Tag Archives: school

Alabama

Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site

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Overview

This historic college for African Americans is also the final resting place for pioneering staff members Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver.  In 1881, a 25-year-old Washington moved to an abandoned plantation in Alabama to found the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute with a $2,000 appropriation from the state.  From its initial enrollment of 30 students, Tuskegee has grown and continues to be an active and prominent university today.

Highlights

Historic campus, George Washington Carver Museum, Tuskegee Chapel, The Oaks

Must-Do Activity

Since only eight of the 58 acres dedicated to this National Historic Site are owned by the National Park Service (NPS) on this active college campus, it behooves you to call ahead to schedule your visit.  Guided tours are available of the university and The Oaks, the historic Washington family home that was built by students.  At least make sure the excellent George Washington Carver Museum is open when you visit.  At the beginning of World War II, the school was selected to train African-American pilots, which is detailed at the nearby Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, also managed by the NPS.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

The sculpture of Booker T. Washington lifting the veil of ignorance from a slave was completed by Charles Keck in 1922.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads are paved, but there is limited parking on campus for tourists.

Camping

Chewacla State Park is located northeast of town and primitive camping is allowed in Tuskegee National Forest (the smallest U.S. National Forest at 11,252 acres).

Related Sites

Booker T. Washington National Monument (Virginia)

George Washington Carver National Monument (Missouri)

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (Alabama)

  • The Oaks, the Washington family home
  • Booker T. Washington’s grave
  • George Washington Carver’s grave
  • Tiff inside the George Washington Carver Museum
  • Crowin’ about the park

Explore More – How many bricks were made and laid by Tuskegee students to build the original chapel in 1896-98?

Missouri

George Washington Carver National Monument

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Overview

In southwestern Missouri is 210-acre George Washington Carver National Monument where the artist and inventor was born into slavery.  Near the end of the Civil War, raiders captured he and his mother (who was never seen again), but he was returned to his older brother and they were both raised by the Carver family.  He went on to earn a master’s degree in botany from Iowa State University in 1896 and work at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama for 47 years.  His most influential legacy is arguably his outreach work marketing peanut and soy plants, helping to turn them into the widespread agricultural products they are today.

Highlights

Museum, films, bronze sculptures, 1881 Moses Carver House, Williams Pond

Must-Do Activity

The National Monument has an excellent museum with interactive exhibits and examples of Carver’s paintings.  A self-guided 0.75-mile trail passes several bronze sculptures and interpretive signs.  It leads through the forest to Williams Pond and a house that dates back to 1881.  George Washington Carver’s spirit lives on at this site, inspiring future generations to great aspirations despite humble beginnings.

Best Trail

The self-guided 0.75-mile trail loops from the visitor center and is partially wheelchair accessible.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Williams Pond is a nice place to sit and contemplate what each of us can accomplish regardless of how we start.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

There are private campgrounds around Joplin, Missouri and 50 miles away is Roaring River State Park.

Related Sites

Booker T. Washington National Monument (Virginia)

Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site (Alabama)

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield (Missouri)

  • This replica schoolroom is inside the outstanding museum
  • A cool caterpillar
  • Carver never lived in this house built in 1881, but did return to visit here.
  • Up close picture of a hearts-a-bursting with love (Euonymus atropurpureus) fruit
  • Tiff with the hearts-a-bursting with love fruit

Explore More – When was the year the National Monument was dedicated, which was the same year Carver died?

Nebraska

Homestead National Historical Park

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Overview

In the midst of the Civil War, a Republican-dominated legislature passed the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed citizens to stake a claim to 160 acres of unappropriated government land.  Until its repeal in 1976, over 270-million acres across 30 states were transferred from public land to private ownership under this law.  Potential landowners had to apply and pay a fee then “prove up” their claim by farming at least 10 acres and building a home within five years.  Nebraska’s Homestead National Monument of America was authorized in 1936 to remember this era of settlement and renamed in 2021.

Highlights

Heritage Center, film, Palmer-Epard cabin, Freeman School, restored tallgrass prairie

Must-Do Activity

Since 1939, half of this 200-acre piece of land has been managed to resemble the tallgrass prairie that existed here when the Freeman family claimed this T-shaped homestead on January 1, 1863.  It was one of the first farms started after passage of the Homestead Act by Congress.  Inside the Heritage Center, there are many unique exhibits that tell the story of settlement across the western United States of America (plus Florida).  Do not forget to stop by the Education Center and one-room Freeman Schoolhouse that was used from 1872 to 1967.

Best Trail

At the park, 2.5 miles of walking trails connect the museums at the Heritage Center and the Education Center, passing by hedgerows of Osage-orange trees. 

Instagram-worthy Photo

The Heritage Center’s roofline is designed to resemble a single-bottom plow stands and it sits at the edge of a restored tallgrass prairie ecosystem.  Similar to Fort Scott National Historic Site and Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas, prescribed fire is used here to promote the growth of native plants.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved except a short section to access the parking lot for the Freeman School.  The parking lot at the Heritage Center is exactly one acre in size to help visitors visualize the 10 acres required to farm for “proving up” a homestead.

Camping

Four miles east of the park, Beatrice, Nebraska has two city parks with campgrounds.

Related Sites

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (Kansas)

Scotts Bluff National Monument (Nebraska)

Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site (Arizona)

  • Each map shows the portion of each state that was homesteaded
  • Big portions of the Great Plains were homesteaded
  • Tiff at the entrance to the museum in the Heritage Center
  • Inside the Heritage Center
  • A goat treadill that helped power a sewing machine
  • Locusts!
  • The Palmer-Epard cabin was built nearby in 1867 and moved here to demonstrate an 1880s home.
  • The black and white photo shows the prairie before restoration work began in 1939
  • Osage-orange trees are commonly planted in windbreaks

Explore More – Which First Amendment right was first challenged in court because of its use in teaching at the one-room Freeman School?

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