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Isabel Sans

Isabel Sans believes history is fun, and if you don't think so, then you are doing it wrong. Growing up in central Maryland and regularly visiting DC, she never considered working with dusty old things. A law librarian, thesis paper on Soviet literature, and a magnificently hubristic foray into creative writing set her straight. A History major at the University of South Carolina, Isabel describes her approach to studying and sharing the past as "chaotic good": give her a chance and she'll show you just how weird, wonderful, and textured the world has always been.

Posts by this Author

Maryland
In the 1850s, Maryland Courts Considered Whether Freeing Slaves was Proof of Insanity

In the 1850s, Maryland Courts Considered Whether Freeing Slaves was Proof of Insanity

09/15/2023 in Maryland by Isabel Sans

In 1847, seventy slaves went to the Maryland courts to enforce a deed of manumission granting them their freedom. What should have been a simple matter exploded into a nine-year court case that spun furiously around the ominous question at its core: if a man frees his slaves on moral conviction, does that make him insane?

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Maryland
President Harding and The Vagabonds

President Harding and The Vagabonds

08/30/2023 in Maryland by Isabel Sans

Warren G. Harding, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone were some of the biggest names of the early 1920s. You'd expect these men to meet at some point, but when they finally did, it was in an unexpected place: in the remote hills of western Maryland! Read about the President's camping trip in the summer of 1921.

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DC
“Vindictiveness, Vexation, and Blackmail”: Victorian Washington’s Prelude to #MeToo

“Vindictiveness, Vexation, and Blackmail”: Victorian Washington’s Prelude to #MeToo

08/11/2023 in DC by Isabel Sans

A woman accuses a powerful man of manipulating and taking advantage of her for years in a secret relationship. Sensational accusations emerge, causing a media frenzy. Lawyers on both sides prepare a protracted case which is followed in its every detail by the press and public. A popular Congressman faces a fall from grace. But this isn't a modern scandal—it happened a century ago in DC, and the woman at its center wanted only to see justice done.

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DC
The Federal Government's $15 Million Cat

The Federal Government's $15 Million Cat

07/26/2023 in DC by Isabel Sans

It's no secret that the CIA sometimes thought more about whether it could and less about whether it should. Project Acoustic Kitty was one of those times. Does "trained cat" sound like an oxymoron to you? It should, but it cost the CIA $15 million to find out the same thing!

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DC
When the Smithsonian Sent Alexander Graham Bell Gravedigging

When the Smithsonian Sent Alexander Graham Bell Gravedigging

07/21/2023 in DC by Isabel Sans

Victor Frankenstein wasn't the only scientist to raise the dead! In 1903, Alexander Graham Bell departs for Italy to escort the Smithsonian's founder back to the United States. The only problem? James Smithson has been dead for almost 75 years. How exactly do you declare THAT at customs?

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DC
Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: Franklin W. Smith’s Attempt to Bring the Ancient World to DC

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: Franklin W. Smith’s Attempt to Bring the Ancient World to DC

06/23/2023 in DC by Isabel Sans

Where can you see lacy Arabic architecture, the tombs of ancient Romans, and artifacts from medieval France? Why, in Washington DC, of course! Read about one man's dream to crown America's capital with all the centuries that came before it: by building the biggest, most audacious museum the world had ever seen.

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DC
The Bizarre Adolescence of the Washington Monument

The Bizarre Adolescence of the Washington Monument

06/08/2023 in DC by Isabel Sans

The Washington Monument we know today is iconic, but it was never really planned to look that way. Before it grew up, the monument went through many, many proposed designs. After decades in limbo and a construction mired in drama, one engineer's vision triumphed over artists, politicians, and critics.

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Virginia
This House, Undivided: Sarah Tracy’s Mount Vernon During the Civil War

This House, Undivided: Sarah Tracy’s Mount Vernon During the Civil War

06/02/2023 in Virginia by Isabel Sans

Mount Vernon is a priceless national treasure and symbol of America's foremost founding father. But were it not for a tiny staff guarding it through the 1860s, it might not have survived the Civil War. At the head of this skeleton crew was a soft-spoken, unassuming New York secretary who politely put her foot down and said: This is George Washington's ground, and your war will stop here.

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Categories

  • DC (577)
  • Maryland (110)
  • Virginia (151)

Latest Posts

In the 1850s, Maryland Courts Considered Whether Freeing Slaves was Proof of Insanity

09/15/2023

In the 1850s, Maryland Courts Considered Whether Freeing Slaves was Proof of Insanity

President Harding and The Vagabonds

08/30/2023

President Harding and The Vagabonds

The Evolution of Arlington House: From Plantation to Military Camp and Freedperson Settlement, to National Cemetery

08/18/2023

The Evolution of Arlington House: From Plantation to Military Camp and Freedperson Settlement, to National Cemetery

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Elkton, Maryland: The Quickie Wedding Capital of the East Coast

02/14/2013

Elkton, Maryland: The Quickie Wedding Capital of the East Coast

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Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

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