Santa Fe Trail Center Museum and Research Library [KS]

Description

The Santa Fe Trail Center interprets the historic transportation route known as the Santa Fe Trail. This regional museum and library preserves artifacts and manuscripts related to the blending of the major cultures along the Trail and enhances understanding of the continued development of the Trail. The center presents interrelated interpretive exhibits, learning programs, and resource materials to engage the public in learning about its past.

The center offers exhibits, school tours, and research library access.

North Carolina Transportation Museum

Description

Visitors to the Museum discover the people and machines that have moved North Carolina. Located on the site of Southern Railway's former steam locomotive repair facility Spencer Shops, this is where locomotives that hauled Southern's passenger trains and freight trains filled with North Carolina furniture, textiles, tobacco, and produce were serviced from 1896 to the late 1970s. Up to 3,000 people once worked here but today visitors can see an authentic train depot, antique automobiles, and a roundhouse with 25 locomotives.

A second website for the museum, operated by the Friends of the Museum, can be found here.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, train rides, educational programs, and recreational and educational events.

Culberson County Historical Museum

Description

"The museum building is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Van Horn. When Culberson County was first created (it broke off from El Paso County), the Museum site served as the first courthouse while one was being constructed. It subsequently served as a hotel for more than four decades. It was purchased in 1979 by the Museum Association and has been in the process of restoration since that time.

The Museum contains a large quantity of artifacts reflecting the history of Van Horn and the surrounding area. It features an old western style saloon with bar and mirrored back bar which have been in the same room since the early 1900’s. There are displays showing the history of mining, ranching, the railroad, and other early activities, as well as personal items which belonged to members of early pioneer families who first settled here."

Pend Oreille County Historical Society

Description

"The museum complex consists of the historic I. & W. N. Depot building built in 1908 which houses the gift shop and displays on the first and second floors. The adjoining Stuart B. Bradley Memorial Building, built with private funds, was dedicated in 1994. The upstairs houses various displays including a military display, the research department, and library. Downstairs is the meeting room, storage, office, and dark room. Also on the grounds are three log cabins, all of which were taken apart at their original locations, logs numbered, and then reconstructed on the museum grounds. They are the Claire Howe Schoolhouse, the Settler's Cabin, and the Hunter's Cabin. The Society also has a replica of a fire lookout constructed using Forest Service blueprints. The equipment shed has numerous displays of tools, farm machinery, a washing machine display, and a logging camp bunkhouse replica. The main exhibit in our railroad display is a Burlington Northern metal caboose. Large farm machinery is located on the grounds."

Beluga Point

Description

"The earliest evidence of humans along Turnagain Arm is at Beluga Point, which prehistoric hunters used as a view point to search for Beluga whales and sheep. The first white explorers arrived in 1778 aboard Captain Cook's ships, Discovery and Resolution. Cook sailed up Cook Inlet hoping to find the Northwest Passage, but had to "turn again", leading him to name the water body River Turnagain. In the late 19th century, miners and trappers began traveling into interior Alaska from Whittier and Seward along old trails that soon became established routes with roadhouses. In 1895 prospectors crossed from the south side of Turnagain Arm to the north and searched for gold from Girdwood to Rainbow Creek.

In 1903, the Alaska Central Railway began building a railroad from Seward to Fairbanks, but the company soon went bankrupt. The U.S. Government bought the railroad in 1915 and improved the trail along the arm to handle the horse and wagon traffic needed for railroad construction. The trail was also used to deliver mail between Anchorage and Seward. IN 1917 telegraph lines were laid along the Turnagain "road" and by 1918 the railroad extended from Seward to Anchorage, with flag stops at Bird Creek, Indian, Rainbow and Potter. Remnants of construction camps remain along the trail, but are barely discernible. Part of the original trail was covered by the highway which was completed in 1950 and paved in 1954."

California State Railroad Museum

Description

The California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento is a tribute to the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. The museum features 21 restored locomotives and cars, some dating back to 1862. There is a full-scale diorama of an 1860s construction site high in the Sierra Nevada as well as a bridge elevated 24 feet above the museum floor.

The museum offers exhibits, train rides, a short film, tours, research library access, educational programs, and recreational and educational events.

Jefferson Landing State Historic Site [MO]

Description

Jefferson Landing State Historic Site is significant as a rare surviving Missouri River landing. The Lohman Building, built in 1839, is a sturdy stone structure that served as a tavern and hotel, and in its heyday also housed one of the city's largest warehouse and mercantile businesses. Today, the main floor contains a visitor center with exhibits on transportation. Across the street from the Lohman Building is the Union Hotel, built in 1855. Today, the hotel houses the Elizabeth Rozier Gallery with its program of rotating exhibits emphasizing Missouri art and culture. A block away, the Missouri State Capitol is more than just the seat of government. Inside the Capitol, the Missouri State Museum houses an impressive collection of exhibits that portray Missouri's history, legends, and cultural achievements. A free guided tour is recommended to fully experience this monument to Missouri, but visitors can explore the four floors of the Capitol by themselves.

The site offers exhibits, tours, and a short film.

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.

Sparta Rock House [TN]

Description

The small, stone Rock House, originally built to collect tolls on a private road, was built between 1835 and 1839 by Barlow Fiske, who operated a stagecoach inn and stables nearby. It played an important role in the early development of Tennessee's transportation system. Andrew Jackson often stopped here on trips from Nashville to Washington. Other notable visitors included James K. Polk, Sam Houston, and Frank Clement, all once governors of the Volunteer State.

The house offers tours.

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

Description

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania houses one of the most significant collections of historic railroad artifacts in the world. Devoted to preserving and interpreting the broad impact of railroad development on society, the Museum displays over 100 locomotives and cars from the mid-19th and 20th centuries, including the priceless Pennsylvania Railroad Historical Collection.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, train rides, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).