Toltec Mounds Archaeological State Park [AR]

Description

Arkansas's tallest remaining prehistoric Native American Indian burial mounds are preserved at this National Historic Landmark site. These earthworks are the remains of a large ceremonial complex that was inhabited here from A.D. 600 to 1050. Visitors can tour the visitor center and see exhibits and audiovisual programs, and then take a walking tour of the mound site.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, workshops, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Hampson Archaeological Museum State Park [AR]

Description

The James K. Hampson Collection presents an amazing look at the decorative arts of the late Mississippian people from the Nodena Site. Notable pieces include a large collection of the famed "Nodena Red and White" pottery, Nodena type site points, and a variety of effigy vessels, including a remarkable human head effigy.

The site offers exhibits and occasional recreational and educational events.

Plantation Agriculture Museum [AR]

Description

This museum interprets cotton agriculture in Arkansas from statehood in 1836 through World War II, when agricultural practices quickly became mechanized. Visitors can tour the restored 1920s cotton gin and see how cotton was grown, picked, and processed.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Jacksonport State Park [AR]

Description

In the 1800s, steamboats made Jacksonport a thriving river port. During the Civil War, the town was occupied by both Confederate and Union forces because of its crucial locale. Jacksonport became county seat in 1854, and construction of a stately, two-story brick courthouse began in 1869. The town began to decline in the 1880s when bypassed by the railroad. The county seat was moved in 1891 to nearby Newport, and Jacksonport's stores, wharves, and saloons soon vanished. Today the park's museums, the 1872 courthouse, the nearby Mary Woods No. 2 sternwheel paddleboat, and interpretive programs share the story of this historic river port.

The site offers tours, exhibits, and recreational and educational events.

Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/08/2008 - 13:36
Description

Exhibits and programs tell of the industrial and social history surrounding the 'black gold rush' of Arkansas's oil fields. Visitors walk the rutted streets of a 1920s oil boom town, then go on a journey inside the earth to see formation of the oil strata. In the museum's Oil Field Park, see full-size operating equipment used from the 1920s to the modern era, including a 1920s standard oil rig and a 112-foot wooden derrick.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Powhatan Historic State Park [AR] Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/08/2008 - 13:36
Description

In the late 1800s, this busy river port on the Black River was the shipping point for a large territory. In 1888, a Victorian courthouse was built here. Restored in 1970 to the architect's original plans, the courthouse today serves as a regional archive that contains some of the oldest records in Arkansas. Visitors can tour the Powhatan Courthouse, 1873 Powhatan Jail, 1840s Ficklin-Imboden House, 1888 Telephone Exchange Building, and 1880s Powhatan Male and Female Academy, a unique two-room schoolhouse, all gracing their original foundations.

The site offers tours, exhibits, and workshops.

Parkin Archaeological State Park [AR]

Description

The Park preserves and interprets the Parkin site on the St. Francis River where a 17-acre Mississippi Period American Indian village was located from A.D. 1000 to 1550. A large platform mound on the river bank remains. There were once many archaeological sites similar to Parkin throughout this region, but they did not survive as eastern Arkansas was settled. Visitors can watch research in progress, and see firsthand the results of careful excavations and laboratory analysis. Along with including an archaeological research laboratory, the park visitor center includes an interpretive exhibit area and auditorium. The park interpretive staff offers audiovisual programs, site tours, workshops, and other educational programs and special events and activities. When archaeological excavations are underway, visitors on guided tours can observe them. Visitors experiencing Parkin Archeological State Park can also tour the circa 1910 Northern Ohio Schoolhouse. By the beginning of World War II, there were 15 one-room and two-room schoolhouses providing education for children in Parkin, a town of less than 2,000 citizens. Today, the Northern Ohio School is the only one of these early Parkin structures still standing. The stories it tells of what took place here in the early 20th century in and around the Sawdust Hill community are parts of the historic fabric of Parkin, just as is the park’s interpretation of the prehistoric village of Casqui.

The site offers exhibits, tours, workshops, and educational and recreational programs and events.

Shiloh National Military Park

Description

Shiloh National Military Park commemorates the battle of Shiloh, one of the bloodiest battles of the civil war. Fought in southwestern Tennessee, the battle claimed about 24,000 casualties, and served as a wake up call for both the Union and the Confederacy. The military park strives to present the battlefield in its original state, from treelines to buildings. In addition, the park contains miles of historical trails and roads for hikers and two visitor centers.

The site offers information about the battle and current day battlefield park as well as teacher resources.

Fort Matanzas National Monument

Description

Coastal Florida was a major field of conflict as European nations fought for control in the New World. As part of this struggle, Fort Matanzas guarded St. Augustine's southern river approach. The colonial wars are over, but the monument is still protecting—not just the historic fort, but also the wild barrier island and the plants and animals who survive there amidst a sea of modern development.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, demonstrations, educational programs, and recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Richmond National Battlefield Park [VA]

Description

Richmond's story is not just the tale of one large Civil War battle, nor even one important campaign. Instead, the park's resources include a naval battle, a key industrial complex, the Confederacy's largest hospital, dozens of miles of elaborate original fortifications, and the evocative spots where determined soldiers stood paces apart and fought with rifles, reaping a staggering human cost.

The site offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).