Dothan Landmarks Foundation [AL]

Description

The Landmark Park in Dothan, Alabama is an outdoor classroom that is designed to educate children about local history and nature. The site has a turn-of-the-century school house and farmstead, a general store, and an Interpretative Center. "Learning Labs" that focus on nature are also available in addition to the history labs.

The site offers history education programs for school groups that include a turn-of-the-century school lesson in the schoolhouse, visit the blacksmith shop and general store, and the Wiregrass farmstead where they will participate in 1900's farm chores and recreation.

Salmon Brook Historical Society and Museums [CT]

Description

The Salmon Brook Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Granby, Connecticut. To this end, the society operates four museum buildings. The circa 1732 Abijah Rowe House has been restored to an early 1800s interior appearance. It also houses a collection of Victorian toys. The circa 1790 Weed-Enders House houses the society research library and a Victorian parlor. The circa 1870 Cooley School House has been furnished and styled to a 19th-century appearance. The circa 1914 Colton-Hayes Tobacco Barn offers a recreated Shaker meeting house; town microcosm; and exhibits on vernacular items, Native American artifacts, and the Civil War.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, and library access. The museum buildings are open between June and September. Reservations are required for groups.

Person County Museum of History

Description

The museum complex includes the Kitchin House, the Male Academy/Parsonage, Woodsdale General Store, Dr. John H. Merritt's office, a tobacco barn, and the Van Hook Subscription School, which is believed to be the oldest in the state. Variety is the emphasis of the museum with something for everyone from sports fans to doll lovers. The Enos Slaughter display honoring the Roxboro native and Hall of Famer features a replica of a statue depicting his winning slide in the 1946 World Series while the Victorian Wedding Room showcases a wedding party of dolls in full wedding garb. Other exhibits focus on Black history; Native Americans; the Titanic; and the military, with uniforms from all branches of the service in all the wars from the American Revolution to Vietnam. Displays are updated often and special commemorative events including historical reenactments are held throughout the year.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, and occasional living history events.

Strawberry Banke Museum [NH]

Description

The Strawberry Banke Museum is a living history museum of one of New Hampshire’s oldest neighborhoods and its history that dates back to the 1600's. The outdoor museum contains 42 historic buildings, the earliest build in 1695, and many contain live demonstrations of craftsmanship, cooking, and other forms of daily life at work.

School groups can tour the neighborhood on their own and partake in a Time Travel Workshop that includes hands-on activities lasting about 90 minutes on a specific, curriculum-based topic. Other programs on architecture, archeology, cooking, Early America, Trade and Maritime history, and the Industrial revolution meet New Hampshire education standards for many grade levels. The site also offers programs for home-schoolers and holiday programs.

Columbia State Historic Park [CA]

Description

The town's old Gold Rush-era business district has been preserved, with shops, restaurants, and two hotels. Visitors have the chance to time-travel to the 1850s, imagining life when gold miners rubbed shoulders with businessmen and the other residents in Columbia. Visitors can experience a bygone era watching proprietors in period clothing conduct business in the style of yesterday. There are opportunities to ride a 100 year-old stagecoach, pan for gold, or tour an active gold mine.

The park offers exhibits, tours, living history events, educational programs, and educational and recreational events.

Mount Desert Island Historical Society and Museums [ME]

Description

The Mount Desert Island Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Mount Desert Island, ME from 1761 to present. To this end, the society operates the 1892 Old School House and Museum, the Farm Stand at the Old School House, the Somesville Historical Museum and Gardens, and the Selectman's Building and Bridge. The Farm Stand presents transportation, craft, and agricultural artifacts. The Somesville Historical Museum grounds contain an heirloom garden. The Selectman's Building, erected in the 1780s, now houses displays on cobbling.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, gardens, an 1894 school day program for third and fourth grade students, and children's activities. Guests wishing to see the Old School House and Museum in June should call ahead to verify that the site will be open when they plan to visit. The Selectman's Building is open July through September.

Hardin County Museums [OH]

Description

The museums of Hardin County, OH, include the Hardin County Historical Museum, a museum of local history, and the turn-of-the-century Hardin Historic Village and Farm. The village consists of the Staadt Log House, general store, Beech Grove one-room schoolhouse, and the Ada Railroad Building, as well as exhibits of historic agricultural equipment. Exhibits within the Hardin County Historical Museum address Native American life, Kenton toys, and the fine arts, among other topics.

The museum is open January through March, and offers exhibits and group tours. The farm is open May through September by appointment only, and offers exhibits.

Woolwich Historical Society and Museum [ME]

Description

The Woolwich Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Woolwich, Maine. To this end, the society operates a local history museum. The museum is located within an 1810 barn, and contains artifacts from the late 18th through early 20th centuries. Collections include archaeological findings, Native American artifacts, maritime paintings and photographs, quilts, sewing artifacts, an early 19th-century loom, domestic devices, decorative arts, and farming tools. Exhibit topics include ice harvesting.

The society offers exhibits. Tours of the 1757 Meeting House can be arranged upon request. The museum is open in July and August. However, it can be made available throughout the year.

Sotterley Foundation and Plantation [MD]

Description

The Sotterley Plantation, built in 1703, is one of the oldest examples of colonial architecture in Maryland's Tidewater region. The plantation was built by James Bowles, a wealthy British tobacco merchant and later owned by the Plater family, which included Maryland's sixth governor, George Plater III. The plantation was favored by George Washington and may have served as a model for his home, Mount Vernon. The site also includes a slave cabin, gardens, and several 18th-century outbuildings.

School groups may take the standard plantation tour (mansion and gardens), a specialized tour with a more personal feel, or a self-guided tour. Groups may opt to dine on the portico after their tour. The site also offers a variety of educational programs for students of all ages, focusing on Maryland history, agriculture and daily life, and the environment.

Tehachapi Museum [CA]

Description

The Tehachapi Museum presents the history of Tehachapi, CA. Exhibit topics addressed include women of note, children, Native American life, early man, costumes and textiles, geology, the railway, and Ice Age animals.

The museum offers exhibits and self-guided area walking tours.