Freetown Village [IN]

Description

Freetown Village presents the history and culture of the approximately 3,000 free African Americans known to have been living in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1870. The content focus is on the Fourth Ward, which is Indianapolis' oldest African American settlement.

The village offers a summer camp for five through 14 year old children, interactive plays, spiritual music performances, and hands-on children's workshops. With the exception of the summer camp, all programs are available as outreach programming in Indiana and nearby states.

North Carolina State Capitol

Description

This National Historic Landmark is one of the finest and best-preserved examples of the Greek Revival style of architecture in the United States. The Capitol features a domed rotunda and state senate and house chambers, meticulously restored to their 1840 appearance. Its granite walls housed all of North Carolina state government until 1888. The legislature met here until 1961. Today, the governor and his staff still occupy offices in the Capitol.

The site offers exhibits, tours, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Jackson County Historical Society and Museums [MO]

Description

The Jackson County Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Jackson County, Missouri. To this end, the society operates a lending library and non-circulating archive; 1859 jail, marshal's home, and museum; and the Harry S Truman Office and Courtroom, where Truman (1884-1972) practiced prior to being elected Senator and 33rd President of the United States. The jail presents local legal and military history between the 1840s and the Civil War.

The society offers circulating library and non-circulating archives access, research assistance, self-guided and guided tours of the jail and marshal's home, exhibits, tours of the office and courtroom, and a 30-minute introductory film in the Truman site. Payment is required for non-member library archives access and research assistance. Reservations are required for library and archives access, guided tours of the jail and marshal's home, and group tours of the office and courtroom. The website offers a teacher's guide for the jail site.

Old State House [DE]

Description

The Georgian-style Old State House, completed in 1791, served as the headquarters of both the Delaware state and Kent County governments. The first floor contains an 18th-century style courtroom, and the second floor presents the former chambers of the state legislature. Artworks displayed include paintings by Denis A. Volozan (1765-1820) and Thomas Sully (1783-1872).

The house offers tours. Reservations are required for large groups.

Kimball Jenkins Estate [NH]

Description

The estate includes an 1883 Victorian mansion, art school, and exhibition galleries. Gallery themes include student, teacher, and regional works; new regional artists; and art from throughout the U.S., which is deemed historically important.

The estate offers exhibits, art classes, and a children's summer camp.

Raynham Hall Museum [NY]

Description

The Raynham Hall Museum is a historic home depicting life between the 1770s and 1870s. Samuel Townsend, a prosperous international merchant, purchased the property in 1738. Townsend later served on the New York Provincial Congress. Between 1778 and 1779, the Queen's Rangers, led by English Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe (1752-1806), made the Patriot family's home their headquarters. During this time, legend has it, Sally Townsend overheard Benedict Arnold's plan to surrender the West Point fort to the British; and informed the Culper Spy Ring about Benedict (1741-1801) and his accomplice Major John Andre (1750-1780). The site displays over 500 artifacts, including pieces owned by the Townsends and others made in Long Island.

The museum offers colonial and Victorian period rooms, colonial- and Victorian-style gardens, and children's summer workshops.

Historic New Orleans Collection [LA]

Description

The Historic New Orleans Collection, housed in a complex of historic French Quarter structures, is a museum, research center, and publisher. The collection's focus is the history and culture of both New Orleans and the Gulf South. The museum includes the Williams Gallery, which hosts temporary exhibits; Louisiana History Galleries, which depict state history; and a house museum, the Williams House. The Williams House is an Italianate townhouse built in 1889. The interior is interpreted in the style of the mid 20th-century, when General L. Kemper and Leila Williams, who instigated the collection, lived on site. This residence is the only French Quarter home open to the public which contains original furnishings and decorative arts objects. The Williams Research Center provides access to more than 35,000 library items and 350,000 artifacts.

The collection offers exhibits, period rooms, self-guided tours of the Williams Gallery, guided tours of the Louisiana History Galleries and Williams House, guided architectural tours, school tours of the Williams Gallery and Louisiana History Galleries, weekly curatorial talks, collections access, educator training programs, a school program about Creole cuisine history, and outreach presentations for school. Reservations are required for groups of eight or more desiring a guided tour and for school tours. The website offers podcasts and a list of teacher resources available upon request.

Poland Spring Preservation Society and Maine State Building [ME]

Description

The Poland Spring Preservation Society was formed to preserve the Maine State Building and the All Souls Chapel. The Maine State Building was created in 1893 for the Chicago World's Fair. At the fair, it displayed exhibits, portraits of famous Maine residents, taxidermy, and a library. At this point in time, the building houses a portion of its original contents, as well as exhibits of local artwork. The Catholic and Protestant chapel was completed in 1912.

The society offers exhibits, an art gallery, and summer concerts.

California Oil Museum [CA]

Description

The California Oil Museum recounts the boom in black gold in the city of Santa Paula during the late 19th century. The museum contains exhibits that display oil rigging tools, oil advertisements, wildcatter memorabilia, and other relevant artifacts.

School tours are available for K-12 with the option of hands-on educational programs.

Long Pond Ironworks State Park [NJ]

Description

Long Pond Ironworks was founded in 1766 by German ironmaster Peter Hasenclever. Hasenclever brought 500 ironworkers and their families from Germany to build an ironworks "plantation," including a furnace, forge, houses, shops, and farms. A dam at "Long Pond" (Greenwood Lake) on the upper Wanaque River provided the hydropower to operate a blast for the furnace and a large forge. Two more furnaces were constructed in the 1860s. Operations at the site ceased in 1882 due to the industry-wide conversion to anthracite furnaces using Pennsylvania coal. The remnants of the ironmaking industrial structures at this site date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Furnaces, casting house ruins, charging areas, ice houses, waterwheels, and other structures are a part of the remains. The area is currently undergoing restoration: one waterwheel has been reconstructed and several houses stabilized. The "Old Country Store" has been renovated and now houses the Long Pond Ironworks Museum. The original Village of Hewitt grew up around the 19th-century iron enterprise. This settlement included a church, a store/post office, schoolhouses, and dwellings and outbuildings for workers and managers. Many of these cultural resources remain intact or as ruins.

The website of the Friends of Long Pond Ironworks can be found here.

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