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.

The Greenbrier Historical Society and North House Museum [WV]

Description

The Greenbrier Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the Greenbrier area, West Virginia. To this end, the society operates the North House Museum and an archival collection. The archives contain documents dating as far back as the 1700s. The North House Museum, housed in an 1820 residence, presents life between the Revolutionary War and World War II.

The museum offers guided tours, tea and tour programs, historic district walking tours, a one-hour educational program on 1850s manners and games, archival access, and research assistance. A nominal fee is charged for archival access. Reservations are required for educational programs, the tea and tour combination, and walking tours.

Liberty State Park and Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal

Description

From 1892 through 1954, the CRRNJ Terminal stood with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to unfold one of this nation's most dramatic stories: the immigration of northern, southern, and eastern Europeans, among others, into the United States. After being greeted by the Statue of Liberty and processed at Ellis Island, these immigrants purchased tickets and boarded trains at the Terminal to their new homes.

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

Brucemore [IA]

Description

The Brucemore Mansion, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was home to three wealthy Iowa families, the Sinclair, Douglas, and Hall families. The home was built in 1884, and today stands as a historic house museum.

The home offers exhibits in the attached visitor center, guided tours, field trip programs, special events including concerts and interpretive activities, and summer camps. The website offers visitor information, a history of the home, a collection of essays for students, and an events calendar. In order to contact the mansion via email, use the "contact us" link located at the top of the webpage.

Matthew Edel Blacksmith Shop [IA]

Description

This uniquely preserved blacksmith shop is exactly as German immigrant Matthew Edel left it the day he died. Edel, a skilled blacksmith and inventor, operated the shop until his death in 1940. Visitors can see his tools and wares and hear stories about blacksmithing during the age before tractors and automobiles.

The site offers tours and demonstrations.

Isham-Terry House [CT]

Description

The Isham-Terry House is a time capsule of genteel life in turn-of-the century Hartford. Dr. Oliver Isham bought the 1854 Italianate Villa in 1896. Here he had his physician's office and lived with his sisters Julia and Charlotte. Julia and Charlotte occupied the house until the 1970s, defying the urban renewal juggernaut that demolished so many historic homes. The sisters made so few changes and modernizations to the house that crossing its threshold today is like stepping back in time. Room after room is filled with objects of historical and family significance: ornate gaslight fixtures; stained-glass windows; rare books and paintings; Connecticut-made clocks; and memorabilia from Hartford High School, the Ishams' alma mater. Even Dr. Isham's office, with surgical instruments and medicines, was left undisturbed. Dr. Isham also possessed a rare collection of early Connecticut automobile memorabilia.

The house offers exhibits and tours.

Oriskany Museum [NY]

Description

The Oriskany Museum, located in Oriskany, New York, is focused on chronicling the history of the Battle of Oriskany in 1777, the town of Oriskany, NY, and the carrier USS Oriskany. The museum is operated by the Oriskany Reunion Association, which coordinates reunions and memorabilia sales for the now-defunct USS Oriskany. The carrier was recently sunk and now serves as the world's largest artificial reef.

The museum offers tours and artifacts from the history of Oriskany and the USS Oriskany. The website offers a detailed history of the ship, a history of the town, and a history of the battle. In addition, the website offers visitor information regarding the museum.

East Linn Museum [OR]

Description

The East Linn Museum presents the history of the Sweet Home, Oregon area through period rooms and exhibits of vernacular items. Collection highlights include historical cameras, telephones, and firearms. The period covered extends from 1852 to present.

The museum offers period rooms and exhibits.

Nevada County Historical Society and Museums [CA]

Description

The Nevada County Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Nevada County, California. To this end, the society operates the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum, North Star Mine Powerhouse and Pelton Wheel Museum, Firehouse Museum, and Searls Library. The railroad museum presents local transportation history. Collection highlights include seven historic railroad cars, dating from 1889 to circa 1940. The mining museum's collection highlights include a working Cornish pump; working stamp mill; and the largest Pelton wheel, a mechanism for supplying air to power the mines, ever made. The Firehouse Museum, housed in an 1861 structure, presents exhibits on the Maidu people, the Donner Party, Chinese-American daily life and religion between 1877 and 1938, and vernacular items dating from circa 1850 to present.

The society offers monthly speakers and both library and archive access. Research assistance is available for a fee. The railroad museum and firehouse museum offer exhibits. The mining museum offers self-guided tours, period dioramas, and exhibits. The website offers digital historical and genealogical databases.

Hammond Castle Museum [MA]

Description

The Hammond Castle Museum serves as both a historic home museum and a museum to the life and inventions of John Hays Hammond, Junior (1888-1965), inventor of radio wave remote control and possessor of 400 patents. The structure, completed in 1929, was designed to emulate Medieval castles, as Hammond was an avid collector of Roman, Medieval, and Renaissance artifacts and felt that architecture, above all else, gives one the sense of the existence of history and lives past.

The museum offers exhibits, period rooms, self-guided tours, guided tours, and educational programs. As the structure is historic, it was built prior to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act; and, unfortunately, is not handicapped accessible. Reservations with at least two weeks advance notice are required for all school groups. Food is not permitted on the grounds.