Dirt Road Collection (#30)

Fighting at Merriams Corner, on the Lexington Road, 19 April 1775. Line engraving, 19th century
BATTLE OF CONCORD, 1775. Fighting at Merriams Corner, on the Lexington Road, 19 April 1775. Line engraving, 19th century

Meriams Corner, a crossroads outside Concord, Massachusetts, where the British troops returning from Concord were
CONCORD: MERIAMs CORNER. Meriams Corner, a crossroads outside Concord, Massachusetts, where the British troops returning from Concord were attacked by colonials

Israeli soldiers taking position at the demarcation line to Egypt before outbreak of conflict. Photograph, October 1956
SUEZ CRISIS, 1956. Israeli soldiers taking position at the demarcation line to Egypt before outbreak of conflict. Photograph, October 1956

Gardo House, dedicated in 1882 as the official residence of the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
MORMON RESIDENCE, c1900. Gardo House, dedicated in 1882 as the official residence of the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, c1900

The house at Delaware, Ohio, where the future president Rutherford B. Hayes was born on 4 October 1822
R. B. HAYES: BIRTHPLACE. The house at Delaware, Ohio, where the future president Rutherford B. Hayes was born on 4 October 1822: colored engraving, 1876

The birthplaces of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams at Quincy (then part of Braintree) Massachusetts
ADAMS: BIRTHPLACE. The birthplaces of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams at Quincy (then part of Braintree) Massachusetts. Line engraving, 19th century

Residence of George Washington in Philadelphia while President. Watercolor, 1839, by W. L. Breton
WASHINGTON: RESIDENCE. Residence of George Washington in Philadelphia while President. Watercolor, 1839, by W.L. Breton

North Carolina: Vote, 1867
NORTH CAROLINA: VOTE, 1867. Freedmen registering to vote at Asheville, North Carolina, in 1867. Contemporary color engraving

CIVIL WAR: FALL OF RICHMOND. View of the Tredegar Iron Works, with footbridge to Neilsons Island. Photographed in April 1865 by Alexander Gardner

CIVIL WAR: RICHMOND, 1865. A street in ruins at Richmond, Virginia following the American Civil War. Photograph, April 1865

GONE WITH THE WIND, 1939. The burning of Atlanta

MARYLAND: CHURCH, 1862. Lutheran church at Sharpsburg, Maryland. Photographed in September 1862

CIVIL WAR: ATLANTA, 1864. Decatur Street, with a view of the Trout House and Masonic Hall, at Atlanta, Georgia. Photographed by George N. Rainer, 1864

LONDON: COACHING, 1888. During the Republican National Convention of 1888, James Blaine visits London, England, and goes for a ride in the box seat of Andrew Carnegies coach

REPUBLICAN CONVENTION 1860. Site of the 1860 Republican National Convention at Chicago, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln received the partys presidential nomination

MONTANA: PRINTING OFFICE. Printing office of the Yellowstone Journal newspaper in Miles City, Montana. Photographed by Laton Alton Huffman, c1880

SHAKESPEARE: HOUSE. The house on Henley Street in Stratford-on-Avon in which it is thought that Shakespeare was born. After a 17th or early 18th century drawing

YELLOWSTONE: TRAFFIC. Traffic jam at Yellowstone National Park. Oil over a photograph, c1903, by Frances Benjamin Johnston

DUST BOWL, 1935. A dust storm in Oklahoma. Photograph, 1935

POVERTY: APPALACHIA, c1971. A woman and boy outside a shack in rural Appalachia. Photograph, c1971

BICYCLE RACE ACCIDENT, 1880. The danger of unpaved roads. Wood engraving, American, 1880

MISSING THE STAGECOACH. The Consequences of Being too Late. Steel engraving, 1843, after a painting by the Swiss artist John James Chalon (1778-1854)

CHINA: XIAMEN, 1843. A view of the harbor at Xiamen (or Amoy), China, from Gulangyu Island. Steel engraving, English, 1843, after a drawing by Thomas Allom

TOLL ROAD CARTOON, 1891. Top: A dispute about the toll. Bottom: The dispute settled. Cartoon, 1891

QUEBEC: RUINS, 1761. View of the bishops house at Quebec, Canada, showing ruins resulting from the British siege of 1759, during the French and Indian War

VERSAILLES: HUNTING LODGE. The Chateau de Versailles as it looked before King Louis XIV began the expansion of the royal hunting lodge in 1661. Line engraving by F. Vander Meuten, 1685

RUSSIA: MOSCOW, c1799. View of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Color line engraving, c1799

TEXAS: EL PASO. View of the town of El Paso, Texas, early 19th century

HORSEBACK RIDING. A man and woman on horseback. Woodcut, American, 19th century

OHIO: MARIETTA COURT & JAIL. The court house and jail at Marietta, Ohio, built in 1798. Line engraving, 1842

DELHI: PALACE. Entrance to the palace at Delhi, India. Line engraving, English, c1860

NEW MEXICO: ZUNI PUEBLO. A view of Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico. Steel engraving, American, 1854, after a drawing by Seth Eastman

PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND. View of Pawtucket, the mill town on the Blackstone River in Rhode Island. Line engraving, mid-19th century

SERBIA: BELGRADE. A view of Belgrade at the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers in the principality of Serbia, on the frontier between the Ottoman and Austrian Empires

LONDON; STREET CLEANING. It cleans the streets - so it does - but who is to clean the unfortunate wayfarers? English cartoon on street cleaning and garbage collection from Punch, 1879

CHICAGO: DREXEL PARKWAY. Drexel Parkway, looking south toward the Park, Chicago, Illinois. Wood engraving, American, 1878

SNOWSTORM IN THE COUNTRY. Opening blockaded roads in the countryside after a snowstorm. Wood engraving, American, 1867

ST. LOUIS, 1858. Scene on Broadway, St. Louis, Missouri. Wood engraving, English, 1858

KANSAS, MENNONITES, c1874. New homes in Kansas, built by Mennonites from Russia, who settled in central Kansas, beginning in 1874. Wood engraving from a contemporary American newspaper

FRANCE: BOULOGNE, c1850. View of Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Steel engraving, English, c1850, after L

RHODE ISLAND: NEWPORT. View of the First Beach, Newport, Rhode Island. Wood engraving, 1852

MAN WITH CANE, c1795. Thomas Roberts of Nottingham, England, known as Old Tom (d. 1795). Etching and engraving, English, 1805

TOLL GATE, 1879. An old Government Toll Gate with Westward-Bound Express. Wood engraving, American, 1879, after Howard Pyle

TENNESSEE: KNOXVILLE, 1881. View of Knoxville, as seen from the university grounds. Wood engraving, 1881

WYOMING VALLEY, 1838. Descent into the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania. Steel engraving, 1838

AUSTRALIA: GOLD RUSH, 1860. A gold rush near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, c1860. Wood engraving, English, 1887

GREECE: LEVKAS, 1832. View of the Greek island of Levkas, in the Ionian Sea, looking towards the mainland. Steel engraving, English, c1832, by Edward Finden after Clarkson Stanfield

INDIA: BENARES, c1840. View of Benares, India. Steel engraving, American, c1840, after a drawing by William Purser

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"Dirt Road: A Journey Through Time and Terrain" In the final scene of Charlie Chaplin's iconic film, "Modern Times" (1936), we witness a timeless image of resilience as Chaplin and Paulette Goddard traverse a dusty dirt road. This symbolic path represents the struggles faced by humanity throughout history. From the 17th-century city plan of Augsburg, Germany, to the rugged landscapes of Kosciuszko National Park, this humble road has witnessed it all. It meanders through diverse terrains like the rural gravel roads on South Bruny Island in Southern Tasmania or winds past windmills in lava vineyards with Faial in the distance at Pico, Azores, Portugal. Just as this dirt road connects different places physically, it also symbolizes cultural connections. In Yap, Micronesia's Pacific region lies a stone money bank - an ancient form of currency that highlights how societies have navigated trade routes along such paths for centuries. Nature too finds solace on these unpaved trails. The white chalk cliffs of Seven Sisters at Cuckmere Haven offer breathtaking views near Seaford while Flinders Ranges National Park's Razorback Lookout reveals nature's grandeur amidst Outback South Australia. Even wildlife thrives alongside these roads; just ask the geometric tortoise (Psammobates geometricus) who calls this terrain home. Yet not all stories are filled with beauty and tranquility. Cyclone Tracy left its mark on Darwin in 1975 - a reminder that even resilient they can bear witness to destruction and loss. But hope springs eternal as we wonder when will birds return? As we travel down this dirt road through time and space, let us remember that beneath our feet lies more than just soil; it holds tales from generations past and dreams for those yet to come. So let us embrace every bump and curve along this journey called life because, in the end, it is the dirt road that unites us all.