Constructed in 1868, the Central Railroad of New Jersey Station was designed by the firm of Wilson Brothers of Philadelphia. It is a brick one and one-half story building, five bays in length with a three and one-half story cylindrical tower. Once considered one of the finest passenger stations on the Jersey central line, the main mass of the station is covered by a gable roof and supported by brackets, with two gabled dormers on either side, double chimneys at either end, and a large wooden cupola which dominates the building. Work began on what was then the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad as early as 1838. By 1843, the first passenger train came in over the Ashley Planes, but it was not until 1866 when the backtrack from Mountaintop to Wilkes-Barre was completed, eliminating the need for the Planes, that the first passenger train arrived in Wilkes-Barre on its own steam. With the discontinuance of passenger service in 1963, the station began to deteriorate, and on March 31, 1972, 106 years to the day the Jersey Central had begun its operation of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Division, the station was officially closed.
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The barracks serves as an educational center for Colonial and American history, and stands as the last remaining structure of its kind.
The Old Barracks is a State and National Landmark located in Trenton, New Jersey. Built in 1758 by the Colony of New Jersey during the French and Indian War, the Old Barracks was a witness in 1776 to the Battle of Trenton, the turning point of the American Revolution.
The building later fell into disrepair, until in 1902 it was purchased by a small group of patriotic women who founded the Old Barracks Association and re-opened the building as the Old Barracks Museum in October of 1903. In 1914, the building was given to the State of New Jersey to maintain its upkeep, supported by the Old Barracks Association and a unique combination of public, private and personal funding. The building was fully restored in 1915-1916 and again in 1995-1998.
Nearly 20,000 school children and thousands more people from all over the world visit the Old Barracks every year, making it one of the most visited sites in New Jersey and one of the most important historic sites in the United States.
The Foundation is named for an early (1821-1831) Congressman, Dr. Samuel Swan of Somerville, New Jersey, who wrote the bill authorizing a pension for the widows and orphans of those first American soldiers. It's fitting that this museum is home to the stunning collection of his Great, Great Grandson, New Jersey historian H. Kels Swan, who is President and founder of the Foundation.
For many years, H. Kels Swan presided personally over his collection here at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, New Jersey. It's here where General Washington and his ragtag band of heroes turned the tide of a mighty struggle and took the offensive against an awesome force. And it's here where the Swan Historical Foundation's National Museum of the American Revolution is building for the future.
Macculloch Hall Historical Museum, the cornerstone of Morristown's National Historic District, is both a house museum recounting 200 years of the Macculloch and Miller families and a showcase for the W. Parsons Todd Collection of 18th and 19th century American and English fine and decorative arts. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum is both a historic house and museum of fine and decorative arts. Serving as a prominent family's residence for five generations, the Old House saw its share of politicians, military heroes, business entrepreneurs, and artists.
The center collects with an emphasis on Morris County and New Jersey, but because many New Jersey families migrated to the Midwest in the 18th and 19th centuries, they also acquire historical and genealogical material for the eastern third of the United States.
The mission of the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts is to enhance the understanding and appreciation of America's past by presenting and interpreting the history, culture and lives of ordinary people through educational programs, through preservation and stewardship of our collection, and through exhibition and demonstration of the trades and crafts practiced in New Jersey from its earliest settlement.
Discover the Historic Village at Allaire and all it has to offer. From Special Event Programming to Interpretive Demonstrations, visitors to the Historic Village will gain a better understanding of life in an early 19th Century Industrial Iron Producing Community. Visit the Trades Shops where the master craftsmen and their apprentices practice their arts, stroll along the tree lined streets and stop in at the Manager's House where Mrs. Smith and her daughters demonstrate the domestic skills of the time or pay a call on the Allaire Home and see how an affluent family of the period lived. Your visit will not be complete without a trip to the Howell Works Company Store Museum and Gift Shop or the Howell Works Bakery for some fresh baked "flat cakes."
The children of the village demonstrate popular games of the time as well as the chores which prepared them for later life.
In 1870, the steamboat War Eagle burned and sank at the docks in La Crosse. The Riverside Museum features the largest collection of artifacts brought up from the wreck of the War Eagle, as well as exhibits about the impact that the rivers had on the growth and development of La Crosse. The museum also has many artifacts from the Mississippi Valley Archaeological Center.
During the 1980's the U.S. Navy came to realize that keeping in service its last remaining World War II Essex Class aircraft carrier was becoming increasingly expensive and that the USS Lexington would have to be replaced by a more modern ship. In August 1990, the Secretary of the Navy announced that the USS Forrestal would replace the USS Lexington as the Navy's training carrier.
Because of Corpus Christi's long and proud history with the Navy and naval aviation in particular, the Corpus Christi Area Economic Development Commission formed a task force of prominent community leaders, known as Landing Force 16, to bring the "Blue Ghost" to the city. With an active fund-raising campaign in place and strong community support, the Corpus Christi City Council endorsed a $3 million dollar bond sale to finance the project. In August 1991, Landing Force 16 presented Corpus Christi's proposal to Secretary of the Navy Lawrence Garrett, III. Although in stiff competition with several other communities, on the strength of community support, Lexington was awarded to the Corpus Christi team.
The Ford Piquette Avenue plant is well preserved and largely unchanged from its original 1904 appearance. The exterior of the building is immediately recognizable as the same building shown in early photographs - still in its original red brick, complete with original fire escapes and windows.
Various Model Ts and other Piquette-era Fords are on display throughout the second and third floor. Several dozen interpretive panels explain the history of the building and the people who worked there.