Gadsby’s Tavern Museum [VA]

Description

Gadsby's Tavern Museum consists of two buildings, a circa 1785 tavern and the 1792 City Hotel. The buildings are named for Englishman John Gadsby who operated them from 1796 to 1808. Mr. Gadsby's establishment was a center of political, business, and social life in early Alexandria. The tavern was the setting for dancing assemblies, theatrical and musical performances, and meetings of local organizations. George Washington enjoyed the hospitality provided by tavernkeepers and twice attended the annual Birthnight Ball held in his honor. Other prominent patrons included John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Visitors are invited to take a moment to journey back to the 18th-century tavern and hotel where famous historical figures and everyday people dined and slept and learn about the history, architecture, decorative arts, social customs, food, and clothing of a past era.

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

Fort Robinson Museum [NE]

Description

From Crazy Horse to the cavalry to the K-9 Corps, Fort Robinson played host to them all. Visitors to the site can experience the long and varied history of this outpost on the Plains. The museum at Fort Robinson is located in the 1905 post headquarters building. Museum exhibits trace the history from the post's role guarding the Red Cloud Agency (1874–77) through the housing of World War II German POWs (1943–46). Among the many fascinating objects in the museum's exhibits are the only known dog kennel from the K-9 Corps of World War II; marksmanship medals earned by Caleb Benson, a Buffalo Soldier at Fort Robinson between 1902 and 1909; and 19th-century Sioux objects related to the Red Cloud Agency. Visitors can explore more than a dozen historic structures and sites such as the 1904 blacksmith shop, the 1908 veterinary hospital, the 1887 officers' quarters, the 1875 guardhouse and adjutant's office, and the old post cemetery.

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

Historic Deerfield [MA]

Description

In historic Deerfield, visitors can step back into early America as they tour 11 house museums, exploring hundreds of years of history along an original, mile-long street. Two houses, the Stebbins House and Sheldon House, are available for self-guided tours all day during the regular season.

The site offers exhibits, tours, workshops, educational programs, research library access, and recreational and educational events.

Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society [CT]

Description

Built circa 1748, the Noah Webster House is the restored birthplace and childhood home of the lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843). Today, the museum building includes the historical house, library, archives, and a modern exhibition gallery.

The house and society offer exhibits, tours, reference library access, educational programs, and recreational and educational events.

Jefferson County Historical Society and Museums [Nebraska]

Description

The Jefferson County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and passing on the history and culture of Jefferson County, NE. It operates a number of historical sites, including historic Steele City, where visitors can see a working blacksmith shop, a livery barn, a school, a turn-of-the-century bank, and an 1880s stone church as well as an antique farm machinery display; the 1869 District 10 School; the 1872 W.C. Smith House and Lime Kiln, which features exhibits explaining the lime industry, as well as period furniture; the Rock Island Depot Railroad Museum, which displays rail history exhibits; and the 1883 Diller Bank Building Museum, which displays artifacts from the history of Diller, NE.

The sites offer tours and exhibits; the society offers occasional recreational and educational events.

State Indian Museum State Historic Park [CA]

Description

The California State Indian Museum displays exhibits and artifacts illustrating the cultures of the state's first inhabitants. California's prehistoric population, one of the largest and most diverse in the Western hemisphere, was made up of over 150 distinct tribal groups who spoke at least 64 different languages. California Indian population estimates, before the arrival of the first Europeans, were at least 500,000 people. California Indian cultural artifacts in the museum include basketry, beadwork, clothing, and exhibits about the ongoing traditions of various California Indian tribes. Descendents of the first Californians, tens of thousands of them, still live in California and still cherish and carry on their unique cultural heritage. Indigenous people have donated many photographs of family, friends, and memorable times for use in the museum. A section of the museum features a hands-on area, where visitors can try their hand at using Indian tools, such as the pump drill, used for making holes in shell beads and other materials and the mortar and pestle and soap root brush, made from the soap root plant, all used for grinding acorns.

The museum offers exhibits and tours.

Byers-Evans House Museum [CO]

Description

Visitors to the house enter one of Denver's great historic homes, built in 1883 by Rocky Mountain News publisher Williams Byers and sold in 1889 to the family of William Gray Evans, an officer of the Denver Tramway Company. The museum also screens a short film featuring the careers of these two pioneer Denver families and the city they built.

The house offers a short film, exhibits, tours, and educational programs.

Douglas County Historical Society, Museum, and Country School [SD]

Description

The society's museum includes three buildings. The central building is located on the grounds of the Douglas County Courthouse in Armour and originally housed the offices of auditor and register of deeds in 1902. This building was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites in 1976; and exhibits museum collections including clothing, household items, farm tools, office equipment, American Indian artifacts, military items, photographs, and other memorabilia unique to the Douglas County area. In 1981, the Society moved an 1884 country school to county property just east of the museum. It still contains some of its original furnishings along with other school items. Each spring, all second graders in Douglas County are invited to attend "School Days" in the Country School. The third building, known as the "Railroad House," was added in 1988 and is furnished and decorated in the period of the early 1900s. Furnishings include items that were already owned by the museum, as well as items donated and loaned to complete decoration.

The museums offer exhibits and tours.

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

Description

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania houses one of the most significant collections of historic railroad artifacts in the world. Devoted to preserving and interpreting the broad impact of railroad development on society, the Museum displays over 100 locomotives and cars from the mid-19th and 20th centuries, including the priceless Pennsylvania Railroad Historical Collection.

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

Franklin County Historical Society and Museum [Virginia]

Description

The Society was chartered by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1968 for the stated purpose of collecting and preserving the history of Franklin County, VA. To that end, it offers memberships to the general public to encourage interest in local history. It also operates a history museum and research library to provide public access to collected materials.

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