Tag Archives: farm

Georgia

Jimmy Carter National Historical Park

August 27, 2025 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Jimmy Carter National Historical Park

Georgia

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1987 National Historic Site, 2021 National Historical Park

71 acres

Website: nps.gov/jica

Overview

Jimmy Carter was the 39th U.S. President (1977-1981) and the first to reach the age of 100 before he passed away on December 29, 2024. Following his presidency, he and his wife (Rosalynn) returned to their hometown of Plains and cemented their legacy as diplomats and humanitarians, mostly through their work with the Carter Center in Atlanta (he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002). Up until the end, Jimmy Carter taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church, which is open to the public. The National Historical Park encompasses Jimmy’s boyhood farm, high school, and the old Plains railroad depot. It also includes his residence since 1961, which continues to be closed but will eventually be turned into a museum by the National Park Service (NPS). In July 2025, the Carter Gardens and Burial Site of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter opened to the public.

Highlights

Plains High School, film, train depot, boyhood farm, burial site, Carter Gardens

Must-Do Activity

The best place to start a visit is the NPS visitor center and museum in the former Plains High School, which is full of artifacts and information on the Carters. Next, drive or walk to the main street, where the train depot that shut down in 1951 was turned into Jimmy’s presidential campaign headquarters. While downtown, check out the shops for souvenirs and try some boiled peanuts or soft-serve peanut-flavored ice cream. There are several other sites of interest around Plains, including the boyhood home, burial site, Carter Gardens, Maranatha Baptist Church, and peanut statue (see Photographic Opportunity).

Best Trail

A half-mile trail winds through the boyhood farm where Jimmy lived starting at age four. Farm animals and seasonal crops are raised here, including peanuts. You can take a self-guided tour through his boyhood home, which was restored to its appearance before electricity was installed in 1938.

Photographic Opportunity

While not part of the official National Historical Park, when you drive up Buena Vista Road to see Maranatha Baptist Church, you pass the 13-foot-tall Jimmy Carter peanut statue built during the 1976 presidential election to support the former peanut farmer.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/jica/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Paved parking is available at the high school, train depot, and boyhood farm (located about three miles west of town).

Camping

About 30 miles away in each direction are campgrounds at Georgia Veterans State Park and Providence Canyon State Park (which is featured on a U-Haul super graphic).

Cumberland Island National Seashore (Georgia)

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (Georgia)

Nearest National Park

Great Smoky Mountains

Explore More – According to an urban legend, why was a hole cut in the back of the Jimmy Carter peanut statue by the U.S. Secret Service?

Illinois

New Philadelphia National Historic Site

June 4, 2025 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

New Philadelphia National Historic Site

Illinois

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2022

124 acres

Website: nps.gov/neph

Overview

About 77 miles west of Springfield, Illinois, a 42-acre parcel of land became the first U.S. town platted and registered by an African American in 1836. Back then, Illinois had stringent Black Codes that restricted African Americans and required proof they were not slaves. This did not deter “Free” Frank McWorter who was born into slavery in South Carolina and after being moved to Kentucky worked to purchase his pregnant wife’s freedom in 1817, then his own two years later. Once settled in Illinois, McWorter paid $100 for 80 acres and platted a portion of it into 144 lots that he named New Philadelphia. This was a time of racial tension in Illinois, when an abolitionist was killed while trying to protect his printing press in Alton and a violence flared after a petition to abolish slavery was signed in Griggsville only 13 miles east. It is likely that New Philadelphia served as a major stop on the Underground Railroad. The town’s population peaked in 1865 with 160 individuals, 30% of whom were black according to the census. Although the town was abandoned within a century, a major archaeological excavation in 2002 found artifacts including glass bottles, ceramics, children’s toys, possible pieces of the game Mancala, and a 1903 Illinois State Fair badge. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 and became a National Historic Landmark in 2009.

Highlights

Kiosk, interpretive trail

Must-Do Activity

Where you park right off County Highway 2, there is an information kiosk that includes brochures and interpretive panels. We could not get the Augmented Reality (AR) Tour app to work when we visited, but you might have better luck if you use the public WiFi provided by the New Philadelphia Association (the WiFi password is Frank1836). You can always watch the AR videos before or after your visit on their website (http://newphiladelphiail.org/ar-website). If you want to stamp your National Parks passport, go four miles west to the Barry City Hall or public library, or visit Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield.

Best Trail

A quarter-mile-long walking trail is mowed into the grassy field where the Augmented Reality Tour has guideposts that also include written information.

Photographic Opportunity

No original structures remain on the site of New Philadelphia, but there are some old farm buildings that make interesting photographic subjects. Watch for poison-ivy if you step off the mowed trail for photographs.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/neph/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

There is a paved parking area right off County Highway 2 when you turn on the gravel 306th Lane, easily accessible from Interstate 72 only 27 miles east of the Mississippi River. Springfield, Illinois is 76 miles east and St. Louis, Missouri is about 115 miles south.

Camping

There is a campground at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site and other Illinois state parks, plus several in Mark Twain’s hometown of Hannibal, Missouri.

Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument (Illinois)

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument (Mississippi-Illinois)

Nearest National Park

Gateway Arch

Explore More – Frank McWorter purchased the freedom from slavery for how many family members, (including his son who had escaped to Canada)?

Arizona

Pipe Spring National Monument

December 18, 2024 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Pipe Spring National Monument

Arizona

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1923

40 acres

Website: nps.gov/pisp

Overview

Near the Utah border, Pipe Spring National Monument is located near the turn off from Highway 389 for Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument and the remote Toroweap Overlook in western Grand Canyon National Park. Likewise, it is only 60 miles from Utah’s famous Zion National Park, so it makes a good stopping point if you are also visiting Kaibab National Forest or the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The oasis surrounding the three natural springs here demonstrate what this soil can produce when given a little bit of extra water. Ancestral Puebloans and Kaibab Paiute Indians have been coming here for over 1,000 years and it was an important stop on the Old Spanish Trail. In 1858, Pipe Spring was named by Mormon/Latter-day Saint missionary Jacob Hamblin on his way to the Hopi mesas. Following the 1866 Black Hawk War, Mormon settlers built a sandstone fort called Winsor Castle around the source of the main spring where polygamists used to hide their plural wives before selling the ranch in 1895. Today this park on the secluded Arizona Strip is recognized by the International Dark Sky Association.

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Museum, film, garden, ponds, Winsor Castle

Must-Do Activity

Retention ponds keep Pipe Spring National Monument green in the hot summer months where ducks paddle and dragonflies buzz through the humid air. The National Park Service manages a garden with living history demonstrations given occasionally, plus there is livestock including chickens and two longhorns. When a ranger is present, you can walk around inside Winsor Castle, a Mormon fort that dates back to 1870. If you visit during the summer, we recommend you cool off after some time outside by watching the short film and exploring the museum and gift shop. The museum is co-managed with the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians whose reservation surrounds the site. On December 7, 2024, the park was open late for the Holiday Traditions event with caroling, Victorian-era crafts, and free food.

Best Trail

The half-mile Ridge Trail leads uphill to an overlook of the Kaibab Plateau and distant Mt. Trumbull in Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument.

Photographic Opportunity

The modest dimensions of Winsor Castle make it unlikely to be confused with Windsor Castle in England.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/pisp/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$10 per person or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

There is a paved parking lot located off Highway 389.

Camping

The Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians runs a small campground adjoining Pipe Spring National Monument. Dispersed camping is allowed in Kaibab National Forest and the millions of acres run by the Bureau of Land Management on the Arizona Strip.

Related Sites

Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)

Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (Arizona)

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument (Arizona)

The natural spring is captured here inside Winsor Castle

Explore More – Which indigenous tribes banded together during the 1866 Black Hawk War?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

Virginia

Booker T. Washington National Monument

February 2, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Booker T. Washington was born in 1856 on this small plantation farm in Hardy, Virginia and freed shortly after the Confederate army’s surrender at nearby Appomattox Court House. He went on to earn an education and found the groundbreaking Tuskegee Institute in 1881. Rather than dwelling on his horrible past, Washington was inspired to work hard and maintain an indefatigable spirit. Later in life he wrote in his book Up From Slavery: “There was no period of my life that was devoted to play… From the time that I can remember anything, almost every day of my life has been occupied in some kind of labor.”

Highlights

Museum, film, reconstructed buildings, farm animals, Jack-O-Lantern Branch Trail

Must-Do Activity

A bronze bust of Booker T. Washington is the first thing visitors see when they approach the National Monument. The National Park Service (NPS) has reconstructed several buildings on the farm in a style consistent with the 1850s, as seen on the quarter-mile self-guided trail. The NPS keeps livestock similar to that which was here at the time, including pigs, cattle, chickens, turkeys, and ducks. This site demonstrates that antebellum life in the South was not all aristocrats on large plantations.

Best Trail

The Jack-O-Lantern Branch Trail winds 1.5 miles through the forest and fields.

Instagram-worthy Photo

None of the original buildings survive, but several have been reconstructed, including the birthplace cabin of Booker T. Washington.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/bowa/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

Roanoke Mountain Campground is run by the NPS on the Blue Ridge Parkway 19 miles northwest of the monument.

George Washington Carver National Monument (Missouri)

Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)

Explore More – Washington graduated from what school for ex-slaves in 1875, which inspired him to establish Tuskegee Institute in Alabama?

Texas

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

November 10, 2020 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Overview

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is composed of two separate sites located 14 miles apart in Johnson City and Stonewall, Texas. Museums here highlight the significant legislation that passed during his presidency from 1963-1969, including the pivotal Civil Rights Act, and, for nature lovers, the Wilderness Act. Additions to the National Park Service (NPS) system during his presidency were extensive, including five sites in his home state of Texas (see Related Sites below).

Highlights

Johnson Settlement, films, Texas White House, Johnson Family Cemetery

Must-Do Activity

The 36th President of the United States is typically referred to as LBJ. Birders know an “LBJ” as an acronym for those hard to identify “little brown jobs” that flit away before you can focus them in your binoculars. Fittingly, President LBJ’s wife was named Lady Bird, and together they did much to preserve our public lands for native plants and animals. Around the boyhood home where LBJ grew up in Johnson City, there are plenty of birds to watch, as well as longhorn cattle. A driving tour through the Stonewall property (14 miles west) requires a permit from the LBJ State Park and Historic Site. Once you get that, tickets for a guided tour of the Texas White House are available at the NPS visitor center located inside the Airplane Hangar.

Best Trail

A walking tour through Johnson City includes stops at Withers and Spauldings General Store, LBJ’s boyhood home, and barns and cabins that date back to the 1800s within the Johnson Settlement.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Longhorn cattle can be seen at the Johnson Settlement in Johnson City, Texas. Hereford cattle are still raised at the working ranch in Stonewall.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/lyjo/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None except for the Texas White House tour ($3 per person or free with the America the Beautiful pass)

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

East of Johnson City, Pedernales Falls State Park has a campground, as does Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Padre Island National Seashore (Texas)

Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument (Texas)

Explore More – Which resort in Florida (later owned by a future U.S. President) was designated a National Historic Site under the Johnson administration (then eventually sold and disbanded)?

Jimmy Carter National Historical Park

New Philadelphia National Historic Site

Pipe Spring National Monument

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