In 1857 Gerat H. and Sophia Hollenberg established a way station for travelers on the Oregon and California Trails, and from 1860 to 1861 they operated a Pony Express station. The building still stands and, along with the visitor center, tells the stories of the Hollenbergs, pioneer life, and the Pony Express.
The site offers exhibits, tours, and educational and recreational programs.
Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site presents the 1859 Greek Revival residence of Representative, Senator, and Governor James Henry Hammond (1807-1864). Hammond is perhaps best known for his words "Cotton is King!," describing the economy of the southern United States. The site includes Hammond's home, heirloom gardens, a lane of 145-year-old magnolia trees, the preserved slave quarters, and 369 acres of surrounding land.
The site offers house tours, lectures, and third- and eighth-grade programs in accordance with state educational standards.
The 100-acre Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm presents the daily life of the Pennsylvania German family who lived on the farm between the 1760s and 1913. A farmhouse, originally erected in the 1760s; spring house; cabin; replica circa 1893 schoolhouse; a circa 1850 barn; and nine other structures complete the site's outfit of buildings. Creatures and crops located on site include rabbits, horses, chickens, goats, mules, cows, sheep, pigs, turkeys, flax, wheat, corn, rye, and potatoes.
The farm offers guided tours, hands-on period skill learning, educational programs, home school programs, costumed living history interpreters, children's summer programs, workshops on historical crafts and skills, outreach programs, and a picnic pavilion. Outreach program options include a visit from one of the farm's sheep or chickens. The website offers pre-visit information for teachers, post-visit activities, a farm animal sponsorship program, and a virtual tour.
One of the upper South's largest antebellum plantations, Somerset Place was home from 17851865 to 850 enslaved people, three generations of owners, and around 50 white and two black employees. It once included more than 100,000 wooded, swampy acres bordering Lake Phelps, where such crops as rice were cultivated. Today, the 31-acre site offers a realistic view of 19th-century life on a large North Carolina plantation through seven original buildings and meshes the lifestyles of all of the plantation's residents in one concise chronological social history.
The site offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.
The Van Buren County Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Van Buren County, Iowa. To this end, the society operates 1845 Pearson House, a residence and Underground Railroad site, the second floor of which served as a Methodist Church; the 1847 Ellis School; the Keosauqua Log Cabin; the Selma Cabin; and the Historical Society Museum. The museum is housed in the circa 1875 Twombly Building, which previously served as a post office, bakery, grocery store, newspaper headquarters, and clothing store.
The society offers period rooms and exhibits.
Collier Memorial State Park has an outdoor camping focus but also has one of the finest Logging Museums in the country. The outdoor museum features more than 75 pieces of antique logging and railroad equipment as wells as a Pioneer village.
The outdoor museum offers free, self-guided tours. There are no educational programs designed for school groups. Wagon rides and costumed interpreters may be offered, check before making reservations.
Bannack State Park is the site of Montana's first major gold discovery on July 28, 1862. This strike set off a massive gold rush that swelled Bannack's population to over 3,000 by 1863. As the value of gold steadily dwindled, Bannack's bustling population was slowly snuffed out. There are over 50 buildings that line Main Street with their historic log and frame structures that recall Montana's formative years.
A second website for the site can be found here.
The site offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).
The Society was founded in 1937. Its current museum holdings include over 150,000 items of Lyon County history spanning from 1865 to the present.
The society offers lectures, research library access, and educational programs; the museum offers exhibits.
The Bridgton Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation of the historical heritage of Bridgton, Maine, and the surrounding areas. The society owns and operates a local history museum, as well as Narramissic, the Peabody-Pitch Farm. Today, Narramissic stands as a historic house museum, and offers visitors a glimpse of rural life in New England on the eave of the Civil War.
The society offers guided tours of the museum and Narramissic, monthly presentations, and research resources. The website offers a history of Bridgton, visitor information, and an events calendar.
The Franklin Inn is located in Somerset, New Jersey. The inn had its inauspicious beginnings as a small dutch home, but was converted to an inn in the 1920s, when owner John Wycoff anticipated a business opportunity with the impending completion of the Delaware & Raritan Canal. The inn was closed in 1916 due to prohibition.
The inn offers a used bookstore, special events including presentations and workshops, and guided tours. The website offers visitor information and a detailed history of the building.