Columbus Historical Preservation Trust and Museums [TX]

Description

The Columbus Historical Preservation Trust operates the 1886 Stafford Opera House and Museum, Dilue Rose Harris House Museum, Alley Log Cabin and Tool Museum, Tate-Senftenburg-Brandon House Museum, and the the Mary Elizabeth Hopkins Santa Claus Museum. The Dilue Harris house, Tate-Senftenburg-Brandon house, and Santa Claus museum are listed separately within this database. The opera house is Texas' largest flat-floored opera house in existence today.

The opera house offers dramatic performances and dinners. The trust also offers exhibits within its other museums, educational workshops, and seminars. Reservations are required for groups of seven or more who would like a historic house tour.

Sterling Historical Society and Little Red Schoolhouse Museum [NY]

Description

The Sterling Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Sterling, NY. To this end, the society operates the Little Red School House Museum. Housed within an 1825 schoolhouse, the museum contains exhibits on military history, area industry, and local artifacts, among other topics.

The society offers exhibits and an hour-and-15-minute narrated boat tour of Fair Haven's bay.

Catoctin Furnace [MD]

Description

The Catoctin Iron Furnace operated from 1776 until 1903, and is located in Cunningham Falls State Park. The furnace site was once a booming industrial complex and community, and utilized the surrounding woodlands for fuel provision. Today, the state park encompasses both the old furnace and the surrounding landscape, and offers visitors an impressive variety of outdoor activities, from hiking to fishing. In addition, visitors can explore much of the Catoctin Furnace historic site.

The site offers visitor information and maps for the state park, along with a fairly detailed history of the furnace.

Georgetown Loop Historic Mining and Railroad Park [CO]

Description

An engineering marvel originally built in 1884, the Georgetown Loop railroad fulfilled the hopes of Georgetown citizens to become a prosperous settlement connected to Denver and points east. In connecting Silver Plume and Georgetown, towns over 2 miles apart, the tracks scaled an elevation of 640 feet over mountainous terrain, requiring trestles, cuts, fills, loops, and curves totaling 4.5 miles. Today the Loop is once again a popular tourist attraction and an uncommon way to see the Clear Creek Valley. Along the route visitors may stop for guided tours of a historic silver mine. The park is located on 978 acres and includes an 1884 depot, the Morrison Interpretive Center, two 1860s mines, an 1871 mill building, four reconstructed mine buildings, a locomotive maintenance building, the 1874 Pohle House, and a new rolling stock shelter.

A second, individual website for the park can be found here.

The park offers a short film, train rides, tours, and exhibits.

Lyndhurst [NY]

Description

Lyndhurst was one of the most famous examples of Gothic Revival architecture in 19th-century America and served as the New York home to former New York City mayor William Paulding, merchant George Merritt, and railroad tycoon Jay Gould, respectively. The site serves as a great example of money and power in the Gilded Age.

Lyndhurst offers 30-minute group tours and award-winning education programs (on-site or in-schools) designed to follow New York State standards of learning.

Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site [TX]

Description

The 293-acre Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site is located on the site of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence. The park is home to a reconstructed Independence Hall; the Star of the Republic Museum, which covers the history of the Republic of Texas (1836-1846); and Barrington Living History Farm, home of Dr. Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas. Numerous walking trails and a picnic area are also available in the park.

The visitor center offers interactive exhibits, snack food for purchase, and a gift shop. Daily guided tours of Independence Hall are offered as are scheduled group tours. Barrington Living History Farm offers tours of the Anson Jones home focusing on the politics, economics, and daily life of 1850s Texas. The Star of the Republic Museum offers exhibits, audiovisual presentations, educational programs, and houses an extensive research library. Age appropriate school tours are available at all three sites and align with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). An educator's packet for Barrington Living History Farm is available online as is www.txindependence.org , a new website created for 4th & 7th grade Texas history students.

Bill and Bonnie Daniels Firefighters Hall & Museum [MN]

Description

The Firefighters Hall & Museum is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the history of firefighting in Minneapolis, as well as working to educate local children on fire safety and firefighting in general. The museum boasts an impressive collection of firefighting memorabilia and equipment.

The museum offers exhibits and tours. The website offers very basic visitor information.

Cape Ann Historical Museum [MA]

Description

The Cape Ann Museum is located in downtown Gloucester, MA, and focuses on the history and culture of America's oldest fishing port. The museum hosts several permanent exhibits, focusing on the fishing industry, fine art, and the granite industry. The museum also contains a library and archives, which is open to the public.

The site offers visitor information, information regarding current and special exhibits, general information regarding the research library and educational programs, and an online museum shop.

Steamtown National Historic Site [PA]

Description

Visitors to Steamtown can feel the heat from the firebox, hear the bell and whistle, smell the hot steam and oil of a past era. They can feel the ground vibrate under their feet, see the one-ton drive rods turn the wheels, and hear the chuff-chuff-chuff of the smokestack. Today, visitors can relive the era of steam as the engines come back to life. The cinders, grease, oil, steam, people, and stories of railroading have returned at Steamtown. Visitors may tour the History and Technology Museums or Roundhouse, explore special exhibits, or watch the movie "Steel and Steam." They can also join a Park Ranger or Volunteer on a guided tours of the Locomotive Repair Shops. Seasonally, visitors may want to experience the short train rides, longer train excursions, or Living History Programs.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, educational programs, demonstrations, train rides, longer film screenings, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).