Arsenal [LA]

Description

Built in 1839, the Arsenal was designed by noted architect James Dakin and is associated with an infamous battle that happened after the Civil War. During the period of Reconstruction several clashes occurred throughout the state between integrated and white supremacist groups. In 1874, the Battle of Liberty Place, wherein the Metropolitan Police of New Orleans were pitted against the Crescent City White League, occurred. The White League prevailed, forcing the Metropolitan Police into the Customhouse and the Cabildo. From the adjacent Arsenal, the Police fought back by shooting cannonballs toward Chartres Street.

Today, the Arsenal offers exhibits and occasional recreational and educational events.

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center [CT]

Description

The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center preserves and interprets Stowe's Hartford home and the Center's historic collections, promotes vibrant discussion of her life and work, and inspires commitment to social justice and positive change. A visit to the Center includes the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, a Victorian Gothic Revival home (1871) which includes Victorian-style gardens; the Katharine Seymour Day House (1884), a mansion adjacent to the Stowe House; and the Stowe Visitor Center (1873), with changing exhibitions.

The center offers exhibits, tours, reference library access, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich and Bush-Holley Historic Site [CO]

Description

Located on the historic Cos Cob Harbor, home of Connecticut's first art colony, the Society's facilities include the National Historic Landmark Bush-Holley House (c. 1730); the Visitor Center, housed in a former village post office (c. 1805); the Hugh and Claire Vanderbilt Education Center, set in a mid-19th century barn and artists' studio; and the William E. Finch, Jr. Archives.

Bush-Holley House is the centerpiece of Bush-Holley Historic Site on Cos Cob Harbor. A unique dual interpretation provides visitors with two distinct museum experiences that portray the history of the house: the era of the Bushes, a colonial family who lived and farmed on the site from 1790 to 1825, and the Cos Cob art colony period from 1890 to 1920. Eight rooms tell a story of change over time, beginning with the turn of the 20th century and moving backward in time to the Federal era. On the outside the historic buildings, landscape and gardens are restored to c. 1900.

The society offers exhibits, educational programs, research library access, and recreational and educational events; the Bush-Holley Historic Site offers tours and occasional recreational and educational events.

Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary [VA]

Description

The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, one of the oldest pharmacies in the nation, exists today to promote a greater understanding of historic public health issues; inspire people with the values of Quaker founder, Edward Stabler; and engage the visitor in an appreciation of local and national history by sharing the story of this business and family's profound effect on the community in such diverse areas as education and the abolition of slavery.

The site offers exhibits.

Redwood Library and Athenaeum [RI]

Description

The Redwood Library and Athenæum is the oldest lending library in America, and the oldest library building in continuous use in the country. Founded in 1747 by 46 proprietors upon the principle of "having nothing in view but the good of mankind," its mission continues over 250 years later.

The library offers tours, exhibits, and all standard library services (including recreational and educational events, though not focused specifically on history).

Constitution Convention Museum State Park [FL]

Description

A boomtown founded in 1835, St. Joseph competed with Apalachicola as a trading port on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The original settlement lasted only nine years, but during its short life the city hosted Florida's first State Constitution Convention. The Museum commemorates the work of the 56 territorial delegates who drafted Florida's first constitution in 1838. Following four more constitution conventions, Florida was finally admitted to the Union in 1845 as the 27th state. Visitors can take a self-guided tour through displays and exhibits of 19th-century life in St. Joseph. Life-size, audio-animated mannequins in the replicated convention hall demonstrate the debate and process of drafting a state constitution.

The park offers exhibits and tours.

Chesterwood Estate and Museum [MA]

Description

The Chesterwood Estate and Museum preserves the home, garden, and studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French (1850-1931). The home contains French's personal collection of European and American paintings and decorative arts, and the gardens are his own design. French is best known for his statue of Abraham Lincoln, located within the Washington D.C. Lincoln Memorial, and The Minute Man of Concord, MA. The site offers one of the largest collections of sculpture by any single artist within the United States. Exhibits discuss French's style, creative process, and historical context.

The estate offers period rooms, exhibits, gardens, walking paths, self-guided tours, guided tours, artist demonstrations and workshops, and picnic tables. Reservations are required for group visits and guided tours. Picnic lunches can be ordered three days in advance. Demonstrations and workshops take place in July through October. The estate is open for visitation between May and October.

Oberlin Heritage Center [OH]

Description

The Oberlin Heritage Center consists of three historic sites—the 1866 Monroe House, 1884 Jewett House, and 1836 School House. The center's goal is to preserve and share the history of Oberlin, OH, including its role in abolitionism, the Underground Railroad, women's rights movements, temperance, education, and the aluminum industry. The Italianate Monroe House was home to General Giles W. Shurtleff, leader of the first African American Civil War regiment from Ohio. The School House has been restored to a pioneer era appearance. The school offered lessons to all students, regardless of wide-spread segregation, as early as 1836. The Jewett House was owned by chemistry professor Frank Fanning Jewett and his wife Frances Gulick Jewett. The couple published works on public health, and rented living space to Oberlin College students.

The center offers guided house tours, group tours, guided history walks, step-on guides for bus tours, and research center access. The research center is open by appointment only, and it offers oral histories in addition to archival materials. Tours are approximately 75 minutes long. Reservations must be made at least one month in advance for groups of 10 or more. History walks are available by reservation only. Audio amplifiers are available. The historic homes are partially wheelchair accessible. The website offers historical photographs; historic games, crafts, and recipes; 1800s children's stories; information on the intersection of the heritage center and state educational standards; and suggested class activities.

Willa Cather State Historic Site [NE]

Description

Willa Cather, Nebraska's Pulitzer Prize-winning author, spent her formative years in Red Cloud. Many of the scenes and characters in her writings are based on the people, streets, and landscapes Cather encountered here in her youth. Visitors to the site encounter eight period structures that influenced her writing, including her childhood home; the Catholic and Episcopal churches; the Garber Bank; the Burlington Depot; and the Pavelka Farmstead, home of Annie Pavelka, the basis for the title character of Cather's most famous novel, My Antonia.

A second website for the site, maintained by the Cather Foundation, can be found here.

The site offers exhibits, tours, research library access, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Alex Haley House and Museum [TN]

Description

Originally known as the Palmer House, this 10-room, turn-of-the-century bungalow home was built in 1919 by Will E. Palmer, the maternal grandfather of Alex Haley (1921–1992). From 1921 to 1929, and during some subsequent summers, Haley lived here with his grandparents. The front porch was often the place where young Haley heard the oral accounts of family history, including stories of Kunta Kinte, the young Mandingo man captured near his West African home. These stories inspired Haley to write about his ancestry in a book called Roots. This 1976 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel has been translated into over 30 languages and has had great influence in stimulating the study of genealogy. Roots was adapted for an eight-part television series, which became one of the most popular programs in television history. On December 14, 1978, the Alex Haley House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It has attracted scholars and other visitors from around the world. Haley is buried on the grounds.

The house offers exhibits and tours.