Salmon Brook Historical Society and Museums [CT]

Description

The Salmon Brook Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Granby, Connecticut. To this end, the society operates four museum buildings. The circa 1732 Abijah Rowe House has been restored to an early 1800s interior appearance. It also houses a collection of Victorian toys. The circa 1790 Weed-Enders House houses the society research library and a Victorian parlor. The circa 1870 Cooley School House has been furnished and styled to a 19th-century appearance. The circa 1914 Colton-Hayes Tobacco Barn offers a recreated Shaker meeting house; town microcosm; and exhibits on vernacular items, Native American artifacts, and the Civil War.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, and library access. The museum buildings are open between June and September. Reservations are required for groups.

Underground Gold Miners Museum [CA]

Description

The Underground Gold Miners Museum presents the history of Alleghany, California and its mining district; the Sixteen to One Mine; and area geology. Areas of focus include underground hardrock mining technology and equipment, as well as the lives of California's underground gold miners. The Sixteen to One Mine remained an active gold mine between circa 1896 and 1965.

The museum offers exhibits, and is open for special events and by appointment only.

Newport Restoration Foundation: Rough Point, Whitehorne House, and Prescott Farm [RI]

Description

The Foundation maintains and operates historical sites throughout Newport, including Rough Point, the Whitehorne House, and Prescott Farm. Frederick W. Vanderbilt built the English Manorial house Rough Point in 1889 on a dramatic, windswept promontory on Newport's Cliff Walk, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The Whitehorne House, housed in a Federal period mansion, features some of the best examples of Newport and Rhode Island furniture from the late 18th century. Prescott Farm offers the visitor a glimpse of early New England buildings and landscape. The farm buildings and land trace their origins to the early 18th century.

The foundation offers tours; Rough Point offers exhibits and tours; the Whitehorne House offers tours; Prescott Farm offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Conestoga Area Historical Society [PA]

Description

The Conestoga Area Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the Penn Manor Area, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. To this end, the society operates the circa 1850 Harnish House; an outdoor oven; a local history museum, housed in a 19th-century tobacco barn; and a working blacksmith shop. The Harnish House contains a selection of reproduction furniture, and addresses the life of the Harnish family. Society highlights include a Conestoga wagon and a tobacco stripping display.

The society offers exhibits and demonstrations.

Great Brook Farm State Park [MA]

Description

The 1,000-acre Great Brook Farm State Park preserves long-standing agricultural, Native American, and milling histories. Cellar pits mark the site of a 17th-century English mill community, portions of the grounds have been considered sacred to local Native American groups, and modern farming continues an on site Holstein dairy tradition which began prior to 1950.

The park offers dairy tours, more than 20 miles of trails, and outdoor activities. Dairy tours are offered May through October.

Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village [MI]

Description

The Henry Ford Museum presents U.S. ideas and inventions. Exhibit topics include agriculture; clockwork; automobiles; Presidential limousines; furnishings; manufacturing; jewelry; home appliances; R. Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion House, a 1940s house of the future; aviation; human rights within the United States; silver; pewter; transportation; and 20th-century generations. Collection highlights include Abraham Lincoln's chair from Ford's Theatre, one of George Washington's camp beds, a replica of the Wright brothers' Flyer, the limousine in which John F. Kennedy was assassinated, a Gothic steam engine, and the Goldenrod. The Goldenrod broke world land speed records in 1965. The 80-acre Greenfield Village incorporates 83 historic structures. District themes include the railway, an 1880s working farm, Thomas Alva Edison, home life between the 17th and 20th centuries, historic skills, and the Model T Ford.

The museum offers exhibits, three curriculum-based guided activity programs, one curriculum-based dramatic presentation, and cafes. The village offers exhibits, interactive activities, the opportunity to ride historic vehicles, eight curriculum-based dramatic presentations, a self-guided activity for students, restaurants, and a food stall. The site also offers teacher workshops, a teacher fellow program, summer camps, Scout programs, and a youth mentorship program. Wheelchairs and electric scooters are available for use on site. The village is closed between January and mid-April. The website offers virtual exhibits, teacher's guides, student exploration guides, suggested pre- and post-visit activities, a club for teachers, and audio tour downloads.

Matheson Museum [FL]

Description

The Matheson Museum consists of four entities—the Matheson Museum, Matheson House, Tison Tool Museum, and Sweetwater Park. The Matheson Museum presents the history of Alachua County, FL. Permanent exhibits address the Timucuan; Spanish occupation; and Willam Bartram, 18th-century botanist. The 1867 Matheson House has been restored to period style. It is used to discuss the history of Gainesville, FL and the family which once owned the home. The Tilson Tool Museum presents historic tools, and honors the labor which was exerted to create Alachua County's structures. Sweetwater Park is an outdoor site which provides a brief overview of Gainesville history.

The museum offers period rooms, exhibits, guided tours, interactive tours for students, group tours, and research services. The Matheson House and Tilson Tool Museum are open by appointment only. Reservations are required for group and student tours. A fee is charged for one hour of research conducted upon request. The website offers a curriculum guide.

Mount Desert Island Historical Society and Museums [ME]

Description

The Mount Desert Island Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Mount Desert Island, ME from 1761 to present. To this end, the society operates the 1892 Old School House and Museum, the Farm Stand at the Old School House, the Somesville Historical Museum and Gardens, and the Selectman's Building and Bridge. The Farm Stand presents transportation, craft, and agricultural artifacts. The Somesville Historical Museum grounds contain an heirloom garden. The Selectman's Building, erected in the 1780s, now houses displays on cobbling.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, gardens, an 1894 school day program for third and fourth grade students, and children's activities. Guests wishing to see the Old School House and Museum in June should call ahead to verify that the site will be open when they plan to visit. The Selectman's Building is open July through September.

George Ranch Historical Park [TX]

Description

The George Ranch Historical Park presents living history interpretation of the history of Fort Bend County, Texas and neighboring areas. The site consists of a 23,000-acre working ranch, which interprets the periods between 1824 and circa 1940. Sites include the 1830s Jones Stock Farm, 1860s Ryon Prairie Home, a sharecropper's farm, chuck wagon camp, blacksmith shop, the 1890s Davis Victorian Mansion, a family cemetery in use between the 1820s and 1916, and the 1930s George Ranch House.

The park offers period rooms; hands-on activities; guided group tours; self-guided tours; 11 educational program options for students, including two role-playing programs; a homeschool day program; demonstrations; home tours; living history interpreters; period lunches; a tram; and a cafe. Groups desiring guided tours must include at least 15 individuals. Meal options are available for groups.

Osceola County Historical Society, Museum, and Pioneer Village [FL]

Description

The Osceola County Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the Kissimmee and St. Cloud areas, Florida. To this end, the society operates a museum and a historical village, which depicts early pioneer life in the state of Florida. Permanent exhibits include general local history and the county citrus industry. The village includes a schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, citrus packing house, wash and smoke house, residence, cattleman camp, country store, and water tower.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, field trip programs about pioneer or cattleman life, outreach presentations for schools, a high school history club, a Scout program, continuing education programs, summer camps, and research library access.