Pioneer Living History Village [AZ]

Description

The Pioneer Living History Village is a 90-acre living history 1800s town. Structures are either period or reproductions based on historical research. Sights include an opera house in which Lilly Langtry (1853-1929), famed English actress and beauty, once sang; the childhood home of Henry Fountain Ashurst (1874-1962), one of the first Senators of Arizona; and a circa 1880 cabin which survived an Apache raid.

The museum offers period rooms, demonstrations, living history interpreters, and re-enactments. The museum is closed on rainy days.

Catonsville Historical Society and Pullen Museum [MD]

Description

The Catonsville Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Catonsville, Maryland. To this end, the society operates the Townsend House and Pullen Museum, which present exhibits of local historical interest. The rooms of the Townsend House are set up as period rooms, containing pieces from throughout U.S. history. Collection highlights include architectural and train models, prints, paintings, and local arrowheads. The society also maintains a knot garden, perhaps the oldest form of formal garden design in the U.S.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, and a knot garden. The Townsend House and Pullen Museum are open by appointment.

Forest History Center [MN]

Description

The Forest History Center is a recreated circa 1900 logging camp, containing the camp itself, an exhibit area, a 1901 floating shack or "wanigan" used to transport logs and men to the mills, forest trails, and a 1930s Minnesota Forest Service patrolman's cabin and lookout tower. The time period portrayed at the site was the peak of white pine logging in the state of Minnesota. Exhibit highlights include a life-sized hollow "log" through which visitors can crawl, a children's corner, items made from local wood, and displays on forest conservation.

The center offers interactive exhibits on both the human and natural history of Minnesotan forests, films on forest fires and oral histories, living history interpreters, one-hour guided tours, self-guided tours, curriculum-based school tours, a picnic site, and vending machines. Wheelchairs are available for use on site, and reservations can be made for sign language interpreters. The center suggests using or bringing insect repellent. The website offers historical photographs.

Newbold-White House [NC]

Description

The Newbold-White House is a 1730 Quaker Colonial residence used to present the history of Northeastern North Carolina. In addition to the home, the 143-acre grounds hold a walking trail, a 17th-century Quaker cemetery, a kitchen garden, and a reconstructed smokehouse. The Periauger, an 18th-century work boat replica, is also available for specific programs.

The house offers 45-minute guided tours, a video about the Periauger, folk and decorative arts exhibits, customizable school tours, and a children's summer sailing program. Please note that the site is only partially handicapped accessible.

Schenectady County Historical Society [NY]

Description

The Schenectady County Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation of Schenectady County history. The society either owns or manages five historic sites, the Grems-Doolittle Library of Historical Research, the Museum of Schenectady History, the Mabee Farm Historic Site, the Teller-Schermerhorn Historic Site, and the Efner Center, a research library.

The society offers exhibits, guided tours, and occasional special events. The website offers a virtual tour of the museum, several online exhibits, and local history information.

Lower East Side Tenement Museum

Description

The Museum tells the stories of 97 Orchard Street. Built on Manhattan's Lower East Side in 1863, this tenement apartment building was home to nearly 7,000 working class immigrants. They faced challenges people understand today: making a new life, working for a better future, starting a family with limited means. In recognizing the importance of this seemingly ordinary building, the Tenement Museum has reimagined the role that museums can play in modern lives.

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

Allaire State Park and Village [NJ]

Description

Allaire State Park houses Allaire Village, a well-preserved early 19th-century ironmaking town with a general store, blacksmith shop, carpenter's shop, owner's house, foreman's house, church, and museum.

A second website, specifically for the Village, can be found here.

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

Cumberland County Historical Society [PA]

Description

The Cumberland County Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the historical heritage of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding area. The society has two distinct historic properties, the Hamilton Library and associated local history museum as well as the Two Mile House. The society also has a special collection of Carlisle Indian School historic documents.

The society offers group tours of the museum, exhibits on local history, research resources, and detailed histories of the society properties and Carlisle.

Penobscot Marine Museum [ME]

Description

The Penobscot Marine Museum presents the 19th-century history of Penobscot Bay's maritime industry and recreation, as well as the history of maritime professionals from the area who sailed elsewhere. Areas of focus include square-riggers and trade with China. Collection highlights include 19th-century work and recreation vessels; marine artworks by Thomas Buttersworth, James Buttersworth, Robert Salmon, and Antonio Jacobsen; and more than 30,000 glass plate photographs. The museum consists of 12 historic structures, forming a "village" with buildings dating from between 1810 and 1845. One of these is furnished as a Victorian era sea captain's home. The museum owns the 1949 sardine carrier Jacob Pike.

The museum offers a children's room, interactive and traditional exhibits, period rooms, tours, outreach presentations, summer day camps, 10 educational programs, and library access. The library is open by appointment only, and research assistance requires payment. The museum is partially handicapped accessible. The museum also offers an education resource site at http://www.penobscotbayhistory.org. This site includes a teacher's guide, available for download.

Old Sturbridge Village [MA]

Description

Old Sturbridge Village, which depicts New England life between 1790 and 1840, is one of the largest living history museums within the United States. Covering 200 acres, the site includes 59 historic buildings and three water-powered mills. Buildings range from residences and trade shops to a local law office. Animals on site include sheep, pigs, and heritage-breed turkeys. The museum collections include more than 60,000 artifacts.

The village offers orientation tours, period rooms, exhibits, costumed interpreters, demonstrations, hands-on history activities, educational programs, outreach programs, a children's summer camp, Scout programs, custom teacher workshops, picnic sites, food for purchase, and boxed lunches by advance order. Wheelchairs are available upon request, and a sign language interpreter can be present given at least two weeks advance notice. More than half of the structures allow for wheelchair entry. A guide listing accessible and partially accessible sites is available on the website. Reservations for teacher workshops must be made at least four weeks in advance. The website also offers a virtual tour; an extensive database of research, historic documents, and historic images; historic recipes; pre- and post-visit activity suggestions; curriculum plans; and children's activities.