Tag Archives: grave

Washington

Whitman Mission National Historic Site

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Overview

While there was some limited European settlement on the west coast prior to her journey, the popularization of the Oregon Trail for families can be traced to publication of the letters of Narcissa Whitman after her journey in 1836.  While in the Black Hills she wrote, “It is astonishing how well we get along with our wagons where there are no roads.  I think I may say it is easier traveling here than on any turnpike in the States.”  Narcissa came with her doctor husband and other Protestants to establish missions among the American Indians.  The Whitmans did much to open the west to emigrant families and you can visit their graves at this 138-acre National Park Service (NPS) site in Walla Walla, Washington.

Highlights

Museum, film, millpond, Whitman Memorial, Oregon National Historic Trail

Must-Do Activity

The Whitmans set up near Waiilatpu, which translates to “place of the people of the rye grass.”  The main Oregon Trail would eventually detour south of their mission, but the couple would still care for stragglers, even adopting 10 children.  Following a devastating 1847 measles epidemic they and eleven others were killed by grieving Cayuse families who blamed the doctor for poisoning them.  News of the November 29 attack and subsequent retaliations spurred Congress to create the Oregon Territory within the year. 

Best Trail

A self-guided interpretive trail leads up to an overlook of Waiilatpu from atop the Whitman Memorial hill.  The trail passes a restored millpond and the Great Grave where 13 victims were buried in 1847, including Narcissa Whitman and her husband.

Instagram-worthy Photo

A portion of the Oregon Trail passed through Waiilatpu until rerouted south after 1844.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

There is not an NPS campground, but private campgrounds are located in Walla Walla, Washington.

Related Sites

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (Washington)

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (Washington)

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (Oregon-Washington)

  • Wondon on the interpretive trail
  • Tiff in a tipi
  • Restored millpond
    Restored millpond
  • Iris
    Iris
  • Canada geese with goslings
  • Whitman Memorial was built in 1897
  • Tiff on the historic Oregon Trail

Explore More – In addition to those killed in the attack at Whitman Mission on November 29, 1847, how many others were held hostage for a month until their ransom was paid?

Massachusetts

Adams National Historical Park

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Overview

The Adams Family (doo doo doo doo snap snap) was very influential in American history, with members serving as foreign ministers, two presidents, and literary historians.  They resided in Quincy, Massachusetts for five generations from 1720 to 1927.  The two presidents and their first ladies are buried in the crypt beneath United First Parish Church (admission fee charged), which is located a short walk from the National Park Service (NPS) visitor center.

Highlights

Film, trolley ride, Birthplaces of John and John Quincy Adams, Old House at Peace Field, United First Parish Church

Must-Do Activity

Start your visit at the NPS visitor center by watching a short film and purchasing tour tickets, which do not take reservations (so arrive early).  When your tour starts, board a trolley to travel to the two small houses (75 feet apart) where presidents John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams were born.  Next the trolley will take you to the Old House at Peace Field where your tour group splits in two to go inside the mansion and the Stone Library.

Best Trail

The two-hour tour is well orchestrated so no time is wasted, but you can enjoy a glimpse of the formal gardens as your tour group walks to the Stone Library, which houses more than 12,000 books.  If you drive there yourself, you can walk around outside the buildings.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The Carriage House at Peace Field is not part of the guided tour, but you can get a good photograph of it from where the trolley picks you up and drops you off.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

$15 per person for tour or free with the America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

There is a parking garage near the NPS visitor center that allows free parking when you get your ticket validated by an NPS employee.

Camping

About 400 developed campsites are available at Wompatuck State Park, located 11 miles southeast of Quincy, Massachusetts.

Related Sites

Boston National Historical Park (Massachusetts)

Minute Man National Historical Park (Massachusetts)

Salem Maritime National Historic Site (Massachusetts)

  • Tiff boarding the trolley
  • This is the extent of the NPS museum
  • Tiff inside John Adams’ birthplace house
  • John Adams’ birthplace house
  • Tiff with a portrait of her heroine Abigail Adams
  • Old House at Peace Field
  • Inside Old House
  • Tiff inside Old House
  • Bells labeled to let the servant staff know which room was calling
  • Stone Library

Explore More – John and Abigail Adams moved into the Old House in 1788, but when was it originally built?

New York

Martin Van Buren National Historic Site

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Overview

Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States and the first to be born after it became a country in 1776.  The “little magician” started as a tavern-keeper’s son in Kinderhook, New York, then worked his way up to state senator, state attorney general, U.S. senator, governor, secretary of state, vice president, and president from 1837 to 1841.  During his presidency, he purchased the estate of “Lindenwald” (named for its linden or basswood trees) in his hometown and ran his unsuccessful presidential campaigns of 1844 and 1848 from there. 

Highlights

Lindenwald mansion, film, Kinderhook Dutch Reformed Cemetery

Must-Do Activity

National Park Service (NPS) rangers provide free guided tours inside the 36-room Gothic Revival mansion where Martin Van Buren lived from 1841 until his death in 1862.  One highlight is the elaborate French wallpaper in the dining room depicting a hunting scene.  We were assured by our tour guide that it is an apocryphal story that the saying “O.K.” came from Van Buren’s nickname “Old Kinderhook.”  We are still not convinced.

Best Trail

A 0.75-mile interpretive trail winds through some of the park’s 300 acres.  You can also visit Martin Van Buren’s grave by driving to Kinderhook Dutch Reformed Cemetery.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The lighting can be difficult for photography inside the mansion, but be sure to snap a picture of the many levels of stairs inside.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

Lake Taghkanic State Park offers a campground 15 miles southeast of Kinderhook, New York.

Related Sites

Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site (New York)

Fort Stanwix National Monument (New York)

Saratoga National Historical Park (New York)

  • Get your free tour ticket and watch the film in the NPS trailer
  • Hydrangeas
  • Is that the ghost of M.V.B.?
  • Dining room
  • Tiff on the guided tour
  • The Green Room had musical instruments at the ready.
  • Around the side of the mansion
  • Tiff hugging a large sycamore , not a linden tree

Explore More – Martin Van Buren helped establish the Democratic party, but he ran for president in 1848 as the nominee for what other political party?

New York

General Grant National Memorial

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Overview

Often referred to as Grant’s Tomb, this 150-foot tall marble and granite rotunda is the largest mausoleum in North America.  Following his death in 1885, the rotunda was constructed in less than two years with donations from 90,000 individuals worldwide, the largest ever public fundraising effort at the time.  It is located on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River in the Morningside Heights area of Manhattan, where Grant spent the final five years of his life after serving two terms as President (1868-1876).

Highlights

Museum, film, tomb

Must-Do Activity

The Overlook Pavilion is separate from the rotunda and offers a few exhibits and a film about Ulysses S. Grant (plus you can put your head in an oversized $50 bill which typically bears Grant’s face).  The rotunda contains the tombs of Ulysses and his wife (Julia) who passed in 1902, as well as murals and bronze busts of fellow Civil War generals. 

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

Outside the rotunda is long curving bench with mosaic images (a la Gaudi) depicting different aspects of the National Park Service (NPS) system.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads are paved, but it is better to take the subway to get to this area.

Camping

There is camping available within Gateway National Recreation Area, which is managed by the NPS.

Related Sites

Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site (Missouri)

Hamilton Grange National Memorial (New York)

Statue of Liberty National Monument (New York)

  • An idealized depiction of Appomattox
  • Riverside Church is located across the street from the memorial

Explore More –Julia Grant requested that which feature never be added to the rotunda?

New York, Pennsylvania

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

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Overview

Authorized in 1978, this 73-mile stretch of the Upper Delaware River is the longest free-flowing river in the northeast United States.  Forming the Pennsylvania-New York borderline, only 30 of its 55,575 acres are federally owned.  Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is one of 43 designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers, 10 of which are managed by the National Park Service (NPS).

Highlights

Zane Grey Museum, Roebling Aqueduct, fishing

Must-Do Activity

The Upper Delaware River is famous for year-round bald eagle viewing, Class I and II whitewater rafting, and fishing for smallmouth bass and walleye.  The NPS runs the Zane Grey Museum, which celebrates the “Father of the Western Novel” who lived in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania from 1905 to 1918 and loved fishing here (and throughout his worldwide travels).  It was in this house that the former dentist (Zane Grey) wrote many articles about his outdoor adventures, as well as his novels, including Riders of the Purple Sage (published in 1912).

Best Trail

There are six trails you are required to complete in order to earn your Upper Delaware Hikes patch from the NPS, ranging in length from the quarter-mile Minisink Battleground (Revolutionary War) to the three-mile Tusten Mountain Trail, which provides an excellent view of the river valley.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Within eyeshot of the Zane Grey Museum, the Roebling Aqueduct operated between 1848 and 1898 to allowed coal-laden canal boats to cross over the Upper Delaware River.  Its architect is better known for the Brooklyn Bridge, but this aqueduct was converted to a one-lane car bridge before being purchased by the NPS in 1980.

Peak Season

Spring through fall

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All major roads paved, with Highway 97 in New York following the river for most of its length.

Camping

There are no NPS campgrounds, but many private ones along the Upper Delaware River.

Related Sites

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (Pennsylvania-New Jersey)

Buffalo National River (Arkansas)

Minute Man National Historical Park (Massachusetts)

Explore More – Although they live in the Delaware River for most of their lives, what is the name of the sea in the Atlantic Ocean where eels migrate to spawn and die?