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.

Osage County Historical Society, Hawley Genealogical Research Center, and Museum [KS]

Description

The Osage County Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Osage County, Kansas. To this end, the society operates a museum of local history. Topics addressed include business, farming, railways, coal mining, and family life. The area's ethnic heritage includes African Americans and English, Welsh, Swedish, French, Irish, German, and Italian immigrants.

The museum offers exhibits. The research center offers access to official Orange County records, as well as research assistance. Payment is required for research assistance.

Healy House Museum and Dexter Cabin [CO]

Description

Visitors to two of Leadville's earliest houses can catch a glimpse of western life in a booming silver-mining camp. James V. Dexter's surprisingly plush 1879 log cabin was the Leadville residence of this mining investor and businessman. August R. Meyer's 1878 Greek Revival clapboard house (now called Healy House) was built for his bride, Emma. The home features lavish Victorian furnishings collected in Leadville, including objects belonging to silver tycoon Horace and Augusta Tabor, along with other Leadville pioneers. For many years it was a boarding house and by 1900 twenty-one people called this home. The boarders included Dan Healy, and his cousin, Nellie, who taught school, and several of the men employed by the railroads.

The sites offer tours and educational programs.

The Historical Society of Idaho Springs [CO]

Description

The Historical Society of Idaho Springs is dedicated to preserving the historic heritage of Idaho Springs, Colorado, one of the first mountain communities west of Denver on I-70. The town is also well known for being where the gold rush of 1859 began. The society runs the Heritage Museum, a local history museum, the Underhill Museum, which is a historic house museum, and provides walking tours of the community.

The society also offers exhibits in both of its museums as well as guided tours and special events. The website offers detailed historical information regarding Idaho Springs, a historic photo gallery, and an events calendar. In order to contact the site via email, use the "contact us" link located on the left side of the webpage.

Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum and Muheim Heritage House Museum [AZ]

Description

The Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, housed in the former corporate headquarters of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company, interprets the rise of the copper mining industry in the region. The Museum also maintains the Muheim Heritage House Museum, an 1898 home restored to its turn-of-the-century state.

The museum offers exhibits and research library access; the Muheim Heritage House offers tours.

Dorothy G. Page Museum and Historic Town Site [AK]

Description

The Dorothy G. Page Museum presents the history of the Wasilla, Knik, and Willow Creek areas, Alaska. Exhibit topics include mining; the Knik Trading Co.; the postal system; the Den'iana Athabascans, the local Native American population; and Joe Reddington Sr. and Dorothy G. Page, founders of the Iditarod. Eight historic structures display the 1917 beginnings of Wasilla.

The museum offers exhibits and tours. Reservations are required for tours.

Bannack State Park [MT]

Description

Bannack State Park is the site of Montana's first major gold discovery on July 28, 1862. This strike set off a massive gold rush that swelled Bannack's population to over 3,000 by 1863. As the value of gold steadily dwindled, Bannack's bustling population was slowly snuffed out. There are over 50 buildings that line Main Street with their historic log and frame structures that recall Montana's formative years.

A second website for the site can be found here.

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

Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park [AZ]

Description

The Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park is located in the Tombstone, the seat of Cochise County. Built in 1882, the structure was designed in the Victorian style and once house the offices of the sheriff, recorder, treasurer, and board of supervisors, as well as the jail and courtrooms of Cochise County. Today, the structure serves as a museum of law enforcement in the wild west.

The courthouse offers guided tours and exhibits on law in the wild west and local history. The website offers visitor information, a calendar of events, and a history of the structure and of Tombstone.

Historical Museum at St. Gertrude [ID]

Description

The Historical Museum at St. Gertrude presents the history of North Central Idaho. Collections include more than 10,000 archival materials; 150 years of textiles; weaponry, some of which was used in the 1877 Nez Perce War; Nez Perce artifacts; a range of historic office machinery, including a 1902 Burroughs “Moon Hopkins” bookkeeping machine and an 1895 Dactyle calculator; world minerals; mining equipment; medical artifacts, including a 1900 fetal monitor and a tonsillectomy chair; and artifacts of Chinese immigrants. The museum also owns many of Polly Bemis' previous possessions. Bemis (1853-1933), originally from China, was brought to an Idaho mining camp as a female slave. Roughly 12,000 artifacts, some of which date to the 14th century, are on display.

The museum offers exhibits