Eckley Miners' Village [PA]

Description

Eckley is one of the hundreds of company mining towns or "patches" built in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania during the 19th century. In 1854, the mining firm of Sharpe, Leisenring, and Company, later known as Sharpe, Weiss, and Company, leased land from the Tench Coxe Estate of Philadelphia and began work on the Council Ridge Colliery and the village of Eckley. The village, built near the colliery where the coal was mined and processed, provided housing for the miners and their families. Its stores, schools, and churches supplied the economic, educational, and religious needs of the villagers. By owning the village, the company had greater control over the lives of their workers.

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

Passaic County Historical Society [NJ]

Description

The Passaic County Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the unique historical heritage of Passaic County, New Jersey, and is focused on the preservation of the fabulous Lambert Castle, built by Catholina Lambert in 1892. Today, the castle serves as a historic house museum and as a museum of local history.

The society offers exhibits, field trip programs, and guided tours of the castle. The website offers visitor information, historical information regarding the castle and Catholina Lambert, and an events calendar.

Hans Herr House and Museum [PA]

Description

The 1719 Hans Herr House is the oldest Mennonite dwelling in the U.S. At its peak, the residence was located on 10,000 acres belonging to nine Mennonite men. Today, the museum complex includes several barns and Pennsylvania German farmhouses. Collections include agricultural equipment dating from the 18th century to present.

The house offers guided tours, summer day camps with 18th-century activities, local area tours, customizable field trips with hands-on activities, student apprenticeship programs, wagon rides, period skill demonstrations, and outreach programs. Outreach program options include slide shows, storytelling, demonstrations, games, activities, and food. Handicapped access, particularly wheelchair access, is limited.

Bonnet House Museum and Gardens [FL]

Description

Built in 1920, the Museum is a 35-acre subtropical estate and historic house museum. The Main House is filled with a collection of art and the personal treasures of the Birch/Bartlett families. The surrounding grounds of the estate range from a mangrove swamp to a coastal hammock, providing habitat for a variety of fish, monkeys, and other wildlife.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and recreational and educational events.

Our House [OH]

Description

Our House—a three-story brick tavern in the Federal style—was built in Gallipolis by Henry Cushing in 1819. The tavern boasted (in addition to its taproom, dining room, and other usual facilities) a large ballroom for social functions. On 22 May 1825, General Lafayette visited Gallipolis and was entertained at Our House Tavern. Gallipolis still celebrates Lafayette's visit with a ceremony each spring. The Cushing family owned and operated Our House until 1865.

The site offers tours and educational programs.

Hanby House [OH]

Description

This is the home of Benjamin Russell Hanby, composer of numerous songs, including "Darling Nellie Gray" and "Up on the Housetop." Hanby played many roles in his life, as well as composer: student, abolitionist, father, teacher, minister. The house was built in 1846 and occupied by the Hanbys from 1853 to 1870. From their house and barn, Ben Hanby and his father, Bishop William Hanby, ran a busy station on the Underground Railroad. The home contains furniture and personal items from the family. There is a walnut desk made by Hanby. The original plates for the first edition of "Darling Nellie Gray" and a large collection of sheet music and books are at the site.

The house offers tours.

Hayes Presidential Center [OH]

Description

The Hayes Presidential Center contains the residence of Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States, a library and museum, and the tomb of the president and his wife Lucy Webb Hayes. Hayes's uncle, Sardis Birchard, named the site Spiegel Grove from the German word for mirror. It was based on the reflections from the pools of water under the trees. The homestead, a stately mansion, is furnished in late 19th-century style. The library and museum building houses the personal papers and mementos of the Hayes family, the Civil War, and the White House. Hayes's tomb is encased in a monument of Vermont granite from his father's farm.

A second website for the Presidential Center can be found here.

The center offers exhibits; tours; research library access; lectures; and recreational and educational events, including living history events.

Harding Home, Museum, and Tomb [OH]

Description

Warren G. Harding launched himself into the White House in 1920 with his famous "front porch" campaign, which he conducted from his Victorian home in Marion, OH. The restored house was built in 1891 and contains almost all original furnishings owned by President Harding and his wife Florence. Adjacent to the Harding Home is a press house used during the 1920 campaign which now serves as a museum dedicated to President and Mrs. Harding's lives. Located two miles from the Home and Museum is the Harding Tomb, a circular monument of white Georgia marble containing the remains of President and Mrs. Harding, set in 10 acres of landscaped grounds.

An individual website for the Harding Tomb can be found here.

The house and museum offer exhibits, tours, and educational programs; the tomb is open to the public.

Grant Birthplace [OH]

Description

Ulysses S. Grant was born 27 April 1822 in picturesque Point Pleasant near the mouth of Big Indian Creek at the Ohio River. This restored one-story, three-room cottage, which was built in 1817, was next to the tannery where Grant's father worked. The small cottage is furnished with period items. At one time the birthplace made an extensive tour of the United States on a railroad flatcar and was also temporarily displayed on the Ohio State fairgrounds.

The site offers tours.

Powhatan Historic State Park [AR]

Description

In the late 1800s, this busy river port on the Black River was the shipping point for a large territory. In 1888, a Victorian courthouse was built here. Restored in 1970 to the architect's original plans, the courthouse today serves as a regional archive that contains some of the oldest records in Arkansas. Visitors can tour the Powhatan Courthouse, 1873 Powhatan Jail, 1840s Ficklin-Imboden House, 1888 Telephone Exchange Building, and 1880s Powhatan Male and Female Academy, a unique two-room schoolhouse, all gracing their original foundations.

The site offers tours, exhibits, and workshops.