The Lapham-Patterson House Historic Site preserves the Victorian winter home of Chicago shoe merchant C.W. Lapham. Completed in 1885, the residence boasted gas lighting, hot and cold running water, closets, and indoor plumbing.
The house offers 45-minute guided tours and a picnic area. Group rates are available with advance notice. The website offers a listing of state educational standards which correspond to the site.
The Liberty Hall Historic Site presents the life of Senator John Brown (1757-1837) and his descendants. Margaretta Mason Brown, John's wife, promoted abolitionism and women's education. The site consists of the 1796 Federal-style Liberty Hall, home of Brown; the 1835 Greek Revival Orlando Brown House, home of one of Brown's sons; and the surrounding grounds and gardens.
The site offers period rooms; 75-minute tours of both residences; a living history outreach presentation with hands-on activities; and an educational program for students, which includes a 17-minute film. Advance notice is required for groups of 10 or more. The site is only partially wheelchair accessible. The website offers descriptions and images of select artifacts.
The Hampton Plantation State Historic Site presents the stories of slavery within the plantation system, the plantation life of African Americans post-emancipation, Lowcountry (coastal South Carolina) rice production, and colonial architecture. The 274-acre site includes an 18th-century Georgian plantation home and kitchen building.
The site offers guided tours, educational programs, interpretive trails, and a waterway canoe tour. The website offers transcriptions of letters written by plantation inhabitants.
Thomas Wolfe left an indelible mark on American letters. His mother's boardinghouse in Asheville—now the Thomas Wolfe Memorial—has become one of literature's most famous landmarks. Named "Old Kentucky Home" by a previous owner, the rambling Victorian structure was immortalized by Wolfe as "Dixieland" in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel. Restored to look as it did in the early 20th century when young Tom Wolfe and Mrs. Wolfe's boarders shared a roof, the house evokes a time and a place that inspired one of the South's greatest writers.
The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.
The Bolinas Museum is the premier art museum of Marin County just north of San Francisco. The museum's primary focus is on local art, as many talented artists are attracted to coastal Marin County communities.
The museum offers guided and self-guided tours, exhibits, and special events including lectures and special presentations. The website offers visitor information, information regarding current exhibits, and a calendar of events.
The Moore County Historical Association is dedicated to promoting awareness of Moore County history. The association maintains five historic properties, all of which are open to visitors during the summer or by special appointment.
The association offers exhibits and self-guided tours in the five historic properties, as well as frequent tours of historic landmarks. The website offers visitor information and a brief history of each of the historic structures.
The New Hope Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of New Hope, PA, which has served as a home to the Lenni-Lenape, Dutch, English, and Quakers, among others. The society operates the Parry Mansion, a 1784 residence which currently displays 124 years of the decorative arts. Each room speaks to a different period of the Parry family's inhabitance.
The society offers guided tours of the mansion and 1-mile guided tours of the neighborhood. Neighborhood tours discuss citizens of note, the Revolutionary War, and the fishing industry.
The Park Forest Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Park Forest, IL. To that end, the society operates a museum and archival center. Park Forest was built as a community for soldiers returning from World War II; and, as such, was the first fully planned suburb to be developed after the war. The museum is located in an original townhouse, and is furnished to a 1948 through 1953 appearance. A portion of the home serves as a re-created school, since townhouses were used as such until permanent educational facilities could be built.
The society offers educational programs, lectures, and outreach speakers. The museum offers guided tours. The archives include circulating oral history transcriptions.
The Montgomery County Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Montgomery County, IA. To this end, the society operates a library, history center, and five historic structures. The 1853 and 1866 cabins, 1870 schoolhouse, and the general store and post office are furnished to period. The 1884 Nims barn presents information on agricultural history.
The society offers period rooms; exhibits on military history, local companies, agriculture, and the Masonic lodge; educational programs; a reference and archival collection available to the public at the History Center.
The Barnum Museum presents the history of Bridgeport, Connecticut, particularly as related to the life of P. T. Barnum (1810-1891), the force behind one of the United States' primary circus enterprises. Exhibit topics include an Egyptian mummy, 19th-century Bridgeport life, the American tour of Swedish opera star Jenny Lind (1820-1887), and the life of Tom Thumb (died 1883). The museum also contains a 1,000-square-foot carved circus model and a reconstruction of one of Barnum's libraries, including the original furnishings.
The museum offers lectures, self-guided tours, guided tours, concerts, lectures, teacher workshops, a slide presentation, interactive educational programming in compliance with state educational standards, and an outreach slide presentation about the life of P. T. Barnum.