Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

Description

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania houses one of the most significant collections of historic railroad artifacts in the world. Devoted to preserving and interpreting the broad impact of railroad development on society, the Museum displays over 100 locomotives and cars from the mid-19th and 20th centuries, including the priceless Pennsylvania Railroad Historical Collection.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, train rides, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Historic New Orleans Collection [LA]

Description

The Historic New Orleans Collection, housed in a complex of historic French Quarter structures, is a museum, research center, and publisher. The collection's focus is the history and culture of both New Orleans and the Gulf South. The museum includes the Williams Gallery, which hosts temporary exhibits; Louisiana History Galleries, which depict state history; and a house museum, the Williams House. The Williams House is an Italianate townhouse built in 1889. The interior is interpreted in the style of the mid 20th-century, when General L. Kemper and Leila Williams, who instigated the collection, lived on site. This residence is the only French Quarter home open to the public which contains original furnishings and decorative arts objects. The Williams Research Center provides access to more than 35,000 library items and 350,000 artifacts.

The collection offers exhibits, period rooms, self-guided tours of the Williams Gallery, guided tours of the Louisiana History Galleries and Williams House, guided architectural tours, school tours of the Williams Gallery and Louisiana History Galleries, weekly curatorial talks, collections access, educator training programs, a school program about Creole cuisine history, and outreach presentations for school. Reservations are required for groups of eight or more desiring a guided tour and for school tours. The website offers podcasts and a list of teacher resources available upon request.

Marble Valley Historical Society and Museums [GA]

Description

The Marble Valley Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Pickens County, Georgia. To this end, the society operates two historical structures, the Old Pickens County Jail and the Kirby-Quinton Mountain Heritage Cabin. The jail, used between 1906 and 1982, now holds exhibits on county history and law enforcement. The cabin was built in 1975 using logs from an older structure. The interior is styled in antique furnishings and decorative arts.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, and tours. Tours of the jail and cabin are available by appointment.

California State Capitol Museum

Description

Home of the California Legislature since 1869, the State Capitol underwent a major renovation that restored much of the building's original look. Visitors can tour the restored historic offices of the Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Governor of the State of California. The building features exhibits and tours—and possibly an opportunity to watch the legislators debate a bill or cast a vote.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, film screenings, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Greenbelt Museum [MD]

Description

Greenbelt was developed as a New Deal planned community in 1937. A historic house museum presents middle class life during the Great Depression and World War II. Years depicted range from 1936 to 1952. Furnishings within the interior were designed by the New Deal’s Special Skills Division. Thew New Deal, introduced by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt between 1933 and 1935, sought to offer relief to the unemployed and stimulate the economy of the Great Depression era (1929-the late 1930s or early 1940s).

The museum offers guided tours, exhibits, lectures, educational programs, self-guided walking tours, and 90-minute guided walking tours.

Chinqua-Penn Plantation [NC]

Description

The Chinqua-Penn Plantation, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is one of America's great architectural models. Designed in the fashion of an English Countryside Mansion, Chinqua-Penn is notable both for its size and its grandeur. Today, the home stands as a historic house museum and is furnished with the same furniture used by the Penns.

The home offers guided tours and special events. The website offers visitor information, a history of the home, an events calendar, and a virtual tour. In order to contact the mansion via email, use the "contact us" link located on the left side of the webpage.

Quonset Air Museum [RI]

Description

The Rhode Island Quonset Air Museum (QAM) preserves, interprets, and presents Rhode Island's aviation history through collections, research, education, and exhibits. The air museum educates the public in the state's rich aviation legacy and displays collections that document the contributions of Rhode Island to the growth and development of aviation and space exploration.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, and educational programs.

Lincoln Fire Department Museum [NE]

Description

The Lincoln Fire Department Museum presents the history of Lincoln, Nebraska's firefighting department, founded in 1886. Collections include historic firefighting equipment, photographs, and other related artifacts. Highlights include a fire trumpet, period uniforms, and a 1911 American LaFrance motorized fire engine.

The museum offers exhibits.

Studebaker National Museum [IN]

Description

The Studebaker National Museum presents the history of the Studebaker Corporation, an automobile manufacturer; and, in doing so, displays U.S. transportation history. The Studebaker brothers' blacksmith shop, founded in 1852, would eventually be reconfigured as the world's largest wagon manufacturer and the producer of both military and civilian vehicles. Collection highlights include a 19th-century Conestoga wagon; military vehicles from six wars; and the presidential carriages of Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Abraham Lincoln, and William McKinley. Lincoln's carriage is the vehicle he used to travel to Ford's Theater the night of his assassination. The Studebaker Archives house more than 50,000 images, engineering drawings, and 500 motion picture titles comprising the corporate archives of the Studebaker Corporation, the Packard Motor Car Company, and local South Bend industries. The museum structure itself incorporates design elements of Studebaker dealerships of the 1920s and 1930s.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, archival access, and research assistance. Both archival access and research assistance require payment.