Governor John Langdon House

Description

John Langdon rose from modest origins to become a merchant, shipbuilder, Revolutionary leader, signer of the United States Constitution, and three-term governor of New Hampshire. The house he built for his family in 1784 expresses his status as Portsmouth's leading citizen and was praised by George Washington, who visited there in 1789. Its reception rooms are ornamented by elaborate wood carving in the rococo style. After Langdon's death in 1819, the house was occupied by other leading families. At the end of the 19th century, Langdon descendants purchased the house and restored it to its 18th-century state, adding on a substantial wing designed by McKim, Mead, and White to house modern conveniences.

The house offers tours.

Varnum Memorial Armory Museum [RI]

Description

The Varnum Continentals built their armory in 1913 in the medieval architectural style. The armory is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A 1984 State Historical Building Survey described the Varnum Memorial Armory as remaining in perfect original condition. Among the key architectural details are the towers, the massive double doors, the multiple arched windows, and the crenellated parapet along the roofline. The armory serves contains an extensive military and naval museum which has been acquired through donation and purchase.

The museum offers exhibits and occasional recreational and educational events.

First Territorial Capitol State Historic Site

Description

This building was the capitol for only four days in 1855, but many believe that the actions of the legislature that met here led directly to the Civil War. Governor Andrew Reeder picked this location, away from the proslavery influence of Missouri, where the legislature would choose a permanent seat of government, create a constitution, and decide if Kansas would be a free or slave state. Instead the legislature kicked out the antislavery members and passed a bill to move the government to Shawnee Mission near the Missouri border. Inside this native stone building visitors will learn the stories of the antislavery and proslavery people of territorial Kansas, set alongside the beauty of the Kaw River Nature Trail.

The site offers exhibits, tours, and educational and recreational events.

Arlington Historical Society, Museum, and Jason Russell House [Massachusetts]

Description

The Jason Russell House was the site of the bloodiest fighting during the first day of the Revolutionary War, April 19, 1775. Today it and the adjoining Smith Museum hold collections of the Society. The Society, with offices in the Smith Museum, hosts a yearly lecture series as well as offering individual and group tours of the Jason Russell House. Through its education and outreach program, the Arlington Historical Society welcomes school classes and scout groups to explore life in colonial America.

The society offers lectures, research library access, and occasional recreational and educational programs; the house offers tours; and the museum offers tours and exhibits.

Dallas Heritage Village at Old City Park

Description

Dallas Heritage Village is a living history museum portraying life in North Texas from 1840–1910. The museum is composed of 38 historic structures and boasts a working Civil War era farm, a traditional Jewish household, elegant Victorian homes, a school, a church, and commercial buildings.

The village offers tours, exhibits, living history demonstrations and reenactments, workshops, and other educational and recreational events.

Tippecanoe County Historical Association and Historical Sites

Description

The Association operates several historical sites in the county. The Tippecanoe County Historical Museum is housed in the Gothic Revival home built by Moses Fowler in 1851–1852; Fort Ouiatenon recreates an early French trading post blockhouse (1717–1791); and the Tippecanoe Battlefield memorializes the 1812 battle between Indiana Territories and Shawnee forces.

The society offers research library access, occasional living history events, and educational and recreational programs; the museums offers exhibits; the fort offers occasional living history events, exhibits, and tours; the battlefield offers exhibits and tours.

Washington Crossing Historic Park [PA]

Description

The Park memorializes the historic crossing of the Delaware by George Washington and his troops during the American Revolution, while preserving and presenting a number of historic structures, including the 18th-century McConkey's Ferry Inn, the 18th-century Thompson-Neely House, and a variety of early-19th-century homes and structures.

The park offers exhibits, tours, a short film, classes, and educational and recreational events (including living history events).

Cape May Point State Park and Lighthouse [NJ]

Description

The 157-foot-high lighthouse is still an aid to navigation. Visitors who climb the 199 steps to the top of the lighthouse are rewarded with a panoramic view of the Cape May peninsula. The first known lighthouse at Cape May was built in 1823. By 1847 a new lighthouse was erected on a high bluff; however, due to the encroaching sea and poor building design it was eventually dismantled. Built in 1859, the current lighthouse used the original bricks of the 1847 lighthouse. Also on the site is a World War II bunker, built as part of the Harbor Defense Project of 1942.

The site offers exhibits, tours, and educational and recreational events.

CSS Neuse State Historic Site and Governor Caswell Memorial [NC]

Description

Glimpses into two of the U.S.'s wars can be found in one historic site within the city of Kinston. Here visitors can explore the celebrated life of Richard Caswell, the first governor of the independent state of North Carolina. They can also see up close the remnants of the ironclad gunboat CSS Neuse, a product of the Confederate Navy's ill-fated attempt to regain control of the lower Neuse River and retake the city of New Bern during the Civil War.

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