Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park [NJ]

Description

With its 19th-century bridges, bridgetender houses, past and present locks, cobblestone spillways, and hand-built stone-arched culverts, the canal is a tremendous attraction for history lovers. The upper reach of the feeder canal wanders through New Jersey towns along the Delaware River such as Stockton and Lambertville. The main canal passes the Port Mercer canal house, through the village of Griggstown to Blackwells Mills, ending up in New Brunswick. Most of the old canal system remains intact today and is a reminder of the days when the delivery of freight depended upon a team of mules or steam tugboats. Nearly 36 miles of the main canal and 22 miles of the feeder canal still exist, with many historic structures along the canal.

A second website for the park can be found here.

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

Empire Mine State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Empire Mine State Historic Park is the site of one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest, and richest gold mines in California. In existence for more than 100 years, the mine produced 5.6 million ounces of gold before it closed in 1956. The park contains many of the mine's buildings, the owner's home. and restored gardens, as well as the entrance to 367 miles of abandoned and flooded mine shafts.

The park offers exhibits, tours, living history presentations and events, and occasional recreational and educational events.

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).

Historic Bath [NC]

Description

European settlement near the Pamlico River in the 1690s led to the founding of Bath, North Carolina's first town, in 1705. By 1708, Bath had 50 people and 12 houses. It soon became North Carolina's first port. Political rivalries, Indian wars, and piracy marked its early years, but in 1746 Bath was considered for the colony's capital. However, when county government moved away in the late 1700s, Bath lost most of its importance and trade. Its original town limits encompass a historic district today. Restoration efforts in Bath have saved the St. Thomas Church, the Palmer-Marsh House, Van Der Veer House (circa 1790), and the Bonner House (circa 1830).

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

Tomo-Kahni State Historic Park: Kawaiisu Native American Village [CA]

Description

Nestled atop a ridge in the Tehachapi Mountains, overlooking Sand Canyon to the east and the Tehachapi valley to the west, Tomo-Kahni, or "Winter Village," was the site of a Kawaiisu (Nuooah) Village. The location was likely chosen for its moderate temperature and plentiful resources. The Kawaiisu migrated from the Great Basin and made the Tehachapi their home for two to three thousand years. The Kawaiisu are noted for their finely woven baskets of intricate and colorful design.

The park offers exhibits and tours.

John Wingate Weeks Estate [NH]

Description

The Mt. Prospect estate was built at the direction of John Wingate Weeks, leading conservationist, U.S. congressman, U.S. senator, and secretary of war under presidents Harding and Coolidge. Set at the very top of Mt. Prospect, the house and grounds provide a 360-degree panorama of mountain splendor, including the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the Kilkenny Range, the Percy Peaks, and the upper Connecticut River Valley. The Weeks estate is one of the best preserved of many grand summer homes built in New Hampshire during this period.

The estate offers tours and recreational and educational events.

La Purísima Mission State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Misión la Purísima Concepción de María Santísima (Mission of the Immaculate Conception of Most Holy Mary) was founded by Father Presidente Fermin de Lasuén on December 8, 1787. It was the 11th of 21 Franciscan Missions established in Alta California. A major earthquake on December 21, 1812, destroyed many of the mission buildings. Father Mariano Payeras received permission to relocate the mission community four miles to the northeast in La Cañada de los Berros, next to El Camino Real. La Purísima Mission was officially established in its new location on April 23, 1813. Materials salvaged from the buildings destroyed by the earthquake were used to construct the new buildings, which were completed within 10 years. The end of the California missions came in 1834, when the Mexican government, which had gained independence from Spain, transferred control of the missions from the Catholic Church to civil authorities. Today, La Purísima Mission State Historic Park is considered the most completely restored mission in California, with 10 of the original buildings fully restored and furnished, including the church, shops, quarters, and blacksmith shop. The mission gardens and livestock represent what would have been found at the mission during the 1820s. Special living history events are scheduled throughout the year. A visitor center features information, displays, and artifacts; and a self-guided tour gives visitors the opportunity to step back in time for a glimpse of a brief, turbulent period in California's history.

The site offers exhibits, tours, living history events, educational programs, and occasional other educational and recreational events.

Monterey State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Visitors to this park can step into the past on the "Monterey Walking Path of History" and view the site where Spanish explorers first landed in Monterey in 1602; see one of the nation's last remaining whalebone sidewalks; and walk the same streets that author Robert Louis Stevenson walked in 1879 as they explore this two-mile path and discover some of California's most historic homes, buildings, and gardens along the way. Monterey served as California's capital under Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. military rule. The U.S. flag was first officially raised in California here on July 7, 1846, bringing 600,000 square miles of land to the United States. Ten buildings, including the Custom House, the oldest government building in California, and several residences (now house museums with guided tours), are all part of the Path of History.

The park offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, occasional living history events, and occasional other educational and recreational events.