Chief Vann House Historic Site [GA]

Description

During the 1790s, James Vann became a Cherokee Indian leader and wealthy businessman. He established the largest and most prosperous plantation in the Cherokee Nation, covering 1,000 acres of what is now Murray County. In 1804 he completed construction of a 2-and-a-half-story brick home that was the most elegant in the Cherokee Nation. After Vann was murdered in 1809, his son Joseph inherited the mansion and plantation. Joseph was also a Cherokee leader and became even more wealthy than his father. In the 1830s almost the entire Cherokee Nation was forced west by state and federal troops on the infamous Trail of Tears. The Vann family lost their elegant home, rebuilding in the Cherokee Territory of Oklahoma. Today the Vann House survives as Georgia's best-preserved historic Cherokee Indian home. A guided tour allows visitors to see the house which features hand carvings, a "floating" staircase, a 12-foot mantle, and fine antiques.

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

Historic Waco Foundation and Historic Houses

Description

The Foundation operates four historic house museums, including the 1858 Greek Revival style Earle-Napier-Kinnard House, the 1877 Italianate Villa East Terrace, the 1868 Greek Revival Style Fort House, and the 1866 McCulloch House. Fort House Museum displays exhibits from the Heritage Collection of textiles, garments, and accessories; and the other homes display seasonal vignettes from the collection. The Foundation itself is housed in the 1890s Queen-Anne-style Victorian Hoffman House.

The houses offer tours, exhibits, lectures, workshops, and other educational and recreational programs.

Kaw Mission State Historic Site

Description

The Kaw Mission houses a museum that tells the story of the building that was home and school to thirty Kaw boys from 1851–1854. The Kaw lived in the Neosho Valley for less than thirty years when, despite an impassioned plea by Chief Allegawaho, the U.S. government removed the Kaw to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). At the museum, visitors can learn more about Chief Allegawaho, the Kaw Indians, and others who lived in the area.

The site offers exhibits, a short film, and tours.

Highland Historical Society and Highlands Mansion and Gardens [PA]

Description

The Highlands Mansion and Gardens is a 44-acre historic site with a late-18th-century Georgian mansion and two-acre formal garden. Surrounded by massive stone walls, the gardens offer an example of early-20th-century estate gardening with an unusual blend of horticulture and architecture. The site features nine outbuildings, including a bank barn, springhouse, greenhouse, smokehouse, and Gothic Revival gardener's cottage.

The mansion offers tours and educational and recreational programs.

Old Salem [NC]

Description

Old Salem includes four museums—the Historic Town of Salem, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), the Old Salem Children's Museum, and the Old Salem Toy Museum— which engage visitors in an educational historical experience about those who lived and worked in the early South.

The museums offer exhibits, tours, demonstrations, and other recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Prudence Crandall Museum

Description

The Museum is housed in the U.S.'s first academy for African-American women, which operated from 1833–1834. The school was run by Prudence Crandall (1803–1890), today designated as Connecticut's state heroine. The museum includes period rooms, changing exhibits, and a small research library.

The museum offers exhibits, research library access, and educational and recreational programs.

New Bern Firemen's Museum [NC]

Description

Established in 1955, the New Bern Firemen's Museum seeks to preserve the history of firefighting in New Bern. The exhibits are original pieces of equipment from the city's past. New Bern was the first city in North Carolina to charter a fire company, and one of the first in the nation; and the city's firefighters hold many world records.

The museum offers exhibits.

Camp Dennison Civil War Museum

Description

Camp Dennison, just outside of Cincinnati, was a military training camp and hospital camp during the Civil War. Today, visitors to Camp Dennison will find the 1804 Waldschmidt House Historical Museum and the Ohio Civil War Museum on site. The area offers information and insight into the Civil War and the happenings at Camp Dennison during this time period.

The museum offers tours, exhibits, and educational and recreational programs.