Hanover Tavern [VA]

Description

The Hanover Tavern is a 1791 county government building, which would have originally existed within a complex including a courthouse and jail. The tavern complex has served as a Union and Confederate boarding house and the site of the first U.S. armed slave insurrection, the 1800 Gabriel's Slave Rebellion. Today, the site serves as a historic interpretive center, community center, and restaurant.

The tavern offers workshops, lectures, family nights, and self-guided tours.

Monterey State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Visitors to this park can step into the past on the "Monterey Walking Path of History" and view the site where Spanish explorers first landed in Monterey in 1602; see one of the nation's last remaining whalebone sidewalks; and walk the same streets that author Robert Louis Stevenson walked in 1879 as they explore this two-mile path and discover some of California's most historic homes, buildings, and gardens along the way. Monterey served as California's capital under Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. military rule. The U.S. flag was first officially raised in California here on July 7, 1846, bringing 600,000 square miles of land to the United States. Ten buildings, including the Custom House, the oldest government building in California, and several residences (now house museums with guided tours), are all part of the Path of History.

The park offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, occasional living history events, and occasional other educational and recreational events.

Burwell School Historic Site [NC]

Description

The Burwell School Historic Site presents the lives of the individuals who lived within and near Burwell School during the antebellum years and the Civil War. The site includes a circa 1821 residence; circa 1837 brick necessary; and an academy for girls, the Burwell School. The school functioned between 1837 and 1857. The site was also home to more than 30 slaves, including Elizabeth Hobbes Keckly (1818-1907), who would become a close friend of Mary Todd Lincoln. Keckly eventually wrote Behind the Scenes: Thirty Years as a Slave and Four Years in the White House.

The site offers 45-minute guided tours, self-guided garden tours, a fourth-grade curriculum-based program, outreach programs for schools, a Scout program, workshops about Keckly, research library access, and research assistance.

Clermont State Historic Site [NY]

Description

Clermont was inhabited by seven successive generations of the Livingston family from 1730 to 1962. Clermont's most distinguished resident was Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase and co-inventor of America's first practical steamboat. Set amidst historic gardens, the house commands a fine view of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains.

The site offers tours, exhibits, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

A.H. Stephens Historic Park [GA]

Description

The 1,777-acre A.H. Stephens Historic Park contains a museum of the Confederacy and the home of A.H. Stephens (1812-1883), Vice President of the Confederacy and Governor of Georgia (1882-1885). Stephens' home has been restored and furnished to an 1875 appearance.

The park offers exhibits, tours of the Stephens' residence, trails, outdoor activities, and picnic shelters. Payment is required to reserve use of a picnic shelter.

USS Constitution Museum [MA]

Description

Only yards away from the USS Constitution (or "Old Ironsides"), the oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat in the world, the Museum explores the history of this vessel. Interactive galleries take visitors through the ship's 200-year history.

The museum offers two permanent exhibits, as well as temporary exhibits; guided and self-guided tours for school groups; educational programs for K–5; and occasional recreational and educational events.

Rufus Porter Museum [ME]

Description

The Rufus Porter Museum is located in Bridgton, Maine, the site of some of Porter's most famous workers. Rufus Porter is notable for his fantastic works of landscape art, especially murals, and for being the founder of Scientific American.

The home offers guided tours and exhibitions of Rufus Porter's works. The website offers a biography of Porter, a history of the museum, visitor information, and an events calendar.

Historic Rogers Street Fishing Village and Great Lakes Coast Guard Museum [WI]

Description

The Historic Rogers Street Fishing Village and associated Great Lakes Coast Guard Museum is composed of five historic structures that chronicle the evolution of the fishing community of Two Rivers, WI. The 1886 pierhead lighthouse, 1887 Life Saving Station, and a 1936 wooden fishing tug are highlights of the museum's collection.

The museum offers guided tours and exhibits. The website offers visitor information.

Brierfield Ironworks Historical State Park [AL]

Description

The Brierfield Ironworks Historical State Park is located in Brierfield, AL, and is the site of the Bib County Iron Works, the Confederacy's most productive Iron Works during the Civil War. Today, the Brierfield Ironworks Park consists of the ruins of the Bib Ironworks as well a many carefully reconstructed pioneer-style homes and structures.

The park offers hiking trails, guided tours, re-enactments, and other special events. The website offers visitor information, a history of the Ironworks, and a calendar of events.