Thank the Erie Canal for Spreading People, Ideas and Germs Across America

For the waterway's 200th anniversary, learn about its creation and impact.

How Gotham Gave Us Trump

Ever wonder how a lifelong urbanite can resent cities as much as Donald Trump does? First you have to understand ’70s and ’80s New York.

Bring the Noize

A search for the source of Southern hip-hop’s magic will always lead you to three men from Atlanta, known to the world as Organized Noize.

The Strange Ratio of Treasure Island

The perfect correspondence of landscape and information can be seen in Ruth Taylor’s 1939 map.
Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, and Mayor Hartsfield at the Cyclorama

Cyclorama: An Atlanta Monument

The history of Atlanta's first Civil War monument may reveal how to deal with them in the present.

Frederick Douglass, Real Estate Developer

Frederick Douglas had another, lesser known, impact on Baltimore.

How Boston Made Itself Bigger

Maps from 1630 to the present show how the city — once an 800-acre peninsula — grew into what it is today.

The True History of the South Is Not Being Erased

Taking down Confederate monuments helps confront the past, not obscure it.
Settlement of Israelis in the West Bank.

How American Jews Became Israeli Settlers

Historian Sara Yael Hirschhorn explains what has driven some American Jews to the most contentious real estate on earth.

Toxic Legacy: New Boom Highlights Oil’s Hundred-Year Environmental History in West Texas

The ecological history of West Texas challenges the narrative of the region's rugged independence.

Race and Labor in the 1863 New York City Draft Riots

What sparked one of the deadliest insurrections in American history?
Two historic hotels of very different eras. Left: The Shelburne (torn down in 1984) was a second home to entertainers in pre-casino Atlantic City; Right: Resorts Hotel (opened 1978) was the first legal casino in the US outside of Nevada.

Touring the Abandoned Atlantic City Sites That Inspired the Monopoly Board

The once-glamorous casinos and hotels have become a gilded ghost town.

A Devastating Mississippi River Flood That Uprooted America's Faith in Progress

The 1927 disaster exposed a country divided by stereotypes, united by modernity.

The Trashy Beginnings of "Don’t Mess With Texas"

A true story of the defining phrase of the Lone Star state.

Draining the Swamp: A Guide for Outsiders and Career Politicians

Despite common belief, Washington, D.C. was not built on a swamp.

What U.S. Cities Looked Like Before the EPA

Whatever the Trump administration does with Environmental Protection Agency, its urban legacy is clear.

From Boston's Resistance to an American Revolution

How a Boston rebellion became an American Revolution is a story too seldom told because it is one we take for granted.

Mapping the Urban Bike Utopias of the 1890s

Bicycle mania swept the nation at the end of the 19th century. Can it happen again?

'Segregation Had to Be Invented'

During the late 19th century, blacks and whites in the South lived closer together than they do today.

The Devastating 1889 Johnstown Flood Killed Over 2,000 People in Minutes

When a dam gave way after unprecedented rainfall, it sent a wall of water barreling toward a Pennsylvania town of 30,000 people.
Washington D.C. in 1860.

Draining the Swamp

Washington may be the only city on Earth that lobbied itself into existence.

Native Land Digital

Do you live on Native American territory?

The Curious History of Ellis Island

Ellis Island celebrates its 125th anniversary as the federal immigration depot.

How the Battle for Sunlight Shaped New York City

As the city reached for the sky, those down below had to scramble for daylight.
A New Orleans parade, with confetti falling on the heads of men dancing in suits.

Sundays in the Streets

The long history of benevolence, self-help, and parades in New Orleans.
Artists' rendering of Cahokia mounds with buildings and people on them.

Finding North America’s Lost Medieval City

Cahokia was bigger than Paris — then it was completely abandoned. I went there to find out why.
Dam from a distance

The Book of the Dead

In Fayette County, West Virginia, expanding the document of disaster.
Book cover with the title "Baby Boy Born Birthplace Blues" superimposed on a photo of a man lying down with his cheek on the ground.

Baby Boy Born Birthplace Blues

"The blues was born on a riverboat between Louisville and New Albany, along those docks, in the 1890s. I mean, the blues was born nowhere, of course. Or it was born many places."

Central Park Was Once Seneca Village, Home to a Thriving Free Black Community

A graphic history of the community displaced for the vast public park in 1857.

Falling for Niagara Falls

How did Niagara Falls become the Honeymoon Capital of the World?