Dark City
There's the glossy postcard version...and then there's the full picture. These are the real, gritty, and often hidden stories behind the places we think we know. Host Leah Johnson sits down with insiders and experts, from Secret Service agents to bestselling authors, to pull back the curtain on overlooked history, true crime, and brushes with the unexplained.
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Genres: History, True Crime, Paranormal, Travel, Culture
Dark City
Hidden History Minisode: The Gourd That Almost Named Phoenix | Phoenix, AZ
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Phoenix, Arizona | Phoenix is known for cactus and heat, not pumpkins. But in the 1860s, wild gourds grew in the valley, and an early settlement here actually went by Pumpkinville. This episode uncovers how an astonishing canal-building civilization, a chaotic frontiersman, and one dramatic Brit all collided to shape the unlikely pumpkin-soaked origins of America’s fifth-largest city.
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🐇 Go ahead, down the rabbit hole you go… Here’s the complete list of sources for this episode:
https://kwcdcountry.com/history-of-phoenix-name/
https://news.azpm.org/p/azpmnews/2024/4/18/219933-ancient-farmers-dug-canals-that-shaped-phoenixs-modern-water-system/
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2019/09/15/trinidad-escalante-swilling-latina-mother-of-phoenix/2276908001/
https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/local/history/2015/01/19/phoenix-once-named-pumpkinville/21873559/
https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/126148506/?match=1&terms=pumpkinville%20phoenix%20arizona
https://www.phoenix.gov/administration/departments/sedav-vaaki/plan-your-visit.html
https://www.phoenix.gov/history
https://www.srpnet.com/about/history/canal-history
https://www.visitphoenix.com/stories/post/11-unique-facts-you-didnt-know-about-phoenixs-history/
🎵 Music Credit
Quirky Orchestra Waltz - Playful and Mischievousvby zec53 from Pixabay
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👏 Special thanks to our talented partners:
Paolo Sbrighi for Musical Composition (instagram.com/paulosbrighi/)
Mario Cintra for Logo Design (instagram.com/alacarala/)