Grand County Historical Association and Historic Sites [CO]

Description

The Society operates several historical sites, including the Pioneer Village Museum Complex, the Cozens Ranch and Stage Stop Museum, and Heritage Park. The Pioneer Village Museum features displays including original railroad cars and railroad exhibits, plus an historic enclosure featuring five original structures that interpret Grand County history. One of the earliest stage stops in Grand County, the Cozens Ranch and Stage Stop Museum includes staging and freighting history and features a replica stagecoach, several local history exhibits, and an authentic interpretation of 19th-century stagecoach travel. Heritage Park preserves the restored 1903 McElroy Livery and an 1885 log cabin.

The society offers in-character presentations; the Pioneer Village Museum offers exhibits; the Cozens Ranch offers exhibits; the Livery and cabin offer tours.

Route 66 Museum [OK]

Description

Exhibits at the Museum begin with "The World’s Largest Curio Cabinet," home of artifacts collected from along the route. Along the way visitors see vehicles and listen to music while they experience the history and culture of each decade, including road construction; transportation; lodging; restaurants; garages; curio shops; attractions; and other artifacts, graphics, and videos. At the end of their trip down the "Main Street of America," visitors can stop in the drive-in theater, viewing "The American Odyssey," narrated by Michael Wallis, an award-winning Route 66 historian.

The museum offers a short film and exhibits.

Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society and Hatton Ferry

Description

Founded in 1940, the Society seeks to study, preserve, and promote the history of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. The Society's museum collection contains over 1,500 artifacts of historical significance to Charlottesville and Albemarle County. The Society also maintains and operates the Hatton Ferry, one of only two poled ferries still operating in the United States; a small exhibit explores the history of the ferry, and visitors may ride across the river at no charge if water levels permit.

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

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Located in Jamestown, in the heart of California's Gold Country about 100 miles southeast of Sacramento, Railtown 1897 State Historic Park is home to the Historic Jamestown Shops and Roundhouse—an intact and still-functioning steam locomotive repair and maintenance facility, portions of which date back to 1897. This one-of-a-kind attraction combines industrial heritage and railroad history with the lore of Hollywood’s film industry. The Railtown 1897 Interpretive Center and the authentic roundhouse are among the Park's unique year-round offerings.

A second, individual website for the park can be found here.

The park offers train rides, exhibits, tours, and educational and recreational events.

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park presents the opportunity to experience the history of early San Diego by providing a connection to the past. Visitors can learn about life in the Mexican and early American periods of 1821 to 1872, as converging cultures transformed San Diego from a Mexican pueblo to an American settlement. The core of restored original historic buildings from the interpretive period are complemented by reconstructed sites, along with early 20th-century buildings designed in the same mode. The Historic Plaza remains a gathering place for community events and historic activity. Five original adobe buildings are part of the historic park, which includes museums, unique retail shops, and several restaurants. La Casa de Estudillo is a mansion built around a garden courtyard. La Casa de Machado y Stewart is full of artifacts that reflect ordinary life of the period. Some of the other historic buildings include the Mason Street School (California's first public schoolhouse), La Casa de Machado y Silvas, the San Diego Union Printing Office (site of the city's oldest surviving newspaper office), and the first brick courthouse. The Seeley Stables Museum, with newly rehabilitated exhibits on overland transportation, houses one of the finest wagon and carriage collections. Visitors can experience a working blacksmith shop, enjoy music, see or touch the park's burros, and engage in activities that represent early San Diego.

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

Western Gateway Heritage State Park

Description

A former railroad yard, this urban park uses historical artifacts and exhibits to bring to life the controversial and danger-filled construction of the Hoosac Tunnel, one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century. The tunnel was dug 4.75 miles through Hoosac Mountain, linking Massachusetts to Albany, NY. 200 men lost their lives building the tunnel, which is still being used today. An audio-visual presentation takes visitors back in time, where the sounds of dripping water, pickaxes against stone, explosions, and debates recreate the hardships and heroism of the tunnel's construction. Outside, several beautifully restored buildings that were once used to store freight and commodities surround a cobblestone courtyard. The buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Programs such as concerts, walking tours, arts and crafts, and environmental education are offered regularly to the public. In addition, the gallery has become well known for its exhibits that feature work by area artists and historical themes.

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

Canal Corridor Association and Gaylord Building

Description

The Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving history, protecting nature and open space, and creating tourism destinations in the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor. The Association also manages the Gaylord Building, a National Trust Historic Site, in Lockport, Illinois. One of the oldest industrial buildings in the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, the 1838 Gaylord Building is a model of adaptive reuse, featuring the Public Landing restaurant, canal exhibits and more. More than 150 years ago, the Gaylord Building played a major role in creation of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, the final link in America’s great water highway system of the 19th century. The Building also serves as a base for the Lockport Sleepers Vintage Base Ball Club, composed of living historians who interpret the national pastime as it was played in the late 1850s.

The association offers lectures and educational and recreational events; the building offers exhibits, tours, occasional living history events, and educational and recreational programs.