November 2010

McConnell Springs is a significant site in Lexington history successfully preserved by local citizens. It is at McConnell Springs that the naming of the city of Lexington took place in 1775. In the 1770s Kentucky began attracting numerous frontiersmen, particularly after the conclusion in 1774 of Virginia Governor Dunmore's campaign against the American Indians of the west. William McConnell and some fellow frontiersmen came from Pennsylvania to explore the "Kentucky Country." In 1775 McConnell and his group were camped at the McConnell Springs site when news of the first shots of the Revolutionary War reached them from nearby Fort Boonesborough. Lexington, Kentucky, was thereby named by these frontiersmen in honor of the city of Lexington, Massachusetts, where "the shots heard round the world" were fired and the American Revolutionary War began.

Lexington, the heart of Kentucky "bluegrass," has been renowned for two centuries for horse raising and horse racing. Shortly after the track's completion in 1936, Keeneland Racetrack became the most conspicuous manifestation of this culture. Jack Keene, for whom Keeneland is named, was an extraordinary figure in American racing, and helped revive this industry during the 1930s when it was beginning to suffer. Keene was a descendant of a distinguished Lexington family and was known worldwide as a trainer of thoroughbreds. After training abroad in Russia and Japan he returned to Kentucky where he began laying out the Keeneland racecourse in 1916. The main track is one and 1/16th miles in circumference and has retained this length since its original inception by Keene. The grounds also include Keene's mansion and training center. Constructed of limestone that was quarried on Keene's farm, this building was designed with living quarters, a large clubroom and stalls. The two-story center section of the building is flanked on either side by stone arcades leading to three-story wings of the building.

The Stanley-Whitman House dates from 1720 but incorporates earlier features typical of late-17th-century work.  It is a classic New England saltbox, with its typical long, sloping roof to the rear, central chimney, framed second-story overhang with pendants and diamond-paned sash windows.

The house is currently a museum, highlighting the town’s 18th- and 19th-century history, including three Amistad related items: a “Kitchen Directory,” stating which Mende were to perform which household tasks on certain days, a watercolor of “Josheph Cinquez” and a letter from the Mende to John Quincy Adams. Also in the museum’s collection are a canteen carved from a coconut shell (said to have been used on the Amistad) and a buttermold said to have been carved by Cinque. These items may be seen by appointment.

The New Haven Colony Historical Society was founded in 1862 by a group of citizens interested in preserving the history of a community that was experiencing rapid change. The founders immediately began collecting contemporary artifacts, manuscripts, publications and photographs, in addition to material from the Colonial Era. The Historical Society constructed its present quarters in 1929. Designed by noted architect J. Frederick Kelly, the I-shaped building is one of New Haven's finest examples of the Colonial Revival style.

Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, Education and Cultural Center, is dedicated to connecting people of today with 20,000 years of ongoing Native American cultural expression. The Museum embraces cultural diversity and encourages responsible environmental action based on respect for nature. Through exhibitions and programs, the Museum seeks to challenge and inspire all of us to improve the quality of our lives and our world.

The library and court building became an important repository of local and state archival material in the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as a reference library for legislators and the public. The library's growing collection prompted the construction of this 1910 Beaux-Arts style building. New York architect Donn Barber designed the building in relation to the nearby State Capitol, and was influenced by contemporary library design, notably the New York Public Library.

The Currier Museum of Art is committed to providing stimulating, diverse, and enjoyable encounters with original works of art and, in doing so, hopes to inspire the hearts, minds and imagination of its members and visitors. The museum provides the public with opportunities to learn about the past, appreciate and evaluate the present, and contemplate the future.

The Currier brings to its fundamental mission exceptional holdings of art and architecture, primarily American and European. The museum is dedicated to high standards of exhibition, preservation, research, interpretation and enhancement of this collection. Cultural and educational programs of high quality and often national significance are offered.

The Hartford Convention of 1814, one the earliest debates on the sovereignty of states versus national sovereignty, was held here. The Amistad Trial began here on September 19, 1839, while the Mende were being held in the New Haven Jail, with preliminary hearings on the jurisdiction of the case by the U.S. Circuit Court and the lower District Court.

The Millyard Museum is housed in Mill No. 3 at the corner of Commercial and Pleasant Streets in the historic Amoskeag Millyard. The Museum features the permanent exhibit, Woven in Time: 11,000 Years at Amoskeag Falls, that tells the story of Manchester and the people who have lived and worked here. The story starts with the native peoples who fished at Amoskeag Falls 11,000 years ago. It continues with displays on the area's early farmers and lumbermen, and the beginnings of industry in the area. The exhibit continues with the story of the development of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. This powerful corporation would become the largest textile producing company in the world, employing over 17,000 people, including immigrants from many countries. The company's vast brick millyard still dominates the cityscape today. The story concludes in the 21st Century, as innovative businesses flourish in the city and new groups of immigrants come to Manchester to start new lives.

NLMS was formed in 1983 by a group of concerned citizens looking to save New London's "jewel on the waterfront"—an 1833 Custom House designed by architect Robert Mills, designer of the U.S. National Washington Monument.

The building is the oldest continuously-operating custom house in the country. This year the NLMS celebrates the 25th anniversary of the New London Maritime Society and the 175th anniversary of the New London Custom House building.