Ida Tarbell's Influence on National Geographic Magazine

On January 27, 1888, the National GeographicSociety was founded in Washington, D.C., for “the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.” What many may not realize is that the publication of the society’s famous periodical, National Geographic Magazine, might not have gained notoriety without the help of Ida Tarbell, the forerunner of modern investigative journalism from Titusville, Pennsylvania.

Tarbell’s fame is often associated with her 1902 McClure’s serial expose of J.D. Rockefeller, which heavily influenced the demise of Standard Oil as a monopoly. Prior to this, however, Tarbell’s career began following her graduation fromAllegheny College in 1880 where she studied biology and was the only woman in her graduating class. After a brief stint as a teacher in Ohio, Tarbell returned to Crawford County where she met Theodore L. Flood, editor of The Chautauquan, which was published in Meadville. In time, Tarbell’s talents and work ethic would, in time, lead to a position as the managing editor of the publication.

Don't Fence Me In: A.C. Huidekoper's Government Tangle Over Public Lands

A.C. early ranching days

Friction between ranchers and the federal government over the use of public lands recently witnessed in the news is nothing new in our history. Prominent Meadville businessman and Civil War veteran, Arthur Clarke (A. C.) Huidekoper had a running feud with the government over the fencing of public lands near his cattle and horse ranches in the badlands of North Dakota.  A. C., who built in Holland Hall along Terrace Street, first visited North Dakota during a trip to Bismarck in the fall of 1879. 

The untamed beauty and wildness of the territory captivated A. C. who returned in 1881 to hunt buffalo near the small outpost town of Medora. Recognizing the area’s potential, A. C. purchased land in southern Billings County from the Northern Pacific Railway Company the following year to establish the Custer Trail Ranch. Among his ranching neighbors was an adventurous French nobleman and cavalry officer by the name of Marquisde Mores, and a young, energetic, politician from New York City who was part owner of the Maltese Cross Ranch, Theodore Roosevelt.    

Alice Bentley: Crawford County's Champion for Women's Rights in the Downton Abbey Era

Among the many themes centered around the changing times in the popular PBS television series, Downton Abbey, women's growing independence has remained a constant, if not a central focus. Such independence was not a circumstance experienced within a vacuum behind the walls of Downton, but rather, life at Downton provides context to the growing freedoms gained by women of all classes on both sides of the Atlantic.

Among these many freedoms was the suffrage movement, a cause championed the Suffragettes. Suffragettes were members of women's organizations in the late 19th and early 20th century which advocated the extension of the "franchise", or the right to vote in public elections, to women. British suffragettes were mostly women from upper- and middle-class backgrounds, frustrated by their social and economic situation much like the Crawley women at Downton.