Three Village Historical Society and History Center [NY]

Description

The Three Village Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Old Field, Poquott, the Setaukets, and Stony Brook, New York. To this end, the society operates exhibits of local history located within the circa 1800 Bayles-Swezey House.

The society offers exhibits, archival access, research assistance, 75-minute historic walking tours, guided field trips to Setauket, educational programs on local and Long Island history, and educational outreach programs. Appointments are required for archival access. Reservations are required for educational programs, and these programs are only available to elementary and junior high students in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Outreach programs are only available to elementary and junior high students in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Palmer Historical Society and the Colony House Museum [AK]

Description

The Palmer Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Palmer, Alaska. To this end, the society operates the Colony House Museum. Palmer was founded in 1935 as the Matanuska Colony, one of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "resettlement communities" of the New Deal, designed to help pull the U.S. economy out of the Great Depression and alleviate unemployment. The Colony House Museum is an original colony home, restored to its 1936 through 1945 appearance. It is one of five models which were available to the families who moved to the Matanuska Valley from the Midwest.

The society offers period rooms.

Senator John Heinz History Center [PA]

Description

The Senator John Heinz History Center is the largest history museum in the state of Pennsylvania, and covers 250 years of Pittsburgh's history. The center includes the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, which presents Pittsburgh's sports history. Seventy exhibits in the sports museum are interactive, and the site also makes extensive use of audio and visual presentations. The research center, which offers sources relevant to Western Pennsylvania history, holds more than 400,000 publications and 3,500 archival collections. A substantial amount of archival documents relate to Jewish life. The center also claims strong African American and Italian American holdings. The center is affiliated with the Meadowcroft Museum of Rural Life, which includes the oldest known site of human habitation within the entirety of North America. This museum is listed separately within the National History Education Clearinghouse database.

The center offers interactive and traditional exhibits, audiovisual presentations, a research center, research assistance, Scout programs, and a deli. Offerings specifically for schools include guided tours, self-guided tours, hands-on activities, classes, and educational programs. Students, teachers, and school staff members are admitted to the research center free of charge with a valid school ID. Wheelchairs are available for use on site. A sign language interpreter is available with advance notice. The website offers videos and audio files.

Aycock Birthplace [NC]

Description

Charles B. Aycock was born into a simple, rural home in 1859. In 1900 he was elected governor of North Carolina and dedicated his life to improving public education in the state. An 1893 one-room schoolhouse, moved to the site of his birthplace, underscores Aycock's commitment to education. This typical 19th-century family farm includes the main house, separate open-hearth kitchen, corn crib, and smokehouses.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, demonstrations, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Jefferson County Historical Society and Museums [Nebraska]

Description

The Jefferson County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and passing on the history and culture of Jefferson County, NE. It operates a number of historical sites, including historic Steele City, where visitors can see a working blacksmith shop, a livery barn, a school, a turn-of-the-century bank, and an 1880s stone church as well as an antique farm machinery display; the 1869 District 10 School; the 1872 W.C. Smith House and Lime Kiln, which features exhibits explaining the lime industry, as well as period furniture; the Rock Island Depot Railroad Museum, which displays rail history exhibits; and the 1883 Diller Bank Building Museum, which displays artifacts from the history of Diller, NE.

The sites offer tours and exhibits; the society offers occasional recreational and educational events.

Ashland: The Henry Clay Estate [KY]

Description

The Ashland estate consists of an 18-room mansion, outbuildings, exhibit space, formal gardens, and walking trails. Henry Clay (1777-1852) temporarily quelled the regionalism which eventually led to attempted secession, helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent, served as Speaker of the House, supported South American governments, and introduced the Amicus Brief. Clay was also a Senator, Secretary of State, lawyer, farmer, and horseman. The structure itself was completed circa 1812, in the Federal style. Rebuilt in 1857 by later family members, the home is still similar to its original appearance but now includes Italianate, Victorian, and Greek Revival elements.

The estate offers one-hour guided mansion tours, period rooms, thematic and general guided tours for students, exhibits, self-guided outbuilding tours, gardens, trails, and a cafe. It is advisable to schedule as far in advance as possible for school visits. The website offers pre-visit handouts, a trivia game, and suggested reading lists for students.

West Volusia Historical Society, Museums, and Memorial Garden [FL]

Description

The West Volusia Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of West Volusia County, Florida. To this end, the society operates the 1886 DeLand House Museum, Robert M. Conrad Research and Educational Center, the 1922 DeLand Memorial Hospital, and the Lue Gim Gong Memorial Gardens. The hospital was used for medical purposes until 1948. A separate building behind the main structure served the local African American population. The hospital addresses medical history and African American life, as well as housing collections of elephant figurines, historic toys, and military artifacts. The grounds include two gardens, one of which is devoted to offering a sensory experience for visually and physically impaired visitors. The Lue Gim Gong Memorial Gardens honor Lue Gim Gong (1860-1925), creator of a number of grapefruit and orange varieties.

The DeLand House Museum offers period rooms. The Conrad Center offers exhibits, oral histories, and a research library. The DeLand Memorial Hospital offers period rooms, exhibits, and gardens. The society also offers outreach speakers, a memorial to Lue Gim Gong, and access to his grave site.

Fayette Historic State Park [MI]

Description

Fayette Historic State Park houses a Historic Townsite, a representation of a once bustling industrial community. On the second Saturday of August the annual Heritage Day celebrates Fayette as a bustling iron smelting company town. Today, visitors to Fayette State Park see 19 structures including several public and commercial buildings, residences which housed the people of Fayette, and the stabilized ruins of the furnace complex. Attractions include a visitor center, museum exhibits, a 26-station walking tour, and a scale model of the original townsite.

The park offers exhibits, tours, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Howard County Center of African American Culture [MD]

Description

The Howard County Center of African American Culture presents local and national African American history. The site includes both period rooms depicting typical 19th-century African American residential settings in Howard County, Maryland and exhibits celebrating the inventions and artwork created by African Americans.

The center offers period rooms and exhibits.