Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Vacation Spots of Ancestors

As we approach the official start of summer in the U.S., it's interesting to think about where our ancestors vacationed. Travel took longer, so their favorite spots may have tended to be closer to home. The following railroad advertisement was published in a Pittsburgh newspaper in 1909 and highlights Chautauqua Lake, Muskoka Lakes of Canada, and the New Jersey coast:

The Gazette Times (Pittsburgh, PA), June 28, 1909
In the 1918 publication, Vacation Journeys East and West, the author suggests both eastern and western destinations in his table of contents, such as:
  • Lake Champlain  
  • Saratoga Springs
  • Adirondacks
  • Niagara Falls
  • Lake Chautauqua
  • Yellowstone Falls
  • Grand Canyon
  • Canadian Rockies

It's hard to imagine that my laborer ancestors were able to take many vacations, if any at all. But there were lots of newspaper advertisements that tried to convince people to take trips. One of my favorite vacation spots is Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and this ad was published in 1910:

The Gazette Times (Pittsburgh, PA), June 26, 1910

Related Post:  Our Ancestors Didn't Travel Lightly

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