River Road African American Museum [LA]

Description

The River Road African American Museum presents the history of the African American population along the Mississippi River. Exhibits discuss cuisine, jazz, African American doctors and inventors, Louisiana's Underground Railroad, education, and other topics.

The museum offers exhibits; tours; a guided museum and neighborhood tour; a school tour drawing heavily upon art, music, and history with an optional scavenger hunt and/or storyteller; and educational programs on the Underground Railroad and plants which men and women seeking their freedom may have used for nourishment and medicine.

Farmington Historic Plantation [KY]

Description

The Farmington Historic Plantation, built between 1815 and 1816 as a working hemp plantation, was home to John (1772-1840) and Lucy Fry (1788-1874) Speed. Today, the Federal-style home is furnished to an 1830s appearance, the period of time when the plantation was at its peak prosperity; and the furnishing of the home was largely guided by Speed's 1940 home inventory. The number of slaves on site varied between 45 and 64 during the plantation's operation, while the average state slaveholder owned only 5 individuals. Reconstructed structures on the grounds include the summer kitchen and cook's quarters and a springhouse. The grounds also hold a blacksmith shop, never originally on the plantation. The plantation is relevant to slavery, the Civil War, period politics, gender roles, and John Speed's close friendship with Abraham Lincoln.

The plantation offers period rooms, periodic re-enactments offering living history interactions, educational programming in compliance with state educational standards, quill pen writing, a scavenger hunt, 19th-century games, and cornhusk doll making. The website offers pre-visit information packages for teachers. Educational programs are available to all students, including home school students.

Historic Brattonsville [SC]

Description

Historic Brattonsville consists of the Bratton farm, which has been carefully restored and now serves as a historic house musum and living history center. Historic Brattonsville preserves the history of the farm from its role in the revolutionary war through its days as a large, rural farm run by slave labor. The museum also has a special focus on African American history.

Historic Brattonsville offers exhibits, guided tours, field trip activities, children's activities, and occasional special events such as family days and presentations. The website offers visitor information, a history of the farm, an events calendar, and information regarding the programs offered by the farm.

Buffalo Soldiers National Museum [TX]

Description

The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum presents the story of African American soldiers in the United States. An 1866 Congressional act created six African American Army units, two cavalry and four infantry. The high skill level of the 10th cavalry unit led to its members being known as Buffalo Warriors as early as 1867. Over time, the nickname spread; and came to refer to all African American soldiers.

The museum offers exhibits.

Vincennes State Historic Sites [IN]

Description

The Vincennes State Historic Sites commemorate Indiana's early state history—with the city itself founded in 1732. Structures include the 1805 Indiana Territory capital building; a historic print shop; the birthplace of the author Maurice Thompson; an 1838 bank; Fort Knox II, hospital to the wounded of the Battle of Tippecanoe; the 1801 Jefferson Academy; and a prehistoric burial mound. Maurice Thompson (1844-1901) authored 1900's bestselling romance novel, Alice of Old Vincennes. Topics covered include slavery, military life, domestic life, historical sciences, the fur trade.

The sites offer period rooms, educational outreach programs, group tours, educational presentations, interpretive signage, educational programs, lesson plans, and summer camps.

Salem Historical Society and Museum [VA]

Description

The Salem Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Salem, Virginia. To this end, the society operates a museum. Located within a mid-19th-century residence, post office, and general store, the museum offers exhibits on daily life, local Native American groups, the Civil War, local African American history, and the Lakeside resort. A historic herb garden and late Victorian parlor are also available for viewing.

The museum offers exhibits, a period room, a historic garden, walking tours, and outreach presentations.

The Salem Museum is currently closed for renovation. However, walking tours and outreach presentations are still available.

Germantown Historical Society [PA]

Description

The Germantown Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Philadelphia's German Township, now Germantown, Mt. Airy, and Chestnut Hill. To this end, the society operates a museum, library, and archives. The township was the original German settlement in the United States; the location of the first written abolitionist statement; an early commuter suburb; and the site of the October 4, 1777 Battle of Germantown. Materials in the library and archives date back to 1683. Specialties include African American genealogy, local railroads, and the Germantown Theatre Guild. Museum collections number more than 50,000 artifacts—over 8,000 of which are historical fashion pieces.

The society offers library and archive access, exhibits, educational programs, guided area walking tours, and research assistance. Research assistance requires payment. Reservations are required for walking tours, and the group must include at least 10 people.

Pond Spring: The General Joe Wheeler Home [AL]

Description

Once home to prehistoric Native Americans, Pond Spring is the post-Civil War home of General Joseph Wheeler, a Confederate major general, a U.S. congressman, and a Spanish-American War general. Following the Civil War, Wheeler became a national symbol for reunification and reconciliation. Wheeler's daughter, "Miss Annie Wheeler," served in three wars as a Red Cross nurse. The 50-acre site includes a dogtrot log house built around 1818, a circa-1830 Federal-style house, the 1880s Wheeler house, eight farm-related outbuildings, two family cemeteries, an African-American cemetery, a small Indian mound, a pond, a boxwood garden, and other garden areas.

The site offers tours by appointment.

The John G. Riley Foundation, Inc. [FL]

Description

The John G. Riley Foundation works towards the preservation of the John Riley House and of the cultural and educational history of African Americans in Tallahassee, Florida. The foundation operates the Riley House Museum, which is a typical historic house museum. The Museum is also home to the foundation's extensive library.

The foundation offers exhibits in the Riley House Museum, an oral history program, a historic archive, educational programs, and workshops. The website offers visitor information, a brief history of the home, information regarding upcoming events, and a brief biography of John Riley.

Historic Latta Plantation [NC]

Description

Historic Latta Plantation is a historic cotton plantation, dating to circa 1800, and living history farm.

The plantation offers a 15-minute introductory video, guided house tours, self-guided grounds tours, educational programs, traveling trunks, home school programs, and summer camps. The website offers a teacher resource guides, suggested reading, historic games, instructions for making historic toys, and a virtual tour.