Fenton History Center [NY]

Description

The Fenton History Center presents the history of Chautauqua County and Jamestown, New York. The center is housed in the 1863 Italian Villa-style mansion of Governor Reuben E. Fenton (1819-1885).

The center offers guided tours; self-guided tours; period rooms; research assistance; a research library; exhibits; a monthly history club with activities and field trips; and roughly 30 educational programs for students, available at the center or presented by an interpreter as outreach programming. The website offers web-exclusive exhibits. Reservations are required for guided tours and education programs.

Andrew Low House [GA]

Description

Beginning in 1849, the Andrew Low House belonged to cotton factor, Andrew Low, and his family. Low's daughter-in-law, Juliette Gordon Low, founded the Girl Scouts after being inspired by her friend Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the British Boy Scouts. The Italianate structure contains period furnishings.

The house offers guided tours. Reservations are required for groups of 10 or more.

Los Adaes State Historic Site [LA]

Description

Los Adaes State Historic Site commemorates the Presidio Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Los Adaes (Fort of Our Lady of Pilar at the Adaes), built by the Spanish in reaction to increasing French activity in the vicinity of east Texas. Los Adaes became the capital of the province of Texas in 1729. Although it would retain this title for 44 years, life at Los Adaes was difficult enough that inhabitants quickly became involved with illicit trade with the French in order to prevent starvation.

The site offers a historic structure, educational programs, and tours.

Gamble Plantation Historic State Park [FL]

Description

This antebellum mansion was home to Major Robert Gamble and headquarters of an extensive sugar plantation. It is the only surviving plantation house in South Florida. It is believed that Confederate Secretary of State, Judah P. Benjamin, took refuge here after the fall of the Confederacy, until his safe passage to England could be secured. Today, the mansion is furnished in the style of a successful mid-19th-century plantation.

The park offers tours.

Brick Store Museum [ME]

Description

The Brick Store Museum presents the history of Kennebunk, Maine. The museum collection consists of more than 70,000 artifacts. Collection highlights include Maine's largest collection of World War I and II posters; maritime artifacts; possessions of historical novelist Kenneth Roberts (1885-1957) and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and dramatist Booth Tarkington (1869-1946); and artworks by Impressionist painter Abbott Fuller Graves (1859-1936) among others.

The museum offers museum tours, walking tours of the historic district, exhibits, and archival and non-circulating library access. Reservations are required for group tours. Please call ahead for library or archival visits. The website offers virtual exhibits.

Lynn Heritage State Park [MA]

Description

Lynn Heritage State Park celebrates the history of Lynn, Massachusetts. Following the arrival of John Adam Dagyr in 1750, the settlement began its ascension to the position of being the nation's main shoe supplier. Lynn is also known for Lydia Pinkham (1819-1883), creator of an early commercial tonic for relieving menstrual cramps, and Elihu Thomson (1853-1937), who founded General Electric with Thomas Edison in 1892.

The park offers exhibits, self-guided tours, and both interpretive and outreach programs.

Wilmington Historical Society [NY]

Description

The Wilmington Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Wilmington, New York.

The society offers two outreach programs. In the first, listeners learn about hunting bees, trapping bears, and the equipment used for both skills, which were not uncommon in the early 1900s. The second is a slide show presentation which compares the Wilmington of today to its past.

Historical Society of Talbot County [MD]

Description

The Historical Society of Talbot County seeks to preserve and share the history of Talbot County, Maryland. To this end, the society operates a museum and three historic residences. The residences are the circa 1795 cottage of cabinetmaker Jospeh Neall, the 1805-1810 Federal-style townhouse of Joseph's brother James, and a partial reconstruction of an early homestead. The townhouse contains period furnishings. The society collections include more than 10,000 artifacts, archives, and at least 100,000 photographs. Roughly 15 percent of the artifact collection is on view at any given time. Collection highlights include the sign of a local suffrage group, local packing labels, illustrated journals by Quaker William E. Bartlett (1793-1865), and a lithograph by artist Ruth Starr Rose (1887-1965).

The society offers exhibits, historic home tours, a self-guided tour of Easton's downtown, a self-guided driving tour of Frederick Douglass' life in the area, gardens, and period rooms. Reservations are required for group tours.

Alpine Historical Society [CA]

Description

The Alpine Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Alpine, California. To this end, the society operates two museums: the 1896 Dr. Nichol's House and the 1899 Adam and Caroline Beaty House. The former housed Alpine's first doctor, who was female. A small schoolhouse was later attached to this structure. Exhibits focus on a different topic each year.

The society offers exhibits, access to historical newspapers, and a local essay contest for students. The website offers historical photographs.