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.

House of the Seven Gables [MA]

Description

The House of Seven Gables was built in 1668, making it the oldest wooden mansion remaining in New England. Best known for being immortalized in Nathaniel Hawthornes' novel The House of the Seven Gables, today the home holds more than 2,000 artifacts and a research library. A number of other properties have been moved to the site. These are the 1655 Jacobian and Post-Medieval-style Retire Beckett House, the oldest residence in Massachusetts; the 1682 Hoope-Hathaway House (of the same styles as the previous structure); the 1750 Georgian-style Nathaniel Hawthorne House, birthplace of famed dark romanticist author Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864); and the circa 1830 counting house, where a maritime supercargo would have calculated his finances. The grounds also contain gardens.

The site offers tours of the House of the Seven Gables, period rooms, exhibits, hands-on activities, summer camps, educational programs on navigation and daily life in the 1600s Massachusetts Bay area, and an outreach program on colonial trade. The website offers a lesson plan on the Progressive Era (1890s-1920s). Reservations are required for educational programs.

Jimmy Carter National Historic Site [GA]

Description

The Jimmy Carter National Historic Site permits exploration of the community of Plains, Georgia, which profoundly influenced both Jimmy Carter (born 1924) and his wife, Rosalynn (born 1927). Notable features of the site include the Plains High School, the Historic District of Plains, the Plains Train Depot, and the Carter Boyhood Farm. The high school serves as a visitor center and includes several restored rooms and exhibits on Carter's life in Plains, education, and career. The depot, formerly Carter's Campaign Headquarters, focuses on the 1976 Presidential Campaign. The farm, restored to its pre-1938 appearance, was Carter's home between the age of 4 and the time he left for college (1928-1941). Jimmy Carter served as the 39th President of the United States (1977-1981) and was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his international humanitarian efforts.

The site offers a guided walking tour, wayside exhibits, and audio narration by Jimmy Carter at the farm; exhibits in the train depot; and a 25-minute introductory video, period rooms, and exhibits in the high school. The website offers historic photographs. Educators are asked to make reservations. The site is willing to schedule guided day programs or self-guided tours for school groups. Field trip options are designed to meet state educational standards. Contact the site for 11 differently themed traveling trunks and teaching resources.