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.

Saratoga Springs History Museum [NY]

Description

The Saratoga Springs History Museum is located in the old Canfield Casino in Congress Park, and works to preserve and showcase the history of Saratoga Springs, New York.

The museum hosts free lectures and presentations every month and offers a variety of exhibits, educational programs, and group tours of both the tour and Congress Park. The most popular of the educational programs is the Health, History, and Horses program which is designed for fourth graders. The website offers visitor information and information regarding upcoming events.

Historic Prophetstown [IN]

Description

Historic Prophetstown is located in the Wabash River Valley and is dedicated to giving its visitors a glimpse into life in the valley during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In addition, Historic Prophetstown has a reconstructed Woodland Indian Settlement.

Historic Prophetstown offers field trip programs, workshops, guided tours, interpretive events, and occasional special events such as storytelling and fairs. The website offers a teacher's guide to field trips at Historic Prophetstown, visitor information, and information regarding upcoming events and workshops.

Historical Society of Marshall County [IA]

Description

The Historical Society of Marshall County owns and operates four buildings that help to preserve the history of Marshall County. First, the society maintains a local history museum that is open year round. The Glick-Sower House and Country School are open to visitors by appointment and are both carefully preserved 19th century structures. The Matthew Edel Blacksmith Shop is open during the summer and gives visitors a glimpse into the life of a blacksmith.

The society offers visitors guided tours of all of the above structures. Exhibits are available to visitors in the museum. The website offers visitor information and a brief history of each building.

Fort Humboldt State Historic Park [CA]

Description

This remote military post was established in 1853 to assist in conflict resolution between Native Americans and gold-seekers and settlers who had begun flooding into the area after the discovery of gold in the northern mines. Fort Humboldt was formally abandoned in 1870 and rapidly fell into decay. Today, only the hospital building remains out of the original fourteen structures. It is now a historical museum dedicated to telling the story of the Fort and the Native American groups, including the Wiyot, Hoopa and Yurok of this region. In the 1980s the Surgeon's Quarters was reconstructed and there are plans for its establishment as a period house museum. In 2001 an historic herb and vegetable garden was recreated adjacent to the Hospital. The park also includes a Logging Museum and open air displays of historic 19th- through mid-20th-century logging equipment including the Dolbeer Steam Donkey, "Lucy"; the Bear Harbor Lumber Company's Gypsy Locomotive #1; and the Elk River Mill and Lumber Company's #1 "Falk" locomotive.

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

Cannonball House [GA]

Description

The Cannonball House, named for damage sustained in the Civil War, is a Greek Revival Structure dating to approximately 1853. The house contains period furnishings, contents of the founder's parlors of the ΑΔΙΙ and ΦΜ societies, and a collection of Civil War era artifacts. A two-story kitchen house in the back, once the quarters of the family servants, is one of few such surviving structures. Collection highlights include Civil War uniforms, early 1800s face shields, and a circa 1850 Bohemian crystal punch bowl.

The house offers period rooms; exhibits; tours, which can be customized to educational needs and focal topics; educational programming designed to meet state educational criteria; demonstrations at special events; and a December children's Victorian tea party.

Crawford County Historical Society and Baldwin Reynolds House Museum [Pennsylvania]

Description

The Society operates the Baldwin Reynolds House Museum. Built in 1843 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house now displays artifacts from the Baldwin and Reynolds families, as well as other Crawford-area families; 23 rooms are on display, some outfitted to reflect their original use and others used for historical displays.

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

Historic Fort Steuben [OH]

Description

The Historic Fort Stueben is a reproduction fort built upon the site of the original. Dating to 1786, the original fort was built by the First American Regiment for the purpose of protecting surveyors from local Native American groups. Their safety thus bolstered, the surveyors were able to map the Northwest Territory (1789-1803), as requested by the Continental Congress. The site includes the First Federal Land Office (an original structure), officers' quarters, enlisted quarters, a quartermaster's office, artificer shop, hospital, and commissary. Topics covered include early Ohio history and the voyage of Lewis and Clarke (1803-1806).

The fort offers tours and demonstrations of surveying, blacksmithing, and flintknapping.

Issaquah Historical Society [WA]

Description

The Issaquah Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Issaquah, Washington and its immediate surroundings. The society operates two museums, the Gilman Town Hall Museum, which focuses on Issaquah history, and the Issaquah Depot Museum, which displays local railway history. The Gilman Town Hall Museum includes the 1914 town jail cells; research center; and a wide selection of artifacts, including an early water pipe, a Native American fur trade knife, and historical graffiti. The structure started as the town hall in the 1890s. The depot museum collections include a vintage caboose, railroad cars, and historical photographs; and is housed in an 1888 railway depot.

The Gilman Town Hall Museum offers exhibits and guided tours by appointment. The Issaquah Depot Museum offers exhibits and guided tours by appointment. A corresponding depot activity booklet can be downloaded from the website. The society offers educational kits for elementary education, which include appropriate lesson plans.