Alex Haley House and Museum [TN]

Description

Originally known as the Palmer House, this 10-room, turn-of-the-century bungalow home was built in 1919 by Will E. Palmer, the maternal grandfather of Alex Haley (1921–1992). From 1921 to 1929, and during some subsequent summers, Haley lived here with his grandparents. The front porch was often the place where young Haley heard the oral accounts of family history, including stories of Kunta Kinte, the young Mandingo man captured near his West African home. These stories inspired Haley to write about his ancestry in a book called Roots. This 1976 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel has been translated into over 30 languages and has had great influence in stimulating the study of genealogy. Roots was adapted for an eight-part television series, which became one of the most popular programs in television history. On December 14, 1978, the Alex Haley House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It has attracted scholars and other visitors from around the world. Haley is buried on the grounds.

The house offers exhibits and tours.

Fort Mose Historic State Park [FL]

Description

The power politics of 18th-century England and Spain reached across the Atlantic to the Florida frontier. In 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida chartered Fort Mose as a settlement for freed Africans who had fled slavery in the British Carolinas. When Spain ceded Florida to Britain in 1763, the inhabitants of Fort Mose migrated to Cuba. Although nothing remains of the fort, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 for its importance in American history.

The park offers tours.

Whitestone Hill Battlefield State Historic Site [ND]

Description

Whitestone Hill Battlefield State Historic Site marks the scene of the fiercest clash between Indians and white soldiers in North Dakota. On September 3, 1863, General Alfred Sully's troops attacked a tipi camp of Yanktonai, some Dakota, Hunkpapa Lakota, and Blackfeet (Sihasapa Lakota), as part of a military mission to punish participants of the Dakota Conflict of 1862. In the ensuing battle, many Indian men, women, and children died or were captured. Military casualties were comparatively light. The Indians also suffered the destruction of virtually all of t heir property, leaving them nearly destitute for the coming winter. Today, Whitestone Battlefield State Historic Site includes a portion of the battlefield and a small museum with exhibits explaining the 1863 Sibley and Sully expeditions and the Battle of Whitestone Hill. There are two monuments, one honoring the Indian dead and a second commemorating the soldiers who died in the battle. A marker also recognizes two early settlers, Tom and Mary Shimmin.

The site offers exhibits and occasional recreational and educational events.

Fort Toulouse / Fort Jackson State Historic Site [AL]

Description

History is alive and outside at Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson. Here Native Americans, Spanish explorers, French soldiers, English and Scottish traders, American settlers, and modern archaeologists have all left their mark. Frequent living history events showcase a recreated 1751 French fort, recreated Creek Indian houses, and the partially restored 1814 American Fort Jackson. A 3,000-year-old Mississipian Indian mound, the William Bartram Nature Trail, and an early 19th-century house weave even more strands into this colorful tapestry of Alabama's earliest days.

Two other websites for the site exist: a second general website here and a website for the site's living history programs here.

The site offers exhibits, tours, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center [OH]

Description

The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center aims to educate the public about African-American history and culture from African origins to the present through a variety of programs, including museum exhibits, research and publications, visiting scholars, oral and visual history, and adult and children's educational activities.

The museum and center offer exhibits and tours.

Fort Fetterman Historic Site [WY]

Description

Today Fort Fetterman is preserved as a reminder of that colorful era known as the "winning of the west." A restored officer's quarters and an ordnance warehouse are original buildings. They stand among the many visible foundations of the Fort and Fetterman City. These two buildings house interpretive exhibits and artifacts of the Fort's history, Fetterman City, and its Indian predecessors. The visitor is encouraged to walk the grounds where interpretive signs describe the Fort's buildings and activities. These two buildings house maps, drawings, photographs, artifacts, and dioramas which interpret the history of the Indians, military, and civilians of Fort Fetterman and Fetterman City. The visitor is encouraged to walk the interpretive trail where signs describe the historic site and lead to a gazebo overlooking Crook’s Camp and the Indian Country to the north.

The site offers exhibits, tours, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Dade Battlefield Historic State Park [FL]

Description

The battle that started the Second Seminole War is commemorated in January each year under the oaks of Dade Battlefield. On December 28, 1835, Seminole Indian warriors ambushed 108 soldiers at this site—only three soldiers survived. The park protects not only a historic battlefield, but also the natural communities as they existed when the soldiers and Seminoles battled over 180 years ago. The visitor center has information and displays about the battle and visitors can watch a twelve-minute video history, "This Land, These Men."

The park offers a short film, exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Fort Totten State Historic Site [ND]

Description

This site preserves a military post built in 1867 and used continuously as a military reservation until 1890 when it became a boarding school for Indian children. The brick buildings, which replaced an earlier log fort, appear much as they did when built of locally made brick in 1868. Original buildings are now being used to house museum exhibits. Fort Totten served American Indian policy from 1867 to 1959. Constructed as a military post, it became an Indian boarding school, Indian health care facility, and a reservation school.

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

Fort Morgan State Historic Site [AL]

Description

Completed in 1834, Fort Morgan was active during four wars—the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and World Wars I and II. The fort is most famous for its role in the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay. Union Admiral David Farragut damned the torpedoes and went full speed ahead to win the battle. The massive fort contains more than 40 million bricks and pays tribute to the skilled masons, many of whom were enslaved African Americans.

The site offers exhibits, tours, demonstrations, reference library access, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).