Reed Gold Mine [NC]

Description

Reed Gold Mine is the site of the first documented gold find in the United States. It was here in 1799 where Conrad Reed discovered a 17-pound yellow rock, which later turned out to be gold and was sold for only $3.50. From this discovery, gold mining spread gradually to nearby counties and eventually into other southern states. Sections of the mine's old underground tunnels are open for guided tours. The site includes a museum with exhibits on gold mining and several nature trails.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, demonstrations, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Falmouth Historical Society [MA]

Description

The Falmouth Historical Society operates a selection of museums, which preserve and share the history of Falmouth, Massachusetts. Two 18th–century houses display fine art, furniture, and other decorative arts; while exhibits discuss pre–Civil War medical practice, the 1800's whaling industry, and the life of Katharine Lee Bates (1859–1929), author of "America, the Beautiful." The area surrounding the structures contains three gardens—one a Colonial–style flower garden—and a green which has been used for Colonial militia practice.

The society offers period rooms; exhibits; guided walking tours; trolley tours on maritime life and agricultural life; hands-on children's activities; and archives, including maritime log books.

Stumptown Historical Society [MT]

Description

The Stumptown Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the Flathead Valley and Whitefish, Montana. The society operates a museum, housed within a working railway depot, built 1927. Collections include railroad and community artifacts.

The museum offers exhibits, and the website contains a number of historical photographs.

Historic St. Mary's City [MD]

Description

Historic St. Mary's City presents the first capital of Maryland and fourth permanent British New World settlement via living history interpretation. Sites include the reconstructed 1676 State House, the square-rigger Maryland Dove, a working tobacco plantation, and a Yaocomaco Native American settlement. St. Mary's is an early example of government supported freedom of religion.

The museum offers exhibits, interpretive signage, an audio tour, self-guided tours, four hour school tours which complement state educational standards, hands-on activities, and picnic areas. Reservations are required for school and group tours. The website offers a virtual tour and children's activities.

McLean County Historical Society [ND]

Description

The McLean County Historical Society preserves local history, and shares it with the public via a series of museums located in Washburn, North Dakota. These museums consist of two main museum buildings, the Joe Taylor Cabin (1869), the Sioux Ferryboat (in use 1952–1962), and an old school house (1882). The main museum buildings contain fossils, information on Lewis & Clark, farming tools, military memorabilia, models of historic structures, Native American artifacts, coal industry history, musical instruments, train station artifacts, memorabilia from local organizations, and a variety of period room dioramas.

The museums offer exhibits.

Haddon Fire Company Museum [NJ]

Description

The Haddon Fire Company Museum houses two pumpers (dating from 1818 and 1873), helmets, uniforms, a collection of metal toy fire equipment, and the company's original banner. The site has been structured to suggest how a fire house might have looked 200 years ago. The Haddon Fire Company is the nation's second oldest volunteer fire company in continuous existence, founded in 1764.

The museum offers exhibits.

Hose No. 5 Fire Museum [ME]

Description

The Hose No. 5 Fire Museum presents firefighting history via artifacts. Collection highlights include a 1930 McCann pumper, a 1946 Jeep Willys outfitted for fighting forest fires, and a 1917 Garford pumper—one of three Garford fire engines still in existence. The museum is housed in a 1897 fire station. The station remained in use for nearly a century.

The museum offers exhibits.

Garibaldi Museum [OR]

Description

The Garibaldi Museum presents information concerning Captain Robert Gray; his historical vessels, the Lady Washington and the Columbia Rediviva; trade with the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest; and the maritime world of the 1700's. Gray discovered the Columbia River on May 11, 1792. During James Madison's second term as President (1813–1817), the U.S. used this discovery to lay claim to the Oregon Country. Among the museum displays are models of the Columbia Rediviva and Lady Washington; an 8–foot–tall reproduction of the Columbia Rediviva's figurehead; a half model of the same vessel, showing how the ship was provisioned for the long voyage; reproduction seafarers' garb; and musical instruments. One wing of the museum is devoted to the history of the City of Garibaldi, displaying pictures and artifacts from the turn of the century.

The museum offers exhibits, several of which are interactive; scholarships for local high school seniors and Tillamook Bay Community College students; and a 4th grade education program.

Prescott Farm [RI]

Description

Prescott Farm presents Revolutionary War era rural life in Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island. The site consists of public access areas, as well as several historic structures rented to tenant stewards. Historically, General Richard Prescott, commander of the 4,000-strong British occupying force on Aquidneck Island, took the house owned by Loyalist John Overing (the circa 1730 Nichols-Overing House) as his rural headquarters. On July 10, 1777, American Colonel William Barton, under cover of darkness, led a party of 30 or more men in longboats to the farm, where they absconded with Prescott and his aid. Structures on site include the 1812 Robert Sherman Windmill; the Hicks House, built circa 1715 and now called The Country Store; the mid–1700's guard house; and the Sweet-Anthony House, built circa 1730. Prescott Farm’s kitchen and herb gardens are living laboratories that showcase period horticulture as well as contemporary gardening practices. The plant varieties grown in the gardens represent what many Aquidneck Islanders may have used for food, medicine and other utilitarian purposes in the colonial era.

The farm offers exhibits, guided tours, and educational programming.