John Donelson and James Robertson were both leading settlement parties when they established the fort overlooking the Cumberland River. Originally covering more than two acres, the fort has been renovated and reconstructed to give visitors an idea of early settlement life.
The recreated buildings contain puncheon log floors and limestone and wood chimneys.
Visitors can take self-guided tours of the fort.
The Capitol, still in use by state government, features numerous works of art, historical murals and frescos, portraits, massive chandeliers, the House and Senate chambers and library, and the Governor’s Office. The grounds include the tomb of President and Mrs. James K. Polk, the famous equestrian statue of President Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans, and statues of President Andrew Johnson (also governor and military governor) and Sam Davis, “Boy Hero of the Confederacy," World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York, and Senator Edward W. Carmack.
During the Union occupation of Nashville (1862-65), the Capitol was tranformed into Fortress Andrew Johnson. The artillery located here never had to be fired in battle, but were used for drills and celebrations.
The interior of the capitol is a match for the exterior in elegance and refinement. Worth mentioning is Strickland's extensive use of cast iron, an avant garde building material in the 1840s. The exterior is made of limestone.
The Three Waters Trading Post features a walk-through replica of a 1930s trading post with a bull pen stocked with period goods and artifacts, a pawn room and office showcases jewelry and rugs, a computer station and trading posts location map are located outside the replica post. Many of the objects used in the exhibit have been donated by local trading post families.This exhibit is a portion of the long-term exhibits planned for the Farmington Museum at Gateway Park. It is located within the timeline of the Farmington: 100 Years of Change exhibit.
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was originally constructed in 1880 as part of the Rio Grande’s San Juan Extension, which served the silver mining district of the San Juan mountains in southwestern Colorado. Like all of the Rio Grande at the time, it was built to a gauge of 3 feet between the rails, instead of the more common 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches that became standard in the United States. The inability to interchange cars with other railroads led the Rio Grande to begin converting its tracks to standard gauge in 1890.
Today the railroad is operated for the states by the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission, an interstate agency authorized by an act of Congress in 1974. Care of the historic assets, and interpretation of the railroad is entrusted to the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, a non-profit, member-based organization whose mission is to preserve and interpret the railroad as a living history museum for the benefit of the public, and for the people of Colorado and New Mexico, who own it.
Visitors are invited to ride the scenic route in a restored, living history museum.
The museum has a large collection of photos of scenes taken both in Columbus and throughout the area of the Punitive Expedition. Visitors can watch videos that were made about Pancho Villa and his raid on Columbus in 1916.
In 1877, the founder of the settlement that was to become the Town of Buckeye led a party of six men, three women and ten children, from Creston Iowa, bound for Arizona. The leader of this party was Thomas Newt Clanton whose purpose for coming west was to foster good health. It was a good move for him – he lived in Arizona for 49 years before his death at the age of 82.
Development in the Buckeye Valley received its first great boost with the construction of the Buckeye Canal. In 1884, Malin M. Jackson named the canal in honor of his native state of Ohio, the Buckeye State. Clanton built ten miles of the canal, which was completed in 1886.
The El Camino Heritage Center tells the story of more than three centuries of trade and commerce that traversed the trail, linking Spain, Mexico and the United States at a time when mules, trains, and horses were the only means of land travel. The center is set amidst the Chihuahuan Desert north of the Jornada del Muerto and houses a remarkable exhibit that takes visitors on a virtual journey along the historic trail from Zacatecas, Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Discover the indigenous people encountered by the Spanish and the impact the arrival of the Spanish had on the formation of New Mexico. Remnants of the early journey remain today in hand-hewn carts, tools, leather water jugs, and religious altars and objects that accompanied the travelers into the northern territory.
The Museum is housed in a 1940 Works Progress Administration funded building. Originally constructed as a municipal building, the structure is a venerable stone building with Pueblo Revival elements.
Collections include local Native American pottery, household items, costumes, Rough Rider memorabilia and ranching and farming equipment. The exhibit halls interpret agricultural and mercantile operations, home life, the Santa Fe Trail and the 1st Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, better known as the Rough Riders.
The center of a million-acre reservation known as the Bosque Redondo, this site represents a tragic period in American history. As Americans settled in the territory of New Mexico, they met fierce resistance from the Navajo and Mescalero Apache people who fought to maintain control of their traditional lands and way of life. In an effort to subjugate them, the U.S. Army made war on the Indians. Those who survived were starved into submission and forced to march a desperate journey into captivity. Known by the Navajos as the "Long Walk," in some cases a distance of more than 450 miles mostly on foot to the reservation in east central New Mexico. It was an arduous journey that took almost two months to complete during the harsh winter climate. From 1863-1868, more than 9,000 Navajo and Mescalero Apache people were held captive at Fort Sumner and the surrounding Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation. Most of the 400 Mescalero Apaches eluded their military guards and abandoned the reservation in 1865. Visit the Bosque Redondo Memorial and experience the history of this site.
Bisbee's storied past is recorded, reflected, and retold in this museum like no other; it is one of only 2,000 sites nationwide honored as a National Registered Landmark. Once the corporate headquarters of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company (eventually purchased by Phelps Dodge Corporation), the museum is at the center of town and at the heart of its history, an evolving tribute to the community, its determined citizens and the industry that helped build it.