Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm [PA]

Description

The 100-acre Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm presents the daily life of the Pennsylvania German family who lived on the farm between the 1760s and 1913. A farmhouse, originally erected in the 1760s; spring house; cabin; replica circa 1893 schoolhouse; a circa 1850 barn; and nine other structures complete the site's outfit of buildings. Creatures and crops located on site include rabbits, horses, chickens, goats, mules, cows, sheep, pigs, turkeys, flax, wheat, corn, rye, and potatoes.

The farm offers guided tours, hands-on period skill learning, educational programs, home school programs, costumed living history interpreters, children's summer programs, workshops on historical crafts and skills, outreach programs, and a picnic pavilion. Outreach program options include a visit from one of the farm's sheep or chickens. The website offers pre-visit information for teachers, post-visit activities, a farm animal sponsorship program, and a virtual tour.

History Center of Olmsted County and Mayowood Estate [MN]

Description

The History Center of Olmstead County presents the history of Olmstead County, Minnesota. To this end, the center operates as a museum. The museum includes rooms devoted to the decorative arts; a hands-on children's cabin; and exhibits on topics which include IBM, St. Mary's Hospital, the 1883 Rochester tornado, and historical medicine. Artifact collections include textiles, military, decorative arts, Native American, agricultural and mechanical, and medical items. The center also operates the Mayowood Estate historic house museum. Erected in 1911 as the home of Dr. Charles H. Mayo, cofounder of the Mayo Clinic, Mayowood now contains period rooms.

The museum offers exhibits, educational programs, hands-on activities, museum tours, traveling trunks, and library access. Reservations are required for tours. The center also organizes baseball games, played in 1860s style. The Mayowood Estate offers period rooms and guided tours. The website offers virtual exhibits.

Collier Memorial State Park [OR]

Description

Collier Memorial State Park has an outdoor camping focus but also has one of the finest Logging Museums in the country. The outdoor museum features more than 75 pieces of antique logging and railroad equipment as wells as a Pioneer village.

The outdoor museum offers free, self-guided tours. There are no educational programs designed for school groups. Wagon rides and costumed interpreters may be offered, check before making reservations.

Bannack State Park [MT]

Description

Bannack State Park is the site of Montana's first major gold discovery on July 28, 1862. This strike set off a massive gold rush that swelled Bannack's population to over 3,000 by 1863. As the value of gold steadily dwindled, Bannack's bustling population was slowly snuffed out. There are over 50 buildings that line Main Street with their historic log and frame structures that recall Montana's formative years.

A second website for the site can be found here.

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

Sterne-Hoya House Museum and Library [TX]

Description

The Sterne-Hoya Museum and Library is located in the historic Adolphus Sterne home. The home now serves as a historic house museum, but also offers exhibits on local history, with a special interest in the Sterne and von der Hoya families. The home is furnished with period antiques and is located on the National Register of Historic Places.

The museum offers guided tours and exhibits on the history of rural, eastern Texas. The website offers visitor information.

Thomas Jefferson Foundation [VA]

Description

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation is dedicated to the preservation of Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello. The foundation puts on a variety of events in the mansion, and also holds an extensive collection of materials available for researchers.

The home offers guided tours, field trip plans, traveling exhibits, summer camps, and resource packets for teachers. The website offers a brief history of the home, visitor information, and a calendar of events. In order to contact the website via email, use the "contact us" link located at the top of the webpage.

Connecticut Landmarks [CT]

Description

Connecticut Landmarks was founded in 1936 as the Antiquarian & Landmarks Society. Today, Connecticut Landmarks owns and operates a statewide network of 12 historic house museums, which cover three centuries of New England history. Each museum takes visitors through a specific period in history and also provides exhibits on local history.

Connecticut Landmarks offers tours of its 12 historic properties, as well as educational programs and special events. The website offers visitor information, brief histories of all properties, information regarding educational programs for children and adults, as well as an events calendar.

Coggeshall Farm [RI]

Description

Coggeshall Farm is a 48-acre living history farm museum. The grounds include a circa 1790 farmhouse, a spring house, animal barns, fields, and herb gardens. The farm's animals include sheep, chickens, cats, a horse, donkeys, and goats. The museum primarily depicts late 18th-century life. The museum grounds have been worked by Europeans since the late 17th-century, and may very well have also been farmed by the Pokanoket.

The farm offers school tours, workshops, demonstrations,

MacGregor Ranch [CO]

Description

The MacGregor Ranch is one of the last working ranches and interpretive museums in Colorado. The Ranch and its museum showcase Colorado's cattle ranching history with collections ranging from antique farming equipment to family heirlooms from the MacGregor family.

The site offers tours of the museum and ranch buildings including the barn, as well as educational programs for school groups. At certain time of the year, school groups are able to see the ranch at work with educational activities involving live animals. Self-guided educational programs are also available.

Bridgton Historical Society [ME]

Description

The Bridgton Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation of the historical heritage of Bridgton, Maine, and the surrounding areas. The society owns and operates a local history museum, as well as Narramissic, the Peabody-Pitch Farm. Today, Narramissic stands as a historic house museum, and offers visitors a glimpse of rural life in New England on the eave of the Civil War.

The society offers guided tours of the museum and Narramissic, monthly presentations, and research resources. The website offers a history of Bridgton, visitor information, and an events calendar.