Shirleen Davies

Before you can solve the mystery of who done it, you need to solve the mystery of whether or not someone was murdered. But, when arsenic was the weapon, murder and mayhem were pretty hard to trace. Detecting arsenic poisoning wasn’t easy in the1800’s. The main symptoms—vomiting and diarrhea—are common ailments caused by many illnesses like

If you’re adventurous, you might include Christmas recipes prepared over 150 years ago by pioneers living in the western frontier. A special item pioneer women carried with them across the plains was their family recipes.  So, frontier Christmas dinners also varied based on the heritages of the different pioneer families. Here are four recipes I

South Pass City’s beginnings as a Boom Town started in 1865 when a detachment from Fort Bridger discovered a large vein of gold along Willow Creek. Prospectors descended on the Sweetwater Mining District including the towns of South Pass City, Atlantic City, and Hamilton City—later renamed Miners Delight, after a nearby mine. On June 27, 1867, mountain

Austin, the state capital of Texas is in Central Texas, was originally planned on a 640-acre site on a bluff above the Colorado River. Today, Austin lays 160 miles northwest of Houston, 195 miles south of Dallas, and 80 miles northeast of San Antonio. The location isn’t as interesting as the history of the wild

When the Civil War ended many young men found their old way of life was gone. Their homes were left in ruins, land confiscated by carpetbaggers when the new high taxes couldn’t be paid. All or most of their family members were dead or missing. Many headed west, hoping for a new start. In the