Salisbury House and Gardens [IA]

Description

Salisbury House is modeled after a 15th-century English residence. The home was completed in 1928 for Carl Weeks, owner of Armand Cosmetics. It boasts a collection of more than 10,000 artifacts and objects from around the world—rare books, artwork, decorative arts, furnishings, and weaponry, among other categories.

The house offers tours and exhibits. Two weeks advance notice is required for groups of ten or more. A tour offered specifically for elementary school students is led by a costumed king or queen, who makes comparisons between the 16th-century, the 1920s, and modern day.

Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site [KY]

Description

The Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site preserves the site of a Mississippian village and burial mounds. The Mississippians inhabited the village between 1100 and 1350. Exhibit topics include Mississippian artifacts, architecture, and burial practices. The village no longer exists, but the mounds are accessible. The Mississippians are also referred to as the Mound Builders.

The site offers exhibits, hands-on activities, museum tours, walking trails, educational programs, and a picnic site. The website offers pre-visit activities and guide sheets.

Ute Indian Museum [CO]

Description

The Museum lies on the original 8.65-acre homestead owned by Chief Ouray and his wife, Chipeta. Migrating from the mountains in the summer to river valleys in the winter, the Utes used the abundant plants and animals of the Uncompahgre River valley for food, clothing, and shelter. Built in 1956 and expanded in 1998, the museum offers one of the most complete collections of the Ute people. The grounds include the Chief Ouray Memorial Park, Chipeta's Crypt, and a native plants garden. Recently renovated and expanded, the museum now includes the Montrose Visitor Information Center, gallery space, classrooms, and a museum store. The museum complex includes shady picnic areas, walking paths, and a memorial to the Spanish conquistadors who traveled through the area in 1776.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, and educational programs.

Meadowcroft Museum of Rural Life [PA]

Description

Meadowcroft is the oldest site of human habitation in North America. The Museum of Rural Life is composed of three distinct attractions, the Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Meadowcroft Village, and the Prehistoric Indian Village. The Rockshelter is both an active archaeological site and museum, while the Village and Prehistoric Indian Village both are living history exhibits that give visitors a glimpse into rural life during the 19th century and the lives of the Eastern Woodland Indians during the 17th century respectively.

Meadowcroft offers guided tours, interpretive events, workshops, four field trip programs, and special events. The website offers information regarding upcoming events, visitor information, and a brief history of the site.

Living History Farms [IA]

Description

Living History Farms is composed of three working farms, the 1700 Ioway Indian Farm, the 1850 Pioneer Farm, and the 1900 Horse-Powered Farm, as well as an associated pioneer town and Indian village. In addition, Living History Farms has a new 8,000 foot visitor center, which provides exhibits and presentations.

Living History Farms offers guided tours, exhibits and presentations in the visitor center, field trip programs, school outreach programs, a summer day camp, and interpretive events and activities. The website offers visitor information, an events calendar, a history of the museum, and information regarding all programs offered by the museum.

Adams County Historical Society [PA]

Description

The Adams County Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Adams County, PA, and its people. To this end, the society operates a museum, located within the dormitory of the first U.S. Lutheran seminary, founded in 1826. The building later served as a Civil War hospital. Exhibit topics include iron works, social classes, pre-history, county development between 1745 and 1945, the Civil War and Battle of Gettysburg, mortuary equipment and mourning practices, religion, education, children's toys, furniture making, seminary history, and circa 1900 dorm life. Other holdings include more than 200,000 photographs and negatives, manuscripts, and county records.

The society offers exhibits, guided museum tours, guided behind-the-scenes tours, research library access, and research services. Appointments are required for all tours to ensure docent availability, with tours only being offered to groups of 10 or more. Students and members may use the research library free of charge. A fee is charged for research conducted upon request.

Pilgrim Hall Museum [MA]

Description

The Pilgrim Hall Museum presents the possessions and history of the Pilgrims. Collection highlights include the only portrait featuring a Pilgrim to be painted from life, the Bible of William Bradford (1590-1657), and the sword of Myles Standish (c. 1584-1656). The museum also presents Wampanoag history and a wide variety of paintings depicting important historical U.S. events.

The museum offers exhibits, as well as guided tours for groups. Reservations are required for guided tours.

Toolesboro Indian Mounds [IA]

Description

The Hopewellian mounds at Toolesboro are among the best-preserved and accessible remnants of an ancient culture flourishing from around 200 B.C. to 300 A.D. The five-acre site includes several large surviving mounds, an education center, and a prairie demonstration plot.

The site offers exhibits.

Coronado State Monument [NM]

Description

Coronado State Monument where Francisco Vásquez de Coronado—with 300 soldiers and 800 Indian allies from New Spain—entered the valley while looking for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. Instead he found villages inhabited by prosperous native people. Coronado's party camped near the Tiwa pueblo of Kuaua, one of the many villages encountered by the explorers. Kuaua, a Tiwa word for "evergreen," was first settled around AD 1300 by American Indians who had long known about the fertile land near the Rio Grand. Kuaua is an earthen pueblo excavated in the 1930s by WPA workers, who also reconstructed new ruin walls over the reburied original ruins. A square kiva, excavated in the south plaza of the community, contained many layers of mural paintings. These murals represent some of the finest examples of Pre-Columbian mural art in the United States. Both the kiva and one of the mural layers are reconstructed and open to visitors, while several of the preserved mural segments are open to viewing in the mural room of the visitor center. The visitor center, designed by noted architect John Gaw Meem, also contains prehistoric and historic Indian and Spanish colonial artifacts on exhibit with several hands-on components.

A second website, maintained by the Friends of Coronado, can be found here.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, lectures, workshops, and occasional recreational and educational events.