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The Mountains-to-Sea Trail shows off the most spectacular, historic and quirky elements of the North Carolina landscape.

Stretching one thousand miles from Clingmans Dome in the Smokies to Jockey's Ridge State Park in the Outer Banks, the route takes in Fraser fir trees and pelicans, old grist and textile mills, working cotton and tobacco farms, Revolutionary War sites and two British cemeteries complete with Union Jacks. The trail is half on footpaths and half on back roads, offering experiences not only in nature but also in small towns, at historic monuments, in family cemeteries and in local shops. Author Danny Bernstein has taken it all in and shares her knowledge for those who might follow in her footsteps.

Join a trio of Florida historians on this exploration of Florida by air. 

Few states can claim an aeronautical heritage as rich as Florida’s. From early flights in tiny cloth-covered planes to the latest rocket ships, and from the first passenger flights to journeys that span the globe, Florida skies have seen the most primitive forms of aviation evolve into the most technologically advanced. In 1910, Lincoln Beachey won $1500 at the Orange County Fair for staying in the air for five minutes, just three years before Domingo Rosillo made the 90-mile flight across the Florida Strait in two hours and eight minutes, setting world records for both distance flown over water and altitude attained. A couple decades later, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan left Miami on the first leg of their around-the-world flight that ended in disaster.

Lake Champlain is one of America’s most historic waterways, but much of its history has remained hidden. With the arrival of Europeans, the lake became a vital route between the English in New England and the French in Quebec.

Its isolated beauty contrasted sharply with the bloody military campaigns that unfolded there. While enormous forts were erected, colonial villages blossomed, and 18th century naturalist Peter Kalm spread the word of its bucolic charm. William Miller attracted large audiences as he preached that the world would end in the 1840s. Valcour Island developed its own commune, and when Prohibition took effect, the towns near the Canadian border became a hotbed of bootlegging.

From presidential visits to shipwrecks, local authors Jason Barney and Christine Eldred chronicle some of the lake’s lesser-known contributions to American history.  

Author Orice Jenkins tells the full story of Ulysses Goolsby and the Early County massacre more than 100 years later. The Early County Massacre has been known as the Grandison Goolsby War for over a century, focusing on the events of December 30th, 1915, when 46-year-old Grandison used gunfire to defend himself from a lynching mob. Lesser known is that the incident started two days earlier when Grandison’s son was attacked on his way to a wedding, and that it all led to the Supreme Court of Georgia sending that same son to death row five years later.

Author Alan Brown shines the light on some of worst characters in Mississippi history .

America's Only Shelter Established for Holocaust Refugees

During the height of the second World War, at the order of President Roosevelt, Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York housed 982 refugees, rescued from the horrors of the Holocaust. The community of Oswego answered the call of service and opened its arms to the survivors.

Oswegonian and WWII veteran Joseph Spereno's connection with refugee Jake Sylber helped launch his tailoring business that was a fixture in the city for more than 20 years. Then high school Principal Ralph Faust was among local educators who fought to allow the refugee children into Oswego schools, forging connections with those young people who went on to distinguished careers. Local Boy Scout leader Harold Clark created a troop for refugee children to share in the American experience of scouting.

Author Ann Callaghan Allen presents the harrowing narrative of how Oswego gave shelter to hundreds of Holocaust survivors.

The Queen of New Jersey Lakes

Only 40 miles from Manhattan, Lake Hopatcong is the largest lake in the Garden State. An early colonial pioneer in damming, the lake was formed by the flooding of Great Pond, Little Pond and the Musconetcong River. It became a luxury destination for wealthy New Yorkers looking for a cool retreat as a cadre of celebrities frequented its glamorous hotels. Though the Golden Age of the lake's history has passed, it remains a vibrant source of revitalization, community and environmental enjoyment for the region today. Join author Peter Astras as he recounts the history of New Jersey's Lake Hopatcong.

Often relegated to a footnote, the Archive War almost plunged the Republic of Texas into civil war.

Houston's Archive War began with the Texas Revolution, as the spoils of the battlefield gave way to bitter political strife. Sam Houston didn't expect a two-year standoff with Austin residents over the location of the new republic's capital. But if a few things had gone differently, his attempt to shift the seat of government back to the city named after him could have ended with Austin residents in outright rebellion. As it was, the feud between Lamar and Houston over the seat of government escalated into cannon-fire and continued until Texas was a Republic no more. Author Lora-Marie Bernard thumbs through the incendiary files of the Texas Archive War.

Indian River County is an idyllic vacation spot on Florida's east coast, not far south of Cape Canaveral. Known as part of the state's famed "Treasure Coast," many are unaware of the deep and fascinating history this area played in the development of the Sunshine State. Also lost among its visitors and residents are the chilling stories of the hauntings that accompany this rich history. It is here that a man named Waldo still looks after his family and properties, six decades after his death. Or a retired preacher is seen digging up his hidden treasure, days after he died .

In the history of Cleveland television, there is no more formidable pioneer than Betty Cope.

From her entry-level position as a receptionist at WEWS in 1947, Cope rose up the ranks to become the producer of some of the area's most memorable early local programs. Together with a group of concerned citizens, she founded Cleveland's educational television station, WVIZ, in 1965.

Under her management, Channel 25 became one of the nation's largest producers of instructional classroom programming. Throughout Cope's twenty-seven-year tenure, WVIZ maintained high-quality programming standards, and she kept her station financially sound largely through the funds raised from the popular annual televised Auction. After TV, she embarked on a new career as an advocate of land conservation and park preservation.

Compiling original interviews and never-before-seen photos, author Christine Martuch tells story of one of Northeast Ohio's most remarkable women.

Galveston was the birthplace of Juneteenth.

Issued in Galveston on June 19, 1865, General Orders, No. 3 announced to the people of Texas that all slaves were free. It is one of the Island's most important historical moments. Although Juneteenth has now become the basis for a national holiday, many Americans wonder how and why this date emerged as the basis for the oldest continually celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery. To even begin to answer these questions, it is necessary to return to the historic roots of the event itself. The Galveston Historical Foundation's African American Heritage Committee tracks Emancipation Day observances through previously unknown images and untold stories which are also part of an interactive exhibit experience at Ashton Villa, the site of Galveston's city-wide Juneteenth celebration.

Murder and mystery haunt the shadowy corners of the Victorian Era in Southwest Michigan.

Decades after his supposed death in 1846, a litigious bachelor was discovered to have been buried alive. In 1865, a Battle Creek woman, yearning for her lover, used Spiritualism to conceal poisoning her three children. An 1883 unsolved quadruple homicide near Jackson caused two suicides, one attempted suicide and two assassination attempts. In 1891, a ten-year-old girl adopted from the State School in Coldwater one morning was found dead in an icy river two counties away that same afternoon.

Researcher and author Michael Delaware unfurls these and other stories that shocked Michigan and the nation over a century ago.

Harrisburg Answers the Call of Duty

In 1917, at the start of World War I, among global war and a global pandemic, Harrisburgers stepped up, surffered and served. They mustered municipal agencies, associations, churches, clubs and corporations as well as fraternal and female organizations to address the multiple challenges presented by the global events. Women volunteered for the Red Cross and sought employment in industry as locals observed federal stipulations for draft calls, food conservation, fuel savings and arms' production. The city experienced tribulations as residents feared espionage, suspected foreigners and demanded loyalty. A Teutonophobia cast aspersions on anything German. Hospitals struggled with the 1918 flu at their doorstep. Join author Rodney Ross as he charts the World War I era and the Harrisburg home front.

Discover Chester County's Lost Landmarks

Chester County has a deep and enriching history, from sites of the Underground Railroad to great moments of Women's Suffrage and incredible remnants of Native American culture. The stories of the county's past can be experienced in many of its historic landmarks. Author Mark DeWitt Lanyon charts Chester County's lost history and the places that defined it.

Crawfordsville, Indiana, has a rich history of spiritualism and paranormal lore. /

In the late 1800s and early 1900s mediums were trained in the city, and spiritualism was preached from the street corners. Spirit photography was all the rage, and many flocked to town to have their photos taken with ghosts. The Crawfordsville Monster caused a nationwide stir after terrorizing the town for several days and being spotted by more than 100 people. Urban legends also abound in this small city, including legends like the cursed chair of Oak Hill cemetery, Spooky Hollow and the Old Hospital./

Authors Christopher and Christina Hunt share these tales and others devoted to the mysterious past and darkly thrilling secret life of the heart of Montgomery County.

In the early 1790s, a Lutheran family in Appalachia fell victim to a menacing spirit that Lutheran, Methodist and Episcopal clergy as well as Folk magic practitioners failed to remove. The entity, which came to be known as the Wizard Clip, was said to cut or slice anything made of cloth or leather. Was it a ghost or a demon? After years of torment, the deeply Protestant family finally found respite from a seemingly impossible ally, a Catholic exorcist. This legend has eerie parallels to lore of ghosts and witches from the Old World as well as the early American Republic. As American religious leaders sought to find a place for their congregations in a post-Revolutionary time of enlightened secularism, tales like these helped churches define themselves, and this particular story was used to distinguish Catholic supernaturalism from later spiritualism. /Author Michael Kishbucher tells a spooky and incredibly compelling story that shines a light on the region’s religious history.

Local author Jane Simon Ammeson leads a tasty tour of historic Region restaurants.

A wonderful diversity of flavors has defined Northwest Indiana as a dining destination from its early days to the present. Now almost a century old, Teibel's pan-fried fish carries on the tradition of "perch palaces'? like the now lost Phil Smidt's. Pierogis have been a staple at the Cavalier for decades. So great was the demand for frog legs at Vogel's that they used to raise their own. The same dish has remained on the menu at the Town Club since opening in 1947. Serving Northwest Indiana-style, crisped-edge hamburgers, Miner-Dunn and Schoops both survived the onslaught of fast food chains and continue on today.

Founded in 1876, Globe was once a wild and wooly mining camp, and its robberies, murders and mayhem left a dark impression.

Tucked at the base of the Pinal Mountains, this historic landmark is a quintessential old western town. Make a stop at the Globe Train Depot and discover why so many spirits have made it their last whistle-stop along the rails. Explore the courthouse and the Old Gila County Jail, where sinister spirit Kingsley Olds is said to still be doing time. Visit the Globe Cemetery where bandits, cowboys and upstanding citizens mingle.

Tag along with author and paranormal historian Debe Branning as she digs through some of Globe's deepest secrets and reveals wicked tales.