The Hideout [WI]

Description

The Hideout, created in the early 1920's, was the retreat of notorious crime syndicate leader Al Capone (1899–1947). The site includes the main lodge, which contains period furnishings; gun tower for protecting the site when in use by Capone; jail cell; bunk house; and an added museum about the 1920's.

The site offers exhibits and a guided tour.

Campbell House Museum [MO]

Description

Built in 1851, the first house in the elegant neighborhood Lucas Place, the Campbell House was the home of renowned fur trader and entrepreneur Robert Campbell and his family from 1854 until 1938. The museum contains hundreds of original Campbell possessions including furniture, paintings, clothing, letters, carriages, and a unique set of interior photographs taken in the mid-1880s.

The museum offers tours, educational programs, research library access, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Department of Transportation: Digital Special Collections

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Logo, DoT Library
Annotation

This archival site makes available public papers and government investigative and research reports concerning the history of transportation in the U.S. It contains Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and Department of Transportation railroad accident investigation reports from 1911 to 1994, with more than 4,000 reports, as well as aircraft accident reports from 1934 to 1965, with more than 790 reports. "Turner, Fairbank, and MacDonald" papers contains more than 540 public papers of Thomas H. MacDonald, H.S. Fairbank, and F.C. Turner of the Bureau of Public Roads and later the Federal Highway Administration. These include reports, speeches, development plans, and memoranda. Fairbank's papers cover the period 1920 to 1954, MacDonald's from 1919 to 1952, and Turner's from 1947 to 1971. Other documents include civil aeronautics manuals; Federal Aviation Administration research reports; historical Department of Transportation orders; U.S. Coast Guard navigation and inspection circulars from the 1960s to the present; and reports from the 1924, 1926, 1930, and 1934 National Conferences on Street and Highway Safety. Each collection of materials can be searched individually.

Historic Forestville [MN]

Description

Historic Forestville presents life in 1899 Forestville, Minnesota. Once a bustling trade center, in 1868 the Southern Minnesota Railroad built tracks elsewhere, bypassing the town and significantly impacting its economy. 31 years later, the town's 50 residents all worked for Thomas Meighen (1855-1936); and were paid in housing and store credit. The historic town is interpreted via living history docents, who depict the Meighens and their employees. Five historic structures remain on site: the store, Meighen home, barn, carriage barn, and granary. All crops on site are heirloom varieties and are open pollinated.

The site offers one-hour tours guided by living history figures, costumed interpreters, demonstrations, heirloom crops, and summer camps. The website offers historic photographs and a suggested reading list.

The Village Green Heritage Center [CA]

Description

The Village Green Heritage Center presents the history of the Palm Springs area, California. The center is located in two historic structures. The 1884 McCallum Adobe, built for the area's first permanent settler of European descent, houses vernacular items, textiles, Native American artifacts, artworks, and photographs. The 1893 Little House, built of used railroad ties, is set to period.

The center offers period rooms and exhibits.

American Literature on the Web

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Image, "Ralph Waldo Emerson"
Annotation

Provides thousands of links to information on and texts by more than 300 American writers from 1620 to the present. Users can search in five chronological periods for links to timelines, author's sites, related resources, music and visual arts, and "social contexts." Also contains specific categories for electronic text collections, U.S. History, American Studies, poetry, movements and genres, Southern literature, women writers, literary theory, reference works, and "minority literature/multi-cultural resources," including categories for African-American, Asian-American, Jewish-American, and Latino/Latina writers. Authors represented include famous literary figures such as Louisa May Alcott (1832-88), Anna Bradstreet (ca. 1612-72), Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950), Emily Dickinson (1830-86), and Ralph Ellison (1914-94); important public figures, such as William Byrd (1674-1744) and Frederick Douglass (1818-95); and lesser-known figures, such as John Woolman (1720-72) and Amelia Edith Barr (1831-1919).

Offers images of many writers, links in Japanese, a section devoted to Canadian authors, a master list of authors in alphabetical order, and "two site-specific search engines" for word searches of this site and others. Last updated in December 2001, many links are no longer operable; however, as a gateway, it offers an abundance of usable links in a well-designed format for those needing resources on American writers and their times.

Big Delta State Historical Park [AK]

Description

The Big Delta State Historical Park contains Rika's Roadhouse, erected in 1909 to house travelers on the historic Valdez-to-Fairbanks Trail. The structure remained in use until 1947. Part of the original kerosene crate floor has been restored, and the bedroom and kitchen are furnished in the styles of the 1920's and 1930's. Also located in the park is a Washington Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS) station. In 1900, it took a year to send a message from interior Alaska to Washington D.C. and receive an answer. To speed communications, the U.S. Signal Corps, a branch of the Army, built the WAMCATS. McCarty Station, was established in 1907 to maintain the telegraph. The Delta Historical Society maintains a museum housing artifacts, dating from 1900 to 1950, such as blacksmith tools, horse tack, dog harnesses and sleds, household items, and historic photographs.

The park offers guided and self-guided tours, a museum with exhibits, and period rooms.

Fort Worden State Park and the Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum [WA]

Description

For Worden State Park consists of 434 acres of land and shoreline surrounding and incorporating the remains of Fort Worden, which was in use between the late 1800s and 1953. Key sites include historic structures, the Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum, and the Commanding Officer's Quarters. The quarters portray a late Victorian (1890-1910) period setting. The Coast Artillery Museum focuses on artillery mechanisms used to defend Puget Sound between the late 1800s and circa 1945.

The site offers period rooms, exhibits, and picnic sites.

Fort King George Historic Site [GA]

Description

Fort King George is the oldest English fort remaining on Georgia's coast. The fort was in operation from 1721 until 1736, when it was abandoned. Later, in the 19th century, the location was used as a major export center for lumber. Today, visitors can explore the reconstructed Fort King George, as well as three sawmills and tabby ruins which showcase the history of the location as a lumber exporter. The site is also home to a museum.

The fort offers visitors guided tours, interpretive events, a brief historical film, and a variety of exhibits and special events. The website offers a link to the Georgia Teacher's Resource for Touring Historic Sites, specific lesson plans for touring Fort King George, a brief history of the fort, a 15-photo photograph gallery, an event calendar, and visitor information.

Calico Ghost Town [CA]

Description

"Calico was developed in 1881 during the largest silver strike in California. Located at the side of towering King Mountain, the town was named for the variety of colors in the mountain that were "as purty as a gal's calico skirt." Calico boomed during 1881-1896; but the end came to the silver rush in 1896 and by 1904 Calico had become a ghost town." Today, Calico is a fully restored living history location and contains a museum. Visitors to Calico can tour the historic structures that have been restored to their late 1800s state and interact with trained historical interpreters.

The site offers visitor information, an events calendar, museum information, and an area map.