Beginning in the 1930s, roads leading toward Chattanooga asked travelers to “See Rock City,” a simple directive in bold white lettering intended to trigger curiosity about the out-of-the-way attraction at the pinnacle of Lookout Mountain. The barns beckoned travelers, and they came, over and over again. En route, spotting the barns became as enjoyable—and memorable—as the Rock City garden itself. By the 1960s, more than nine hundred scripted barns stood throughout the South, originally hand-painted by Clark Byers. Only forty Rock City barns remain, and many have gone through a restoration that’s beautifully captured here.

With business savvy honed in the West’s rowdy mining camps, Marcus Daly rose from poor Irish immigrant to Gilded Age magnate. From the mines of Butte, Montana, to America’s largest smelter in a town he also named Anaconda, Daly’s Anaconda Copper Company made a fortune. He used it to build his dream—a Bitterroot Valley ranch and a horse racing empire that stretched from California to New York. Meanwhile, his gregarious and generous façade hid a sly manipulator, one locked in a battle for political dominance with rival copper king W.A. Clark.

The Regulators Movement in colonial North Carolina was one of the earliest and most powerful acts of rebellion against British rule in America—five years before the official start of the American Revolution. In the 1760s and early 1770s, thousands of backcountry settlers rose up to protest excessive taxation, corrupt royal governors, and a justice system that favored the wealthy elite. This gripping historical account uncovers how the Regulator rebellion helped ignite revolutionary ideas in the southern colonies and reshaped the political landscape of the American frontier. The conflict alienated Loyalists, radicalized future Patriots, and forced many to take sides in a brewing civil war. In fact, the movement’s legacy played a crucial role in the Revolutionary War’s Southern Campaign, where the final and most brutal battles were fought—and lost. Join Author Marcia Phillips for the forgotten history of the first American freedom fighters who challenged tyranny and laid the groundwork for independence. The story of the Regulators is essential to understanding how the struggle for American liberty began not in Boston, but in the hills and backcountry of pre-Revolutionary North Carolina.

Around 1856, Ralph Man and Julien Feild arrived at a small community among the oak groves bordering Walnut Creek. Here, they built a gristmill at the crossroads that would become the center of Mansfield. The steam mill they established ground grain into flour and meal and eventually served customers from San Antonio to Oklahoma. As the community grew, Dr. John Collier established the Mansfield Male and Female College, insisting the community be platted before the college opened in 1870. The community progressed with the arrival of the railroad between Fort Worth and Mansfield and the community’s incorporation. With the building of the town’s Memorial Hall in 1920, many of Mansfield’s functions became centralized, and the town grew to be more than a collection of buildings and fields. It grew to be a reflection of the voices, histories, and cultures of those who settled here and shaped the rich, diverse identity of the town. This cultural reflection continues today with the city’s rapid growth. New voices continue to add to the spirit that is Mansfield.

Robert Goddard, PhD, is widely considered the father of the space age. Born in 1882 in Worcester, Massachusetts, he spent much of his early life in the Boston suburb of Roxbury before returning to Worcester as a teenager. A pivotal moment came during his youth when, while climbing a cherry tree near his home, he envisioned the possibility of space travel—a vision that would shape the course of his life. Driven by this dream, Goddard dedicated himself to making spaceflight a reality. In 1926, he launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts, a groundbreaking achievement that laid the foundation for modern rocketry and space exploration. Among his many innovations, Goddard demonstrated that rockets could produce thrust in a vacuum, pioneered the use of scientific instruments aboard rockets, developed the concept of rocket-based weaponry (such as the bazooka), and introduced early methods for rocket stabilization.

Jaws of Florida's Beaches

Every year, millions of people flock to Florida for some of the most spectacular beaches in the world. From Miami's bustling shores to the crystal-clear Gulf waters and tropical Keys, visitors splash in Florida's waves seeking adventure and sunshine. But some come face to face with much more.

Best-selling author-illustrator Martha Day Zschock introduces young readers to the beautiful towns, parks, and sites in the Green Mountain State—Vermont! Young travelers and locals alike can color the chairlifts and mountains of ski slopes, or splash in a swimming hole on a hot summer day. Readers can color in maple trees and cows, biking trails and hot-air balloons, lakes and streams for fishing and canoeing, and more! Add your colors and celebrate all that Vermont has to offer.