Capitol Hill Parks [DC]

Description

Capitol Hill Parks includes all parkland between the 2nd streets NE and SE and the Anacostia River. The four major parks in this space are the Folger Park, which contains numerous examples of historic architecture; Lincoln Park, which contains memorials to Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 16th President of the United States, and Civil Rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955); Marion Park; and Stanton Park, which houses a statue of General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786), the Revolutionary War leader who drove the British out of Georgia and the Carolinas in 1782.

The site offers tours upon request.

Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site [VA]

Description

The Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site consists of the 1883 home in which Walker resided between 1904 and 1934. The furnishings are original to the family, and the home is located in the community of Jackson Ward, the center point of African American business and social life in Richmond, Virginia circa 1900. Born just 2 years after the Civil War, she overcame the ethnic and gender limitations of society to become the first woman in the United States to charter a bank. Despite the low social status afforded to her as an African American during her time, Walker additionally ran a newspaper, greatly enhanced the scope of the Order of St. Luke, and eventually served as a bank president.

The site offers exhibits, hands-on activities and traveling trunks tailored to educational standards, guided tours, and Junior Ranger activities. Reservations are required for tours involving 10 or more people. The website offers a gallery of more than 100 historic photographs.

Fort Moultrie National Monument [SC]

Description

Fort Moultrie was one of the four major forts lining the entrance to Charleston Harbor. The fort was abandoned at the start of the Civil War by Union Troops in favor of Fort Sumter, which led to the first major action of the Civil War. Today, the fort has been restored to portray the major periods in its history, and visitors to the fort move steadily backwards from Fort Moultrie during World Wary II to the Palmetto-log fort of 1776.

The fort offers guided tours, interpretive activities, and field trip programs. The website offers basic visitor information, online historical documents, and a history of the fort. In order to contact the fort via email, use the "contact us" link located on the left side of the webpage.

Eisenhower National Historic Site

Description

Eisenhower National Historic Site is the home and farm of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Located adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield, the farm served the President as a weekend retreat and a meeting place for world leaders. The site comprises 690 acres and includes four farms, three of which were used by President Eisenhower for his show herd of black Angus cattle. Today the farm is maintained as it was during the Eisenhower years and the President's home retains nearly all its original furnishings.

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

Timucuan Historical and Ecological Preserve and Fort Caroline National Memorial [FL]

Description

The Timucuan Historical and Ecological Preserve and Fort Caroline National Memorial is a 46,000-acre National Park Site consisting of several historical sites. The 1564 Fort Caroline Memorial recalls a brief period of French occupation during the 16th-century; and includes the Timucuan Preserve Visitor Center, which recounts area environmental history and human interaction with the environment. Visitors to the memorial can compare French fort and traditional Timucuan life. Other sites include the Theodore Roosevelt Area shell middens and nature trails; the 1814 through 1837 Kingsley Plantation; the 1935 American Beach, founded to provide African Americans access to the beach despite segregation; the Cedar Point nature area; and the 1928 Ribauldt Club, once a wintertime resort.

The memorial offers exhibits, activities to complete while viewing the exhibits, Junior Ranger activities, interpretive programs, and ranger-led student programs. Other sites offers opportunities for hiking, nature watching, water activities, and camping; other Junior Ranger activities; interpretive programs; exhibits; and ranger-led student programs at the Kingsley Plantations. The website offers site specific activity pages, mp3 tours, videos on kayaking and making tabby, slide shows, and curriculum materials for the Kingsley Plantation and Fort Caroline.

The Ceder Point boat ramp and Kingsley Plantation residence are currently closed for renovation. Other park and plantation structures remain accessible to the public.

Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site [KS]

Description

The Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site commemorates the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case, which ended legal segregation in the public school system. The site is located within one of four former African American elementary schools, the Monroe Elementary School. The school has been restored to a 1954 appearance. Permanent exhibits address relevant people, places, and events; the feelings of being subjected to discrimination; and the impact of the case. Computer consoles invite visitors to share their own experiences.

The site offers a ranger-led orientation, a 25-minute introductory film, interactive and traditional exhibits, 90-minute tours for students, outreach presentations for students, distance learning programs, Junior Ranger activities, and access to a non-circulating research library. Picnic tables are located in the nearby Cushinberry Park. Access to the library is by appointment only. The website offers historical photographs, an interactive activity, scavenger hunt worksheets for third grade through high school, an electronic field trip, a DVD and teacher's guide, Teaching with Historic Places lesson plans, a web quest, children's activities, and a curriculum kit.

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site [NY]

Description

Vanderbilt Mansion, in terms of architecture, interiors, mechanical systems, road systems, and landscape, is a remarkably complete example of a gilded-age country place, illustrating the political, economic, social, cultural, and demographic changes that occurred as America industrialized in the years after the Civil War.

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

Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site [AL]

Description

The Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site is located on Tuskegee University. Sights include the George W. Carver (circa 1864-1943) Museum and The Oaks, Booker T. Washington's (1856-1915) home. Other figures honored include Dr. Frederick W. Patterson (1901-1988), founder of the United Negro College Fund, and Dr. Robert Moton, who stressed the need for health care for African American veterans. Carver is known for his support of the peanut as an alternative to the southern cotton crop, which had been ravaged by the boll weevil. Washington founded the Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers, later the Tuskegee Institute, to provide education to African American students. Due to the strength of the aeronautical engineering program at the institute, the site was selected by the military to train African American pilots for World War II.

The site offers exhibits, interpretive programs, 30-minute introductory films on George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington, guided tours of The Oaks, period rooms, tours of the historic Tuskegee University, and 2-hour curriculum-based programs. Reservations are required for curriculum-based programs. The Oaks is not fully wheelchair accessible. Films can be played with captions.

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park [OH]

Description

The Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park celebrates the history and accomplishments of Wilber Wright (1867-1912), Orville Wright (1871-1948), and Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906). Other topics addressed include changes in Air Force aviation technology. Sights include two interpretive centers; the Wright brothers' printing office, styled to period; a Wright brothers' bicycle shop; the brothers' third airplane, built in 1905; the Huffman Prairie Flying Field; and Dunbar's final residence. The Wright brothers are best known for creating the world's first successful airplane, while Dunbar was an African American poet celebrated for his 1896 poem "Lyrics of a Lowly Life."

The park offers two introductory films; exhibits; period rooms; guided tours of the Wright Cycle Company building, Wright-Dunbar Village, and the Huffman Prairie Flying Field; guided bicycle tours; children's programs; curriculum-based educational programs; and Junior Ranger activities. Tours of the Wright Cycle Company building are available on request only, and reservations are required for groups. Reservations are required for all school programs. The website offers an interactive timeline.

Fort Davis National Historic Site [TX]

Description

The Fort Davis National Historic Site consists of a surviving frontier Indian Wars fort, used between 1854 and 1891. The soldiers of the fort sought to protect travelers along the San Antonio-El Paso Road and the Chihuahua Trail from Native American attack. The Comanche and Apache peoples proved to be the greatest concern for the fort. Five structures on site have been returned to their 1880s appearances, and are fully furnished. Visitors can also explore 20 other buildings and more than 50 ruins.

The site offers a 15-minute introductory film, period rooms, self-guided tours, one- to three-hour educational programs, costumed interpreters, audio programming, Junior Ranger activities, traveling trunks, hiking trails, and a picnic site. Junior Ranger activity booklets are available in large print and in braille. Reservations are required for school groups. The website offers curricula.