Tag Archives: history

Delaware

First State National Historical Park

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Overview

Delaware was the last of the 50 states to gain a National Park Service (NPS) site.  Finally in 2013, this park was created from a group of buildings associated with Delaware being the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on December 7, 1787 inside The Golden Fleece Tavern in Dover.  The NPS does not yet have a visitor center at any of the multiple sites across the state and relies on its partners to provide tours and information.

First

Highlights

New Castle Court House, Dover Green

Must-Do Activity

We recommend you take a tour inside the historic New Castle Court House that dates back to 1732; it is less than an hour’s drive north of Dover.  You can learn a lot in an hour from a passionate tour guide, anything from its association with the Underground Railroad to why Delaware has that strange rounded border on its north end.  The New Castle Court House is occasionally still used to hold minor court proceedings.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

The Golden Fleece Tavern in Dover is long gone, but you can still read the marker on the corner of State Street when you visit the lovely Dover Green, which is surrounded by photogenic red-brick buildings.

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Peak Season

Mostly open year round, but some sites may only be open during the summer months.

Hours

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

Fees

None, but donations accepted.

Road Conditions

All roads are paved, but street parking is limited around New Castle Court House and the Dover Green.

Camping

None

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Inside this tavern Delaware ratified the U.S. Constitution on December 7, 1787
Elizabeth Battell’s Golden Fleece Tavern is where Delaware became the First State in 1787.
William Penn, founder of Delaware (formerly part of Pennsylvania)
Scott hanging out with William Penn (of Pennsylvania fame), since Delaware was part of that state until 1776.

View of 1731 foundation in Old New Castle Courthouse

View of English-style courtroom inside Old New Castle Courthouse
Inside the historic New Castle Court House, which is still used to hold court on rare occasions.

Explore More – Why does Delaware have that strange rounded border on its north end?

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WONDON WAS HERE

Connecticut

Weir Farm National Historical Park

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Overview

Weir Farm National Historical Park is the only National Park Service site in the state of Connecticut.  It is built around the art studios of Julian Alden Weir, an American impressionist painter that were later utilized by the Mormon sculptor Mahonri Young who made the This Is the Place monument in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Weir

Highlights

Free guided tour, free use of colored pencils/pastels, Artist in Residence program

Must-Do Activity

A unique opportunity the park provides is the use of colored pencils and pastels for each visitor to create their own artwork when they visit.  In this way they continue to allow the farm to inspire artists to capture the landscape in their own way, regardless of age or ability.

Best Trail

Pick up a self-guided walking tour pamphlet at the visitor center then walk (1.5 miles roundtrip) to Weir Pond, where the family loved to spend time in the summer fishing, swimming, and, of course, painting.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Get into the artistic spirit by posing with your face to the window like Weir’s wife did for a portrait in the family’s living room that you can see hanging inside the house.

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Peak Season

Open year round, but this was Weir’s summer home because that is the nicest time of year here.

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads are paved, but Nod Hill Road is steep and narrow which may be difficult for RVs and other large vehicles.  The small parking lot cannot accommodate large RVs.

Camping

None

Sketching at Weir Farm

These bison cutouts were painted and posted around the farm

A outside view of the sculpture studio

One of the other artists that lived here was a sculptor

On the porch of the Weir Farm House
Scott waiting on the front porch for our ranger guided tour inside the painter’s house.

Explore More – Julian Alden Weir studied impressionism in the country it was founded in, where is that?

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WONDON WAS HERE

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Alabama

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

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Overview

Aircraft developed at an incredible rate between the Wright Brothers’ first flight in 1903 and the 1940s.  Yet at the outset of World War II, African-American men were not allowed to be pilots in the Army Air Corps (before the 1947 creation of the Air Force).  In 1941, an experimental program was started at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to train hundreds of pilots, bombardiers, and navigators for the looming war.  The site is housed in the old hangars at Moton Field airport where historic airplanes and excellent interpretive panels  tell the story of the group of African-American men that came to be known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

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Highlights

P-51 Mustang airplane, interpretive film

Must-Do Activity

Start your tour inside Hanger No. 1 then watch the film inside Hanger No. 2, where you will learn about the Tuskegee Airmen’s goal of Double-V, victory over the enemy abroad and victory over racism at home.  After the war, in 1948, President Harry S Truman signed an order calling for “equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services.”

Best Trail

No trails

Instagram-worthy Photo

Get a shot in front of the P-51 “Red Tail” hanging from the ceiling inside Hanger No. 2.

Tuskegee

Peak Season

The site is open year round, but every Memorial Day weekend there is a big celebration at Moton Field and many of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen visit the site.

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

The site is handicap accessible, and if you contact the NPS before your visit they can arrange parking closer than the main visitor lot on the hill above Moton Field.

Camping

Dispersed camping is allowed at nearby Tuskegee National Forest.

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Jump at any chance to meet some surviving Tuskegee Airmen.  This event was in Cheyenne, WY.

Explore More – The 72 Tuskegee Airmen combat pilots shot down how many enemy aircraft during World War II?

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WONDON WAS HERE

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