Railtown 1897 State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Located in Jamestown, in the heart of California's Gold Country about 100 miles southeast of Sacramento, Railtown 1897 State Historic Park is home to the Historic Jamestown Shops and Roundhouse—an intact and still-functioning steam locomotive repair and maintenance facility, portions of which date back to 1897. This one-of-a-kind attraction combines industrial heritage and railroad history with the lore of Hollywood’s film industry. The Railtown 1897 Interpretive Center and the authentic roundhouse are among the Park's unique year-round offerings.

A second, individual website for the park can be found here.

The park offers train rides, exhibits, tours, and educational and recreational events.

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park presents the opportunity to experience the history of early San Diego by providing a connection to the past. Visitors can learn about life in the Mexican and early American periods of 1821 to 1872, as converging cultures transformed San Diego from a Mexican pueblo to an American settlement. The core of restored original historic buildings from the interpretive period are complemented by reconstructed sites, along with early 20th-century buildings designed in the same mode. The Historic Plaza remains a gathering place for community events and historic activity. Five original adobe buildings are part of the historic park, which includes museums, unique retail shops, and several restaurants. La Casa de Estudillo is a mansion built around a garden courtyard. La Casa de Machado y Stewart is full of artifacts that reflect ordinary life of the period. Some of the other historic buildings include the Mason Street School (California's first public schoolhouse), La Casa de Machado y Silvas, the San Diego Union Printing Office (site of the city's oldest surviving newspaper office), and the first brick courthouse. The Seeley Stables Museum, with newly rehabilitated exhibits on overland transportation, houses one of the finest wagon and carriage collections. Visitors can experience a working blacksmith shop, enjoy music, see or touch the park's burros, and engage in activities that represent early San Diego.

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

Ducktown Basin Museum and Burra Burra Mine Site [TN]

Description

The Burra Burra Mine site consists of 10 buildings located on 17 acres and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The mine was in operation from 1899 to 1959. The site was also the mining company's surface headquarters from 1902 to 1976. Buildings on the site include the mine office, shop building, change house, hoist house, and powder house. Copper mining took place in the Ducktown Basin, site of the Burra Burra Mine and several other mines, from 1850 to 1987. The Burra Burra Mine received its name from the basin's copper deposit, which in turn was named for a copper deposit of similar size in Australia. The museum interprets the basin's history through audiovisual and artifact exhibits and examples of the kinds of equipment used in the mines. The history of the Cherokee Nation, including its removal from the basin, is also presented.

The site offers exhibits.

Dallas Heritage Village at Old City Park

Description

Dallas Heritage Village is a living history museum portraying life in North Texas from 1840–1910. The museum is composed of 38 historic structures and boasts a working Civil War era farm, a traditional Jewish household, elegant Victorian homes, a school, a church, and commercial buildings.

The village offers tours, exhibits, living history demonstrations and reenactments, workshops, and other educational and recreational events.

Newtown Square Historical Preservation Society and Paper Mill House Museum [PA]

Description

The Society owns and maintains several historical sites, including the 1742 Square Tavern, the 1860 Bartram Bridge, and the Paper Mill House Museum. This building provided housing, beginning in the 1770s, for industrial workers who worked in the mills along Darby Creek. A large addition was added circa 1820. The older section was converted to a general store, circa 1845, to provide for the needs of the workers. Darby Creek runs through the property to the east of the building. The building, now owned by Newtown Township, has been restored to house permanent historical exhibits.

The society offers tours and recreational and educational events; the museum offers exhibits and tours.

Old Slave Mart Museum [SC]

Description

The Old Slave Mart, located on one of Charleston's few remaining cobblestone streets, is the only known extant building used as a slave auction gallery in South Carolina. Once part of a complex of buildings, the Slave Mart building is the only structure to remain. When it was first constructed in 1859, it has gone through numerous renovations and today serves as a museum, with a permanent exhibition divided into two main areas. In the orientation area, visitors receive an introduction to the domestic slave trade within the greater historical context of slavery in the United States as well an overview of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In the main exhibit area visitors will also get a closer look at the daily process of slave sales at Ryan's Mart from the perspectives of a number of its historically documented buyers, traders, and enslaved African Americans. This section explains this antebellum slave market's role within Charleston's larger, but concentrated, slave-trading district.

The museum offers exhibits.

National Automobile Museum [NV]

Description

The Museum presents displays recreating four authentic street scenes, representing each quarter of the 20th century, with autos, artifacts, and sounds from each era. Street scenes also display building facades and a timeline of events chronicling the history of the automobile. The Museum also presents changing exhibits.

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

LeRoy Historical Society and Jell-O Gallery

Description

The Society operates the Jello-O Gallery, which presents exhibits related to the history of Jell-O, including a new exhibit that reflects Bill Cosby's influence over 30 years. Visitors can listen to entertainers Kate Smith, Jack Benny, and Lucile Ball as they promote the Jell-O product over the radio air waves and see television personalities Andy Griffith and Gomer Pyle along with Bill Cosby as they pitch Jell-O. The Gallery also houses an exhibit highlighting the evolution of transportation in the 20th century.

The gallery offers exhibits and tours.