Babylon Village Historical Society and Museum [NY]

Description

The Babylon Village Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Babylon, NY and the surrounding area. To this end, the society operates a museum of local history. Exhibit topics include 19th-century life, historic farming tools, Victorian life, and life in the 1920s-1940s.

The society offers exhibits, a scholarship, and a fourth grade educational program.

Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park [CA]

Description

The Park is the site of a water-powered grist mill that was built in 1846. It was once the center of social activity as Napa Valley settlers gathered to have their corn and wheat ground into meal or flour. The owner of the mill was Dr. Edward Turner Bale. He received the property in a land grant from the Mexican government and lived near the site until his death in 1849. The mill remained in use until the early 1900s. The mill and its 36-foot water wheel are protected as a state historic landmark and have been partially restored. A trail connects the historic park to Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. Additionally, the park includes the site of the first church in the Napa Valley as well as the Pioneer Cemetery.

The park offers exhibits, tours, and demonstrations.

Reitz Home Museum [IN]

Description

The Reitz Home Museum consists of the 1871 French Second Empire Victorian residence of John Augustus Reitz, a wealthy lumberman, and his family. The interior is decorated with original furnishings and period pieces.

The museum offers period rooms, guided tours, guided group tours, and guided group tours with dinner or lunch. All group tours are by appointment.

Hageman Farm [NJ]

Description

The Hageman House and Farm preserves the 1861 Italianate-Victorian home of two Dutch immigrant families. Although the home dates to 1861, the farm site was in use by these families as of 1756. The grounds also contain a reconstructed horse barn, which replicates the circa 1867 original.

The farm offers tours.

Tours are currently unavailable.

Hillborough Historical Society and Franklin Pierce Homestead [NH]

Description

Franklin Pierce (1804–1869), the seventh of nine children, spent a happy childhood in attractive surroundings of gardens and trees. The stately home has spacious rooms with vividly painted walls and exquisite stenciling. The house has a grand ballroom and a parlor decorated with imported French wallpaper—symbols of the elegance of the age.

The house offers tours and occasional recreational and educational events.

Whitestone Hill Battlefield State Historic Site [ND]

Description

Whitestone Hill Battlefield State Historic Site marks the scene of the fiercest clash between Indians and white soldiers in North Dakota. On September 3, 1863, General Alfred Sully's troops attacked a tipi camp of Yanktonai, some Dakota, Hunkpapa Lakota, and Blackfeet (Sihasapa Lakota), as part of a military mission to punish participants of the Dakota Conflict of 1862. In the ensuing battle, many Indian men, women, and children died or were captured. Military casualties were comparatively light. The Indians also suffered the destruction of virtually all of t heir property, leaving them nearly destitute for the coming winter. Today, Whitestone Battlefield State Historic Site includes a portion of the battlefield and a small museum with exhibits explaining the 1863 Sibley and Sully expeditions and the Battle of Whitestone Hill. There are two monuments, one honoring the Indian dead and a second commemorating the soldiers who died in the battle. A marker also recognizes two early settlers, Tom and Mary Shimmin.

The site offers exhibits and occasional recreational and educational events.

Chippokes Plantation State Park and Museum [VA]

Description

The 1,683-acre Chippokes Plantation State Park contains a working plantation site, founded circa 1619. The site's main residence is known as the Jones-Stewart Mansion. The plantation grounds house gardens and the Chippokes Farm and Forestry Museum, which presents circa 1850 Virginian farming life. Exhibits include farm building, soil preparation, planting, cultivating, harvesting, blacksmiths' tools, wheelwrights' tools, cobblers' tools, coopers' tools, farm animals, processing, preserving, small tools, and house ware. Many exhibits depict the evolution of tools used for a particular task. Collection highlights include a wooden tooth cultivator and a plow, designed to be pulled by oxen.

The park offers exhibits, mansion tours, an interpretive forestry trail, guided group museum tours, curriculum-based museum educational programs, recreational trails, outdoor activities, overnight facilities, a snack bar, and a picnic complex. Mansion tours and museum access are available April through October. Picnic shelters can be reserved. The snack bar operates Memorial Day through Labor Day. The museum can customize educational programs.

Salmon Brook Historical Society and Museums [CT]

Description

The Salmon Brook Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Granby, Connecticut. To this end, the society operates four museum buildings. The circa 1732 Abijah Rowe House has been restored to an early 1800s interior appearance. It also houses a collection of Victorian toys. The circa 1790 Weed-Enders House houses the society research library and a Victorian parlor. The circa 1870 Cooley School House has been furnished and styled to a 19th-century appearance. The circa 1914 Colton-Hayes Tobacco Barn offers a recreated Shaker meeting house; town microcosm; and exhibits on vernacular items, Native American artifacts, and the Civil War.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, and library access. The museum buildings are open between June and September. Reservations are required for groups.

Old State House Museum [AR]

Description

The Old State House Museum, housed within the 1842 Greek Revival former state capitol building, presents the history of the state of Arkansas and its residents. The structure served as the state capitol until 1911; both a Confederate and Union capitol; a medical school and research site; and a popular campaign site of Bill Clinton (born 1946), 42nd President of the United States. Period rooms include a 1901 through 1906 parlor, 1870 through 1900 parlor, a 1750 through 1800 library, an 1860 through 1870 Rococo Revival parlor, an 1836 through 1860 library, and 1836 through 1885 House of Representatives chamber. Permanent exhibits address 19th- and 20th-century women's lives, the building's construction, Bill Clinton, hands-on 1930s artifacts, early 19th-century life, Arkansas governors and their families, and 1819 through 1919 Arkansas political history.

The museum offers exhibits, period rooms, hourly guided tours, self-guided tours, eight thematic tours for students, outreach programs for students and adults, educational programs for students or adults, living history characters, a summer camp, teacher's workshops, and traveling trunks. Groups of 12 or more must make reservations for guided tours. Living history characters can be scheduled into tours with advance notice. The website offers virtual exhibits, lesson plans, activities, games, and crosswords.

Mosby Heritage Area Association [VA]

Description

The Mosby Heritage Area Association seeks to preserve and share the history, culture, and environment of the Northern Virginia Piedmont. The association places particular emphasis on the life and travels of Confederate soldier John Singleton Mosby.

The association offers a outreach programs for students, a monthly two-hour family program, and outreach speakers.
The website offers a virtual tour, a recommended reading list for students, suggested post-visit activities, and area scavenger hunts.