Hello Brian and Joyce, this first presentation was astonishing, very well produced and the graphics were excellent. Both of you deserve much credit for the success of your research and hard work. I can only envision the next episode will be just as good. Brian Bardy
I enjoy and appreciate the time, effort and quality content of your creations. I hope the original peoples of the land get an opportunity to witness your work. I've been interested in them ever since discovering one of their spear points found 25' from the old 3rd rail buried 3' down, when my dad was digging an in-ground pool. The farmhouse visible in your AE&C video near the Aurora transformer building is in my back yard. The find location was obviously buried with top soil from the rail-bed to smooth out the hill for the train between Indian trail and Hankes. Thank you.
Thanks for watching our video, for leaving the kind words, and for sharing your experiences with both the CA&E and indigenous artifacts in the area. Very interesting that you live so close to the former Hankes Avenue substation. Presumably, you moved in after the substation was torn down? There are very few pictures of this building remaining - only one that we're aware of. Also interesting that you found a spear point nearby the former ROW. There were likely many habitation locations along the Fox River hundreds and thousands of years ago. Thanks again!
Thanks for the new series. This has been a topic of interest since my class took a field trip to see the Dixon Mounds site in seventh grade in the 1960’s. The subject is a tightrope walk to avoid infecting history by applying modern standards to historical events in a judgmental way. Thanks for not demonizing the excavators, farmers etc. Thank goodness most people in the USA today see things differently than our ancestors did in the 1870’s. We will never know what the Native Americans would have done to the Europeans if they were the ones with superior weapons. We can learn from the past without demonizing or absolving groups who were acting on the beliefs of their time. Your work is very valuable and I have enjoyed it very much.
Very cool to get all the history in one place. I grew up in the Neighborhood and remember well traipsing thru the woods with my brother in search of arrowheads and such. I have a vague memory of watching the cod dig from afar
Thank you once again for giving us this excellent, detailed look into our past. This is all new information to me Thanks for creating the video and posting it.
Brian and Joyce, your Christmas 2021 correspondence reminded me of your channel...Thanks! I appreciate that you explain your sources as well as the story. VERY interesting! Having worked in the Amazon Basin for more than a decade, I remember archeological sides of life all around us during those years...I was always fascinated. This was my first time watching...I'll keep watching! Kudos to you for all your hard work to put this together! Love history!
Jim, thank you for your kind words! Glad you enjoyed the video and that it brought to mind memories of your past. We hope you and your family are doing well!
It's an interesting start into the story of how the early residents looked at artifacts from the past. I didn't get a chance to look at this until today, when I saw episode 2 is next. One thing I heard in the last week or two is that Sioux is a version of what the enemies of the Lakota or Dakota called them. Sioux derives from a word in Ojibwe meaning little snakes which was adopted as a French word by French traders, then shortened into English as Sioux. Many prefer the term Lakota, which means friend or ally, but I don't presume to speak for them. I'm sure this is the hardest part of making stories about the people who used to live in a place, but are no longer there because of European settlers or a changing climate, to treat the stories with the proper respect for the earlier people.
Thanks for watching and for the comments and observations, John! Indeed, it is especially difficult to speak about cultures that existed 1000 years ago or more, except to say that there was likely continuity of at least some aspects of material culture and worldview from one millennia to the next.
Thanks for watching and commenting! We haven't thoroughly researched this north area as yet - but we saw multiple historic references to mounds near Elgin and to the north of Elgin. Contemporary newspapers from the late 1800s indicated that there were mounds all along the west side of the Fox from St Charles to Elgin, for example. And it's highly likely that there were mounds all along both sides of the Fox from at least Aurora northwards.
@@ambassadorcartwright7720 Yes, we use idaillinois.org, old newspapers, old history books, old maps (www.davidrumsey.com is a good source), and perhaps a dozen other websites. Local history museums and libraries are other good sources of information.
@@BeHistoric let's hope Great Third Rail doesn't shut down, as it was the website that got me into interurbans. It likely will, considering that the guy that ran it died in 2019.
A prevailing theory at the time was that these ancient mounds and various earthworks were built by a vanished race of mound builders, not Native Americans. The implication of the large person with a fine skull was that this was a person of this vanished race. All of this has been thorougly debunked in the past 140 years or so, but this was a prominent idea at that time.
Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment! Indeed, but it did not just apply to Native American graves. People all over the world have been plundering graves for all of recorded history. Egyptian pharoahs went to great extents to avoid having their graves robbed - but to no avail, just as an example. Sutton Hoo was the gravesite of powerful Saxon king - but that was methodically removed in the first half of the 20th century. We are not trying to equate these actions - only pointing out that grave plundering and excavation has been going on for a long time - and in many places. Antiquarians did it out of curiosity , but treated the retrieved human remains as trophies and cabinet curios. Early archeologists did it to gain an understanding as to what was there (we did not know, for example, that effigy mounds generally do not hold human remains or grave goods until many of them were excavated) - but then often did a poor job of archiving, curating, and/or repatriation. We believe that human graves of any sort, throughout the world, should be treated with respect - and when they are disturbed or removed, for whatever reason, then the remains should be reburied in a respectful manner or repatriated, within a reasonable period of time.
You've done a service to past people,well deserved and not to be forgotten.💎
Thanks very much for the kind words and the support! It is much appreciated!
Hello Brian and Joyce, this first presentation was astonishing, very well produced and the graphics were excellent. Both of you deserve much credit for the success of your research and hard work. I can only envision the next episode will be just as good. Brian Bardy
Thanks very much for watching and for the support, Brian! It is much appreciated!
I enjoy and appreciate the time, effort and quality content of your creations. I hope the original peoples of the land get an opportunity to witness your work. I've been interested in them ever since discovering one of their spear points found 25' from the old 3rd rail buried 3' down, when my dad was digging an in-ground pool. The farmhouse visible in your AE&C video near the Aurora transformer building is in my back yard. The find location was obviously buried with top soil from the rail-bed to smooth out the hill for the train between Indian trail and Hankes. Thank you.
And I hope they can forgive us.
Thanks for watching our video, for leaving the kind words, and for sharing your experiences with both the CA&E and indigenous artifacts in the area. Very interesting that you live so close to the former Hankes Avenue substation. Presumably, you moved in after the substation was torn down? There are very few pictures of this building remaining - only one that we're aware of. Also interesting that you found a spear point nearby the former ROW. There were likely many habitation locations along the Fox River hundreds and thousands of years ago. Thanks again!
Thankcharleandjoyceformakingthiswonderfulvideothankyouforyourgoodworkhaveawonderfulfather daythanksbothofyou
Thanks very much for watching our videos and for commenting! Thanks too for the kind words!
Thanks for the new series. This has been a topic of interest since my class took a field trip to see the Dixon Mounds site in seventh grade in the 1960’s. The subject is a tightrope walk to avoid infecting history by applying modern standards to historical events in a judgmental way. Thanks for not demonizing the excavators, farmers etc. Thank goodness most people in the USA today see things differently than our ancestors did in the 1870’s. We will never know what the Native Americans would have done to the Europeans if they were the ones with superior weapons. We can learn from the past without demonizing or absolving groups who were acting on the beliefs of their time. Your work is very valuable and I have enjoyed it very much.
Thank you for watching and for the kind words. It is most appreciated! It is a fascinating topic and we're glad that you enjoyed it.
Another walk into the past. Thank you. Sharing!
Thank you again for watching and for the continuing support! Very much appreciated!
Thank you! Very interesting info!
Thank you for watching! Glad that you found it interesting and informative!
Wow!! Thank you! This was a wonderful peek into the history of our area! I am going to share so more people know about this and your work!
Glad that you enjoyed the video! Thank your for watching and sharing!
I live near the Fox River and have often wondered if there are prehistoric mounds in my neighborhood. Thanks for sharing this excellent information.
Our pleasure! Thank you for watching and for commenting! Much appreciated!
Thank you for doing this. Very interesting stuff. I look forward to the next video.
Thanks for watching and for the support! Glad that you enjoyed it!
Very cool to get all the history in one place. I grew up in the Neighborhood and remember well traipsing thru the woods with my brother in search of arrowheads and such. I have a vague memory of watching the cod dig from afar
It is a very interesting place - among many along the river. Thanks for watching and for sharing your experiences with the mounds!
Excellent historical research scripting and production quality. I gained a great deal of information from this first episode.
Daniel Bardy, Ed D.
Thanks very much for watching, for commenting, and for the kind words. Makes it all worthwhile!
Thank you once again for giving us this excellent, detailed look into our past. This is all new information to me
Thanks for creating the video and posting it.
Thank you for watching and for the support. Very glad that you enjoyed it!
Brian and Joyce, your Christmas 2021 correspondence reminded me of your channel...Thanks! I appreciate that you explain your sources as well as the story. VERY interesting! Having worked in the Amazon Basin for more than a decade, I remember archeological sides of life all around us during those years...I was always fascinated. This was my first time watching...I'll keep watching! Kudos to you for all your hard work to put this together! Love history!
Jim, thank you for your kind words! Glad you enjoyed the video and that it brought to mind memories of your past. We hope you and your family are doing well!
It's an interesting start into the story of how the early residents looked at artifacts from the past. I didn't get a chance to look at this until today, when I saw episode 2 is next.
One thing I heard in the last week or two is that Sioux is a version of what the enemies of the Lakota or Dakota called them. Sioux derives from a word in Ojibwe meaning little snakes which was adopted as a French word by French traders, then shortened into English as Sioux. Many prefer the term Lakota, which means friend or ally, but I don't presume to speak for them. I'm sure this is the hardest part of making stories about the people who used to live in a place, but are no longer there because of European settlers or a changing climate, to treat the stories with the proper respect for the earlier people.
Thanks for watching and for the comments and observations, John! Indeed, it is especially difficult to speak about cultures that existed 1000 years ago or more, except to say that there was likely continuity of at least some aspects of material culture and worldview from one millennia to the next.
You two should have thousands of subscribers and a program on some TV network. Phenomenal research and presentations.
Thanks for the strong support! That makes our day! So glad that you're enjoying the videos!
@@BeHistoric You are most welcome. I also shared your channel on my Facebook page because more people need to see this!
@@joecavataio7158 That was most generous of you. Thank you very much for supporting us!
I drive down this road all the time, this is wild! Do you know of any in Algonquin or Elgin? I have heard rumors about a lot of them around Algonquin.
Thanks for watching and commenting! We haven't thoroughly researched this north area as yet - but we saw multiple historic references to mounds near Elgin and to the north of Elgin. Contemporary newspapers from the late 1800s indicated that there were mounds all along the west side of the Fox from St Charles to Elgin, for example. And it's highly likely that there were mounds all along both sides of the Fox from at least Aurora northwards.
@@BeHistoric Thanks for the reply! Do you use IDA Illinois for your sources, or other things? I'd love to find out more
@@ambassadorcartwright7720 Yes, we use idaillinois.org, old newspapers, old history books, old maps (www.davidrumsey.com is a good source), and perhaps a dozen other websites. Local history museums and libraries are other good sources of information.
@@BeHistoric Have you checked out the Sanborn fire maps? They can be extremely helpful as well!
@@ambassadorcartwright7720 Thanks for the suggestion! Yes, we've used the Sanborn Maps on multiple occasions, such as the Sycamore video. 🙂
I think the CA&ERR website is down for good, the domain is for sale now.
Yes, agreed. Very unfortunate as it was an excellent resource for anyone interested in the topic.
@@BeHistoric let's hope Great Third Rail doesn't shut down, as it was the website that got me into interurbans. It likely will, considering that the guy that ran it died in 2019.
@@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory We were not aware of that. Very sad, another excellent web site and source.
@@BeHistoric If I were you, I would start trying to archieve stuff from the site, like important pages and pictures
@@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory Good advice. Thank you!
What did they mean by huge skeleton and big head ????
A prevailing theory at the time was that these ancient mounds and various earthworks were built by a vanished race of mound builders, not Native Americans. The implication of the large person with a fine skull was that this was a person of this vanished race. All of this has been thorougly debunked in the past 140 years or so, but this was a prominent idea at that time.
Funny how back in the day there was no conscious for grave robbing Indian mounds
Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment! Indeed, but it did not just apply to Native American graves. People all over the world have been plundering graves for all of recorded history. Egyptian pharoahs went to great extents to avoid having their graves robbed - but to no avail, just as an example. Sutton Hoo was the gravesite of powerful Saxon king - but that was methodically removed in the first half of the 20th century. We are not trying to equate these actions - only pointing out that grave plundering and excavation has been going on for a long time - and in many places. Antiquarians did it out of curiosity , but treated the retrieved human remains as trophies and cabinet curios. Early archeologists did it to gain an understanding as to what was there (we did not know, for example, that effigy mounds generally do not hold human remains or grave goods until many of them were excavated) - but then often did a poor job of archiving, curating, and/or repatriation. We believe that human graves of any sort, throughout the world, should be treated with respect - and when they are disturbed or removed, for whatever reason, then the remains should be reburied in a respectful manner or repatriated, within a reasonable period of time.