Historic Charleston Foundation, Nathaniel Russell House, and Aiken-Rhett House [SC]

Description

The Foundation maintains two historic houses, the Nathaniel Russell House and the Aiken-Rhett House. Set amid spacious formal gardens, the 1808 Nathaniel Russell House is widely recognized as one of America's most important neoclassical dwellings. The house is furnished with period antiques and works of art that evoke the gracious lifestyle of the city's merchant elite. Today the Nathaniel Russell House interprets the lives of the Russell family, as well as the African-American slaves and artisans who were responsible for maintaining one of the South's grandest antebellum townhouses. The Aiken-Rhett House stands alone as the most intact townhouse complex showcasing urban life in antebellum Charleston. Built in 1818 and greatly expanded by Governor and Mrs. William Aiken, Jr. in the 1830s and 1850s, the house has survived virtually unaltered since 1858.

The foundation offers occasional recreational and educational events; the Nathaniel Russell House offers tours; the Aiken-Rhett House offers tours.

Slave Relic Museum [SC]

Description

The Slave Relic Museum presents the history of the U.S. African American population via artifacts made and used by slaves between 1750 and the mid-19th century.

The museum offers exhibits. The website offers audio interviews; a video tour of slave dwelling ruins in the Bahamas; and several primary source documents, including 63 pages of documents relating to the Amistad and William E. Channing's "The Duty of the Free States."

Historic Rosedale Plantation [NC]

Description

Rosedale, originally part of a 911 acre plantation, was built in 1815 by Archibald Frew, merchant, postmaster and tax collector. In the 1830s, a doctor occupied the residence. He oversaw both his practice and the plantation work, carried out by two slave families. Rosedale exemplifies Federal period architecture (1780–1830) and is noted for its faux grain woodwork and the original French wallpaper that survives in three rooms. On a broader scope, the plantation is motivated by the preservation, exhibition, interpretation, and preservation of the architecture, decorative arts, and lifestyle of the 19th–century Catawba River Valley region.

The plantation offers guided tours (both in modern and period dress), hands-on activities, role playing, and educational activities (with listed corresponding state
standards) specifically for field trips.

African American Museum [LA]

Description

The African American Museum presents information regarding the arrival of Africans and the development of the free African American community within Louisiana. The museum also interprets their struggles, adaptations, and contributions, with particular emphasis on the Attakapas District of Southwest Louisiana during the 18th and 19th centuries. It outlines the rise and fall of slavery, highlighting the economic struggles faced by the free African American population during Reconstruction.

The museum offers lectures and both traditional and electronic exhibits.

Smithfield Community Association and Gerrit Smith Estate [NY]

Description

The Smithfield Community Association manages the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark, lifelong residence of abolitionist and social reformer Gerrit Smith (1797–1874), and preserves this history of Petersboro, New York, a major Underground Railroad destination and site of the inaugural meeting of the NYS Anti-Slavery Society in 1835.

The association's offerings vary. Please check Upcoming Events. Examples include Civil War living history, lectures, and Gerrit Smith Estate building tours.

James Madison's Montpelier [VA]

Description

The Montpelier Foundation's primary mission is to present the lasting legacy of James Madison (1751–1836) as Father of the U.S. Constitution, architect of the Bill of Rights, and fourth president of the United States. The Montpelier estate, home of Madison for the majority of his life, features the Madison mansion, historic buildings, gardens, forests, a freedman's cabin and farm, and the site of a Civil War encampment.

The Montpelier Foundation offers exhibits, an archaeological lab and sites, hands-on activities, an introductory film, guided tours of the Madison mansion, self-guided landscape tours, a variety of other thematic guided tours, limited transportation grants, and educational programming with suggested grade levels (including in-class outreach presentations).

Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site [TN]

Description

At the Tipton-Haynes historic site, 11 buildings tell a story of Tennessee's history from early settlement to the Civil War era. Contained within the large white house is the log cabin of Colonel John Tipton. In the 1850s, Haynes changed the front porch to what is seen today and constructed his law office next to the house. The outbuildings include a smokehouse, pigsty, loom house, still house, springhouse, and the large log barn and corncrib from the Tipton period. In addition, there is the home of George Haynes, a slave with the Haynes family. Colonel John Tipton is buried in the site's cemetery.

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

San Francisco Plantation [LA]

Description

The San Francisco Plantation is located along the banks of the Mississippi River and, from the plantation website, "is a galleried house of the Creole open suite style and is nestled under centuries old Live Oaks and contains one of the finest antique collections in the country." The home is open from November until March, and offers individual and group tours and also plays host to many weddings throughout the year.

The home offers individual and group tours. The website offers visitor information and a brief history of the home. In order to contact the plantation by email, use the "contact us" link located at the top of the webpage.

Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site [LA]

Description

The Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site, located along the Bayou Teche in southern Louisiana, preserves the 1815 plantation home Maison Olivier and presents a reproduction of an early 1800s Acadian farmstead, including a family home, outdoor kitchen, slave quarters, and barn.

The historic site offers tours, exhibits, and occasional special events. The website offers a history of the historic site, as well as visitor information, a short virtual tour, and a listing of nearby attractions.

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.