Berrien County Historical Association and The History Center at Courthouse Square [MI]

Description

The Berrien County Historical Association seeks to preserve and share the history of Berrien County, Michigan, founded in 1831. To this end, the society operates The History Center at Courthouse Square. Sights include the 1839 Court House, complete with reproduction furnishings and local history exhibits; two reconstructed jail cells; the circa 1830 Murdock Log House, also stocked with period furnishings; and Bennett's Forge, a working blacksmith shop.

The association offers exhibits, tours, student tours, a mock trial educational program for students, living history outreach programs for schools, lectures, and archives access. Please call ahead to schedule use of the archives, plan school visits, or request outreach programming. Outreach program options include talks by a Civil War soldier or French voyageur.

Grand Village of Natchez Indians [MS]

Description

The 128-acre Grand Village of Natchez Indians was the key ceremonial site of the Natchez people between 1682 and 1729. At the end of this period, the Natchez attacked the French who had settled in their homeland, southwest Mississippi. The French secured such a decisive victory that the Natchez were permanently dispersed in 1729. The Natchez people had called southwest Mississippi their home from as early as approximately 700. The Natchez were farmers, hunters, and gatherers; and their society was organized into two moieties, with membership determined by matrilineal inheritance. The site includes a museum, a reconstructed Natchez dwelling, and three earthen mounds—the Great Sun's Mound, the Temple Mound, and the Abandoned Mound. The Temple Mound once supported a temple which housed the remains of Natchez leaders.

The village site offers exhibits, a reconstructed period dwelling, a nature trail, a children's hands-on area, group tours, and student educational programs. Reservations are required for group tours and educational programs.

Los Adaes State Historic Site [LA]

Description

Los Adaes State Historic Site commemorates the Presidio Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Los Adaes (Fort of Our Lady of Pilar at the Adaes), built by the Spanish in reaction to increasing French activity in the vicinity of east Texas. Los Adaes became the capital of the province of Texas in 1729. Although it would retain this title for 44 years, life at Los Adaes was difficult enough that inhabitants quickly became involved with illicit trade with the French in order to prevent starvation.

The site offers a historic structure, educational programs, and tours.

Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest [VA]

Description

Poplar Forest is one of two structures which Thomas Jefferson personally designed to serve as his own residence. Unlike Monticello, this location was designed as a retreat for his later years, beginning in 1809 when he was 66 years of age; and, as such, was created exclusively to his personal tastes. The structure is based on the Roman villa with Renaissance Palladian, 18th-century French, and contemporary British and Virginian architectural influences. The floor-to-ceiling windows, alcove beds, skylight, and indoor privy were all based on French styles which Jefferson had witnessed abroad.

The site offers exhibits; a 15-minute video on the restoration and archaeological work being conducted; guided house tours; self-guided grounds tours; an annual opportunity for students to interview Thomas Jefferson and other historical figures; and a summer archaeology, history, and restoration camp. Group tours are available by appointment. The website offers lesson plans and suggested reading for students and for teachers.

Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches, Melrose Plantation, and Kate Chopin House [LA]

Description

The Association for Preservation of Historic Natchitoches seeks to preserve areas of historic value in the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase Territory. The Association maintains the Melrose Plantation and the Kate Chopin House. The Melrose story begins with Marie Therese Coincoin, a slave born in 1742; she was eventually she sold to a Frenchmen, Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer. In time, Metoyer freed Marie Therese and 10 Franco-African children. Evidence points to Metoyer as the father of these children. Marie Therese and son Louis Metoyer received large grants of land including the present Melrose Plantation. This Creole-style home celebrates its most famous resident, Kate Chopin, and its original inhabitant, Alexis Cloutier. Built by slave labor between 1805 and 1809, the structure exemplifies the early 19th-century homes of the area.

The association offers occasional recreational and educational events; the plantation offers tours; the house offers exhibits and tours.

Louisiana Purchase

Description

This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the delegation President Thomas Jefferson sent to France to purchase the city of New Orleans. Instead, the French government offered the entire Louisiana Territory.

This feature is no longer available.