Constitution Hall State Historic Site

Description

James Henry Lane had a significant impact on Kansas history and is one of Constitution Hall's more colorful characters. He was part of a large antislavery delegation that marched into Lecompton to protest the convening of the proslavery Lecompton Constitutional Convention in the fall of 1857. The nation's eyes were fixed on this site, waiting to see what kind of constitution would be drafted and whether Kansas would join the Union as a free or slave state. Visitors to the site can learn more about Jim Lane, the proslavery and free-state forces in the area, and other stories of territorial Kansas at Constitution Hall.

This site offers exhibits, tours, and educational and recreational programs.

Goodnow House State Historic Site

Description

Visitors to the Goodnow House gain a glimpse into domestic life in the 1800s and learn the story of free-staters who wanted organized and equal education for the boys and girls of Kansas. Isaac Goodnow, one of Manhattan's founders, and his wife, Ellen, built this stone farmhouse, which still holds many original furnishings and documents, in the 1860s. Isaac started the Kansas State Teachers Association and established the college that became Kansas State University.

The site offers exhibits and tours.

Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park is the site of California’s largest "hydraulic" mine. Visitors can see huge cliffs carved by mighty streams of water, results of the gold mining technique of washing away entire mountains to find the precious metal. Legal battles between mine owners and downstream farmers ended this method. The park also contains a 7,847 foot bedrock tunnel that served as a drain. The visitor center has exhibits on life in the old mining town of North Bloomfield.

The park offers exhibits, tours, and occasional educational and recreational events.

Arthurdale Heritage and New Deal Homestead Museum [WV]

Description

Visitors to Arthurdale, WV can revisit the 1930s. Established in 1933, by the United States government, Arthurdale is the nation's first New Deal Homestead Community. Created through President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal legislation, the community provided a new chance at life for residents of West Virginia who were suffering from the Great Depression. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt served as the empathetic force behind the community, which became known as "Eleanor’s Little Village" because of her interest. Today, Arthurdale is a National Historic District that features 160 of the 165 original homesteads. The New Deal Homestead Museum is a multi-building museum comprised of a forge filled with original tools, a service station reminiscent of a bygone era, the historic Center Hall, the original federal government administration building, and a fully restored Arthurdale homestead.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum [MD]

Description

The Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum is the largest original
African American historical site in the United States. Established in 1998, it
includes Banneker’s original farmstead and a nature preserve that is located in Oella, Maryland. A multitude of adventures awaits you while exploring this 142-acre park and museum.

This site features: exhibits, excavated artifacts, multi-media presentations, a colonial cabin, gardens, and nature trails. Mary Bannaky may even welcome you to her homestead as she goes about her daily tasks.

Educational programs are available for students to learn about: Benjamin
Banneker’s extraordinary life and accomplishments, African American history in
Maryland, settlement and development of the Patapsco River Valley, life in the 18th century, and nature and environmental conservation.

Teachers are welcome to reserve a tour and/or rental space for professional development and teacher workshops. The site also provide digital data about our
programming.

Museum of African American History and Historical Sites [MA]

Description

The Museum of African American History is dedicated to preserving, conserving, and accurately interpreting the contributions of African Americans in New England from the colonial period through the 19th century. The Museum maintains several individual historical sites, including the Boston African Meeting House, the Abiel Smith School, the Nantucket African Meeting House, and the Higginbotham House. The African Meeting House on Beacon Hill was built in 1806 in what once was the heart of Boston's 19th-century African-American community. It is today a showcase of black community organization in the formative years of the new republic. The 1834 Abiel Smith School is the first building in the nation built for the sole purpose of serving as a public school for black children. This historic site has been transformed into exhibit galleries. The African Meeting House on Nantucket is the island's most vivid reminder of a thriving 19th-century African-American community. Erected in the 1820s by the African Baptist Society (of which Captain Absalom Boston was a trustee), it is the only public building still in existence that was constructed and occupied by the island's African Americans during the 19th century.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, lectures, and recreational and educational events; the Boston African Meeting House offers tours; the School offers exhibits; the Nantucket African Meeting House offers exhibits.

Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center [VA]

Description

At the turn of the 20th century, the J. Thomas Newsome family moved to Newport News. In this industrial city, he established a law practice and prospered as part of the postwar South's new urban, black middle class. Through self-determination and a solid education, Newsome (1869–1942) became a respected attorney, journalist, churchman, and civic leader. His elegant Queen Anne residence served as the hub of the local black community from which he led the fight for social justice within the commonwealth. Today, this restored 1899 Victorian landmark continues to be devoted to the expression of black cultural and historical themes.

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

Sewall-Belmont House and Museum [DC]

Description

The Sewall-Belmont House and Museum explores the evolving role of women and their contributions to society through the continuing, and often untold, story of women's pursuit for equality. The museum is the headquarters of the historic National Woman's Party and was the Washington home of its founder and Equal Rights Amendment author Alice Paul. Sewall-Belmont, named in the first Save America's Treasures legislation, is the only museum in the nation's capital dedicated to preserving and showcasing a crucial piece of our history—the fight for the American woman's right to vote. This struggle is documented through one of the most significant collections in the country focused on the suffrage and equal rights movements.

The museum offers a short film, exhibits, tours, educational programs, forums, and research library access.

Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park [CA]

Description

In August 1908, Colonel Allen Allensworth and four other settlers established a town founded, financed, and governed by African Americans. Their dream of developing an abundant and thriving community stemmed directly from a strong belief in programs that allowed blacks to help themselves create better lives. By 1910, Allensworth’s success was the focus of many national newspaper articles praising the town and its inhabitants. Today a collection of restored and reconstructed early 20th-century buildings—including the Colonel's house, historic schoolhouse, Baptist church, and library—once again dots this flat farm country.

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

The Capitol Complex Extension Branch of the Southeastern Regional Black Archives at Union Bank[FL]

Description

Completed in 1841 when Florida was still a territory, the Union Bank is the state's oldest surviving bank building. Chartered to help finance local cotton plantations, it ultimately closed because of crop failures, the Second Seminole War, and poor management. After the Civil War, it reopened as the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company for emancipated slaves and later served several other functions. In 1971, the Bank was moved from its original site, and, after restoration, it was opened as a museum in 1984. The Union Bank now serves as an extension of the Florida A&M University Black Archives, Research Center, and Museum and is open to the public and school groups only on weekdays. Artifacts and documents reflecting black history and culture are on display, and public programs are provided by Black Archives staff.

The bank offers exhibits.