This small Arkansas town, founded in 1914 as a lumber settlement, has several original wooden buildings from the early 20th century and sits near the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge.
New England spans six northeastern states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Step into Boston's Freedom Trail, watch lobster boats dock at Portland Harbor, ski down Vermont's Green Mountains, or join a maple sugaring demonstration in March. The region connects centuries-old lighthouses and colonial buildings with modern research laboratories and tech startups.
Academic Centers and Research
Harvard University (1636) and Yale University (1701) established New England as North America's educational hub. The Puritans created the first public schools in America, setting up a system that spread across the colonies. More than 250 colleges and universities operate throughout the six states. At MIT's campus in Cambridge, researchers develop robotics and quantum computing technologies. Walk through Brown University's College Hill neighborhood in Providence to see Georgian and Federal-style academic buildings from the 1700s.
Ports and Industrial Cities
Rivers like the Merrimack and Connecticut powered New England's industrial growth in the 1800s. At the Boott Cotton Mills Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts, watch original power looms in action and step inside a recreated mill worker's boarding house. Portland's waterfront buzzes with activity as groundfishing boats unload cod and haddock while lobster vessels stack their traps. Local seafood markets and restaurants line the renovated brick warehouses along Commercial Street.
Immigration Impact
Irish and Eastern European immigrants shaped New England's cities during the 1800s. In Boston's North End, small Italian grocers sell imported cheeses and fresh pasta. Worcester's Green Island area maintains Polish bakeries and cultural centers. Manchester's Franco-American Center preserves French-Canadian music and traditions. Religious architecture reflects these communities: the Gothic spires of St. Joseph's Cathedral rise above Manchester, while Boston's Holy Cross Cathedral stands as a center of Irish-American Catholic life.
Technology and Innovation
More than 400 tech companies line Boston's Route 128 corridor. In New Haven and Hartford, over 50 biotech labs develop new medicines and medical devices. Cambridge's Kendall Square contains artificial intelligence labs and biotech startups in renovated factory buildings. Cities like Portsmouth and Portland have turned their brick textile mills into shared workspaces for software developers and digital design firms.
