Mansfield Reformatory [OH]

Description

The Mansfield Reformatory, built in 1886 in accordance with plans by Levi T. Scofield (1842-1917), presents the history of criminal justice in Ohio. The architecture, including Victorian Gothic, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Queen Anne styles, was intended to inspire repentance and spiritual rebirth among the criminals it housed. Prior to the construction of the prison, the site served as a training camp for Civil War soldiers. The site includes a museum.

The reformatory offers guided tours and exhibits. The website offers virtual tours and a photo gallery, which includes historical images.

Berea Historical Society [OH]

Description

The Berea Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Berea and Middleburg Township, Ohio. To this end, the society sponsors the Mahler Museum & History Center, housed within an 1854 sandstone residence. The History Center includes exhibits and the historical Gray's Candy Kitchen, while the museum focuses on period rooms. The history of Berea is largely dependent on the discovery of area sandstone veins.

The museum offers exhibits, period rooms, guided tours, and an archival resource room.

Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm [NH]

Description

The Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm presents the farming history of New Hampshire, beginning in 1790, through a working farm environment. Structures include a cattle barn, milk house, maple sugar house, stable, and a historic English barn. Also on the grounds are an 1830s garden with period crops; the historic home of Dr. Edwin Crafts Remick and his wife, Marion Ella Miles Remick; and the Captain Enoch Remick House, Edwin Remick's childhood home, which contains the preserved medical office and medicine room of the Remicks.

The farm offers period rooms, guided tours of many of the structures, exhibits, and seasonal and customized educational programs. Reservations are required for school visits.

Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park [CA]

Description

The Watts Towers are a complex set of 17 separate sculptural pieces built on a residential lot in the community of Watts. Two of the towers rise to a height of nearly 100 feet. The sculptures are constructed from steel pipes and rods, wrapped with wire mesh; coated with mortar; and embedded with pieces of porcelain, tile, and glass. Using simple hand tools and cast off materials (broken glass, sea shells, generic pottery, and ceramic tile) Italian immigrant Simon Rodia spent 30 years (1921 to 1955) building a tribute to his adopted country and a monument to the spirit of individuals who make their dreams tangible. The Watts Towers are one of only nine works of folk art listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The site is one of only four US National Historic Landmarks in the city of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Cultural Affairs Department, through the Watts Towers Arts Center, provides diverse cultural enrichment programming through tours, lectures, changing exhibits, and studio workshops for both teachers and schoolchildren. Each year, thousands of people are attracted to the Towers' site for the Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival and the Watt Towers Day of the Drum Festival.

The park offers exhibits, tours, lectures, workshops, and educational and recreational events.

Kent Historical Society [CT]

Description

The Kent Historical Society works to collect, preserve, and present historical artifacts relating to the history of Kent from pre-colonial times to the present. The society owns three structures, the Swift House, which serves as the society headquarters, the Skiff Mountain School, which is a one room schoolhouse used for school tours, and the Seven Hearths home, which serves as a combination historic house museum and local history museum.

The society offers guided tours, field trip programs for local schools, an annual exhibit in the Seven Hearths House, and occasional special events. The website offers virtual tours of all three society buildings, visitor information, a history of Kent, and society newsletters.

Cape Fear Museum [NC]

Description

The Cape Fear Museum chronicles the history of the Cape Fear Valley, from pre-colonial times until the present day. The museum is host to four nine exhibits, five of which are permanent, and an impressive collection of historic artifacts, documents, and photographs.

The museum offers exhibits and guided tours for visitors. The museum also offers field trip programs which can be catered to a variety of grades, the museum outreach program which gives presentations at local schools, a traveling trunk exhibit, summer camps, and special presentations. The website offers visitor information, a history of the museum, and information concerning all programs offered by the museum.

Georgia Historical Society [GA]

Description

The Georgia Historical Society works to preserve the history of the state of Georgia and educate the public about their shared history. The historical society maintains an extensive library and archives, and also puts on a variety of education and outreach programs.

The society offers lectures focusing on a specific area of Georgia history, teacher workshops, classes for students, and the annual Georgia Days history education program. The website offers online exhibits, an events calendar, visitor information, and library access.

Jefferson Davis Memorial Historic Site [GA]

Description

The Jefferson Davis Memorial Historic Site, situated on the site where Confederate President Jefferson Davis was arrested, is located on 13 acres in south-central Georgia, and consists of a museum, short trail, gift shop, picnic area, and group shelter.

The museum offers an annual exhibits, along with a short film which showcases the history of the site. The historic site also offers ranger led tours and a short nature trail. The website offers basic visitor and historical information along with an events calendar.

Greater Portland Landmarks [ME]

Description

Greater Portland Landmarks is primarily a historical preservation advocacy organization for Portland, Maine. However, it offers library access to collections which include local 1924 tax assessment photographs, historic maps, and historic research on a variety of Portland structures. The society also operates the 1807 Portland Observatory, the only remaining historic maritime signal tower in the United States. The interpretive focus of the tower is maritime history.

The society offers a library and guided tours, three of which—the Portland Observatory, Eastern Cemetery, and Congress Street—are available specifically tailored to the needs of school groups. The observatory offers guided tours. The observatory website offers a webcam and historic photos.