Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site [SC]

Description

Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site presents the 1859 Greek Revival residence of Representative, Senator, and Governor James Henry Hammond (1807-1864). Hammond is perhaps best known for his words "Cotton is King!," describing the economy of the southern United States. The site includes Hammond's home, heirloom gardens, a lane of 145-year-old magnolia trees, the preserved slave quarters, and 369 acres of surrounding land.

The site offers house tours, lectures, and third- and eighth-grade programs in accordance with state educational standards.

Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm [PA]

Description

The 100-acre Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm presents the daily life of the Pennsylvania German family who lived on the farm between the 1760s and 1913. A farmhouse, originally erected in the 1760s; spring house; cabin; replica circa 1893 schoolhouse; a circa 1850 barn; and nine other structures complete the site's outfit of buildings. Creatures and crops located on site include rabbits, horses, chickens, goats, mules, cows, sheep, pigs, turkeys, flax, wheat, corn, rye, and potatoes.

The farm offers guided tours, hands-on period skill learning, educational programs, home school programs, costumed living history interpreters, children's summer programs, workshops on historical crafts and skills, outreach programs, and a picnic pavilion. Outreach program options include a visit from one of the farm's sheep or chickens. The website offers pre-visit information for teachers, post-visit activities, a farm animal sponsorship program, and a virtual tour.

Hanford Mills Museum [NY]

Description

The more than 70-acre Hanford Mills Museum presents the history of millwork and its cultural and technological influences on society. The site includes the 1843 Hanford Mill, as well as a woodworking shop, hardware shop, gristmill, feed mill, sawmill, and water wheel used to create electrical power. In total, 16 historic structures are located on site. The Hanford Mill is one of the last remaining mills from the 19th century.

The museum offers a 15-minute film; exhibits; tours; nature trails; children's summer apprentice workshops; and educational programs on the historic mill, the science of the mill, ice harvesting, community relationships, the process of creating a product from raw lumber, industrialization, and the harvesting and processing of grain. The website offers a glossary, descriptions of programs and corresponding state educational standards, historic photographs, and resource links, pre- and post-visit activities.

Somerset Place State Historic Site [NC]

Description

One of the upper South's largest antebellum plantations, Somerset Place was home from 1785–1865 to 850 enslaved people, three generations of owners, and around 50 white and two black employees. It once included more than 100,000 wooded, swampy acres bordering Lake Phelps, where such crops as rice were cultivated. Today, the 31-acre site offers a realistic view of 19th-century life on a large North Carolina plantation through seven original buildings and meshes the lifestyles of all of the plantation's residents in one concise chronological social history.

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

Dorothy G. Page Museum and Historic Town Site [AK]

Description

The Dorothy G. Page Museum presents the history of the Wasilla, Knik, and Willow Creek areas, Alaska. Exhibit topics include mining; the Knik Trading Co.; the postal system; the Den'iana Athabascans, the local Native American population; and Joe Reddington Sr. and Dorothy G. Page, founders of the Iditarod. Eight historic structures display the 1917 beginnings of Wasilla.

The museum offers exhibits and tours. Reservations are required for tours.

History Center of Olmsted County and Mayowood Estate [MN]

Description

The History Center of Olmstead County presents the history of Olmstead County, Minnesota. To this end, the center operates as a museum. The museum includes rooms devoted to the decorative arts; a hands-on children's cabin; and exhibits on topics which include IBM, St. Mary's Hospital, the 1883 Rochester tornado, and historical medicine. Artifact collections include textiles, military, decorative arts, Native American, agricultural and mechanical, and medical items. The center also operates the Mayowood Estate historic house museum. Erected in 1911 as the home of Dr. Charles H. Mayo, cofounder of the Mayo Clinic, Mayowood now contains period rooms.

The museum offers exhibits, educational programs, hands-on activities, museum tours, traveling trunks, and library access. Reservations are required for tours. The center also organizes baseball games, played in 1860s style. The Mayowood Estate offers period rooms and guided tours. The website offers virtual exhibits.

Pender County Museum [NC]

Description

The Pender County Museum presents the history of Pender County, North Carolina. Collection highlights include a whiskey still, historical farming equipment, decorative arts pieces, World War II artifacts, and medical artifacts.

The museum offers exhibits, 41 oral history transcriptions from World War II veterans, and library access.

Collier Memorial State Park [OR]

Description

Collier Memorial State Park has an outdoor camping focus but also has one of the finest Logging Museums in the country. The outdoor museum features more than 75 pieces of antique logging and railroad equipment as wells as a Pioneer village.

The outdoor museum offers free, self-guided tours. There are no educational programs designed for school groups. Wagon rides and costumed interpreters may be offered, check before making reservations.

Bannack State Park [MT]

Description

Bannack State Park is the site of Montana's first major gold discovery on July 28, 1862. This strike set off a massive gold rush that swelled Bannack's population to over 3,000 by 1863. As the value of gold steadily dwindled, Bannack's bustling population was slowly snuffed out. There are over 50 buildings that line Main Street with their historic log and frame structures that recall Montana's formative years.

A second website for the site can be found here.

The site offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Lukens National Historic District [PA]

Description

The Lukens National Historic District chronicles the history of the iron and steel works industry in the town of Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The Lukens mill started as a small mill, but grew to become an industrial complex that held the world's largest plate mill. Today, the mill is open to visitors and stands much as it did when it finally closed down.

The historic district offers guided tours, a lecture program, house tours, and field trip programs. The website offers visitor information, a brief history of the Lukens mill, and an events calendar.