Royal Arts Foundation- Belcourt Castle [RI]

Description

The Belcourt Castle was the home of built in 1894 by the famous American architect Richard Morris Hunt. It was designed as Louis XIII style hunting lodge to be a summer cottage during the Gilded Age. The mansion contains historical furnishings and memorabilia.

The Castle offers guided group tours for students that include showcase the Tinney family's (the current owners) antiques and the variety of architectural styles of the home. The tour covers the history of the Gilded Age and the home's illustrious residents O.H.P. Belmont, a representative of the Rothschild Banking empire and Congressman, and his wife Alva Vanderbilt, the former wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt.

Margaret Mitchell House and Museum [GA]

Description

The Margaret Mitchell House was the adult home of American author Margaret Mitchell and the place where she wrote Gone with the Wind. The site also houses the Literary Center, which honors Mitchell's legacy through writing education programs.

The Museum offers exhibits, guided tours (with group tours available by arrangement) writing classes, summer camps, lectures, and other recreational and educational events.

Pendarvis [WI]

Description

In the 1830s and 1840s, settlers from other parts of the United States and
Europe began to flow into the Wisconsin Territory. They were lured by the prospect of plentiful lead to be had in shallow diggings throughout the region. As the easy lead became scarce, and greater technical knowledge was needed to work the earth for its deeper lead and zinc deposits, immigrants from Cornwall,
England filled the need. These miners and their families made a lasting imprint on southwest Wisconsin.
At Pendarvis, you can see their stone cottages, learn about their lives, and come to understand how their legacy was preserved in the twentieth century.
Pendarvis offers guided tours for groups by reservation from May through October. Please allow at least 3 weeks lead time. For further information, contact by telephone or e-mail.

Pendarvis offers an elementary level educational activity packet available for free download from the web site.

McDowell House and Apothecary Shop [KY]

Description

The McDowell House and Apothecary Shop is the site of the first successful ovarian tumor removal, completed in 1809. The surgeon and resident of the home was Ephraim McDowell (1771-1830). The earliest portions of the Georgian structure itself date to circa 1795. The site includes the residence and restored apothecary shop, which contains 18th- and 19th-century artifacts. The site offers information on early 19th-century life and medicine.

The site offers 45-minute guided grounds tours and 45-minute guided tours of the home and apothecary shop. The apothecary shop and second floor of the residence are not wheelchair accessible. Videos are available to individuals unable to visit these areas in person. School groups are welcome with advance notice. The website offers an activity guide.

Simsbury Historical Society and Phelps Tavern Museum [CT]

Description

The Phelps Tavern Museum presents a 1786-1849 tavern and inn within the Captain Elisha Phelps House. Key society collections include textiles, costumes, and horse-drawn vehicles. The site also includes a schoolhouse, gardens, and an exhibit hall.

The museum offers period rooms, interactive exhibits, group tours, school tours, gardens, and archive access. School tours must be reserved 30 days in advance. Groups of 12 or more and archive access are by appointment only.

Olana State Historic Site [NY]

Description

Olana was created as a singular work of art by Fredrick Edwin Church (1826–1900), one of the foremost artists of the Hudson River School. Church's estate unites picturesque landscapes, romantic architecture, and scenic vistas of the Hudson River Valley. The house is restored to its 1890s appearence with original furnishings and paintings.

A second website for the site can be found here.

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

Dr. Willella Howe-Waffle House and Medical Museum [CA]

Description

The Dr. Willella Howe-Waffle House and Medical Museum is located within an 1889 Queen Anne Victorian residence. The site was once home to Alvin and Willella Howe, both physicians. Graduating in 1886, Willella Howe was one of Orange County, California's earliest female doctors. After Alvin Howe was accused of performing an abortion, he left the area. Willella divorced him and married a local rancher, Edson Waffle. The house has been restored to a circa 1890s appearance.

The house offers period rooms.

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill [KY]

Description

The 3,000-acre Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is the largest restored shaker community within the U.S. The site serves as both a nature park and outdoor living history museum. Interpretation topics include Shaker theology, farming techniques, and mid 19th-century life in Kentucky. Highlights include 14 original Shaker buildings, heritage animal breeds, and heirloom crops. The Shakers were a religious community who believed in racial, ethnic, and gender quality; and practiced celibacy. This Kentucky community was active between circa 1805 and the 1860s.

The site offers exhibits, self-guided tours, guided tours of the Centre Family Dwelling, craft demonstrations, costumed interpreters, talks, music performances, seasonal narrated riverboat rides, hands-on activities, naturalist programs, guided hikes, self-guided hikes, outdoor activities, restaurants, and a snack shop. Music performances, talks, and guided tours are available in April through October. Wheelchair access is limited.

National Ranching Heritage Center [TX]

Description

The 30-acre National Ranching Heritage Center presents the history of ranching and ranchers in the United States through a succession of changing exhibits. Topics addressed include daily life, vocational and craft skills, equipment, and the West. The outdoor museum contains more than 30 historic structures, including residences, a schoolhouse, ranch buildings, a bunkhouse, a blacksmith shop, a granary, a stable, a carriage house, a sheep hospital, barns, and a railway depot. Several of these structures survived Native American raids. The center also possesses a collection of fine art works depicting Western themes.

The center offers exhibits, summer youth classes, and self-guided tours. Reservations can be made by school groups for picnic areas. The website offers pre-visit suggestions, a virtual tour, curricula, video and audio podcasts, and children's materials for use on site.

Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum [CA]

Description

The Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum consists of three historic sites—the 1870s Workman House; 1927 Spanish Colonial Revival mansion, La Casa Nueva; and El Campo Santo, a historic private cemetery. La Casa Nueva has been returned to its 1928 appearance, and is used to present southern California history between 1830 and 1930. The residence's art tile and stained glass work are of note. The interior of the Workman House has yet to be restored. The cemetery contains the remains of Pio Pico (1801-1894), last governor of Mexican California.

La Casa Nueva offers period rooms and guided tours. The Workman House offers guided tours. El Campo Sancto offers self-guided tours. The museum also offers guided tours for students, a 10-day 4th grade curriculum unit, a junior curator camp, research library access, and a picnic area. Two weeks advance notice is required for groups of 10 or more. Groups may reserve the picnic area. Tours can be customized to fit visitor interests. Appointments are required for library access.