Locust Grove: The Samuel Morse Historic Site [NY]

Description

The 180-acre Locust Grove is the estate of Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872), patent holder on the electromagnetic telegraph and creator of an early version of Morse code. The site contains an Italianate villa, housing a collection of European and American art and decorative arts. The grounds hold gardens. Exhibits include telegraph technology and paintings by Morse himself. Morse lived on the estate between 1847 and his death in 1872.

The site offers an introductory film, exhibits, period rooms, five curriculum-based educational programs, a summer day camp, guided tours of the villa, 100-minute group gardens and grounds tours, 2-hour group villa and gardens tours, and trails. Reservations are required for all group tours.

Old Dutch Church Heritage Museum [NY]

Description

The Old Dutch Church Heritage Museum presents the history of a working Reformed Protestant church founded in 1659. The church dominies actively promoted the Patriot cause in the Revolutionary War and the Union cause during the Civil War—with the site being used as a state armory and field hospital in the 1860s. The earliest grave on site dates to 1710. The current structure dates to 1859.

The church offers exhibits and archival access. Appointments are required for archival access.

Ellwood City Historical Society and Museum [PA]

Description

The Ellwood City Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Ellwood City, PA, site of the creation of the first American seamless steel tubes. To this end, the society operates a museum of local history. Collection highlights include a Railway Express Wagon; bench from the B and O Railroad waiting room; and Northwood glass, created between 1892 and 1896. Ellwood City's early population included many Italian and German immigrants.

The society offers exhibits.

Bartram's Garden Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/08/2008 - 13:38
Description

Visitors to Bartram's Garden experience America's oldest living botanical garden, a pastoral 18th-century homestead surrounded by the urban bustle of Philadelphia. They can visit the wildflower meadow, majestic trees, river trail, wetland, stone house and farm buildings overlooking the Schuylkill River, and the historic botanic garden of American native plants.

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

Minisink Valley Historical Society and the Fort Decker Museum of History [NY]

Description

The Minisink Valley Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the Minisink Valley which stretches across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. To this end, the society operates the Fort Decker Museum of History. The structure was originally built in 1760 as a defensive center against Native American attack and as a trading post.

The society offers archival access, exhibits, and 50-minute outreach slide presentations. Appointments are required for archival access. Slide presentation topics include author Stephen Crane, the Delaware and Hudson Canal, artist John Newton Howitt, cemetery history, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the bluestone industry. The website offers a small collection of music and historical photographs.

Rockingham [NJ]

Description

Rockingham is believed to be the second oldest house in the Millstone River valley, its original construction dating between 1702 and 1710. Jedidiah Higgins, one of the earliest settlers in the Rocky Hill–Kingston area, is credited with building the house. In 1783, while the Continental Congress was meeting at Nassau Hall in nearby Princeton, Congress rented this house from the widow of Judge John Berrien for use by General George Washington from August 23 to November 10, 1783. Martha Washington joined him at Rockingham.

A second website for the site can be found here.

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

Hannibal Historical Society [NY]

Description

The Hannibal Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the historical heritage of Hannibal, New York, and the surrounding area. The society is headquartered in an old Baptist Church in downtown Hannibal, which now also is home to the Hannibal Library and a nursery school.

The society offers a collection of historic artifacts, tours of Hannibal, and special events. The website offers a basic visitor information regarding the society, and a brief history of Hannibal.

Grover Cleveland Birthplace [NJ]

Description

In 1837, Grover Cleveland was born in this house while his father, the Reverend Richard Falley Cleveland, was the minister to the First Presbyterian Church of Caldwell. Most of the first floor rooms portray the house as it was in 1837. Among the artifacts on display from Cleveland's early years are his cradle and original family portraits. The exhibit gallery features a striking display of artifacts that reflect the financial and political success Cleveland achieved during the last quarter of the 19th century. Here, the mud-slinging campaign of 1884, the public's intense interest in his wife and children, and America's political climate throughout his split terms of office are explored.

The site offers tours, exhibits, educational programs, and research library access.

Fort Ontario State Historic Site [NY]

Description

The Fort Ontario State Historic Site presents Fort Ontario as it appeared between 1868 and 1872. The site interprets civilian, officer, family, and enlisted life at the fort in 1868 and 1869. During the Holocaust, the fort served as an emergency refugee center.

The site offers exhibits, costumed interpreters, demonstrations, audio-visual programs, educational services, guided tours, self-guided tours, interpretive signs, re-enactments, and a picnic area.

Jamesville Community Museum [NY]

Description

The Jamesville Community Museum presents history and geology relevant to Jamesville, New York. Permanent exhibits topics include local and state minerals and the Solvay Process, the production of soda ash. Soda ash is used for water treatment and making glass, cleaning agents, and paper, among other purposes.

The museum offers exhibits.