Fort William Henry Museum and Reconstruction [NY]

Description

The Fort William Henry Museum and Reconstruction presents the history of England's Fort William Henry in use along the southern edge of New York's Lake George between 1755 and 1757. Particular focus is given to warfare and weaponry.

The museum offers an introductory film, exhibits, tours led by costumed interpreters, group tours, student tours, student fort and Lake George history tours, Scout tours, ghost tours, musket and cannon firing, musket ball molding, Native American craft demonstrations, hands-on children's activities, and self-guided tours. Groups must consist of at least 15 people. Boxed lunches are available with advance notice. The website offers a scavenger hunt.

Colonial Williamsburg [VA]

Description

Colonial Williamsburg is the world's single largest living history museum. It consists of the reconstructed 18th-century British outpost of Williamsburg, VA. Through costumed interpreters and structures furnished to period, the museum shares the story of America and its people—Native American, African American, Caucasian, enslaved, indentured, and free—circa 1699 through 1780. The historic area includes political and residential sites, trade skill settings, a plantation, gardens, and animal breeds of circa 200 years ago. Museums on site include the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.

The site offers exhibits, period rooms, living history interpreters, demonstrations, walking tours, dramatic performances, military exercises, fife and drum parades, ghost walks, mock witch trials, films, lectures, music programs, reenactments, a teacher institute in early American history, children's activities, curriculum-based tours for students, museum tours, conferences, forums, workshops, concession stands, and several dining locations with period-inspired food. The website offers audio tours, a virtual tour, virtual exhibits, information on historical structures and people, information on aspects of daily life, recipes, electronic field trips, lesson plans, teaching resources for purchase, slide shows, videos, audio clips, a daily vocabulary feature, podcasts, blogs, activities and games, and journal excerpts

Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park and Pioneer Museum [KY]

Description

Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park, site of the 1782 American Revolution Battle of Blue Licks, preserves the history of the site. At the Pioneer Museum, located in the park, visitors can learn about the area's history from prehistoric times to the days of the pioneers.

The park offers exhibits, historical trails and nature trails, programs and tours for school groups of all grade levels (fees starting at $3 per student), tent camping for school groups ($2 per person), and other recreational and educational events.

Cornwall Iron Furnace [PA]

Description

Cornwall Furnace is a unique survivor of the early American iron industry. Originally built by Peter Grubb in 1742, the furnace underwent extensive renovations in 1856–57 under its subsequent owners, the Coleman family, and closed in 1883. It is this mid-19th-century ironmaking complex which survives today. At Cornwall, furnace, blast equipment, and related buildings still stand as they did over a century ago. Here visitors can explore the rambling Gothic Revival buildings where cannons, stoves, and pig iron were cast, and where men labored day and night to satisfy the furnace's appetite for charcoal, limestone, and iron ore.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

New Castle Court House Museum [DE]

Description

The New Castle Court House, erected in 1732, was Delaware's first court and state capitol building. Topics addressed on site include colonial and state history, early Delaware law and government, and the Underground Railroad.

The museum offers site tours, exhibits, educational programs for students, and an hour long walking tour for adults. Reservations are required for large groups. The first floor of the structure is wheelchair accessible.

Frederick County Landmarks Foundation [MD]

Description

The Frederick County Landmarks Foundation maintains two historic sites, the Beatty-Cramer House Site and the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum. The Beatty-Cramer House is the oldest home in Frederick County, dating back to 1732. The Schifferstadt Architectural Museum is colonial German stone house built in 1758. Both sites teach about Frederick County's local history and architecture, focusing on the era of the French and Indian War.

The Beatty-Cramer House offers school tours and occasional education programs. The Schifferstadt Architectural Museum offers occasional educational programs for students and specialized lesson plans for 3rd and 4th grade Maryland teachers.

Fort Mose Historic State Park [FL]

Description

The power politics of 18th-century England and Spain reached across the Atlantic to the Florida frontier. In 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida chartered Fort Mose as a settlement for freed Africans who had fled slavery in the British Carolinas. When Spain ceded Florida to Britain in 1763, the inhabitants of Fort Mose migrated to Cuba. Although nothing remains of the fort, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 for its importance in American history.

The park offers tours.

John Jay Homestead State Historic Site [NY]

Description

The John Jay Homestead State Historic Site maintains the 1801 home of Founding Father John Jay who served as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme court and co-authored the Treaty of Paris, among his many other accomplishments. The home is interpreted as an 1820's country home with 12 or its 24 rooms decorated and open to the public for tours.

Specialized tours and education programs are available by appointment. School groups may also tour the 1820's schoolhouse and the 1830s barn as wells as the formal gardens on the property.

Willard House and Clock Museum [MA]

Description

The Willard House and Clock Museum is housed in the original 1718 home of clockmaker Joseph Willard. Willard's descendents went on to become some of America's most famous clockmakers and the museum houses many original creations of the family.

Upon making reservations, groups may visit the museum and tour for approx. an hour for a small fee.

1696 Thomas Massey House [PA]

Description

The 1696 Thomas Massey House was built by a Quaker who had come to America in 1683 as an indentured servant. After completing his servitude and prior to his death in 1707, Massey acquired 400 acres of land. Today, the home is furnished with 18th- and late 17th-century pieces.

The museum offers period rooms, tours, and group tours. Tours are available late April through October.