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.

Will Rogers State Historic Park [CA]

Description

In the early 1930s, Will Rogers was the most popular and highest paid actor in Hollywood. From his start in vaudeville theater with a trick roping act, he rose to worldwide fame as a columnist, philosopher, radio personality, and movie star. During the 1920s, he bought land in Santa Monica, where he developed a ranch. Eventually, the Rogers's owned 186 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean, in what is now known as Pacific Palisades. The ranch became the place where Will Rogers could relax with his family and friends, pursuing his favorite pastimes of riding and roping. At his untimely death in a plane crash in 1935, Will Rogers's ranch consisted of a 31-room ranch house, a stable, corrals, riding ring, roping arena, polo field, golf course, and hiking trails. When his widow, Betty, died in 1944, the ranch became a state park.

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

Frazier Farmstead Museum [OR]

Description

The Farmstead is operated and maintained as a restored house and farm museum by the Milton-Freewater Area Historical Society. The Frazier home was built in 1892 and houses a collection of antique furnishings and other items from 19th-century daily life. The site also houses a 1918 barn, a carriage house, and several other buildings, all of which were an integral part of a turn-of-the-century working farm.

The museum offers visitor tours. The website offers general visitor information regarding the museum as well as a brief history of the location.

Clallam County Historical Society and Museum at the Carnegie [WA]

Description

The Museum at the Carnegie offers a glimpse of life from Clallam County's past. The exhibit "Strong People: Faces of Clallam County" introduces visitors to people who helped build the community. Visitors will learn about early settlers in "Charting the Last Frontier"; hear three distinct tribal languages in "Our Ancestral Heritage"; explore the arts in "Body, Mind, and Spirit"; examine the issues behind the creation of Olympic National Park in "This Land is Your Land"; learn about timber and agriculture in "Home Grown"; find out about the towns that cover our county from east to west in "Creating Communities"; and discover our maritime history in "Our Strategic Coastline."

The society offers research library access, lectures, and occasional recreational and educational events; the museum offers exhibits.

California Surf Museum [CA]

Description

The California Surf Museum preserves and showcases the history of the sport of surfing.

The museum offers a large collection of surfing equipment, including vintage surfboards. The museum puts on a variety of events, including concerts and educational programs and videos. Tours are available to the public year round and to groups by request. The website offers basic visitor information and information regarding upcoming events.

Former Governors' Mansion State Historic Site [ND]

Description

The site consists of a large two-and-one-half story restored Victorian house and a carriage house. Constructed in 1884, it housed 21 chief executives between 1893 and 1960. Room exhibits feature the restoration process, architectural style changes, and furniture used by several governors.

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

Pomeroy Living History Farm [WA]

Description

The Pomeroy Living History Farm is a non-profit educational museum depicting 1920's agrarian life in Southwest Washington state. The farm is open to the public the first full weekend of each month, June through September. Over 25 staff and volunteers dress in period costume and utilize living history as an interpretive technique to provide many hands on experiences for guests.

The farm offers tours, living history exhibits, and a gift shop. The website offers a detailed history of the location, visitor information, a virtual tour of the museum, and an online repository of farm newsletters.