History Detectives . Investigations . Investigations 2003

SEASON 1 - 2003

Relive the first 30 investigations which took the History Detectives across America, maybe even to your neighborhood?

Find out more about the cases and the places from Series One below and click through to the investigation.

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 1.

EPISODE 10

Flint-Lock Rifle

Mercer County Historical Society has in its possession a late 18th century flint-lock rifle, which, according to local lore, once belonged to legendary Tory bandit Moses Doan, and was recovered after he was killed in a raid of his hideout in 1783...More

Lafayette China

Hearts and arrows blaze across an unusual set of china at the Powel House in Philadelphia...More

Prison Plaque

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

EPISODE 9

Dutch Colonial Home

In 1856, the U.S. Army built a fort in Oregon and appointed Lieutenant Philip Sheridan as its head officer...More

Mark Twain's Watch

An Oregon man, Jack Ainsworth Mills, has a watch that may have been a gift to his grandfather from noted American author, Samuel Clemens, otherwise known as Mark Twain...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 8

Boarding House Flag

A historical society wants to know, did this flag once save a boarding house from being burnt down?...More

Home of Lincoln Assassination Plot

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

Ventriloquist's Dummy

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

EPISODE 7

Mexican Currency

Searching through his great-grandfather's belongings a San Antonio man finds Mexican currency and suspects a link to revolutionary leaders Zapata and Pancho Villa...More

Pirate Spyglass

Jean Lafitte was a fearsome pirate, an ingenious privateer, and a war hero...More

Railroad Station

A local historian calls in the history detectives to find out if a disused depot was the first railroad station in Texas and if it was responsible for putting Dallas on the map...More

EPISODE 6

Chinese Poems

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

Japanese House

How did an authentic Japanese house become part of the famed San Francisco World's Fair in a time just preceding World War II?...More

John Browns Letters

A woman in Sacramento, California, has reason to believe she may be a relative of John Brown, the 19th-century abolitionist...More

EPISODE 5

General Lee Farewell Address

In the archives of a gentleman's club in this rural town is what is believed to be a signed copy of one of the most famous documents in the history of the Civil War...More

Napoleons Sword

A magnificent sword that has been handed down for generations in a St. Martinville family has a mystery around it...More

Natchez House

On the "Spanish Esplanade" overlooking the Mississippi River, there is a magnificent home that for years was believed to be the original home of one of the Spanish dons who colonized the area. Recently, this story was discovered to be a myth...More

EPISODE 4

Cannon House

Could a Maryland family's home once have been the headquarters for the kidnapper and slave trader Patty Cannon, coined "the most wicked woman in America?"...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

Independence Trumpet

Is a Pennsylvania man's trumpet, which he bought at a local auction, somehow tied to the Revolutionary War?...More

EPISODE 3

Jigsaw Puzzle

Were women playing contact sports in the late part of the 19th century?...More

Whaling Ship

Might a whaling ship docked in Mystic Seaport, Connecticut hold secrets to the Underground Railroad?...More

Witch's House

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

EPISODE 2

Bonnie & Clyde Bullets

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

Movie Palace

Is it possible that a theater in the small town of Baraboo, Wisconsin, could have been the country's first great movie palace?...More

Sears Home

Might an Ohio couple's residence be a long-forgotten Sears home?...More