Fort Stevens State Historical Site [OR]

Description

The 3,700-acre Fort Stevens State Historical Site commemorates Fort Stevens, one of three forts created to defend the harbor near the mouth of the Columbia River. The fort remained an active military site between the Civil War and World War II. The grounds also include a historic shipwreck, a gun battery and World War II command center, a museum of the fort's history, and enclosed Civil War earthworks.

The site offers exhibits, nine miles of bicycle trails, six miles of hiking trails, outdoor activities, and a picnic area. During the summer, the site also offers blacksmithing demonstrations, 90-minute tours of the gun batteries, and truck tours of the fortifications.

Belle of Louisville [KY]

Description

The Belle of Louisville site operates two vessels—the 1914 steamboat Belle of Louisville and the 1963 riverboat Spirit of Jefferson. Over the course of her history, the Belle of Louisville has served as a passenger ferry, excursion vessel, and World War II oil barge mover and troop nightclub. She is the oldest operating river steamboat. The Spirit of Jefferson has always been an excursion vessel.

The site offers cruises, curriculum-based sight-seeing excursions for students, and outreach programs for students. Field trips are available during the month of May, and are designed for kindergarten through eighth grade.

Washington County Historical Society and Museum [MD]

Description

The Washington County Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Washington County, MD. To this end, the society operates a museum within the Miller House, a late Federal townhouse dating to between 1818 and 1823, and the 1904 two-room Beaver Creek School. Exhibits in the Miller House include period rooms set to 1850s through 1870s appearances, clocks, dolls, Shenandoah Valley pottery, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and the C and O Canal. The house grounds also include a library and gardens. The Beaver Creek School contains period school, workshop, parlor, and cobbler shop settings; vintage toys; costumes and uniforms; an 1840s hand crank organ; and other artifacts.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, a garden, and research library access.

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park [FL]

Description

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973, Florida's southernmost state park is popular for recreation, as well as U.S. military history. The fort was one of a series built in the mid-1800s to defend the nation's southeastern coastline. Completed in 1866, Fort Zachary Taylor played important roles in the Civil War and Spanish-American War.

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

Island County Historic Society and Museum [WA]

Description

The Island County Historic Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Island County, Washington from the Ice Age through the mid-20th century. Topics given particular emphasis include maritime history, Pacific Northwest Native American cultures, military history, and the settlers of 1853. Collections and archives number more than 19,000 items. The society operates a museum of local history, located on the former site of the 1870 Mother Fay’s Hotel.

The society offers exhibits, one-hour to 90-minute guided tours for students, library access, and research assistance. Research assistance requires payment of a fee. Two weeks advance notice is required for all visits by more than five individuals. Some student tours include pre-visit curriculum materials.

Hubbard County Historical Museum [MN]

Description

The Hubbard County Historical Museum presents the history of Hubbard County, Minnesota. Permanent exhibits include Native American life, farming, logging, quilts, and rooms depicting a pioneer cabin and a one-room schoolhouse. Collection strengths include Civil War artifacts and textiles.

The museum offers exhibits, period rooms, group programs, and tours.

Fort Assiniboine Historic Site, Northern Agricultural Research Center [MT]

Description

The Fort Assinniboine Historic Site preserves the site of what was once the largest military fort west of the Mississippi River, with 104 structures over 700,000 acres. Founded in 1879, the soldiers of Fort Assinniboine protected settlers from Sitting Bull's Lakota Sioux and other Native Americans. Other responsibilities included patrolling the U.S.-Canada border and preventing the Blackfoot Confederacy, Montana Indian Reservations, and Canadian Native Americans from acting against Euro-American settlers. The fort's location was selected as the nexus of several Native American trails. The site currently serves as an agricultural research center.

The site offers guided tours. Reservations are required for groups.

Portland Harbor Museum [ME]

Description

The Portland Harbor Museum presents the maritime history of New England's Portland Harbor. Available topics for educational programming include Casco Bay lighthouses, the forts of Portland Harbor, 19th-century clipper ships, 19th-century Portland Harbor, modern Portland Harbor, and the liberty ships of World War II.

The museum offers exhibits, a standards-based curriculum, and customizable educational programs for students.