Friends of the National Parks at Gettysburg

Description

"The Friends of Gettysburg (part of the Gettysburg Foundation) is a national leader in battlefield landscape preservation, land protection, monument restoration, and education. The Friends was started in 1989 by a small group of concerned citizens who wanted to help preserve the national parks at Gettysburg. Today, Friends has grown to include close to 25,000 members and supporters all over the world, all committed to the Gettysburg Foundation's mission: working in partnership with the National Park Service, to enhance preservation and understanding of the heritage and lasting significance of Gettysburg."

Thompson-Ames Historical Society of Gilford and Museums [NH]

Description

The Thompson-Ames Historical Society of Gilford seeks to preserve and share the history of Gilford, NH and its people. Particular emphasis is given to Gilford's agricultural history. The society operates three museum structures—the 1834 Union Meetinghouse, John J. Morrill Store of 1857, and the circa 1838 Benjamin Rowe House. The Meetinghouse holds local history exhibits which address religion, leisure activities, military history, and agriculture. The site also contains a Victorian period room and town hall and schoolhouse settings. Highlights include a horsehair sofa, ice fishing equipment, and an eight-foot traverse sled. The Greek Revival Morrill Store used to serve as the meeting place for a farmer's organization. The interior contains an 1800s homestead living room setting; an 1857 store setting; a circa 1940 kitchen; historic signs; musical instruments; and artifacts related to the Grange, New Hampshire government, and local theater. The Greek Revival Benjamin Rowe House is furnished to the style of the 19th and early 20th centuries on the ground floor and the 20th century on the upper floor.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, tours, school tours, and archive access. Archival materials include transcriptions and recordings of oral histories.

Beluga Point

Description

"The earliest evidence of humans along Turnagain Arm is at Beluga Point, which prehistoric hunters used as a view point to search for Beluga whales and sheep. The first white explorers arrived in 1778 aboard Captain Cook's ships, Discovery and Resolution. Cook sailed up Cook Inlet hoping to find the Northwest Passage, but had to "turn again", leading him to name the water body River Turnagain. In the late 19th century, miners and trappers began traveling into interior Alaska from Whittier and Seward along old trails that soon became established routes with roadhouses. In 1895 prospectors crossed from the south side of Turnagain Arm to the north and searched for gold from Girdwood to Rainbow Creek.

In 1903, the Alaska Central Railway began building a railroad from Seward to Fairbanks, but the company soon went bankrupt. The U.S. Government bought the railroad in 1915 and improved the trail along the arm to handle the horse and wagon traffic needed for railroad construction. The trail was also used to deliver mail between Anchorage and Seward. IN 1917 telegraph lines were laid along the Turnagain "road" and by 1918 the railroad extended from Seward to Anchorage, with flag stops at Bird Creek, Indian, Rainbow and Potter. Remnants of construction camps remain along the trail, but are barely discernible. Part of the original trail was covered by the highway which was completed in 1950 and paved in 1954."

Chesterwood Estate and Museum [MA]

Description

The Chesterwood Estate and Museum preserves the home, garden, and studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French (1850-1931). The home contains French's personal collection of European and American paintings and decorative arts, and the gardens are his own design. French is best known for his statue of Abraham Lincoln, located within the Washington D.C. Lincoln Memorial, and The Minute Man of Concord, MA. The site offers one of the largest collections of sculpture by any single artist within the United States. Exhibits discuss French's style, creative process, and historical context.

The estate offers period rooms, exhibits, gardens, walking paths, self-guided tours, guided tours, artist demonstrations and workshops, and picnic tables. Reservations are required for group visits and guided tours. Picnic lunches can be ordered three days in advance. Demonstrations and workshops take place in July through October. The estate is open for visitation between May and October.

Shasta State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Six miles west of Redding, a row of old, half-ruined, brick buildings remind passing motorists that Shasta City, the lusty "Queen City" of California's northern mining district, once stood on this site. These ruins and some of the nearby roads, cottages, and cemeteries are all silent but eloquent vestiges of the intense activity that was centered here during the California gold rush. Iron shutters still swing on massive, old, iron hinges before the doors and windows of grass-filled, roofless buildings that once were crowded with merchandise, and alive with the human sounds of business, trade, and social endeavor. The County Courthouse is restored to its 1861 appearance, the year when it was converted from commercial uses to become the Shasta County Courthouse. Today the building is filled with historical exhibits, and an unparalleled collection of historic California artwork that make it the central figure of Shasta State Historic Park.

The park offers exhibits, tours, demonstrations, and occasional recreational and educational events.

The Rengstorff House [CA]

Description

The circa 1867 Victorian Italianate Rengstorff House is furnished to period. The Rengstorffs met and married in California after immigrating separately from Germany. Henry Rengstorff began work in shipping, and eventually became a wealthy agricultural landowner.

The house offers tours led by costumed docents and garden access.

Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum [CA]

Description

The Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum is a replica of a typical late 19th-century one-room schoolhouse. The interior is furnished to period, and costumed docents offer information on school life.

The museum offers a period room, costumed docents, an annual student essay contest, and field trip programs. Reservations are required for school groups. The website offers arithmetic problems, historic game instructions, and a reading lesson.

Pebble Hill Plantation [GA]

Description

The Pebble Hill Plantation is a cotton plantation dating to circa 1827. The current 1936 main residence was erected after the original home suffered a fire. The interior has been restored with 19th century furnishings and decorative arts. Collection highlights include Audubon lithographs and a strong collection of sporting art. The grounds contain animal shelters, a tack room, carriage room, pump house, nurse's station, firehouse, carpenter's shop, dog hospital, kitchen garden, 1901 log cabin school, and gardens designed in the 1920s and 1930s.

The plantation offers an introductory video, exhibits, period rooms, self-guided grounds tours, guided house tours, art gallery tours, group tours, a picnic area, and snack vending. The house tour narrative is available in English, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese. Reservations are required for group tours and art gallery tours. Catered picnic lunches can be arranged for groups. The website offers historical photographs

Moosehead Historical Society, Eveleth-Crafts-Sheridan House, and Lumberman's Museum [ME]

Description

The Moosehead Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the Moosehead Lake area, ME. To this end, the society operates the Lumberman's Museum and the 1899 Victorian Eveleth-Crafts-Sheridan House. The house holds exhibits of local historical relevance, covering the period between the Civil War and World War II. The Lumberman's House exhibits address Native American life, 19th-century logging, and steamships, among other topics.

The society offers exhibits, guided house and museum tours led by costumed interpreters, and archive access. Archive access is only available during the winter, while guided tours are only available June through September. During the summer, the society hosts periodic living history events. Picnicking is welcome in the sunken garden.