TIME AGO.
WOW, THAT'S FANTASTIC.WOW.
THE OTHER QUESTION YOU ASKED ME WAS DO YOU HAVE A BLOCKHOUSE?
I TELL SHARON AND DAN THAT THE WOOD DATING, THE STONE,
AND THE DIMENSIONS OF THE HOUSE WERE ALL SIGNS
THAT THEIR HOME HAD BEEN AN EARLY FORTIFICATION.
BUT WITHOUT THE LETTER FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK,
I WOULD HAVE NEVER SOLVED OUR RIDDLE.
WHY DID MAPS OF THE PERIOD SHOW THE BLOCKHOUSE
TO BE IN A DIFFERENT LOCATION,
600 FEET FROM THEIR HOME?
IT SAYS THAT GOVERNOR CORNBURY ORDERED THE STOCKADE
ALONG WASHINGTON TO BE MOVED CLOSER TO THE RIVER.
SO THAT EXPLAINS IT:
THE BLOCKHOUSE ON THE 1756 MAP WAS A NEW BLOCKHOUSE.
DAN AND SHARON'S HOME ON FRONT STREET
WAS MOST LIKELY BUILT IN THE EARLY 1700s
FOLLOWING THE MASSACRE.
BUT WHEN THE TOWN GREW AND THE STOCKADE WAS EXPANDED
AND MOVED CLOSER TO THE RIVER,
THAT BLOCKHOUSE WAS ABANDONED FOR OTHER USES.
SO I'M HAPPY TO TELL YOU THAT, IN MY OPINION,
YOU REALLY DO HAVE A BLOCKHOUSE.
I'M THRILLED IT'S A BLOCKHOUSE.
I'M IN SHOCK.
WHAT MAKES IT EXTRA SPECIAL AT THIS POINT NOW IS,
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WITHOUT 9 FRONT STREET,
THE OTHER HOUSES PROBABLY WOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE.
BY THE TIME THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION BEGAN,
SCHENECTADY WAS ALREADY MORE THAN 110 YEARS OLD.
ITS STOCKADE FORTIFIED WITH BLOCKHOUSES
PROVIDED SAFE HAVEN FOR RESIDENTS OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY,
FOR WOUNDED SOLDIERS SEEKING TREATMENT,
AND FOR SCHENECTADY'S LOCAL MILITIA,
THE 2nd ALBANY COUNTY MILITIA REGIMENT,
WHICH TOOK PART IN THE PIVOTAL BATTLE OF SARATOGA.
SCHENECTADY ALSO CLAIMS
A MORE RECENT ENTRY IN THE HISTORY BOOKS.
EACH DECEMBER, KIDS ACROSS AMERICA
WRITE TO SANTA CLAUS, ASSUMING HIS ZIP CODE IS 12345.
BUT THAT'S ACTUALLY THE ADDRESS
OF THE GENERAL ELECTRIC PLANT IN SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK.
IN 1886, THOMAS EDISON
MOVED HIS EDISON MACHINE WORKS COMPANY HERE,
WHERE IT LATER MERGED WITH A COMPETITOR
TO BECOME THE GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY.
FORTY-TWO YEARS LATER, THAT MOVE LED
TO SCHENECTADY BECOMING HOME
TO THE FIRST REGULAR TELEVISION BROADCAST.
G.E.
INVENTOR ERNST ALEXANDERSON
EXHIBITED THE FIRST PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION
OF HOME TV RECEPTION AT HIS HOUSE ON ADAMS ROAD
ON JANUARY 13, 1928.
FOUR MONTHS AFTER THAT,
THE FIRST EVER REGULAR TELEVISION PROGRAMMING
WAS BEING BROADCAST TWICE A DAY,
THREE TIMES A WEEK, FROM EXPERIMENTAL STATION W2XB.
CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR OWN TOWN'S HISTORY?
TAX AND INSURANCE RECORDS, BUILDING PERMITS,
OLD MAPS, AND CENSUS FILES
ARE ALL GOOD PLACES TO START.
THINK YOUR TOWN HOLDS A MYSTERY?
TELL US AT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.
Elvis Costello: ♫WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫
♫IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫
♫WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫
♫WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫
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