Chilling Tales of the Hudson Valley

Nestled on the banks of the Hudson River, Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown are steeped in history and ghost lore. Famous for Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the storied Westchester region also has a dark history of witches, spies, and pirates. Rumors of Headless Horseman sightings surge during spooky season while visitors flock to the Valley’s haunted hot spots like the Old Dutch Church and the famed writer’s Sunnyside home. Join author and journalist Sam Baltrusis on a bone-chilling journey through the streets of Sleepy Hollow as he breathes new life into the legendary village’s long-departed souls.

"I'd like to see any man do better than we did on this trip." - Alice Burke

In 1916, Alice Burke and Nell Richardson embarked on a daring and unprecedented cross-country journey advocating for women’s suffrage. Before the nineteenth amendment enshrined American women’s right to vote in 1920, it was legal only in a few states. So trailblazing suffragists Alice and Nell loaded a Saxon automobile and embarked on a state-by-state campaign for women’s voting rights. Long before the modern highway system streamlined car travel, Alice and Nell drove a grueling 10,700 miles over twenty-six weeks, traversing some of the roughest roads in America. Backed by the Saxon Motor Car Company—one of the original Detroit automakers—and fueled by their own unwavering spirits, Alice and Nell advocated for women’s suffrage in every town along the way. Author Jeryl R. Schriever shares the remarkable story of the first women to ever drive across the country and back, paving the way for generations of women to follow.

Dive into Cleveland’s deep past and return with a new vision for how we should think about the region today.

The land we call “northeast Ohio” was originally forged through eons of glacial pressure, geologic shifts, and the relentless movement of the Cuyahoga River. Since the last Ice Age, however, it has also been transformed countless times by the many people who have called it home.

In An Alternative History of Cleveland, Jon Wlasiuk uncovers the mysteries, devastations, and human incursions that have shaped the region. Here, you’ll encounter the giant megafauna that roamed the area until their mysterious extinction, Indigenous civilizations who first shaped the land and harnessed its natural resources, industrial pioneers like John D. Rockefeller and Charles Brush who corralled electricity and crude oil in the service of capitalist progress, the environmental devastation that polluted the Cuyahoga and caused toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie, and the numerous Clevelanders today who want to reshape the city’s relationship with the natural environment. Though separated by thousands of years, these stories contain a common theme: the city of Cleveland remains bound to nature, despite our best efforts to liberate ourselves from its limits.

Part natural history, part archeological essay, and part a contemporary call to arms to reclaim and rewild Cleveland’s future, this unforgettable trek into the heart of “the Land” will change the way you see the city forever.

Historian Jeff Sellers, director of education at the Tennessee State Museum and the state capitol, has compiled images from archives and private collections to showcase the history of the Tennessee State Capitol. He also introduces us to the individuals who have breathed life into what has become known as the people's house.

On July 4, 1845, an immense crowd gathered atop the highest hill in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The locals had known it as Campbell's Hill after its owner, Judge George Washington Campbell. Now it had a new name: Capitol Hill. It was on this day that the cornerstone of the new Tennessee State Capitol would be ceremoniously laid. Beneath it, a time capsule was placed with a scroll that read, Dum Tempus fugit, hoc Templum stabit, which translates to Though Time Passes, This Temple will Stand. For over 170 years, that phrase has held true. The building begun on that day and completed 14 years later is still Tennesseans' seat of government. It has seen wars, depressions, celebrations, funerals, demonstrations, debates, and compromise and remains a temple of democracy.

Local author Rena Glover Goss unfolds the intricacies of the murder that rocked Jefferson County.

In 1899, the Cramblett and Gosnell families lived on Perrin Run. Quincy Cramblett, romantically involved first with Elva Gosnell and later with her sister Cora, frequently proposed marriage. Both girls declined because of their father’s objections to the young man. Growing desperate, Quincy proposed that he and Cora commit suicide. She refused. Weeks later, their father, James Gosnell, was fatally shot. Immediately suspected, Quincy was indicted for murder after a brief hearing. Over the course of two trials in 1900, local critics differed vehemently about his guilt or innocence, and crowds packed the courtroom to witness the drama. Qunicy was acquitted, but none one else was ever questioned or indicted for James Gosnell’s murder.