Amana, Iowa
One of Iowa's most famous travel destinations, these seven authentic German villages were founded as a religious commune 150 years ago.The name Amana means to "remain faithful". It has, in many ways, remained faithful to the communal culture; historical buildings have been preserved; the...
St. Simons Island, Georgia
Established in 1965 by Georgia's Bishop Arthur J. Moore, the museum brought a new day for preservation of Georgia, St. Simons Island and Methodist history.The Arthur J. Moore Methodist Museum, named after the Georgia Bishop of the Methodist Church who also served in World Wide Missions for over 20...
Frederica, Delaware
The 1780 chapel is nicknamed "The Cradle of Methodism" and is the oldest surviving Methodist church in the United States.Under the direction of John Wesley after the American Revolutionary War, Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury met during a service at this chapel in 1784. From that point...
Garden City, Utah
This beautiful mountain lake also served as a 19th century trading post between mountain men and Native Americans.The Bear Lake Valley was first inhabited by Shoshoni Tribes, then fur trappers. Between 1825 & 1840, many mountain men and Native Americans met on the south end of the lake to swap...
Collierville, Tennessee
This research center and museum houses exhibits and artifacts for the purpose of educating visitors about the Bible.The refurbished historic structure houses a library, theater, Bible lab, museum store, exhibit gallery and offices. In one of the main exhibits, panels describe the history and...
Bishop Hill, Illinois
Bishop Hill was the site of a utopian religious community founded in 1846 by Swedish pietist Eric Janson (1808-1850) and his followers.Many consider the Jansonist emigration as the beginning of Swedish America. A number of historically significant buildings have survived and are scattered...
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Rev. Dr. William White, rector of Christ Church and St. Peter's Church and the first Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania, lived in this house from the time it was built in 1787 until his death in 1836.Tours are limited to 10 people, and tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis....
Brentwood, Tennessee
The Boiling Spring Academy is a restored 1830 one room school house located in Primm Historic Park on Moores Lane.The Boiling Spring Academy is a restored 1830 one room school house located in Primm Historic Park on Moores Lane.
On this site, prehistoric Native Americans lived and left their mounds...
St. George, Utah
The winters in St. George are very mild compared to that of Northern Utah, so many times Brigham Young and his family would spend the winter here.This historic home contains Victorian and early pioneer style furnishings, including originals. Floors, woodwork, walls and doors have been restored....
Canterbury, New Hampshire
The village preserves the heritage of the Canterbury Shakers and has 25 restored original Shaker buildings, four reconstructed Shaker buildings, and 694 acres of forests, fields, gardens, nature trails, and mill ponds under permanent conservation easement.Canterbury Shaker Village was established...
St. Augustine, Florida
This cathedral is most well-known for establishing the first parish in the United States when Spanish settlers inhabited the area in 1565.First completed in 1565 of pine posts and cypress fronds by the founders of the city and continually restructured until 1788, this Spanish Colonial and...
Ocean Grove, New Jersey
The cottage serves as the Historical Society of Ocean Grove's living history museum. Visitors to the cottage gain an understanding of life in a 19th Century Camp Meeting and seaside resort community. The house is constructed in the Chalet style, reminiscent of Swiss and Bavarian Alpine Chalets...
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cited as the "finest Early American church," Christ Church was attended by and is now the final resting place for many of America's founding fathers.“No other church has played a more significant role in our nation’s birth”, according to historian David McCullough....
Napoleonville, Louisiana
Built in 1853, this church served as a worship space and community center for English-speaking Protestants in a predominately French-speaking Roman Catholic community.One of the oldest Episcopal churches west of the Mississippi River, Christ Episcopal Church is located on Bayou Lafourche in the...
San Germán, Puerto Rico
With trompe l'oeil painting that imitates wood coffers on the ceiling, the Church of San Germán's interior is one of the most lavishly decorated on the island.The Church of San Germán Auxerre overlooks the town of San Germán's main plaza. Spanish settlers founded San Germ...
San Germàn, Puerto Rico
Restored in 1960, this 17th century convent now houses a Religious Art Museum.Dominican friars built the Convento de Porta Coeli in 1609 at the crest of a hill in what is now San Germán. During the 18th century the Convento was reconstructed and a church built next to it. The single nave...
Between Fillmore and Beaver, Utah
This fort was built in 1867 at the current site selected by Brigham Young because of the proximity between major Mormon cities Fillmore and Beaver.The construction of the fort was over-seen by Ira Hinckley. The fort provided safety, shelter, water and livestock feed for people traveling between the...
Helena, Montana
Originally a Jewish temple, this Church was one of the first of the Catholic faith to be founded in this region, and converted thousands of Native Americans.The Vicariate Apostolate of Nebraska was erected for Montana east of the Cascade Mountains and Wyoming, 1857-1884, and the Vicariate...
Nashville, Tennessee
Founded in 1860 by four sisters in Nashville, the St. Cecilia Congregation managed to establish a vocations academy and follow their calling to God and the community.In her history of St. Cecilia Congregation, The Nashville Dominicans, Sister Rose Marie Masserano writes: “How is it that a...
Echo, Utah
This historic church was built in 1876.This 1876 church is now a museum with a photographs collection and docent-led tours.
Ephrata, Pennsylvania
The Cloister was founded in 1732 by German settlers devoted to spiritual goals. Today, tours and special events are held in the European-style building complex.One of America's earliest religious communities, the Ephrata Cloister was founded in 1732 by German settlers seeking spiritual goals rather...
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Originally founded in 1863, the society was reformed in 1934 when the Reformed Church in the United States merged with the Evangelical Synod of North America.The society is located on the second floor of the Philip Schaff Library at Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is...
Lexington, Kentucky
Religiously and historically significant, the church is the third oldest black Baptist church congregation in the United States and the oldest in Kentucky.The First African Baptist Church was founded c.1790 to serve the religious needs of African Americans in the Lexington area. TThe first pastor...
Kamiah, Idaho
Built by the Nez Perce Indians in 1874, this building is the oldest Protestant church in Idaho.Located on the first Kamiah town site in East Kamiah, the Rev. and Mrs. Henry T. Cowley organized the First Church on December 25, 1871, with Hol-Lol-Sote-Tote (Lawyer) as the first Elder. In the summer...
Fishkill, New York
Since its establishment by the Dutch immigrants in 1731, this church has served an important purpose for New York history.The church itself is one of the most historic buildings in all of Dutchess County. This unlikely location was used as a military prison during the American Revolution. The 4th...
Fort Douglas, Utah
The fort overlooks Salt Lake City and was originally built both for protection against Indians and to monitor the incipient Mormon community below.The 1862 fort was built to protect telegraph and railroad lines from the Indian populations that the U.S. government feared would would act...
Lincoln, Rhode Island
A Quaker meeting house dating from the first decade of the eighteenth century is still in use today.The Quakers can boast of a long and rich historical legacy in America. The Lincoln, Rhode Island Quakers have used this meeting house since its construction in 1704 to the present day.
Cincinnati, Ohio
This village is one of 24 communal villages founded between 1787 and 1824 by the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, generally called "Shakers."The nucleus of the White Water settlement formed in 1822 when members of the Union Society of Shakers from Lebanon, Ohio,...
Delta, Utah
Located just west of Delta, this natural rock formation has been called the "Guardian of the Desert".When the Mormon Pioneers traveled hundreds of miles by wagon train and handcarts to settle this western wilderness they discovered this familiar looking rock face. Was this the face of their beloved...
Hancock, Massachusetts
This historic village offers a window into the lives of this unique and fascinating early American religious sect.The Shakers trace their beginnings to Manchester, England, in 1747. They called themselves The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing. They soon became known as...
Fallsington, Pennsylvania
Fallsington is the seat of early Quaker settlement and the site of four meetinghouses as well as home to a wide variety of culturally significant architectural styles representing the 17th through 20th centuries.In 1690, Samuel Burgess donated six acres to the Meeting for construction of the first...
Des Moines, Iowa
The society strives to collect, catalogue, house, and preserve the history of the Jewish people of the state of Iowa, as well as to deepen community understanding of Jewish history and culture through educational programming and exhibitions.IJHS collects Jewish organizational papers, artifacts and...
Baltimore, Maryland
The Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore runs this museum about the Jewish community in Maryland and its history.The Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore runs this museum about the Jewish community in Maryland and its history.
The Jewish Museum of Maryland is one of...
South Royalton, Vermont
This memorial marks the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith, first prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and translator of the Book of Mormon.Born in Sharon, Vermont, on 23 December 1805, Joseph Smith Jr. was destined for a life of greatness and hardship. As a...
Springfield, Illinois
The Lincoln family began attending the church in 1850 after the death of three-year-old Edward Lincoln. Their pew is on display.The Lincoln family began attending the church in 1850 after the death of three-year-old Edward Lincoln. Dr. James Smith, the pastor at the time, had conducted Eddie's...
Baltimore, Maryland
Lovely Lane United Methodist Church houses a museum to the history of this denomination in America.Lovely Lane United Methodist Church houses a museum to the history of this denomination in America.
The museum is housed on the ground floor of Lovely Lane United Methodist Church. Considered the...
San Antonio, Texas
The Main and Military Plazas Historic District incorporates two plazas and surrounding blocks that are inextricably linked with the history of San Antonio.The Main and Military Plazas Historic District incorporates two plazas and surrounding blocks that are inextricably linked with the history of...
Harleysville, Pennsylvania
The Mennonite Heritage Center tells the story of Mennonite faith and life in southeastern Pennsylvania. Its architecture, with lines modeling the simplicity of traditional Pennsylvania Mennonite meetinghouses, points towards the spiritual center of Mennonite life. The concept was that "church...
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
The house, once a mission for fifty Mohicans, contains a collection of 18th-century American furniture and decorative arts. Following ministerial studies at Yale, Reverend John Sergeant moved to the south Berkshires to establish a mission for fifty Mohicans. He lived in a simple cabin until he...
Honolulu, Hawaii
Built between 1821 and 1841, these three missions served as homes and workplaces for the first Christian missionaries to travel to the Hawaiian Islands.A visit to Mission Houses Museum will carry you away to the nineteenth century when Protestant Missionaries from New England established the...
Grapeland, Texas
The park was built in 1934 as a commemorative representation of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas, the first Spanish mission in the province of Texas.The Spanish mission was established in 1690. Also in the park is the restored Rice Family Log Home, built in 1828 and restored in 1974. The home,...
Mountain Meadows, Utah
This monument marks the site of the mass slaughter of the Fancher-Baker emigrant wagon train at Mountain Meadows in the Utah territory by the local Mormon militia in September 1857.Amidst threats of war and previous persecution, the Mormons of the Utah territory perceived the emigrants as a threat...
Ocean Grove, New Jersey
The Museum of the Historical Society of Ocean Grove has a collection of approximately 15,000 artifacts and pieces relative to the history of Ocean Grove, the Holiness Movement, Camp Meetings, Methodism, Monmouth County and 19th Century Life.The Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of Ocean...
New Orleans, Louisiana
Although small, this unique museum overflows with dusty curios and authentic voodoo imagery.The New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum provides a wide range of spiritual services. Customized Gris-Gris bags are often requested of the resident “Spiritual Mother,” who anoints every bag with...
Oakley, Idaho
Founded in 1878, this town is today on the National Register of Historic Places due to the collection of old stone and brick buildings in the area which date back to 1883.South of Burley near City of Rocks National Reserve, this town was founded by Mormon immigrants in 1878. Today it is on the...
Tarrytown, New York
This is the 17th Century church and 3 acre churchyard from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" where, it is said, the Headless Horseman tethers his horse nightly among the graves.Surrounded by (and often confused with) Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the church and its burying ground are in fact a...
Ambridge, Pennsylvania
This was once the home of the 19th century Christian communal group, the Harmony Society.In 1804, the followers of the Separatist George Rapp (1757-1847) emigrated to America from Iptingen (near Stuttgart) in southwest Germany seeking religious and economic freedom. Nearly 800 farmers and craftsmen...
Southampton, Pennsylvania
This meetinghouse preserves three hundred years of church history in Southampton, which began with the Society of Friends in the 17th century.This meetinghouse preserves three hundred years of church history in Southampton, which began with the Society of Friends in the 17th century.
The...
Nogales, Arizona
Fray Marcos de Niza first entered the Santa Cruz Valley in 1539, well before the first American settlement at Jamestown or the landing of the Mayflower.Fray Marcos de Niza first entered the Santa Cruz Valley in 1539, well before the first American settlement at Jamestown or the landing of the...
Fredonia, Arizona
Pipe Springs was discovered and named by the 1858 Latter-day Saint missionary expedition to the Hopi mesas led by Jacob Hamlin.In the 1860s Mormon pioneers from St. George, Utah, led by James M. Whitmore brought cattle to the area and a large cattle ranching operation was established. In 1866,...