Manchester Historical Society and Museums [CT]

Description

The Manchester Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Manchester, Connecticut. To this end, the society operates the Old Manchester Museum, located within the 1859 Cheney School; the 1798 Cheney Homestead, home to the founding family of the Mt. Nebo Silk Company; and a reconstruction of the 1751 Keeney Schoolhouse. The Manchester area was originally inhabited by the Podunk. English settlers arrived circa 1783.

The society offers exhibits, lectures, period rooms, school tours, walking tours of the Cheney Mills area, and archival access. The Cheney Homestead and Keeney Schoolhouse are open by appointment. The website offers a coloring book and historical photographs.

Historic Dumfries Virginia and the Weems-Botts Museum

Description

Historic Dumphries Virginia seeks to preserve and share the history of Dumfries, Virginia. To this end, the organization operates the Weems-Botts Museum. This museum preserves the at least 250-year-old home of Parson Weems, the author who popularized a number of legends about George Washington, including the cherry tree tale. The home later served as the residence of Benjamin Botts, who successfully defended Aaron Burr during his treason trial.

The museum offers period rooms and research opportunities. A fee is required in order to pursue research.

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame [TN]

Description

The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame presents the history and modern state of women's basketball—at all levels of play and prominence. Collection highlights include the 1901 rulebook and a jersey worn by Georgeann Wells, first female player to score a dunk at the collegiate level.

The hall offers exhibits, a 15-minute introductory video, self-guided tours, audio recordings of famous coaches giving pre-game and halftime talks, basketball courts, an athletic playground, and a hall of honor. Educational programs are offered for kindergarten through fifth grade students; and focus on nutrition, sportsmanship, and exercise.

Anderson House [DC]

Description

The 1905 Anderson House is a Beaux Arts mansion, which served as the residence of Larz Anderson III (1866-1937), diplomat and Ambassador to Japan, and his wife Isabel (1876-1948), author of travel memoirs, poetry, and family histories. The interior favors English and Italian elements. The collection strength is artifacts of the Revolutionary War. The house is the headquarters of the Society of Cincinnati, a society interested in Revolutionary War history.

The house offers period rooms, exhibits, guided tours, and monthly artifact presentations and talks. Reservations are required for groups of ten or more. Tours are offered in several languages, and can be tailored to specific interests given advance notice.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center [WY]

Description

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center contains several museums devoted to Buffalo Bill, Western art, the Plains peoples, and Greater Yellowstone. The Buffalo Bill Museum presents the life of W.F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, and his historical context in the American West. Cody (1846-1917) operated a Wild West show between 1883 and 1913, which helped to shape popular understandings of the Western frontier. The Whitney Gallery of Western Art displays major works of Western art. Artists represented in the collection include William Ranney, T.D. Kelsey (born 1946), Edgar S. Paxson (1852-1919), and Fritz Scholder (1937-2005). The Plains Indian Museum presents the history and culture of the people of the Plains. Collection strengths include the early reservation period (circa 1880-1930), the Lakota, Crow, Arapaho, Shoshone, and Cheyenne. The Cody Firearms Museum presents the world's most comprehensive collection of U.S. firearms. The Draper Museum of Natural History presents the natural history of the Greater Yellowstone area.

All sites offer exhibits. The Draper Museum of Natural History offers interactive exhibits, audio-visual elements, monthly lectures, and an interactive elementary school educational program. The center also offers research library access and research assistance. Center educational opportunities include themed guided tours for students, traveling trunks, resource kits, videos, and teacher workshops. The website offers a Plains Indian Museum virtual exhibit and Cody Firearms Museum firearms glossary and idiom listing.

The Whitney Gallery of Western Art is closed, as the site adds interpretation, situating artworks in context.

Burlingame Historical Society [CA]

Description

The Burlingame Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Burlingame and Hillsborough, CA.

The society offers a two-hour walking tour of historic Burlingame for local third grade students, a local history class for teens and adults, exhibits, and house history research assistance. Exhibits are typically located within the Burlingame City Hall or the Burlingame Public Library. The website offers a memory board and a virtual exhibit on the history of Burlingame's grocery stores.

Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society and Ker Place

Description

Ker Place is a circa 1800 Federal-style residence, now serving as a historic house museum. The museum provides information on the history of Virginia's Eastern shore. This structure serves as the headquarters of and is operated by the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society.

The society and museum offer guided tours, an archaeology lab, period rooms, and history camps.

Yolo County Historical Society, Spring Lakes School, and Hattie Weber Museum [CA]

Description

The Yolo County Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Yolo County, California. To this end, the society operates the Spring Lakes School and the Hattie Weber Museum. The school is used to introduce students to education and the school experience circa 1890. The Hattie Weber Museum presents the local history of Davis, California and the surrounding areas. The museum is named after Davisville's first paid librarian, who began her career in 1906.

The society offers educational programs for students in the Spring Lakes School, and exhibits and school tours in the Hattie Weber Museum.