New York City Police Museum [NY]

Description

The New York City Police Museum presents the cultural history, traditions, and policies of the New York City Police Department—the single largest police force in the world. Artifacts date back to early Dutch settlement. The site includes information relevant to September 11, 2001, as well as a memorial hall honoring officers who fell in the line of duty. Exhibit topics include police dress, transportation, communication equipment, portraits, weaponry, 9/11, and jails.

The site offers exhibits, films, and a child safety program designed for parents and guardians. Reservations are required for school groups.

Island County Historic Society and Museum [WA]

Description

The Island County Historic Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Island County, Washington from the Ice Age through the mid-20th century. Topics given particular emphasis include maritime history, Pacific Northwest Native American cultures, military history, and the settlers of 1853. Collections and archives number more than 19,000 items. The society operates a museum of local history, located on the former site of the 1870 Mother Fay’s Hotel.

The society offers exhibits, one-hour to 90-minute guided tours for students, library access, and research assistance. Research assistance requires payment of a fee. Two weeks advance notice is required for all visits by more than five individuals. Some student tours include pre-visit curriculum materials.

Fort Assiniboine Historic Site, Northern Agricultural Research Center [MT]

Description

The Fort Assinniboine Historic Site preserves the site of what was once the largest military fort west of the Mississippi River, with 104 structures over 700,000 acres. Founded in 1879, the soldiers of Fort Assinniboine protected settlers from Sitting Bull's Lakota Sioux and other Native Americans. Other responsibilities included patrolling the U.S.-Canada border and preventing the Blackfoot Confederacy, Montana Indian Reservations, and Canadian Native Americans from acting against Euro-American settlers. The fort's location was selected as the nexus of several Native American trails. The site currently serves as an agricultural research center.

The site offers guided tours. Reservations are required for groups.

Hood River County Historical Museum [OR]

Description

Hood River County Historical Museum presents the socio-cultural history of Hood River County, Oregon. Topics addressed within permanent exhibits include the daily lives of pioneer, Native American, and area ethnic groups, as well as Japanese Internment after Pearl Harbor.

The museum offers exhibits, guided tours, self-guided tours, activity tours, research assistance, a traveling trunk on the local fruit industry, and several school tour options. All guided tours are customized to group needs. Payment is required for research assistance.

Fort Bend Museum Complex [TX]

Description

The Fort Bend Museum Complex presents the local history of the Brazos River and Fort Bend County, Texas. The complex includes the Long-Smith Cottage, the 1883 John M. Moore Home, the McFarlane House, and a history museum. The 1840 Greek Revival Long-Smith Cottage was once the residence of Jane Long (1798-1880), known as the "Mother of Texas." She is thought to be the first English-speaking woman to give birth to a baby in Texas. Today, the cottage is styled to depict 1840s and 1860's middle-class life in Richmond, Texas. The neoclassical 1883 John M. Moore Home belonged to a prominent area rancher and politician, John M. Moore. The house holds period rooms, meeting rooms, and exhibits. The museum offers dioramas of key historical periods, including the 1821 settlement, the Texas Revolution (1835-1836), the plantation period, and the Civil War.

The museum offers period rooms, exhibits, tours, school tours, school walking tours, school outreach programs, a traveling trunk, Scout programs, junior docent positions, and summer activities. The website offers activities, extra information, and suggested reading lists for teachers.

State Historical Society of North Dakota and North Dakota Heritage Center

Description

The State Historical Society of North Dakota preserves and presents the history of the state of North Dakota. To this end, the society operates extensive archives and a heritage center. The Main Gallery offers an overview of North Dakota history from the Late Cretaceous (circa 65 million years ago) to the 1930s. A number of temporary exhibits are also on view at any given time.

The society offers exhibits, a children's area, school tours, archival and genealogical library access, and research assistance. A fee is charged for research assistance. The website offers online archival materials, lesson plans, and virtual exhibits.

Pioneer Woman Museum [OK]

Description

The Museum preserves the legacy of women from all races, creeds, and nationalities who have contributed to the development of Oklahoma. Its education center features craft demonstrations, special exhibits, an interactive timeline, and the Pioneer Woman Walk of Fame.

The museum offers exhibits, demonstrations, workshops, and educational and recreational events.

Sutter's Fort State Historic Park [CA]

Description

In 1839 a Swiss immigrant named John Sutter received a land grant in the Sacramento Valley from the Mexican government. He used the land to create a flourishing agricultural empire and named it New Helvetia (New Switzerland.) This empire established Sacramento's earliest settlement and the first non-Indian settlement in California's Central Valley. In 1847, Sutter sent aid to the Donner Party, a group of immigrants trapped in a winter storm in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Word spread and Sutter became known for his hospitality and for providing temporary refuge to travelers. This reputation made New Helvetia the destination for early immigrants to California. Less than a decade after they were established, Sutter's properties were overrun by gold seekers and the fort is all that remains of New Helvetia. It has been restored to its former state based on an 1847 map published in Darmstadt, Germany and is open daily for tours.

The park offers exhibits; tours; and recreational and educational events, including living history events.

Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site [SC]

Description

Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site commemorates the site at which English settlers landed in 1670. From there, they established a settlement which would eventually birth the plantation system, the Carolina Colony, and a major maritime commerce center. The site includes a 12-room museum; a 17th-century replica maritime vessel, the trading ketch Adventure; a natural habitat zoo; reconstructed fortifications; and 80 acres of gardens. The zoo houses animal species which lived in South Carolina circa 1670.

The site offers interactive exhibits; musket, cannon, and open hearth cooking demonstrations; hands-on activities; guided and self-guided educational programs which correspond to state educational standards; audio tours; gardens; interpretive trails; and picnic areas. Strollers and wheelchairs are available for use on site.

Daniel Boone Homestead [PA]

Description

The Daniel Boone Homestead is a state historic site which preserves a number of historic structures. Daniel Boone's parents first settled the site in 1730 and the region was populated by many diverse people—English, Welsh, Scots-Irish, Germans, Swedes, Huguenots, and Lenape Indians. Daniel was born here in 1734 and spent his first 16 years here before his family migrated to North Carolina. Today the site tells the story of Daniel's youth and the saga of the region's 18th-century settlers by contrasting their lives and cultures. This region left a lasting impact on Daniel Boone's life, and on the history of Pennsylvania.

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