I want to start by saying I hope I don't offend anyone-(THATS loaded, isn't it????!!!!!!) but I hope this is something we might all think about a little bit, since a lot of us homeschool or are interested in education. The 200 years ago thread kind of hit a raw nerve-I know it was for fun, but one of my big pet peeves is Americans' lack of knowledge of thier own history. 200 years ago Lewis and Clark were making thier Voyage of Discovery-so unless you are Native American-there were no settlements past missouri. Maybe a good project for homeschoolers-and others! is to really do some research on the history of your area or your family 200 years ago. I think we might all be surprised at what we come up with.

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 16, 2002

Answers

I would think that many parts of Texas and New Mexico had settlements?? I am probably wrong though!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 16, 2002.

I did look up some info. and parts of Texas and New Mexiso were inhabited by Spanish and even French explorers in the 1500's. They established as many as 30 missions and many Europeans (mostly Spanish) lived there. Now I am interested so I am going to spend some time this afternoon reading some more about this! Thanks Kelly!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 16, 2002.

Melissa-they would have been Spanish/Mexican-the Louisiana Purchase was in 1803, so there were no American settlements. I know there were fur traders and trading posts, and no doubt some scattered farms- but basically there was no government and if you lived there you were on your own. I'm not sure how north-east the Mexican settlements were-does anyone know?

It amazes me that the Seige of Boonesborogh was in 1778 and as late as 1782 there were horrific massacres on both sides, yet by 1800 Lexington was discribed as a "thriving City" Ohio was mostley settled by then.

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 16, 2002.

I guess I wasn't really looking at what was considered America then, but what it consists of now.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 16, 2002.

Ooops- the gracious folks of New Orleans and Lousiana would be upset if I didn't mention the French settlements there.

Melissa-I hope I havn't spoken out of turn with this. I'm working on a huge App.History project and its starting to invade all areas of my life. I also have a dear friend who is a fantastic wildlife biologist, but who sees no point in learning anything outside her field, she hasn't a clue when the Revolutionary War was nor does she care. I feel that those who don't learn thier history are doomed to repeat it.

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 16, 2002.

I will share what little knowledge I know about the Spanish presence in North America.

I think that Sante Fe, New Mexico is regarded as the oldest settlement in America, dating I believe in the 15th - 16th century. Basically, most the the Spanish settlements were actually Catholic missions, meant to convert the Native American population to Catholicism. They were also used to establish a presence in the New World, so that other foreign countries could not claim the land as their own. Perhaps the most famous Spanish mission is called the Alamo, located in San Antonio, Texas.

There were many missions, one in the Rio Grande Valley is reputedly dated near the late 1500's. It is located in the Mission, Texas region, if you want to look it up. I believe the French missions were limited to the mainly in the southeast, East Texas, Florida and Louisiana.

California is another state full of Spanish named settlements (Los Angelos, San Francisco, San Diego, among a host of others). The desert Southwest is basically where the Spanish influence was felt. Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas is the region I am speaking of.

I hope this sparked some starting points to look up. Yes, this would be a very interesting homeschool project.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), January 16, 2002.

There were 21 California Missions. We also have the Spanish to thank for community property laws (very important in divorce cases), among other things. I understand that Louisiana has a lot of laws that are from French influence. State histories are always interesting.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), January 16, 2002.

In Kentucky and Tennessee, perhaps other states as well, people refer to the Sheriff as "The High Sheriff" which comes from Britain. That blew my husband's mind when he came here from Chicago.....

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 16, 2002.

I'll add a little more to this about what I know about my neck of the woods.

My (Dads)family settled in East Tennessee in the 1790's-we are pretty sure they were given a land grant as payment for their fighting in the American Revolution. We know they lived somewhere in Virginia sometime before this. They stayed there and farmed until just recently. I know my Great Great Grandfather on my Dads side fought with the Union (we have his Government pay reciepts) and my Mothers Great Great Grand father fought on the side of the South. (Whew!) I allways wondered why people in this area kept going on and on about the Civil War-they allways refered to it as The WAR, even after two world wars and Vietnam and all the others-it was because t was literally fought in thier yards and across thier field, and they had plenty to worry about maruading Armies from both sides. I love Appalachian ledgends and ghost stories-supposivly, we have a few ghosts here-we have an ancient barn that local ledgend says someone hung himself in-that tidbit was kept from my Father in Law until after he bought the place. Also theres a graveyard where, sadly on of the graves is an eleven year old boy who was killed in a timber accident. Sometimes, we can hear a call that sounds like someone shouting "help me, help me" probably, its a strange bird call, but....you never know.

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 16, 2002.

Ah, Lewis & Clark. I have crossed their paths, followed their trails, read their diaries, studied their maps. I lived in Naselle where they overwintered, visited the place where they made their salt. They were lost most of their trip. As long as they headed west, they were bound to come to the ocean eventually, but they had some real roundabout ways! Yes, indeed, they were lost!

Here on the Pacific Coast, we had the Spanish Missions coming up from the South, and Russian Settlements coming down from the North. Huge Pacific storms and some of the most treacherous coastline in the world has delivered upon our shores and rocks sailors from around the globe who were cared for by the coastal Canoe People.

Lewis and Clark just hung out near the mouth of the Columbia River with the Chinooks, but up and down the coast were Russian and Japanese accidental settlers enjoying the good life with their new families.

-- Laura (Ladybugwrangler@hotmail.com), January 17, 2002.

Laura, that is pretty close to what I read. I din't realize that the Russians had settlements along the west coast, I knew the Spanish did. I guess it makes sense that they would be there. I really enjoyed looking up a little History yesterday. I guess there were more settlements throughout the west than we realized.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 17, 2002.