Pioneer & Rural Life
Ogden, Utah
Located on an 84-acre river tract of land near the Weber River, the fort symbolizes a period of western history that was the transition from nomadic ways of the Indian tribes.One of the most fascinating periods in Western American folklore is the mountain man era. At Fort Buenaventura, located just...
Silver Springs, Nevada
This Nevada fort was established for the protection of those Americans who pushed west towards the Pacific Ocean in the 19th century.Fort Churchill was once an active U.S. Army fort. Built in 1861 to provide protection for early settlers. It was abandoned nine years later, and today the ruins are...
Fort Clark, North Dakota
More than 150 years ago, this site was the scene of devastating smallpox and cholera epidemics that decimated most of the inhabitants of a Mandan and later an Arikara Indian village.Fort Clark Trading Post State Historic Site is one of the most important archeological sites in the state because of...
Inverness, Florida
The Second Seminole War drove soldiers in 1836 to seek refuge and a strong defensive position in central Florida, and they found it in Fort Cooper.Located in what is today Fort Cooper State Park, visitors can tour the fort, traverse the nature paths, and learn the life-or-death history of one of...
Fort Davis, Texas
A key post in the defense system of western Texas, Fort Davis played a major role in the history of the Southwest.From 1854 until 1891, troops stationed at the post protected emigrants, freighters, mail coaches, and travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road. Today, Fort Davis is considered one of...
Delta, Utah
This fort was erected in 1865 in defense against the Pahvant Indians in the Black Hawk War.The fort was constructed of adobe mud and straw in only 18 days by 98 men. It was 550' square with walls 10' high, 3' wide at the base and 1 1/2' thick at the top, resting on a lava rock foundation. Located...
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...
Douglas, Wyoming
This fort, constructed in 1867 by the US Army, served as a major jumping-off point for the start of several major military expeditions against warring Native American tribes.As an outpost of civilization on the Western frontier, the fort represented protection and a haven to travelers. During the...
Rawlins, Wyoming
Named after a Civil War hero, Fort Fred Steele was established on June 20, 1868 and occupied until August 7, 1886 by soldiers that guarded against attack from Indians.The construction of the Trans Continental Union Pacific Railroad across southern Wyoming 1867-1869, in turn, brought the cattlement...
Fort Garland, Colorado
Fort Garland is a historic milestone of the fort once commanded by the legendary frontiersman Kit Carson.Established in 1858 in southern Colorado, Fort Garland, with its garrison of over 100 men, served to protect the earliest settlers in the San Luis Valley. The museum includes a permanent...
Fort Laramie, Wyoming
This “grand old post,” established as a private fur trading fort in 1834 and witnessed the entirety of America’s western expansion and Indian resistance to encroachment.Indians, trappers, traders, missionaries, emigrants, gold seekers, soldiers, cowboys and homesteaders would...
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
This society tells the story of Fort Lauderdale history throughout the centuries.Located on the New River, the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society tells the story of our community’s history from the Pioneers of Fort Lauderdale to the present day through its four historic structures: 1905 New...
Fort Morgan, Colorado
The Fort Morgan Museum tells the story of Fort Morgan and Morgan County through permanent and temporary exhibits that showcase the museum's collection.The permanent and temporary exhibits at the museum showcase the variety of history and culture found in the area, including: archaeology,...
Nashville, Tennessee
The establishment of Fort Nashborough in the 1770s represents the first permanent Anglo settlement in what became known as Nashville, Tennessee.John Donelson and James Robertson were both leading settlement parties when they established the fort overlooking the Cumberland River. Originally covering...
Fort Sill, Oklahoma
The museum functions to train and educate visitors and military alike on the usage and importance of the Army's field artillery. The museum at Fort is the largest in the U.S. Army. Its education programs include exhibits, tours, demonstrations, briefings, publications, audio-visual projects, and...
Williston, North Dakota
This reconstructed fort on the North Dakota/Montana border was the most important fur trading post on the upper Missouri from 1828 to 1867.At this post, the Assiniboine, Crow, Cree, Ojibway, Blackfeet, Hidatsa, and other tribes traded buffalo robes and other furs for trade goods such as beads, guns...
Portage, Wisconsin
The only building remaning from Fort Winnebago, mid 19th century outpost, the surgeon's quarters contains artifacts and period medical instruments.The building holds surgical equipment of a by-gone day in the Surgeons' Room as well as the fort Surgeon's operating table, furnishings of the Fort...
Fort Worth, Texas
The museum is devoted to Fort Worth's history as the last outpost along a major cattle trail. 19th-century artifacts and documents are exhibited.Between 1866 and 1890 more than four million head of cattle were trailed through Fort Worth which was soon known as “Cowtown”. For the drovers...
Danbury, Wisconsin
The 80 wooded acres of Forts Folle Avoine Park contain reconstructions of two fur trading posts on their original locations, as well as a Native American village and a 19th century school house.Forts Folle Avoine Historical Park is located on 80 wooded acres along the Yellow River near Danbury,...
Morristown, New Jersey
Originally owned by General Joseph Revere, grandson of Paul Revere, the property is now open to the public as a living history farm.Originally owned by General Joseph Revere, grandson of Paul Revere, the property is now open to the public as a living history farm.
Designated as the first living...
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
The Frank Phillips Home is one of 32 sites and museums owned, staffed, and operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society.Frank Phillips, an ambitious barber-turned-bond salesman from Iowa, came to Bartlesville (the site of the first commercial oil well in Oklahoma) in 1903 to assess business...
Hominy, Oklahoma
This three-story Victorian home of Frederick Drummond, turn-of-the-century business leader and cattleman/rancher, was built in 1905 from sandstone and contains original furnishings.The Drummond family built one of the most successful trading and ranching operations in Oklahoma. Arriving in the...
Lander, Wyoming
This museum shows what life was like during the pioneer period and during Lander's early days as a trading post.The Fremont County Pioneer Museum tells the story of the first settlers to the Freemont County area. Of interest are period pieces, photographs, and other memorabilia. The museum also...
Austin, Texas
Located in Austin, the French Legation was originally built in 1840-41 to be the residence of the charge d' affaires who represented the government of France in the republic of Texas.The French Legation Museum as it exists today represents a conscientious effort to return to details authentic to...
Oakhurst, California
Fresno Flats Historic Village and Park recaptures the flavor of 19th Century life in the Sierra Nevada foothills and mountains of Central California.The museum complex is built around two restored and furnished homes dating to the 1870s. Both have been designated by the State of California as...
Frisco, Colorado
This museum gives visitors a look of what life might have been like in the 1880s, featuring exhibits and artifacts in the park buildings.In 1983, the Frisco Historical Society and the Town of Frisco officially dedicated the museum, opened the schoolhouse and park to the public, and successfully...
Staunton, Virginia
A living history museum that focuses on German, Irish, and English immigrant culture on Virginia's frontier.The Frontier Culture Museum is an outdoor, living-history museum and educational institution of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Museum currently features six permanent, outdoor exhibits...
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
This authentic village displays what life was like in rural Wisconsin during the late 1800s.The Galloway House is a 30-room mid-Victorian mainsion boasting 4 fireplaces, Italianate details, and many pieces of original furniture. Surrounded by 25 historic buildings such as a church, photographers'...
Greenville, Ohio
Run by the Darke County Historical Society, the museum features exhibits on Annie Oakley and the Northwest Territory Era. The museum also provides several history lectures and presentations.Frank Butler, Annie's husband of 42 years, their faithful dog, Dave, and their life together is unfolded in...
San Diego, California
The Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation celebrates the founding of modern San Diego from the earliest attempts to the current successes.In telling the stories of the land, the buildings, and the people, visitors can gain insight into an ever-evolving city where the past and the future come...
Tahoe City, California
The Gatekeeper's Museum showcases Tahoe history, from its Native inhabitants through the logging era and the establishment of the tourism industry at Lake Tahoe.The Gatekeeper’s Museum is a reconstruction of the original Gatekeeper’s Cabin – home of the water master who controlled...
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
In Park Hill, Indian Territory, he established a plantation and built a large frame home similar to those he remembered in his childhood state of Virginia.Born to a prominent family in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1808, George Michael Murrell married Minerva Ross, the oldest daughter of a wealthy and...
Richmond, Texas
More than 100 years of Texas history are brought to life at this 19th century cattle and cotton ranch.Journey to a place and time where cattle and cotton are king and Texas is a country all its own. Visit the George Ranch Historical Park and discover a treasury of Texas traditions. Originally...
Georgetown, Colorado
An engineering marvel originally built in 1884, the railroad fulfilled the hopes of Georgetown citizens to become a prosperous settlement connected to Denver and points east. Today the Loop is a popular tourist attraction and an uncommon way to see the Clear Creek Valley. Along the route visitors...
Colorado Springs, Colorado
As a true preservation of Colorado’s western past, Ghost Town Museum is a fun and historic look back at kind of old west town that used to embody this area.During the Colorado Gold Rush of the 1860s & 70s, towns sprang up overnight and blanketed the west. If gold or silver were not...
Gilroy, California
A museum relating to the history of Gilroy and the South Santa Clara County area.The Gilroy Museum, housed in the historic 1910 Carnegie Library Building, contiains a collection for its visitors which consists of over 25,000 items. The museum leads walking tours of historic parts of the town of...
Walhalla, North Dakota
The site preserves the 1840s home and trading post of Métis legislator and businessman Antoine Blanc Gingras, northeast of Walhalla, Pembina County.Métis, meaning "mixed blood" or "mixed race," is a term used by people of combined Indian and European ancestry to...
Cut Bank, Montana
The society presents exhibits and public programming on the history of Glacier County, Montana.The Society's "Motto" is a quote by the famous "Sir Winston Churchill;" "The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see."
Gloucester, Virginia
Housed in a 1770 brick tavern, this museum tells the history of Gloucester County through archaelogical artifacts, antiques, and photos.The Gloucester County Museum of History is housed in the historic Botetourt Building, a pre-Revolutionary brick ordinary tavern built in 1770 at the county seat....
Auburn, California
The Gold Country Museum, housed in a historic Works Progress Administration (WPA) building, interprets Placer County’s Gold Rush history.The visitors' tour of the museum begins with an excursion into a replicated hard rock mine. Visitors will also experience a stamp mill and an assayer’...
Wendover, Utah
Located deep in Utah’s west desert near the Nevada border is the famous mining camp of Gold Hill, established in 1892.The town established in 1892 was named after a gold bearing mountain just east of the town. Gold Hill became famous for its location of many minerals including silver, gold,...
Golden, Colorado
The Golden Pioneer Museum has been the repository of Golden's history since 1939, and their collection reflects a long-term dedication.Exhibits in the museum include: Native American artifacts and timelines, pioneer domestic life, ranching in the Golden area, Golden's commercial history, antique...
Knoxville, Tennessee
John Sevier, the first governor of Tennessee, built his plantation home when he arrived in Knoxville in 1796. The cabin has been restored and furnished with Sevier family items, and includes a video presentation.John Sevier (1745-1815), early pioneer, Indian fighter, governor of the failed State of...
Abilene, Texas
The exhibits in The Grace History Museum trace the physical and social development of Abilene, Texas from 1900-1945 as it grew from a small railroad town to a bustling modern city.The Grace History Museum features an authentic recreation of a 1940s boot shop, and an array of restored period rooms,...
Ukiah, California
With a collection of 30,000 interrelated objects containing significant holdings of Pomo Indian artifacts and other related materials, this museum features the history of Northern California.The Museum's exhibitions and public programs are thematically shaped by, and linked to, its collections with...
Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado
The association was founded in 1974. Its purpose is to preserve the history, historical artifacts, and historical buildings in Grand County, Colorado.The association has three museum sites: Pioneer Village Museum Complex, Cozens Ranch and Stage Stop Museum, and Heritage Park.
Traverse City, Michigan
The center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of the Grand Traverse region. The center maintains the Con Foster Collection and a museum on Grand Traverse history.In 1934, Traverse City Park’s commissioner, Con Foster, had an idea. He wanted to create a park along the...
Granville, Ohio
The Granville Historical Society owns and maintains the museum which features collections of pioneer objects that were brought by the original settlers.The rich archives of the society are a source for the historical documentation of the Granville community. The society holds the non-current...
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...
Ardmore, Oklahoma
The Greater Southwest Historical Museum features exhibits and programming that highlight the history and culture of south central Oklahoma.The centerpiece of the museum is the Sam Noble Hall, containing exhibits that recreate life in a turn of the century community. Beginning with an original log...