November 2010

The museum has both changing and permanent exhibits including one's detailing Indiana County's history of coal mining, farm life, the Native Americans of the area, and medical instruments of days gone bye. The story of Indiana County is told by artifacts and memorabilia that illuminate the past and enlighten the present.

Permanent displays and a variety of changing exhibits explain how this community grew and what its people have done. Permanent exhibits include coal mining; farm and home; Native Americans; and an old doctor's office and medical instruments display. Temporary displays include art shows, seasonal decorations and cooperative exhibits with other community groups.

The Decatur House, designed by the father of American architecture, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, features exhibits on one-time resident naval hero Stephen Decatur.

Decatur House is one of the oldest surviving homes in Washington, DC, and one of only three remaining residential buildings in the country designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the father of American architecture.



Completed in 1818 for naval hero Stephen Decatur and his wife Susan, its distinguished neoclassical architecture and prominent location across from the White House made Decatur House one of the capital's most desirable addresses and home to many of our nation’s most prominent figures. Today, visitors see a restoration in progress and hear the compelling stories of this unique site, from elite socializing to a slave's campaign for freedom.

American Memorial Park honors the American and Marianas people who gave their lives during the Marianas Campaign of World War II. Over 5,000 names are inscribed on a memorial which was dedicated during the 50th anniversary of the Invasion of Saipan. Within the 133-acre boundary are beaches, sports fields, picnic sites, boat marinas, playgrounds, walkways, and a 30-acre wetland and mangrove forest.

Suggested activities include: walking, jogging, or cycling along the path from Micro Beach; visiting the Carillon Belltower, U.S. Memorial Court of Honor, Smiling Cove Marina, and various historic and cultural sites; picnicking and barbecuing at designated areas; playing tennis or other sports; relaxing on the beach or picnic areas; observing plants, birds, and flowers in the wetlands and mangrove forest; and attending a special event or activity, such as the Flametree Festival, Liberation Festival, or a beach clean up.

The 82-foot tower is constructed of brick with a light that can be seen for 15 miles. It remains one of the oldest functioning lighthouses on the Texas Gulf Coast.

In the 1800s, the low-lying Texas coast made charting a seagoing course extremely difficult, and a number of captains requested that something be done. The Port Isabel Lighthouse was constructed in 1852, near sites of Civil War Battle of Palmito Ranch (1865) and Mexican War Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma.

The center is a replica of the original lighthouse keeper's cottage and surrounding decorative fence. The building includes an interpretive exhibit highlighting the history of the lighthouse and the old Fort Polk site it occupies.

The initial fort was an earthen fortification constructed by Taylor's troops and called "Fort Texas." When Taylor marched a large portion of his troops to Point Isabel (now Port Isabel), he left a garrison, under the command of Maj. Jacob Brown, to guard the fort. Taking advantage of the situation, the Mexican Army attacked the fort, sending part of their force to engage the main portion of Taylor's force as it returned from Point Isabel . Taylor defeated the Mexicans at the Battle of Palo Alto (May 8) and at Resaca de la Palma (May 9). These engagements were the first battles of the Mexican War, and the most important battles of the war fought on U.S. soil. Following these defeats, the Mexican Army fled back across the Rio Grande. The fort was renamed Fort Brown in honor of Major Brown, who was killed in its defense. Fort Brown remained active from the Civil War through the early 20th century and was abandoned as an army post in 1944. The buildings that remain date from the post-Civil War era. A small portion of the earthwork fort remains as well.

Built in 1828, Buchanan purchased the property in 1848 from a Philadelphia attorney. Today, the property includes three outbuildings and some small gardens. Visitors can explore the grounds and learn about the life and times of Buchanan, the last antebellum president and one who sought to hold the Union together in an impossible time.

The Main and Military Plazas Historic District incorporates two plazas and surrounding blocks that are inextricably linked with the history of San Antonio. The area has been the heart of the city since the 18th century and today is the commercial and government center of San Antonio. Established in 1722, Military Plaza functioned as a parade ground and market for Spanish soldiers. In 1836, it was the site of the bloodiest battle in Texas' struggle for independence from Mexico. The area of Main Plaza was the site of the first authorized city in Texas (c.1731) and was settled by families from the Canary Islands whose one-story homes encircled the plaza. Both plazas were ringed by small residences, replaced during the post-Civil War boom by masonry commercial and government structures. The architecture of the buildings surrounding the plazas exemplifies San Antonio's growth and diversity over a period spanning more than 200 years.

Hand's Georgian brick mansion stands on the banks of the Conestoga River and is surrounded by over 32 acres of land. After the war, Hand retired to the mansion and lived out his days in the scenic Pennsylvania countryside. Edward Hand purchased the "plantation tract of land" in two transactions: 160 acres in 1785, and 17 additional acres in 1792. The old term for a farm under cultivation was "plantation". Built circa 1794, the Georgian style brick mansion remains remarkably preserved and essentially unchanged architecturally. Rock Ford's spacious four floors conform to the same plan -- a center hall and four corner rooms -- typical of the period. Visitors walk the original 18th century floors and see original rails, shutters, doors, cupboards, paneling, and windowpanes.

The 13.8-acre Graceland estate, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the site of Elvis Presley's white-columned mansion. The building was built in the colonial style by Ruth Moore, a niece of the original owner, in 1939. Presley moved from his former residence in East Memphis to Graceland in 1957 due to, among other causes, his neighbors' concerns about the fans who frequently drove past his house. He lived there until his death of a heart attack in the bathroom of the house in 1977. He is buried in the Meditation Gardens on the site along with his parents and his grandmother. Today, Elvis fans from around the world travel to Graceland to pay tribute to the legendary singer, movie star, and pop culture icon.

On November 22, 1963, the Texas School Book Depository building was the focus of world shock, grief, and outrage when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza. Twenty-six years later, John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation opened on the building's sixth floor, where significant evidence was found.

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza chronicles the assassination and legacy of President John F. Kennedy; interprets and supports the Dealey Plaza National Historical Landmark District and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza; and presents contemporary culture within the context of presidential history.