Since its foundation, the society has established a national reputation for award-winning exhibitions and quality programs for school children, families and adults, centering on the rich cultural heritage of Harrison Township and southern New Jersey.
To visit the museum is to enter the world of the Indians who inhabited the lower Delaware Vend of the last Ice Age, the Paleo (Clovis) Indians were the first primitive people to penetrate this region. Many subsequent Indian cultures followed in their wake, leaving physical evidence of their passing in the earth’s archives. This salvaged evidence is exhibited in the form of stone and bone artifacts, pottery and native crafts. When combined, they illustrate the evolution of the Indian societies who occupied Southern New Jersey.
Of special interest to the children are over 1000 fossils from 4 time periods of the earth’s geological development. Extinct trilobites, whale and porpoise vertebrae, crabs, lobster, squid, mollusks, sting rays and giant shark teeth special display case. Also a foot print in stone of a bird-like dinosaur called a “Grallator.” All of these things were found in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. They illustrate a fascinating array of land and marine life which once roamed the earth’s primordial landscape.
The John Dubois Maritime Museum houses a large collection of Southern New Jersey Maritime related items from the 19th and early 20th centuries. A large and unique collection of builders' models of local craft show the plans used to build a new ship from the model itself. Exhibited are tools used to carve ribs, planking, masts and booms. Also displayed are many blocks, "deadlines" and "rigging." The museum is proud to have on of the largest collections on the East Coast of caulking tools.
Videos are available by the New Jersey Network on oyster schooners, including an interview with John DuBois, who donated most of the artifacts. Also exhibited are early marine engine parts, most from the Hettingers of Bridgeton, one of the first manufacturers in America of marine motors.
Located in Carson Park and surrounded by Half Moon Lake, the Chippewa Valley Museum explores the past of the Eau Claire area, from the native Chippewa tribe and the fur traders to the last century.
The Ojibwe (Chippewa) Indians have lived in the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin for 300 years. Paths of the People, a major exhibit at the Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, traces Ojibwe history and the events that forced them to make vital decisions about the directions their lives would take. The exhibit begins with a glimpse of the Wisconsin woodland as it appeared when the Ojibwe first arrived and moves up to the present. The exhibit features artifacts, documents and photographs from the fur trade to the tourist trade; from boarding schools to tribal schools; from treaties made and broken to treaties re-evaluated.
The most notable feature of the Preserve is the system of carriage roads built by John D. Rockefeller Sr. and John D. Rockefeller Jr. Designed to complement the landscape, the carriage roads, many of which are handicapped accessible, allow visitors to experience and enjoy the natural wonders of the area. These scenic paths wind through wetlands, woodlands, meadows, and fields and past streams, rivers, and lakes. They traverse wood and stone bridges, including the first triple arch bridge in America. One road passes by the foundation of Rockwood Hall, once the 220 room home of William Rockefeller. Its Olmsted designed landscape with its panoramic view of the Hudson River remains a spot of beauty for all who visit. Trail maps (with distance and grade descriptions) of all the carriage roads and equestrian permits are available at the Preserve Office. Hunting, swimming, biking, snowmobiling, camping, and open fires are strictly prohibited.
Cross the bridge over the river into Philipsburg Manor and step back in time. It's 1750, and Philipsburg Manor is a farming, milling, and trading center owned by the Philipses, a family of Anglo-Dutch merchants. They rent land to tenant farmers of diverse European backgrounds and rely on a community of 23 enslaved Africans to operate the complex. Interpreters in period costume invite visitors to stroll through the farm, with historic breeds of oxen, cows, sheep, and chickens. During the autumn season, visitors may spot Ichabod Crane strolling with the young ladies of Sleepy Hollow.
The museum has a large collection of supercomputers. This collection is representative of years of hard work at Cray Research, Inc., one of the first and foremost supercomputing companies This exhibit offers not only the supercomputer collection but also videos and information about Seymour Cray. Seymour Cray was born in Chippewa Falls, and was known worldwide as the Father of Supercomputers. His Cray Research Company was started in Chippewa Falls.
There is also an exhibit on the lakes and ponds of Wisconsin. It teaches visitors about species found in the bodies of water, including some live fish. The exhibit also contains information on the water cycle and the effects of humans upon lakes and ponds. Another exhibit traces the industries of Chippewa Falls, from wingtip Mason shoes to the Chippewa Woolen Industry. There is also a hands-on exhibit on the history of counting machines and mathematics. This traces the development of technology from the Chinese abacus to modern-day adding machines.
There is no way around this, so we may as well be frank: the location of the Van Tassel homestead in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a sticky proposition. Van Tassels had long populated the area by the time Washington Irving wrote The Legend, so there is reasonable latitude in which to speculate whom, if any, may have been the models for Baltus Van Tassel and his coquettish daughter Katrina. Historian Edgar Mayhew Bacon, in his 1898 book Chronicles of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow (Bacon was also prescient; it would be another 98 years before the village of North Tarrytown changed its name to Sleepy Hollow), attaches Katrina Van Tassel to the Elizabeth Van Tassel house, a tavern before and during the Revolutionary War. Bacon notes that Irving was a frequent visitor at this old house "especially during the time that his [Irving's] sister boarded there with the Mott family." In their 1975 History of the Tarrytowns, Jeff Canning and Wally Buxton concur, adding that the house was part of the 165 acre John Van Tassel farm. The former Elizabeth Van Tassel house was located at what is now the northeast corner of Hamilton Place and North Broadway in Tarrytown.
Forts Folle Avoine Historical Park is located on 80 wooded acres along the Yellow River near Danbury, Wisconsin. The park is a living history site where reconstructed fur trade posts occupy the actual sites where they were once operated from 1802 to 1805, alongside an authentic Woodland Indian Village. A National Register of Historic Places Site, the park is operated by the Burnett County Historical Society. The park's archeology displays, maps and fur trade artifacts paint a picture of life along the Yellow River two hundred years ago.
Exactly on the border between Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow and next door to the Warner Library, the park features a statue of John Paulding. Commemorating the capture by Paulding and his fellow patriots, Isaac Van Wart and David Williams, of the British spy John André. He was seized while attempting to return to New York City with plans of West Point, given to him by the American traitor Benedict Arnold. It is an ideal spot in which to enjoy a picnic (or delicatessen) lunch and allow the children to let off steam at the playground. The marshy area where Ichabod first encountered the headless horseman has long since been drained, but its stream still flows through a park shared by the villages of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow.