Articles by Steven Gilchrist

Frank Grant plaque - Williamstown, MA. Williamstown, MA. - Ulysses Franklin "Frank" Grant was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on August 1, 1865. Grant was considered to be one of the best African American baseball players of the 19th century. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Grant was one of the most influential baseball players in the early Negro Leagues. In 2006, Grant was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. There is a plaque dedicated to Frank Grant in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he lived with his family for several years.

H.R. 7207, also known as the Raker Bill and the Hetch Hetchy Bill, was introduced into the U.S. Congress by Congressman John E. Raker (D-CA). Also referred to as the Raker Act, this legislative act granted the city of San Francisco, California the right to dam the Hetch Hetchy Valley within Yosemite National Park. More specifically, the Raker Act allowed for the building of the O'Shaughnessy Dam and flood the Hetch Hetchy Valley. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill into law on December 19, 1913. Construction of the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923.