Tampa Bay History Center [FL]

Description

The Tampa Bay History Center is located in the center of historic Tampa, FL, in a beautiful new building which contains 60,000 square feet of exhibits space. The building hosts numerous exhibits which depict almost 500 years of recorded history and 12,000 years of human habitation in this region of Florida. The center also hosts a research center which contains 9,638 books, manuscripts, microfilm, legal documents. In addition, the research center hosts over 1,000 genealogical resources.

The site offers visitor information, a listing of all current, past, and present exhibits, information regarding the other historical resources owned by the center, an education section complete with lesson plans, field trip guides, and interactive online educational activities, a museum store, and an events calendar.

Western North Carolina Historical Association and Smith-McDowell House Museum [NC]

Description

The Smith-McDowell House is located south of Asheville, NC, and is notable for its unusual brick construction. The house is a classic circa 1840 plantation home, and was most likely built using slave labor. Today, the house is on the National Register of Historic Places, and serves as both a museum of Western North Carolina and a historic house museum.

The site offers historical information about the house, visitor information, a listing of current and past exhibits, an online store, an events calendar, and educational resources including tour information and lesson plans. Visitors to the site should note that the website appears to be under construction, and some of the features, such as the store and educational information, are not currently working.

Rokeby Museum [VT]

Description

Rokeby Museum is a 90-acre historic site and National Historic Landmark that was home to a remarkable Quaker family from 1793 to 1961. From early settlers to radical abolitionists to distinguished artists and writers, each generation of Robinsons left its mark on the site, the state, and the country. Rokeby was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997 for its unsurpassed underground railroad history. The Museum's mission is to "connect visitors with the human experience of the underground railroad and with the Robinson family, who lived on and farmed this land for nearly 200 years." We ofter a primary source document-based underground railroad program both on site and in the classroom as well as two kits exploring abolitionist history. The site includes a fully furnished Federal style house, eight historic farm buildings, and acres of hiking trails

Booker T. Washington National Monument [VA]

Description

The Booker T. Washington National Monument is located just outside of Roanoke, VA, and consists of the cabin and surrounding grounds where Booker T. Washington was born. Washington's achievements, including founding the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School and his various literary works belie his inauspicious birth as a slave in southwestern Virginia. Visitors to the monument can enjoy a variety of exhibits documenting the life and times of Washington, as well as view first-hand the life of a slave.

The site offers detailed historical and visitor information regarding the monument, as well as a calendar of events and a listing of all educational programs offered. In order to contact the monument via email, use the "contact us" link on the left side of the webpage.

Drake House Museum [NJ]

Description

The Drake House Museum is located in Planfield, NJ, and is owned and operated by the Historical Society of Plainfield. On permanent display in the house are three Colonial era rooms, the kitchen, the Queen Anne dining room, and the Washington bedroom. In addition, the parlor and Harberger Library are interpreted as period Victorian rooms. Thus, visitors to the house can view the house as it was throughout the early history of New Jersey.

The site offers brief historic and visitor information, an events calendar, information about the "Traveling Trunk," a traveling exhibits that shows a virtual tour of the house as well as several house artifacts, and an online newsletter.

The museum is currently closed for renovation.

Carlyle House Historic Park [VA]

Description

"The historic Carlyle House," according to its website, "was completed in 1753 by Scottish merchant John Carlyle for his bride, Sarah Fairfax of Belvoir, member of one of the most prestigious families in colonial Virginia. Their home quickly became a center of social and political life in Alexandria and gained a foothold in history when British General Braddock made the mansion his headquarters in 1755." Today, the house has been restored to its pre-Revolutionary War state, and offers visitors a glimpse into the life of the colonial upper classes.

Events include guided tours and programs for school groups (grades K-8) and occasional recreational and educational events. The website offers historical information, visitor information, an events calendar, and a detailed history of the house.

Chicora Foundation, Inc. [SC]

Description

Founded in 1983, Chicora is a heritage preservation organization located in Columbia, South Carolina. Chicora focuses on archaeological and historical research throughout the Southeastern United States, public education in South Carolina, and work in conservation and preservation with museums, libraries, historic organizations, historic libraries, and private citizens. Chicora also creates a wide variety of publications, including publications of archaeological research, and preservation guides.

The site offers purchasing information for all Chicora publications, information on current Chicora projects, links to other preservation resources, and information on the variety of Chicora programs, from educational programs to archaeological research.

Levi Coffin Home State Historic Site [IN]

Description

The Levi Coffin Home was a stop on the Underground Railroad in the years preceding the civil war, and treats visitors to a tour of Indiana history through hidden doors, false-bottomed wagons, and other methods used to hide escaped slaves. This brick house in Newport, Indiana, was the home to Levi and Catherine Coffin, North Carolina Quakers who opposed slavery and helped more than 2,000 slaves reach safety.

The site offers very minimal information for visitors regarding the house.

Middleton Place

Description

MIDDLETON PLACE is a National Historic Landmark and a carefully preserved 18th-century plantation that has survived revolution, Civil War, and earthquake. It was the home of four important generations of Middletons, beginning with Henry Middleton, President of the First Continental Congress; Arthur, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; Henry, Governor of South Carolina and an American Minister to Russia; and Williams, a signer of the Ordinance of Secession. Visitors are invited to tour the Gardens, the House Museum, and the Plantation Stableyards.

The site offers general information about Middleton Place and upcoming events.

Weeksville Heritage Center

Description

Weeksville Heritage Center is dedicated to preserving the Hunterfly Road houses. These houses represent one of the first free African American community in the United States. In 2005, the houses underwent a three million dollar restoration, and now sit in a park in central Brooklyn, similar to their original setting. A new education/cultural center is being built now.

The site offers information about historical Weeksville, an archive of press releases, and information about upcoming events.