November 2010

The Granville Museum tells the story of the riverboat town of Granville, Tennessee. The museum contains a great pictorial display of every aspect of the history of Granville. Many historical items from homes, businesses, schools and the community are on display. The museum features a military, school and music room and a room with furnishings depicting a home in the early 1900's. Visitors will also enjoy a ten minute video on the history of Granville. The museum also has a genealogy collection with many family records as well as cemetery documents of the Granville area.

In the past several years the mansion has been repainted, the one-hundred fifty year old seawall restored, the boathouse rebuilt, and the one-hundred year old carriage house slate roof and cupola restored. The Gardens and The Grounds of the Glen Foerd Estate contain blooming crocus, hyacinth, daffodil, tulip, forsythia, narcissus, andromeda, azalea, rhododendrum, tulips, Virginia cowslip, and trees such as star magnolias, weeping Japanese cherries, and black and white oaks that date back over 300 years.

The Nathanael Greene Museum is a Greene County Museum dedicated to preserving the county and regional heritage. The museum was begun in 1983 and incorporated in 1986. At present the museum consists of ten galleries and numerous independent exhibits. The museum is named for the outstanding Revolutionary War general under whom many Greene Countians served, and for whom the town and county are named. Inside visitors can see the historical and colorful story of men and women who helped shape the history and destiny of Greeneville, Greene County, the State of Tennessee, and even the nation.

The house of the famed Clara Barton served not only as her home, but also as the headquarters, warehouse, and living quarters for the American Red Cross.

This online collection includes a number of 19th-century objects from Barton's life, including a cannonball fragment, a Red Cross flag, a boardgame, and an early gramophone.

Visitors are invited to take guided tours of the home.

This seacoast fort was built in 1862 to protect against naval bombardment after the battle between the Monitor and Merrimac threatened the city's defenses. Today, visitors can still see the massive 15-inch guns brought into the fort in 1865. President Lincoln visited on August 20, 1863.

The society is responsible for the Old Jail Museum, the John Brown House, the Brown's Mill School, and Carrick Furnace.

The Betsy Ross House was built over 250 years ago. The front portion was built around 1740, with the stair hall (or piazza) and the rear section added 10 to 20 years later. In the 18th century the house was occupied by a shoemaker, a shopkeeper, an apothecary and, of course, most famously, an upholsterer. It is believed that Betsy Ross lived here from 1773 to 1785. By the 19th century, a German immigrant family by the name of Mund moved into the building and ran various types of businesses from it, including a tailor's shop, a cigar store and a tavern. By 1876 the building was generally recognized as the place where Betsy Ross lived when she made the first American Flag.

At this 180-year-old fort visitors explore the the outer defense for Washington, DC during the War of 1812 and the Civil War. During the War of 1812, British troops stormed the fort in 1814, which was called Fort Warburton at the time. The overpowered Americans retreated, but not before deliberately blowing up the stronghold so that the British could not use it. Secretary of War James Monroe quickly ordered the site rebuilt, since Washington, DC, had no other fort in the area to guard it from attack. Construction on Fort Washington dragged on until 1824, when it was finally completed.

The site saw little excitement during the so-called "Era of Good Feelings" that would last until the late 1840s. However, in the lead-up to the Civil War, Secretary of the Navy Isaac Toucey ordered a detachment of marines to garrison the fort. Yet Confederates never challenged the marines inside; Fort Washington rode out the Civil War in peace, and the soldiers were removed upon the cessation of hostilities in 1865.

U.S. President James K. Polk's home is open to the public and displays objects from his life and presidency.

Visitors can learn about the 11th President, the youngest up to the time, who managed to expand the borders of the United States to the Pacific Ocean, added three states to the Union, started the Naval Academy, the Washington Monument, issued the first postage stamp, and remains the youngest President to die outside those who have been assassinated. Some featured artifacts include photographs taken during James Polk's Presidency, his First Lady's signature turban, and the Joanna Rucker brooch. The Polk House also sponsors children's summer camps and hosts monthly discussions on politics open to the public.

Visitors can explore the science, history and art of boats and boat building at the museum.

Climb into a boat that sits on a waterbed, put weights in different places on a model boat to study its center of gravity, or pull different shapes through a ten-foot tank of water to examine how drag affects speed. Take on the role of boat builder in our wodden boat workshop and assemble a four-foot wooden boat puzzle. And further on, the curious can walk or crawl through a full size replica of a 22-foot 19th century Delaware River Shad Skiff.