Explore the stories behind the places

Every place has a story.

The Charles W. Morgan whaling ship at the dock. Photographed at Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, Connecticut.

Charles W. Morgan at Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, Connecticut.

Browse the complete collection of Story Behind The Place stories — from the people and decisions that shaped a place to the history, science, and engineering that explain how it became what it is.

Each story starts with a place. What happened there is the story.

John Menzies 8/20/26 John Menzies 8/20/26

Groton, Connecticut

In 1781, America’s most infamous traitor returned to the state where he was born—and Groton would never forget what followed.

Today, a submarine rests along the town’s waterfront.

How those two stories came to belong to the same place is the story behind Groton, Connecticut.

John Menzies 7/28/26 John Menzies 7/28/26

Boston North End

Every American knows the name. Paul Revere. One if by land, two if by sea. But Longfellow's original poem left someone out. See Who It Was.

John Menzies 7/23/26 John Menzies 7/23/26

Richmond, Indiana

A piano factory in Indiana. A converted lumber kiln beside a railroad track. And a decision that changed American music forever.

John Menzies 6/30/26 John Menzies 6/30/26

Grand Cayman

Ten ships wrecked on a reef in 1794. Today, the Cayman Islands have no income or corporate tax. Are those two things connected?

John Menzies 6/23/26 John Menzies 6/23/26

Spokane Falls

Spokane Falls shaped the land, fed generations and powered a growing city. Follow the river’s history through the heart of downtown Spokane.

John Menzies 6/18/26 John Menzies 6/18/26

Hilton Head Island

Most people know it for the beaches and the golf. What happened here in 1861 changed American history. Almost no one knows the story.