Toolesboro Indian Mounds [IA] Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/08/2008 - 13:35
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.

Fort Yamhill State Heritage Area [OR]

Description

Fort Yamhill was built in the mid 1800s in order to regulate the eastern border of the Grande Ronde Agency Coastal Reservation. The fort was in use from 1856 through 1866, and now offers visitors a glimpse into the life of the soldiers and American Indians during this period in Oregon's history.

The park offers tours of the historic fort. The website offers basic historical and visitor information.

St. Ignatius Mission [MT]

Description

St. Ignatius Mission is an 1890s religious structure located in the present-day Flathead Indian Reservation. The mission contains 61 paintings by one of its brothers. Paintings include depictions of the Salish Lord. A museum presents artifacts related to both the mission and Native American peoples.

The mission offers exhibits.

Eiteljorg Museum of the American Indians and Western Art [IN]

Description

The Eiteljorg Museum of the American Indians and Western Art presents Western-themed works of art and cultural information on Native Americans nation-wide. The museum collections are particularly strong in Plains and Southwest Native American artifacts. Displays emphasize Native American cultural diversity. Artworks include Modernist pieces, contemporary works in traditional manners, and the works of the Taos Society of Artists (1915-1927).

The museum offers museum and thematic guided tours, optional field trip studio activities led by artists-in-residence, hands-on cart programs, an interactive children's exhibit area, library access, 10 educational programs, and sack lunches. Reservations are required for school groups, as well as for any sack lunch needs. The website offers audio and video podcasts, a teacher's guide, educational activity suggestions, and lesson plans.

Fort Verde State Historic Park [AZ]

Description

The Fort Verde State Historic Park commemorates Fort Verde, which was in use between 1865 to 1891, rendering it an Indian Wars period fortification. By 1865, area settlers had demanded protection from the local Native American peoples, and the Army responded by sending volunteer units—almost entirely of Mexican heritage. A number of original structures still stand. Visitors can enter three historic living quarters (those of the commanding officer, bachelors, and the doctors and surgeons), furnished in the style of the 1880s.

The park offers exhibits, period rooms, an introductory film, and a picnic area.

Ransom County Historical Society [ND]

Description

The Ransom County Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Ransom County, North Dakota. To this end, the society operates a museum, located within an old general store. Other buildings in the museum complex include a single-room school, old flour mill, barn, and residence.

The museum offers exhibits and group tours. Appointments are required for group tours.

Idaho State Historical Society

Description

The Idaho State Historical Society is primarily a state-wide preservation advocacy organization. However, the society does operate the Idaho Historical Museum and an exhibit on military history located in the Old Idaho Penitentiary. The museum covers topics inclusive of prehistoric life, the fur trade, the gold rush, pioneer life, Native American life, and area Chinese and Basque populations. It also offers 18th- and 19th-century period rooms. The military exhibit offers artifacts from as early as the Middle Ages.

The museum offers tours, exhibits, period rooms, collections access for researchers, a monthly brown bag series, traveling exhibits, traveling trunks, student worksheets, educational marionette shows, hands-on activities, outreach programs, slide shows for rent, and other educational programming. The society also offers a public archives and research center. The website offers lesson plans, a club for fourth graders with activity downloads, and reading materials for young children.

Bourne Historical Society [MA]

Description

The Bourne Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Bourne, Massachusetts. To this end, the society operates the Aptucxet Trading Post Museum. Originally built in 1627, the trading post was the site of the first private commercial enterprise to use wampum. Today it sits on a complex with the circa 1893 Gray Gables Railroad Station, built for U.S. President Grover Cleveland (in office 1893-1896); a replica salt works; a historic windmill; and an herb garden. The Jonathon Bourne Historical Center, located in an 1897 library, also offers local history exhibits.

The society offers exhibits, archival access, and an annual maritime lecture series.

Sibley House Historic Site [MN]

Description

The Sibley House Historic Site consists of four historical limestone structures, dating to 1825 through 1853 when Mendota, Minnesota was an important player in the U.S. fur trade with the Dakota people. Begun in 1838, the home of Henry Hastings Sibley is the best known of the four. Sibley served as regional manager of the American Fur Company and the first Minnesota governor. Structures accessible to the public include the 1840 home of Jean-Baptiste Faribault, trader and hotelier, and an 1843 fur company cold store.

The site offers tours and period rooms.

Holland Land Office Museum [NY]

Description

The Holland Land Office Museum presents the history of Genesee County, New York. Topics covered include the Tonawanda Indian Reservation, the Seneca people, military history, and Victorian life. The collection contains approximately 16,000 artifacts—2,000 of which are available for viewing at a given time. The collection is supplemented by a series of temporary exhibits.

The museum offers exhibits, customizable tours, and more than 15 summer education programs. Reservations are required for tours.