Belle Grove Plantation [VA]

Description

Belle Grove is an 18th-century grain and livestock farm, which, in its prime (circa 1815), encompassed about 7,500 acres of land. The unique limestone house was completed in 1797 for Major Isaac Hite and his wife Nelly, sister of future President James Madison. The house has remained virtually unchanged through the years, offering visitors an experience of the life and times of the people who lived there in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. During the Civil War, Belle Grove was at the center of the decisive Battle of Belle Grove or Cedar Creek. Today, the plantation includes the main house and gardens, original outbuildings, a classic 1918 barn, an overseer's house, the slave cemetery, a heritage apple orchard, fields and meadows, and scenic mountain views.

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

Magoffin Home State Historic Site [TX]

Description

A striking historic adobe structure, this site explores the stories of a multicultural family who influenced the development of the Southwest borderlands. Magoffin family members actively participated in American expansion, West Texas settlement, trade on the Santa Fe-Chihuahua Trails, Civil War turmoil, military service and U.S. Mexico relations. The home, built around 1875 by Joseph Magoffin, is a prime example of territorial style architecture. Explore the home’s authentic art and furnishings reflecting the daily lives of this prominent El Paso family. The site is open Tuesday- Sunday from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tours are given on the hour with the last tour at 4 p.m. Students of all ages are encouraged to come experience life in the past! Tours are designed to meet the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies.

Schools are asked to make reservations in advance by calling 915.533.5147.

Astor House Museum and Clear Creek History Park [CO]

Description

Visitors to the Astor House Museum and Clear Creek History Park can explore how the people of Golden, CO, settled a bustling town that served the developing West as a government center and mining supply town. They can tour an 1800s boarding house and homestead where early Colorado pioneers worked and played, see what life was like on the frontier, and hear stories of the people who called this place home. The Astor House was built in 1867 and stayed in continuous operation as a boarding and rooming house until 1971—over 100 years! It rented rooms and served hot meals to lawmakers, laborers, miners, students, and families, some of whom stayed for weeks or even months. Clear Creek History Park recreates the look and feel of a late 1800s mountain ranch complete with gardens, a working blacksmith shop, schoolhouse, and chicken coop (chickens included).

The sites offer tours, demonstrations, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Woolly Hollow State Park and Woolly Cabin [AR]

Description

The park features the "Woolly Cabin," a one-room log structure erected on the Woolly family homestead in 1882 by Martin Alfred Woolly, son of William Riley Woolly, the head of a family clan of early pioneers who came to Arkansas in 1851. Martin Woolly took up land in the "Hollow" in 1859. This started the chain of events that led to his namesake being used here over a century later.

The site offers occasional recreational and educational events.

Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum [NY]

Description

The Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum is located within the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park in Central New York State. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 96-foot long cargo boats were built and repaired on this site. The Museum tells of the construction of these boats, the workings of the restored dry docks, and the social history of the canal area.

The museum offers exhibits, educational programs, and occasional recreational and historical events.

Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and Heritage Junction [CA]

Description

The Society operates Heritage Junction, a site including eight historic buildings: the 1890 Pardee House, the 1893 Newhall Ranch House, the 1887 Saugus Train Station, the 1865 Mitchell Adobe, the 1919 Edison House, the 1878 Kingsburry House, the 1927 Callahan Schoolhouse, and the 1926 Ramona Chapel.

The society offers lectures, film screenings, and occasional recreational and educational events; the Kingsburry House offers tours; and the Saugus Train Station offers exhibits.

Grand County Historical Association and Historic Sites [CO]

Description

The Society operates several historical sites, including the Pioneer Village Museum Complex, the Cozens Ranch and Stage Stop Museum, and Heritage Park. The Pioneer Village Museum features displays including original railroad cars and railroad exhibits, plus an historic enclosure featuring five original structures that interpret Grand County history. One of the earliest stage stops in Grand County, the Cozens Ranch and Stage Stop Museum includes staging and freighting history and features a replica stagecoach, several local history exhibits, and an authentic interpretation of 19th-century stagecoach travel. Heritage Park preserves the restored 1903 McElroy Livery and an 1885 log cabin.

The society offers in-character presentations; the Pioneer Village Museum offers exhibits; the Cozens Ranch offers exhibits; the Livery and cabin offer tours.

Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village [DE]

Description

For the child who believes milk comes from the grocery store instead of a cow, for the woman who remembers using a cornsheller on her grandmother's farm, or the family who takes 20th-century technological advances and the farmer for granted, the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village offers a memorable and educational experience. By preserving the quickly fading agricultural heritage of Delaware and the Delmarva Peninsula, the Museum stands as an important legacy for future generations. A main exhibit building and 15 historic structures associated with a 19th-century farming community bring the fascinating story of agriculture to life. More than 4,000 artifacts are displayed in the main exhibit building—from butter churns to threshers, from an 18th-century log house to the first broiler chicken house.

The site offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, demonstrations, research library access, and occasional recreational and educational events.