SEASON 2 - 2004

Relive the second season when History Detectives probed into puzzling mysteries across the country.

Find out more about theinvestigations from Series Two below and click through to read or print the story transcripts in PDF format or find out more with the related links.

If you're looking for more stories, browse the Archive where you can sort by Geographical Region, Historical Era or Detective.

Or you can view videos from Season 2.

EPISODE 12

Body in the Basement

While on a dig, “The Lost Towns of Anne Arundel County” Project unearthed a rather surprising discovery...More

Newport U-Boat

Two Boston brothers have heard a rumor that two large propellers on the grounds of a hotel in Newport originally came from a German submarine that sank off the coast of Rhode Island at the end of WWII...More

Shippen Golf Club

A children’s golf foundation recently received a surprising donation, an antique golf club...More

EPISODE 11

Charlie Parker's Saxophone

A woman owns a beautiful old alto saxophone that belonged to her father and according to family legend was once owned by the legendary jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker...More

Koranic School Book

A History Detectives viewer in Mulvane, Kansas, owns a 200-year-old schoolbook with a startling secret...More

Prison Plaque

In the heart of Philadelphia, stands the abandoned Eastern State Penitentiary building...More

EPISODE 10

Continental Army Muster Roll

A man owns an old Continental Army muster roll issued by the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts in July 1780. Among the 16 men listed is "Paul Cuffee."..More

"Pop" Lloyd Baseball Stadium

Why was a baseball field in Atlantic City, New Jersey, named after an African-American ballplayer in a time of intense racial tension?...More

"Pretty Boy" Floyd's Gun

A man owns a vintage Colt automatic handgun, which family legend suggests once belonged to the Depression-era desperado, Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd...More

EPISODE 9

John Hunt Morgan Saddle

A man in Paris, Kentucky, owns a beautifully preserved, Western-style saddle, believed to have been used by the Confederate general, John Hunt Morgan, on his famous raid into Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio in July 1863...More

Lost Gold Ship

Environmentalist Gabriel Scott was working in the Copper River Delta near Cordova, Alaska, when he came across the wreckage of an old ship...More

Cesar Chavez Banner

A San Francisco woman has heard about a beautiful old banner owned by a local archive that, rumor has it, was carried at the head of the famous Delano Grape Boycott march led by Cesar Chavez in 1966...More

EPISODE 8

Bonnie & Clyde Bullets

Could five .45 caliberbullets owned by a woman in a small Wisconsin town be responsible for the demise of the notorious Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow?...More

George Washington Portrait

Could a portrait passed down through a Frederick, Maryland family actually be an authentic portrait of the nation's first president, George Washington?...More

Revolutionary War Poem

The History Detectives arrive in Salem, Oregon to look into the story of a Revolutionary War poem found 25 years ago hiding in an antique trunk...More

EPISODE 7

Chinese Poems

In the first half of the 20th century, nearly 250,000 Chinese immigrants attempted to enter the United States...More

Ventriloquist's Dummy

Did "Sam" the first black ventriloquist dummy, transform how Americans viewed race in the early 20th century?...More

Witch's House

Could a house in Essex County, Massachusetts, have once belonged to an accused witch?...More

EPISODE 6

Home of Lincoln Assassination Plot

Did John Wilkes Booth, the infamous assassin of Abraham Lincoln, spend time in this house?...More

Preston Brooks' Riding Crop

A Long Island man owns a beautiful old riding crop he claims was given to an ancestor by the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis...More

Revolutionary War Cannon

A Boston woman is fascinated by an old cannon, kept in a local national park storage facility...More

EPISODE 5

Dueling Pistols

A San Francisco bank owns two antique pistols, allegedly used in the last great duel on U.S. soil...More

Little Big Horn Bayonet

The family home of the famous military hero General Edward Godfrey holds a surprising secret...More

Nesbit Portrait

A woman in New Jersey owns a portrait she believes is a lost masterpiece by one of America's greatest illustrators and artists, Howard Chandler Christy...More

EPISODE 4

First Movie Studio

Lincoln Heights is a quiet neighborhood in northeast Los Angeles located far from the glitz and glamour normally associated with Hollywood...More

Hollywood: Warner's Lighter

A Californian man spends $50 at a flea market on an antique lighter and a piece of Hollywood history...More

King Kong Camera

A Washington resident owns an old movie camera he believes could have been used to film the original version of 'King Kong'...More

EPISODE 3

Anti-Slavery Flag

What two Michigan brothers believed was an old sheet in a family trunk may have contributed to the end of slavery in America...More

Mail Order Brides

In California, a photograph collector owns four small images of women taken in Chicago in the 1890s...More

WW2 Landing Craft

In the harbor of Bayfield, Wisconsin a craft used for dredging and hauling rocks could hold a dramatic secret...More

EPISODE 2

Early Monopoly

A man in Delaware has an old board game that bears a remarkable similarity to Monopoly, but was made 20 years before Parker Brothers patented their creation...More

Internment Artwork

A San Francisco archive has discovered a set of watercolor paintings of what appears to be a prison camp...More

Lewis and Clark Cane

A Minnesota man has an old wooden cane that has been in his family for as long as he can remember...More

EPISODE 1

Civil War Submarine

In Louisiana's bustling French Quarter sits a surprising remnant of American warfare - a Civil War-era submarine...More

Red Cloud's Peace Pipe

Was this pipe given to a Californian woman's ancestor by the famous warrior Chief Red Cloud?..More

Thomas Edison's House

Was this home designed and built by inventor Thomas Edison?..More