Benton County Historical Society and Frank G. Ray House [IA]

Description

The Benton County Historical Society operates a historic railroad depot and the 1894 Queen Anne Frank G. Ray House. Between the 1930s and 1985, the main residential structure was divided into six apartments. The historical society is currently restoring the property to its original appearance.

The society offers tours of the Frank G. Ray House, depot tours, and educational programs. Reservations are required for educational programming and depot tours.

Nineteenth Century Willowbrook Village [ME]

Description

Nineteenth Century Willowbrook Village offers the opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in 19th-century daily life. Sights include two historic houses; two historic barns; a reproduction schoolhouse and bandstand; an 1894 carousel; an 1849 Concord stagecoach; a 1945 multi-wing aircraft; and blacksmith, broom maker, cooper, harness maker, printer, woodworker, wheelwright, canoe building, ice harvesting, bicycle shop, machine shop, maple-sugaring, and cobbler displays.

The village offers exhibits, period rooms, group tours, guided student tours, curriculum-based student programs, outreach programs for students, picnic tables, and a cafe. Student tours may be scheduled for May through October. Educational programs are only available in May and June. Approximately 50 percent of the site is wheelchair accessible.

Kansas State Historical Society, Archives, and Museum, Potawatomi Mission, and Stach School

Description

The Society manages and operates the state's Museum of History, which preserves and presents the history of the state. Exhibits include a Cheyenne tipi; a fully-stocked covered wagon ready for a trip on the Oregon Trail; a 1950s diner made by the Valentine Industries; and a locomotive made in 1880 for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. In the same complex, the society maintains the 1847 Potawatomi Mission, once operated as a boarding school for children of the Potawatomi Indians, and the one-room Stach School, interpreted as it was in the 1910s and 1920s.

The society offers research library access and school tours to orient middle- and high-school students to the library; the museum offers exhibits, tours (including standards-based school tours), and occasional recreational and educational events. The mission offers tours, a small exhibit on Kansas missions, and a period classroom for school groups; the Stach School offers school tours and "Rural School Days"—four-hour programs for fourth- and fifth-grade students that introduce them to student life in 1920.

Genesee Country Village and Museum [NY]

Description

Genesee Country Village and Museum's 68 buildings recreate a 19th-century rural village, from the pioneer years, beginning in 1795, to the 1920s. Depending on when they visit, visitors may watch period baseball games and foodways, crafts, and other living history demonstrations, and participate in hands-on activities. The village also houses the John L. Wehle Art Gallery, displaying sporting and wildlife art as well as a changing exhibit on 19th-century life.

The museum offers exhibits, living history demonstrations, period baseball games (on some weekends), classes, summer camps, family pioneer experience weekends, nature trails, and other recreational and educational events.

Coopersville Area Historical Society and Museum [MI]

Description

The Coopersville Area Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Coopersville, MI. To this end, the society operates a museum of local history. The museum is housed within two structures, one of which is an early 20th-century railway depot. Exhibit topics include sawmills, settler lifestyles, rock music, logging, and business. Period settings include an early 20th-century school room and an 1880s drugstore. The museum contains a memorial to rock and roll singer Del Shannon (1934-1990).

The museum offers exhibits, period rooms, and group tours. Reservations are required for group tours.

Rosemount Museum [CO]

Description

The Rosemount Museum is an 1893 Richardsonian Romanesque mansion largely furnished with pieces original to the site. The first owner, John A. Thatcher, co-founded the First National Bank of Pueblo.

The museum offers period rooms, tours, and a restaurant. The site is closed every January for routine maintenance.