by Kate Dolan | Jul 4, 2026 | Colonial America, Holidays, Latest Posts, Living History
Today we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s independence. It wasn’t achieved in a single day. The Declaration of Independence wasn’t even signed in one day—and it wasn’t on July 4, either. But a celebration needs to be limited or it loses its effect and...
by Kate Dolan | Oct 14, 2025 | 19th Century America, Colonial America, Latest Posts, Living History, Travel
I love tourist traps—as long as they’re historic. I think it’s fun to imagine all the travelers who visted before me: parents in awe, children annoyed and underwhelmed and wondering when it’s time to eat. So, for years, every time we passed the billboards on I-81 in...
by Kate Dolan | Sep 18, 2019 | Colonial America, Living History
We may owe our independence as a nation to a fancy tent and some pilfered uniforms. As autumn began in 1782, George Washington set up camp outside New York City. A year after the decisive victory at Yorktown, the situation was by no means as jubilant as most Americans...
by Kate Dolan | May 29, 2018 | Colonial America, Kate Dolan, Latest Posts, Living History
I don’t live in historic Ellicott City, but I’ve wanted to ever since I first drove through the winding hilly streets about 30 years ago. Instead we live across the Patapsco River about ten minutes away in Catonsville, and though our home and community...
by Kate Dolan | Jan 15, 2017 | Articles, Colonial America, Kate Dolan, Latest Posts, Living History
Smallwood’s Retreat sounds like a battle maneuver, but it’s actually the name of the historic house in Charles County. We discovered the house while we were camping in a park named (not surprisingly) Smallwood after the original owner of the property. General...
