Reed Gold Mine [NC]

Description

Reed Gold Mine is the site of the first documented gold find in the United States. It was here in 1799 where Conrad Reed discovered a 17-pound yellow rock, which later turned out to be gold and was sold for only $3.50. From this discovery, gold mining spread gradually to nearby counties and eventually into other southern states. Sections of the mine's old underground tunnels are open for guided tours. The site includes a museum with exhibits on gold mining and several nature trails.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, demonstrations, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Coronado State Monument [NM]

Description

Coronado State Monument where Francisco Vásquez de Coronado—with 300 soldiers and 800 Indian allies from New Spain—entered the valley while looking for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. Instead he found villages inhabited by prosperous native people. Coronado's party camped near the Tiwa pueblo of Kuaua, one of the many villages encountered by the explorers. Kuaua, a Tiwa word for "evergreen," was first settled around AD 1300 by American Indians who had long known about the fertile land near the Rio Grand. Kuaua is an earthen pueblo excavated in the 1930s by WPA workers, who also reconstructed new ruin walls over the reburied original ruins. A square kiva, excavated in the south plaza of the community, contained many layers of mural paintings. These murals represent some of the finest examples of Pre-Columbian mural art in the United States. Both the kiva and one of the mural layers are reconstructed and open to visitors, while several of the preserved mural segments are open to viewing in the mural room of the visitor center. The visitor center, designed by noted architect John Gaw Meem, also contains prehistoric and historic Indian and Spanish colonial artifacts on exhibit with several hands-on components.

A second website, maintained by the Friends of Coronado, can be found here.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, lectures, workshops, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Schroeder Saddletree Factory Museum [IN]

Description

For 94 years, workers at the Ben Schroeder Saddletree Company crafted tens of thousands of wooden frames for saddle makers throughout the United States and Latin America. It was the nation's longest lasting, continually operated, family-owned saddletree company. John Benedict "Ben" Schroeder, a German immigrant, started his business in a small brick workshop in 1878, though it grew to include a woodworking shop, boiler room and engine shed, a sawmill, a blacksmith shop, an assembly room, the family residence, and several outbuildings. After his death, Ben's family kept his dream alive by adding stirrups, hames for horse collars, clothespins, lawn furniture, and even work gloves to their line of saddletrees. The factory closed in 1972 and was left completely intact. Recognized by historians as one of America's premier industrial heritage sites, the Schroeder Saddletree factory has been restored to allow visitors to Madison to tour through this vintage workplace. Belts turn and the original antique woodworking machines spin into action. Sawdust is whisked from machines into the boiler room, where it once fueled the steam boiler that powered the equipment. Saddletree patterns hang, cobweb covered, from the ceiling.

The museum offers tours, demonstrations, and exhibits.

Coastal Georgia Historical Society, Maritime Center, and St. Simons Lighthouse

Description

The Society operates both the St. Simons Lighthouse and the Maritime Center. The Lighthouse was built in 1872 and today presents and interprets the history and culture of coastal Georgia. The Maritime Center at the Historic Coast Guard Station researches, collects, and preserves artifacts, and other memorabilia and interprets events and information pertaining to the maritime history and marine ecology of the Georgia coast—such as the history of the U.S. Coast Guard Station, the evolution of Georgia's chain of barrier islands, and the Georgia marshland ecosystem—and to present related exhibitions, promotional activities, and educational programs of interest to the general public.

The society offers educational programs and occasional recreational and educational events; the center and lighthouse offer exhibits and tours.

Peabody Historical Society and Museums

Description

The Peabody Historical Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Peabody's rich history and heritage. Its headquarters, the General Gideon Foster House, has become a museum, housing most of the Society's many collections. Each room of the house features displays relating to Peabody's historic past. It is also the site of the Society's research library. Each room of the house features displays relating to Peabody's historic past. The Society also maintains the Peabody Fire Museum; housed in an old fire station, it displays firefighting artifacts and equipment on its first floor.

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

Hagley Museum and Library [DE]

Description

Hagley Museum and Library collects, preserves, and interprets the unfolding history of American enterprise. Hagley is the site of the gunpowder works founded by E. I. du Pont in 1802. This example of early American industry includes restored mills, a workers' community, and the ancestral home and gardens of the du Pont family.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, research library access, demonstrations, and recreational and educational events (including living history events).

San Mateo County History Museum [CA]

Description

Housed in the old San Mateo County Courthouse, the Museum is preserves the history of the county and makes it accessible to the public. It hosts exhibits detailing the history and development of the county.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, research library access, educational programs, and recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Northwest Franklin County Historical Society and Historic Village and Museum [OH]

Description

The Society owns and maintains the Northwest Franklin County Historical Village and Museum. At the Village, visitors can walk into an 1850 period log cabin and see how people cooked, slept, washed, and entertained themselves; visit the 1890 Grandview School and imagine how it must have been to attend a one-room schoolhouse; visit the 1876 Colwell Church and admire the simple beauty of the worship area and altar; visit one of Hilliard's original train stations built in 1891 and step up to the Chesapeake & Ohio Caboose and see what life was for an early conductor; and walk into an 1870 barn and touch and explore the farm equipment of the period. At the 4,000-square-foot museum, visitors will see a blend of art and history exploring the growth of Northwest Franklin County.

The village and museum offer exhibits and tours; the society offers research library access.

Sherburne History Center

Description

The Center showcases the semipermanent exhibit "Life on the Edge," featuring the history of Sherburne County, as well as rotating exhibits; the outdoors Legacy Trail leads past local historic structures.

The center offers exhibits, tours, research library access, lectures, and educational and recreational events.