Blue Ridge National Heritage Area

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area encompasses the mountains of North Carolina and includes the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The region’s distinctive landscape contains eastern America’s tallest mountain and deepest gorge. The original inhabitants of the North Carolina mountains, the Cherokee are now experiencing a cultural renaissance and renewed interest in their history, language, and culture. Building on age-old craft traditions of the Cherokee, Scots-Irish, and other immigrant cultures – traditions that have been nurtured by prominent craft schools and guilds established in the last century – the North Carolina mountains have become the country’s center for handmade crafts.

Featured Sites

	Navy – Merchant Marine Memorial Washington, District Of Columbia	Located in Lady Bird Johnson Park on Columbia Island, the Navy-Merchant Marine Memorial
	Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park Key West, Florida	Named after 12th president Zachary Taylor, the U. S.
	Wright’s Chance/Queen Anne’s County Historical Society Centreville, Maryland	Dating back to the 1700s, Wright's Chance is a Colonial period plantation house.
	The Powder Magazine Charleston, South Carolina	Construction began on The Powder Magazine in 1712 and was completed by 1713, making it
	Del Webb Sun Cities Museum Sun City, Arizona	The Sun Cities Area Historical Society/Del Webb Sun Cities Museum is dedicated to the p
	Steamship Historical Society of America East Providence, Rhode Island	THE STEAMSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA was established in 1935 as a means of bring
	Tryon Palace New Bern, North Carolina	Tryon Palace is a modern recreation of the original palace, which served as the royal g
	Hampton-Preston Mansion & Gardens Columbia, South Carolina	One of Columbia's oldest remaining historic houses, the Hampton-Preston Mansion was hom
	Old Sturbridge Village Sturbridge, Massachusetts	Old Sturbridge Village is the largest living history museum in New England, spanning o
	St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine St. Augustine, Florida	The story of the first Greek migration to America, occurring in 1768, is retold in St.
	Boiling Spring Academy Brentwood, Tennessee	The Boiling Spring Academy is a restored 1830 one room school house located in Primm Hi
	San Francisco De Asis Mission Church Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico	San Francisco de Asís Mission Church, c.
	Fort Clinch State Park Fernandina Beach, Florida	Although no battles were fought here, the fort was garrisoned during both the Civil and
	San Marcos De Apalache Historic State Park St. Marks, Florida	The many different flags welcoming visitors to the park demonstrate the colorful histor
	Banadero Cave Saipan,	The Marianas were captured by Japan in 1914 and became a bloody battle ground in World
	Fort Brown Brownsville, Texas	The initial fort was an earthen fortification constructed by Taylor's troops and called
	Fort Mims Stockton, Alabama	In 1813, people on America’s southwestern frontier were fearful.
	Pea Ridge National Military Park Garfield, Arkansas	Pea Ridge is the site of one of the most important battles of the American Civil War.
	Fort Pulaski National Monument Savannah, Georgia	The Battle for Fort Pulaski in April 1862 marked a turning
	Pentagon Barracks Baton Rouge, Louisiana	The Pentagon Barracks of East Baton Rouge Parish has been won and lost by the Spanish,
	Constitution Island Highland Falls, New York	In 1778, less than halfway through the Revolutionary War, the Americans were able to fo
	Fort Michilimackinac Mackinaw City, Michigan	Much of this site is geared toward young children.
	Oatlands Plantation Leesburg, Virginia	Construction of the estate began in 1803 in the Federal style and surprisingly finished
	Belle Grove Plantation Middletown, Virginia	Belle Grove was home to the sister, Nelly Conway Madison, of President James Madison.
	Laura Plantation Vacherie, Louisiana	Named by Lonely Planet Travel as the "Best History Tour in the U.S.," the one-hour guid
	Poplar Grove Plantation Wilmington, North Carolina
	Ah Tah Thi Ki Museum Big Cypress Indian Reservation, Florida	The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum on Big Cyrpess Reservation explore
	Westmoreland County Historical Society Greensburg, Pennsylvania	Westmoreland County gets its nickname because for many years it was considered the gate
	Beall Dawson Historic House Museum Rockville, Maryland	Though today Rockville, MD, is a bustling suburb of the nation's capital, it was but a
	Mine Creek Battlefield Pleasanton, Kansas	On October 25, 1864, approximately 2,800 Union troops attacked and

Blue Ridge National Heritage Area

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