North Andover Historical Society, Museum, and Historic Houses

Description

Founded in 1913, the Society is headquartered at the Samuel Dale Stevens Memorial Building. This museum houses the Society's collection of early American furniture and changing exhibits in the Main Gallery; an extensive archive of historic documents, photographs, and maps; a book shop, and staff offices. The 1789 Johnson Cottage, adjacent to the museum, is the last surviving artisan's cottage in North Andover's Old Center. The Cottage shows the life of an average family in the 19th century. The 1715 Parson Barnard House is the Society's other historic house. Visitors will see furnishings that reflect the changes in lifestyle as experienced by four early inhabitants of the house from 1715 through 1830.

The society offers tours, lectures, workshops, research library access, and educational and recreational programs; the museums offer exhibits.

Maine Maritime Museum

Description

The Museum presents visitors with exhibits brimming with art and artifacts; contemporary, interactive areas for children and adults; an historic shipyard with five of the original 19th-century buildings; a Victorian-era shipyard owner's home; an active waterfront; and a life-size sculptural representation of the largest wooden sailing vessel ever built.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, boat cruises, classes, educational programs, research library access, and educational and recreational events.

Cape Disappointment State Park and Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center

Description

Cape Disappointment State Park is a 1,882-acre camping park on the Long Beach Peninsula, fronted by the Pacific Ocean. The park offers 27 miles of ocean beach, two lighthouses (the North Head Lighthouse and the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse), the Victorian Colbert House Museum, an interpretive center, and hiking trails. Visitors enjoy beachcombing and exploring the area's rich natural and cultural history. The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center stands high on the cliffs of the park, 200 feet above the pounding Pacific surf. A series of mural-sized "timeline" panels guides visitors through the westward journey of the Lewis and Clark Expedition using sketches, paintings, photographs, and the words of Corps members themselves. The center also features short film presentations, a gift shop and a glassed-in observation deck with views of the river, headlands, and sea. Additional displays focus on local maritime and military history.

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

Caumsett State Historic Park

Description

In 1921 Marshall Field III purchased 1,750 acres of Lloyd Neck to create one large estate. He named the land after its Matinecock Indian name, Caumsett, which means "place by a sharp rock." Field created a self-sufficient English-style estate as a combination country club, hunting preserve, and home, complete with its own water and electrical supply. When the estate was finished, it had facilities for every sport except golf.

The site offers tours and some educational services.

Stenton [PA]

Description

As part of Philadelphia's Historic Northwest, Stenton sits on three acres of the original 500-acre plantation. The site includes an elegant 1730 mansion, a kitchen wing, privy, icehouse, barn, and Colonial Revival garden.

Built and owned by James Logan, Secretary to Pennsylvania founder William Penn, Stenton is a house of learning, past and present. As Pennsylvania grew as a colony, James Logan was one of the most important individuals in guiding that growth. In time, he was able to build a country house, saying, "I am about purchasing a plantation to retire to for I am heartily out of love with the world." During the last 20 years of his life when he lived at Stenton, Logan was a distinguished scholar and collected a tremendous library, which he left to the City of Philadelphia.

The site offers tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Clinton House State Historic Site [NY]

Description

The Clinton House was first built in 1765, and is notable for being actively used when Poughkeepsie was the capital of New York during the years from 1777 to 1783. Today, the home is open to the public as a historic house museum and has been restored to its state during the late 1700s.

The house offers guided tours. The website offers visitor information and a brief history of the home.

Captain Salem Avery House [MD]

Description

The Captain Salem Avery House, built circa 1860, served as the home of a local fisherman, known as Captain Avery, and his family. The museum presents the history of the Chesapeake Bay's western shore—with a particular focus on the years between 1850 and the present.

The house offers exhibits and a research library. The library collection includes oral histories. The website offers an activity guide for teachers.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum [MO]

Description

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum exhibits include artifacts spanning over a century of the pioneer history described in the Little House books. The books, written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), chronicle the author's life in a pioneer family. The life, writings, and career of Rose Wilder Lane (1886-1968), Laura's daughter, are also featured in a section of the museum. Recreations of rooms from Rose's homes, her desks, her manuscripts, and souvenirs from her world travels are also displayed. The museum is located at Rocky Ridge Farm, where Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote her famous novels.

The museum offers period rooms and exhibits. The website offers word finds, book quizzes, and coloring pages.

Hermitage Foundation [VA]

Description

The Hermitage Museum and Gardens consists of an early 20th century historic house museum with a worldwide art collection and contemporary exhibition galleries, surrounded by twelve acres of formal gardens and natural woodlands, educational wetlands, a Visual Arts School, and a Studio Artists Program.

The Foundation offers a variety of tours and special programs which can be catered to schoolchildren, individuals, or adult group tours. The Foundation also offers periodic special events, including special art exhibits and presentations. The website offers visitor information, a history of the site, and an events calendar.

Burlington County Historical Society and Museums [NJ]

Description

The Burlington County Historical Society operates three house museums furnished in period style—the 1743 Bard-How House, circa 1780 James Fenimore Cooper House, and Captain James Lawrence House. The Cooper House was the birthplace of James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851), author of The Last of the Mohicans; and now contains items from the estate of Napoleon's brother. The Lawrence House served as the boyhood home of Captain James Lawrence (1781-1813), who died in the War of 1812, best known for initiating the battle cry, "Don't give up the ship!" The society also maintains a research library and an exhibit on production history within Burlington County, NJ.

The society offers exhibits, research library access, period rooms, and guided house museum tours.