The Monitor and the Mall #WordlessWednesday

Sometimes, you find history close to home.

When I went to elementary school in New York City, back in the 50's and 60's, I learned about a Civil War naval battle. More than once.

The battle, off the coast of Virginia of the Union ironclad U.S.S. Monitor vs. the Confederate ironclad Merrimack (not the Merrimac, another ship put into service around 1864) was celebrated as the first modern naval battle.

Little did I suspect I would spend a large chunk of my life in an area with a connection to the Monitor.

The wood from which the keel of the Monitor was cut came in an area, now occupied partially by a Cornell University nature center site called Finch Hollow, located off Oakdale Road in Johnson City, New York.

The site of the sawmill where the keel of the U.S.S.Monitor was milled is a handful of miles from Finch Hollow. The site is, in the present day, occupied by an indoor mall, the Oakdale Mall.  For years, there has been a historical marker, hidden in a corner of the mall.  At one point it vanished.  Then it returned.

In recent years, the mall has come under new management.  I thought the pandemic may have rendered a death blow, but it seems to be doing just fine right now (that deserves its own post as to why), although that future involves retail businesses less and less.   

But I thought of the marker recently:  did it still exist?  A field trip was in order.

In October, our early voting site was located in the mall.  After we voted, my spouse and I walked in the mall.

The marker lives!  A piece of historical history, hidden in a corner, passed by daily by unsuspecting walkers and shoppers.

History is everywhere.  You just need to stop and look around you.

Joining Sandee for her Wordless Wednesday.