November 2010

Visitors can experience a old-time Western saloon, marshall's office, barber shop, bank, clothing store, jail, Indian head collection, and creamery. The latest major addition to Pioneer Town is the Doll and Toy House, a building designed to display a portion of the museum's large collection of dolls and toys from the past.

Other exhibits feature riverboat pilots, the Sauk and Fox Indian tribes, pioneers of LeClaire township and Indian artifacts. Unique to this museum are The Green Tree and The Lone Star Steamer.

Old Salem Museums & Gardens is America's most comprehensive history attraction. Their four museums - the Historic Town of Salem, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), the Old Salem Children's Museum, and the Old Salem Toy Museum - engage visitors in an educational and memorable historical experience about those who lived and worked in the early South.

The stories and activities experienced by visitors in the museums convey a much larger aspect of early America than just the Moravians who settled in Salem, NC. The experiences are a reflection on evolving economy and diversity of lifestyles that made up the early South. Early Southerners struggled with common principles such as freedom, faith, tradition, government, segregation, and war – many of the same issues that remain relevant in today’s world.

The remodeled facility now welcomes visitors to explore 32 cells filled with exciting exhibits and life sized models that link the past to the present in dramatic presentation. Included are: the hangman's noose used for the last execution by hanging in Colorado; confiscated inmate weapons and contraband; a gas chamber; and rare, historic photographs depicting life in prison facilities.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, archaeologists uncovered foundations from Brunswick's earliest days. The most visible structure is the hulk of St. Philip's Anglican Church with its surviving walls dating back to 1754. Another interesting foundation is Russellborough, an old sea captain's house that was used by royal governors Tryon and Dobbs.

The visitor center houses several displays that cover the time periods of both the old town and the fort. In the lobby is a colorful mural created by Claude Howell and Catherine Hendricksen depicting a scene from a Spanish attack on the town in 1748. A cannon on display was recovered from the river in 1986 and is believed to be from the Spanish ship Fortuna, which blew up in the river as the townspeople regained control of the port.

The remains of homes, businesses, and other buildings bear witness to the story of Brunswick. Along with artifacts from the Civil War and the imposing mounds of Fort Anderson, this site offers a unique look at two fascinating periods of American history.

Located in the 1882 Old Chaffee County Courthouse, the Buena Vista Heritage Museum exhibits include a fashion room, commerce and industry room, and schoolroom. The Buena Vista Depot (the last remaining depot in Chaffee County), the St. Elmo Schoolhouse Museum, and the St. Elmo Town Hall & Jail are all works in progress of the Buena Vista Heritage that can also be visited.

Edwin Carter was a Breckenridge pioneer and famous "log cabin naturalist." Concerned about the impact of mining on the local wildlife in the late 1800's, Carter devoted his life to collecting and documenting Rocky Mountain wildlife. Tours of the museum, which contains artifacts from his collection, are available through the Summit Historical Society.

Once home to the Native American, trapper, cattleman, and homesteader, Little Thompson Valley's story is told through the museums various exhibits, including a drug store, farm photo exhibits, military uniforms and artifacts, and women's world clothing exhibits.