Belcourt Castle [RI]

Description

Unique among the mansions of Newport, "Belcourt," a Louis-XIII-style hunting lodge, was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, "the Dean of American architects." The 60-room summer cottage cost 3 million dollars, employing 300 skilled European craftsmen between 1891 and 1894. Today, celebrating 50 years in the Tinney Family, Belcourt Castle is home to an extensive collection of art and antiques from over 30 countries spanning diverse cultures and centuries. The collection includes 13th-century European stained glass, 10th- to 20th-century furniture from around the world, 17th- to 20th-century paintings, Renaissance armor, and a gold coronation coach.

The site offers tours.

Dana-Thomas House

Description

The Dana-Thomas House, perhaps the best-preserved example of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright's "Prairie period" dwellings, was built for feminist socialite and heiress Susan Lawrence Dana (1862–1946). Constructed between 1902 and 1904, the house has been restored to appear as it might have been furnished shortly after being built. In 1974 the structure was entered on the National Register of Historic Places and in 1976 was designated a National Historic Landmark. One-hour guided tours begin at the carriage house visitor center, which contains a small exhibit area, an auditorium, and the Sumac Shop. Tours open with a 10-minute orientation video that provides background information on Frank Lloyd Wright, Susan Lawrence Dana, and construction of the Dana-Thomas House. Visitors see a stunning collection of elegant art glass, Arts and Crafts style furniture, dramatic lamps, and ceramics. Several items owned by Susan Lawrence Dana and her family are on display.

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

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station [MD]

Description

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station located in Silver Spring, Maryland, is one of the few carefully preserved railroad station in the state of Maryland. The station was designed in the Colonial Revival style of architecture, and today stands much as it did during its service in the mid 20th century.

The station offers guided tours, special events, and is available for rent. The website offers a history of the station and visitor information.

William Allen White House State Historic Site

Description

Visitors can tour the showplace home of William Allen White, nationally known newspaperman and author. From the 1890s through World War II, White influenced state and national politics through his writings from the heartland town of Emporia. White looms particularly large in the politics of his home state, debating the Populists of the 1890s and battling against the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.

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

Franklin Inn [NJ]

Description

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.

Bayside Historical Society, Lawrence Cemetery, and Museum [NY]

Description

The Bayside Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Bayside and Queens, New York, as well as neighboring communities. To this end, the society operates a number of exhibits within the 1887 Gothic Revival Army Officer's Club. The society also maintains the Lawrence Cemetery, a family plot with burials dating between 1832 and 1939. Individuals of note interred on site include Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence, Mayor of the New York City between 1834 and 1837; County Judge Effingham Lawrence and his Native American servant Lawrence Moccasin; and Colonel Frederick Newbold Lawrence, president of the New York Stock Exchange between 1882 and 1883.

The society offers exhibits, tours of the Officer's Club, educational programs, and archival access. Lawrence Cemetery is open by appointment only. The second floor of the Officer's Club is not wheelchair accessible. The website offers virtual exhibits.

Fort Trumbull State Park [CT]

Description

Visitors to the site can receive an interactive history lesson at the visitor's center, or just walk the Fort and ramparts for a view of the Thames River. The fort contains informative markers and displays, a touchable cannon and artillery crew display, and gun emplacements. The fort interior features 19th-century restored living quarters, a mock laboratory, and a 1950s era office furnished to resemble a research and development lab at the facility. The visitor center contains state-of-the-art multimedia theaters, computer touch-screen interactive exhibits, 3-D models, and extensive graphics and text panels. The center depicts over 225 years of military history and technological advances from the Revolutionary War to the Cold War. Some of the main display themes include the September 6, 1781 attack by the British under the command of Benedict Arnold, the U-boat menace during World War II, and the anti-submarine efforts during the Cold War.

A second website for the site, maintained by the Friends of Fort Trumbull, can be found here.

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

Barnegat Lighthouse State Park [NJ]

Description

The site of Barnegat Lighthouse on the northern tip of Long Beach Island in Ocean County was regarded as one of the most crucial "change of course" points for coastal vessels. Vessels bound to and from New York along the New Jersey coastline depended on Barnegat Lighthouse to avoid the shoals extending from the shoreline. The swift currents, shifting sandbars, and the offshore shoals challenged the skills of even the most experienced sailor. The park is included as a maritime site on the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail.

The site offers exhibits and tours.

Thomas Wolfe Memorial [NC]

Description

Thomas Wolfe left an indelible mark on American letters. His mother's boardinghouse in Asheville—now the Thomas Wolfe Memorial—has become one of literature's most famous landmarks. Named "Old Kentucky Home" by a previous owner, the rambling Victorian structure was immortalized by Wolfe as "Dixieland" in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel. Restored to look as it did in the early 20th century when young Tom Wolfe and Mrs. Wolfe's boarders shared a roof, the house evokes a time and a place that inspired one of the South's greatest writers.

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