Southwest Seattle Historical Society and Log House Museum [WA]

Description

The Society's Log House Museum is located in a renovated turn-of-the-century log structure which once served as a carriage house, or stable, to the Fir Lodge. The 1900s Fir Lodge was one of the first year-round homes built on Alki Beach and was owned by prominent Seattleites, William and Gladys Bernard. Today, the carriage house houses exhibits on local history.

The site offers exhibits, tours, and educational programs.

Junipero Serra Museum [CA]

Description

The Junípero Serra Museum is one of the most familiar landmarks in San Diego. As a major symbol of the city, it stands atop the hill recognized as the site where California began. It was here in 1769 that a Spanish Franciscan missionary, Father Junípero Serra, with a group of soldiers led by Gaspar de Portolá, established Alta California's first mission and presidio (fort). On July 16, 1769, near the site where the museum now stands, Serra founded the Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Often confused for the Mission, the Serra Museum was built between 1928–1929 for the purpose of housing and showcasing the collection of the San Diego Historical Society, which was founded in 1928. The structure was designed by architect, William Templeton Johnson, using Spanish Revival architecture, to resemble the early missions that once dominated the landscape of Southern California.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, and educational programs.

Fort McKavett State Historic Site [TX]

Description

Originally called Camp San Saba because it overlooks the headwaters of the San Saba River Valley, Fort McKavett State Historic Site was established by five companies of the Eighth Infantry in March 1852 to protect frontier settlers and travelers on Upper El Paso Road. The camp was later renamed for Captain Henry McKavett, killed at the battle of Monterey on Sept. 21, 1846. The fort was abandoned in March 1859 and reoccupied in April 1868. By 1880, the fort was no longer needed and it was again abandoned on June 30, 1883. Gen. William T. Sherman once called Fort McKavett "the prettiest post in Texas."

The site offers tours.

Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation [MT]

Description

The Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation seeks to preserve and share the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803-1806) and the physical sites thereof. To this end, the headquarters hosts the non-circulating William P. Sherman Library and Archives.

The foundation offers research library access, educator training, and research assistance. Appointments are required for library access. The website offers a curriculum guide for purchase, a video, and children's games and activities.

Olompali State Historic Park [CA]

Description

The park overlooks the Petaluma River and San Pablo Bay from the east-facing slopes of 1,558-foot Mount Burdell. The name "olompali" comes from the Miwok language and may be translated as "southern village" or "southern people." The Coast Miwok inhabited at least one site within the area of the present-day park continuously from as early as 6,000 BC until the early 1850s. Olompali contains "kitchen rock," a large boulder used as a mortar in which early people ground acorns and seeds into a fine flour for food preparation. Many women would gather near such grinding rocks to prepare food and socialize.

The park offers exhibits and tours.

Hearst San Simeon State Historic Monument and Castle [CA]

Description

La Cuesta Encantada, "The Enchanted Hill" high above the ocean at San Simeon, was the creation of two extraordinary individuals, William Randolph Hearst and architect Julia Morgan. Their collaboration, which began in 1919 and continued for nearly 30 years, transformed an informal hilltop campsite into the world-famous Hearst Castle—a 115-room main house plus guesthouses, pools, and eight acres of cultivated gardens. The main house itself, "La Casa Grande," is a grand setting for Hearst's collection of European antiques and art pieces. It was also a most fitting site for hosting the many influential guests who stayed at Hearst's San Simeon ranch. Guests included President Calvin Coolidge, Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw, Charles Lindbergh, Charlie Chaplin, and a diverse array of luminaries from show business and publishing industries.

The site offers exhibits, tours, a 40-min. film, living history presentations, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Northern Lincoln County Historical Museum [OR]

Description

The Northern Lincoln County Historical Museum presents the history of Northern Lincoln County, Oregon. Exhibit topics include a historic overview covering prehistory through the 1920s, tourism between the 1920s and 1965, and individual towns. Collection highlights include Japanese fishing floats. Exhibits incorporate quotes from oral histories.

The museum offers exhibits, a children's corner, tours, and research library access. Tours are available on request. Library access is by appointment only.