Tag Archives: museum

Ohio

First Ladies National Historic Site

November 3, 2020 Raven About The Parks 6 Comments

Overview

Authorized in 2000, this small site in Canton, Ohio is dedicated to preserving documents related to the wives of American presidents (and hopefully someday husbands, too). It is centered on the Victorian mansion where William and Ida McKinley lived from 1878 to 1891, while the future president served in Congress. However, not all “First Ladies” were married to the president, as Dolley Madison served as hostess to the White House for a single Thomas Jefferson before her husband was elected president. This two-acre site is operated by the National First Ladies’ Library, so we are not sure why this counts as one of the 420 National Park Service (NPS) units rather than an affiliated site.

Highlights

Museum, film, Saxton-McKinley house

Must-Do Activity

Located downtown in the 1895 City National Bank Building, the Education and Research Center serves as a museum, visitor center, and theater. Start your visit in the museum filled with dresses and other memorabilia of first ladies and purchase a ticket for the guided tour. On the lower level is a 91-seat Victorian theater where a short film is presented. Costumed guides will walk your tour group one block from the theater to the Saxton-McKinley house and inside to see the period furnishings and reproduced wallpaper.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

The 1841 brick Victorian mansion was the childhood home of Ida Saxton, who would marry William McKinley.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

$7 per person for tour ($4 with the America the Beautiful pass)

Road Conditions

Free parking is available behind the Saxton-McKinley house.

Camping

The NPS does not offer camping here or at nearby Cuyahoga Valley National Park, but there are many other lodging options since the Pro Football Hall of Fame is also located in Canton, Ohio.

Related Sites

Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)

James A. Garfield National Historic Site (Ohio)

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (Ohio)

Explore More – Some U.S. Presidents were widowers or bachelors, so the question is have there been more First Ladies or Presidents?

New Jersey

Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park

October 8, 2020 Raven About The Parks 1 Comment

Overview

A flowing 77-foot waterfall in a narrow 300-foot wide gorge, Paterson Great Falls has long stood out as a natural wonder in New Jersey. The entire Passaic River drops over this volcanic ridge, making it the second largest waterfall by volume east of the Mississippi River (Niagara Falls is first). In 1792, the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, founded the City of Paterson to harness this hydropower for manufacturing. Paterson Great Falls was named a National Natural Landmark in 1966 and a National Historical Park in 2011.

Highlights

Great Falls Historic District Cultural Center, Colt Gun Mill, Overlook Park, Mary Ellen Kramer Park

Must-Do Activity

Start your visit at the Great Falls Historic District Cultural Center, and, if you have time, explore the Paterson Museum (donation requested). Carefully cross the street to Overlook Park for excellent view of the Great Falls Power Plant, then take the footbridges behind the hydroelectric plant to Mary Ellen Kramer Park for better photographic angles of the waterfall. Guided tours by park rangers are offered in the summer months.

Best Trail

A walking tour of Paterson, New Jersey continues beyond Mary Ellen Kramer Park to Hinchcliffe Stadium where Negro League Baseball was once played. On the other side of the Passaic River, follow the river’s raceways to the red-brick ruins of Allied Textile Printing and the Colt Gun Mill.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The Great Falls Power Plant opened in 1914 and still produces enough power to supply 11,000 households. The “S.U.M. 1791” on the building’s exterior refers to Alexander Hamilton’s Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads are paved and there is a free parking lot at Overlook Park.

Camping

None

Related Sites

Lowell National Historical Park (Massachusetts)

Thomas Edison National Historical Park (New Jersey)

Morristown National Historical Park (New Jersey)

Explore More – It cost $14.5-million to refurbish the Great Falls Power Plant in 1986; how much did it cost to build the entire thing in 1914?

California

John Muir National Historic Site

September 24, 2020 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Martinez, California is now a bustling suburb of San Francisco, but it was once home to a fruit ranch managed by the famous 19th-century preservationist John Muir. The house where he did most of his writing between 1890 and his death in 1914 is now backed by a freeway. Classic non-fiction accounts of his outdoor adventures are still in print and include The Yosemite, Travels in Alaska, and Our National Parks. His work as co-founder of the Sierra Club helped inspire elected officials to preserve huge sections of public land for the enjoyment of future generations.

Highlights

House tour, film, Mount Wanda, Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail museum

Must-Do Activity

Start your visit by watching the well-produced interpretive film A Glorious Journey (20 minutes). Ranger-guided tours are the only way to step inside Muir’s 14-room Victorian house (free ticket required). After the tour you can walk through what remains of the fruit orchards. Also check out an adobe house on the property that is now a museum dedicated to the 1,200-mile Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.

Best Trail

Off site is located a 326-acre portion of John Muir National Historic Site around Mount Wanda, named for one of Muir’s daughters. A one-mile trail leads to the summit and full-moon hikes are guided by park rangers in the summer months.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Muir planted a giant sequoia tree from the Sierra Nevada here and it is quite large after a century of growth.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads are paved, though there is limited parking in the small NPS lot. Be aware that traffic can be heavy in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Camping

There is no camping nearby, but perhaps you can follow in Muir’s footsteps and head for Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada.

Related Sites

Muir Woods National Monument (California)

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (Alaska)

Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park (California)

Explore More – What did John Muir call his second-floor writing room where he composed some of the most influential works of his time?

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Arizona

Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site

September 18, 2020 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

After the tragic “Long Walk” to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico, the Navajo Nation was officially recognized by the U.S. government in 1868 and trading posts were established throughout the reservation. One near Ganado, Arizona was purchased by John Lorenzo Hubbell in 1876. He and his sons established a network of 30 trading posts with a wholesale warehouse in Winslow. Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site is still an active store (run by a nonprofit organization) with an adjacent National Park Service (NPS) visitor center.

Highlights

Historic trading post, Hubbell Home, museum, farm animals

Must-Do Activity

This is a unique NPS site with livestock (sheep, horses, turkeys) and a hands-on play area for children, as well as the original dusty store which allows visitors to travel back into the late-1800s. There are frequent Navajo rug weaving demonstrations and tours inside the Hubbell Home are available for a fee. The area has seen many changes over the years, including an 1883 smallpox epidemic that killed thousands of locals, the building of Fred Harvey Company hotels, a 1915 grant of a 160-acre homestead to Hubbell, and the discovery of oil then uranium on the reservation.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

Livestock maintained on site include horses, chickens, turkeys, and sheep, significant for the wool that was such an important trade item when weaved into world-famous Navajo rugs.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

Note: the Navajo Nation and this NPS site practice Daylight Savings Time while the rest of Arizona (including Grand Canyon National Park) does not

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

Fees

None, except for the house tour

Road Conditions

The access road is a well-maintained gravel road that can accommodate large RVs.

Camping

None on site, but there is a large NPS-managed campground 40 miles north at Canyon de Chelly National Monument.

Homestead National Monument of America (Nebraska)

Navajo National Monument (Arizona)

Explore More – In the 1920s American Indians were finally permitted citizenship, but Arizona tribes were still not allowed to vote until when?

New York

General Grant National Memorial

September 17, 2020 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

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.