November 2010

The displays at the museum give visitors a glimpse of life from its beginnings as an 18th century James River settlement to its shining era as a bustling 19th century river and canal port. Additionally the Museum depicts Scottsville as a center of Civil War activity through its re-emergence as a thriving community in the 20th century. Housed inside the former Disciples of Christ Church, built in 1846, the Scottsville Museum displays permanent and rotating exhibits on James River transportation, the Civil War, Native American artifacts, school life, theater, clothing, toys, furniture, and photographs.

Exhibits at the Dr. Pepper Museum take visitors back in time to the very early years of Dr. Pepper and Waco. Visitors start the journey by walking throug the Old Corner Drug Store and talking to Dr. Charles Alderton, inventor of Dr. Pepper. The next room showcases early bottling equipment, allong with the well and examples of the earliest Dr. Pepper bottles. The museum presents visitors with Wilton's Landing, a replica of a 1930's rural general store, along with temporary exhibits that highlight different brands and aspects of the softdrink industry.

Construction began in 1769 according to Jefferson's first design, which was completed (except for porticoes and decorative interior woodwork) when he left for Europe in 1784. Work on a new design for remodeling and enlarging the house began in 1796 and was complete by 1809. Jefferson continued to build and augment his home for most of his life, leading his biographer Jack Mc Laughlin to write, "he left for us a detailed portrait of himself in timber, brick, plaster, and paint."

The LCI (L) 713 was originally built at the Lawley Shipyards in Neponset, Massachusetts and was commissioned on September 18th, in 1944. After shakedown and training cruises at Solomons, Maryland, she sailed through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Theater of Operations where she earned a battle star while assigned to Flotilla 24. She participated on two combat landings in Mindanao and Borneo before the end of World War II. From then on until December 1945 she transported troops around the Philippines. She arrived back in the United States in January 1946. She was decommissioned on October 6th, 1946 and released to the Maritime Commission for sale. She is now docked at the Amphibious Forces Memorial Museum.

The 535-acre working farm was once owned by President James Monroe and his wife from 1793 to 1826. It continues to provide a unique representation of 19th-century American life.

At the urging of his good friend Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, the 5th U.S. president, bought the property adjacent to Monticello in 1799 and moved his family there. The working farm, with its cows, sheep, chickens, and peacocks delights children; the house has recently been refurnished according to new research.

The Banneker-Douglass Museum is named for Benjamin Banneker and Frederick Douglass, and serves as the state's official repository of African American material culture.

The museum and genealogical library strive to promote the history of Charlottesville and Albemarle County through the exhibts, publications, lectures, walking tours, and other educational programs, provided by the historical society.

The Museum of the Coastal Bend uses a number of exhibits to explore the history of the area, from its colonial start to the present. The Spanish Legacy of the Texas Coastal Bend exhibit provides an insight into the Coastal Bend of today through an examination of its most significant cultural influence — the Spanish explorers, the military, the government and most importantly, those people who made the Coastal Bend their home. The La Salle Odyssey exhibit tells the story of the first European settlement in Texas, the French Fort St. Louis, and the French ship La Belle's archaeological excavation in Matagorda Bay. The centerpiece exhibit in the Museum's gallery is the exhibit of seven of the eight cannons brought to Texas by French explorer La Salle.

This is the only Virginia courthouse designed by Thomas Jefferson that still exists. Built in 1823, it stands amidst a group of 19th- and early 20th-century buildings that also have architectural merit. Visitors are invited to explore the exhibitions pertaining to local history inside the courthouse.

The USS Turner Joy (DD-951), famed Navy destroyer from the Vietnam War, is now maintained and administered by the Bremerton Historic Ships Association. The ship was involved in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964 when North Vietnamese naval forces attacked the USS Turner Joy and the USS Maddox. The attacks prompted the US Congress to issue the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which provided a legal justification for the escalating conflict in Vietnam.

The museum ship and memorial honors not only the men and women of our modern US Navy, but also recognizes the accomplishments of those who help build and maintain the Navy's ships as well. An active and educational facility makes the USS Turner Joy a unique and lasting legacy to Puget Sound's maritime heritage.