Living History Museums in USA

Many early American villages and communities across the U.S. have been preserved or reconstructed. Some offer reenactments of life as it existed when the communities were active.

Living history farms demonstrate agricultural practices dating from colonial times to the early 20th century. They typically offer demonstrations and many offer interaction with farm animals.

Privately owned Colonial Williamsburg (www.history.org) was an early innovator with the concept of giving visitors the experience of a historic scene, not merely an observation of it. Rivaling Orlando as a tourist mecca, a tourist business community has developed around Colonial Williamsburg, although on a slightly smaller scale. A recreation of Virginia’s 18th century capital, it is the largest living-history museum in the U.S. encompassing 301 acres. Colonial Williamsburg hosts approximately 750,000 visitors annually, generating revenue of about $190 million.

Alabama

• Landmark Park (Dothan; http://alabama.travel/places-to-go/landmark-park)

• Old Alabama Town (Montgomery; www.historicmobile.org)

• Peinhardt Living History Farm (Cullman; www.peinhardtfarm.org)

Alaska

• Alaska Native Heritage Center (Anchorage; www.alaskanative.net)

Arizona

• Pioneer Living History Village (Phoenix; www.pioneeraz.org)

Arkansas

• Ozark Folk Center (Mountain View; www.ozarkfolkcenter.com)

California

• Calico Ghost Town (Yermo; www.calicotown.com)

Colorado

• Fort Uncompahgre Living History Museum (Delta; www.deltacountycolorado.com/activities attractions/fort uncompahgre.aspx)

Connecticut

• Mystic Seaport (Mystic; www.mysticseaport.org)

Delaware

• Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village (Dover; www.agriculturalmuseum.org)

• Hagley Museum & Library (Wilmington; www.hagley.org)

Florida

• Cracker County at the Florida State Fairgrounds (Tampa; www.crackercountry.org)

• Old Florida Museum (St. Augustine; www.oldfloridamuseum.com)

Georgia

• Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (Tifton; www.abac.edu/museum)

• Westville (Lumpkin; www.westville.org)

Hawaii

• Kona Coffee Living History Farm (Kona District; www.konahistorical.org/index.php/tours/kona-coffee-living-history-farm)

Illinois

• Bishop Hill State Historic Site (Bishop Hill; www.bishophill.com)

• Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site (Petersburg; www.lincolnsnewsalem.com)

• Naper Settlement (Naperville; www.napersettlement.org)

Indiana

• Billie Creek Village (Rockville; www.billiecreekvillage.org)

• Conner Prairie Living History Museum (Fishers; www.connerprairie.org)

• Freetown Village (Indianapolis; www.freetown.org)

Iowa

• Amana Colonies (Amana; www.amanacolonies.com)

• Living History Farms (Urbandale; www.lhf.org)

Kansas

• Old Cowtown Museum (Wichita; www.oldcowtown.org)

Kentucky

• Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill (Harrodsburg; www.shakervillageky.org)

Louisiana

• Vermilionville Living History Museum (Lafayette; www.vermilionville.org)

Maine

• Museums of Old York (York; www.oldyork.org)

• Penobscot Marine Museum (Searsport; www.penobscotmarinemuseum .org)

• Washburn-Norlands Living History Center & Museum (Livermore; www.norlands.org)

Maryland

• Historic St. Mary’s City (St. Mary’s City; www.stmaryscity.org/History.html)

• National Colonial Farm (Accokeek; www.nps.gov/pisc/planyourvisit/ncf.htm)

Massachusetts

• Hancock Shaker Village (Pittsfield; www.hancockshakervillage.org)

• Historic Deerfield (Deerfield; www.historic-deerfield.org)

• Old Greenfield Village (Greenfield; m tdata.com/~mmwm33/)

• Old Sturbridge Village (Sturbridge; www.osv.org)

• Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth; www.plimoth.org)

Michigan

• Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (Dearborn; www.hfmgv.org)

Minnesota

• Fort Snelling (Minneapolis; www.mnhs.org/places/sites/hfs)

• Harkin Store Historic Site (New Ulm; www.mnhs.org/places/sites/hs/index.html)

• Three Rivers Park District (Shakopee; www.threeriversparks.org)

Missouri

• Deutschheim State Historic Site (Hermann; www.ulib.iupui.edu/kade/deutschheim.html) Montana

• Nevada City Living History Museum (Virginia City; www.virginiacitymt.com) Nebraska

• Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (Grand Island; www.stuhrmuseum.org)

• Wessels Living History Farm (York; www.livinghistoryfarm.org)

New Hampshire

• Chester Eastman Homestead Living History Farm (North Chatham; no website)

• Enfield Shaker Museum (Enfield; www.shakermuseum.org)

• Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm (Tamworth; www.remickmuseum.org)

• Strawbery Banke Museum (Portsmouth; www.strawberybanke.org)

New Jersey

• Fosterfields Living Historical Farm (Morristown; http://friendsoffosterfields.org)

• Historic Cold Spring Village (Cape May; www.hcsv.org)

• Howell Living History Farm (Titusville; www.howellfarm.com)

• Old Barracks Museum (Trenton; www.barracks.org)

New Mexico

• New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum (Las Cruces; www.nmfarmandranchmuseum.org)

New York

• Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village (Amherst; www.amherstmuseum.org)

• Genesee Country Village & Museum (Mumford; www.gcv.org)

• Hanford Mills Museum (East Meredith; www.hanfordmills.org)

• Heritage Square Museum (Ontario; www.heritagesquare.org)

• Historic Richmond Town (Staten Island; www.historicrichmondtown.org)

• Museum Village (Monroe; www.museumvillage.org)

• Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture (Pocantico Hills; www.stonebarnscenter.org)

• The Farmers’ Museum (Cooperstown; www.farmersmuseum.org)

North Carolina

• Historic Latta Plantation (Huntersville; www.lattaplantation.org)

• Historic Rural Hill Farm (Huntersville; www.ruralhillfarm.org)

• Old Salem Museum & Gardens (Winston-Salem; www.oldsalem.org)

• Tannenbaum Historic Park (Greensboro; http://colonial.museum.com)

North Dakota

• Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site (Yellowstone; www.nps.gov/fous) Ohio

• Caesar’s Creek Pioneer Village (Waynesville; www.caesarscreekpioneervillage.com)

• Farmpark (Kirkland; www.lakemetroparks.com/select-park/farmpark.shtml)

• Hale Farm & Village (Bath; www.wrhs.org/properties/category-35717e6f-bb5e-4267-87b8-b8ed6b7227d3.aspx)

• Historic Lyme Village (Bellevue; www.lymevillage.com)

• Historical Sauder Village (Archbold; www.saudervillage.com)

• Ohio Village (Columbus; www.ohiohistory.org/museums-and-historic-sites/museum–historic-sites-by-name/ohio-village)

• Slate Run Living Historical Farm (Lithopolis; www.metroparks.net/ParksSlateRunFarm.aspx)

Oregon

• Dorris Ranch Living History Farm (Springfield; www.willamalane.org/pages/parks/dorris.shtml)

• Dufur Historical Society Living History Museum (Dufur; www.dufurhistoricalsociety.org)

Pennsylvania

• Bartram’s Garden (Philadelphia; www.bartramsgarden.org)

• Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village (Avella; www.heinzhistorycenter.org/meadowcroft.aspx)

Rhode Island

• Coggeshall Farm Museum (Bristol; www.coggeshallfarm.org)

• South County Museum (Narragansett; www.southcountymuseum .org)

South Carolina

• Freewoods Farm (Burgess; www.freewoodsfarm.com)

South Dakota

• South Dakota State Agricultural Heritage Museum (Brookings; www.sdstate.edu/agmuseum/

Tennessee

• Historic Collinsville (Southside; www.historiccollinsville.com)

• Historic Rugby (Rugby; www.historicrugby.org)

• Museum of Appalachia (Norris; www.museumofappalachia.org)

Texas

• Dallas Heritage Village (Dallas; www.dallasheritagevillage.org)

• George Ranch Historical Park (Richmond; www.georgeranch.org)

• Heritage Farmstead Museum (Plano; www.heritag efarm stead.org)

• Pioneer Farms (Austin; www.pioneerfarms.org)

• Sauer-Beckmann Farm at Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site (Austin; www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/lyndon-b-johnson/park history#farm)

Utah

• Wheeler Historic Farm (Salt Lake City; www.wheelerfarm.com)

Vermont

• Billings Farm & Museum (Woodstock; www.billingsfarm.org)

• Shelburne Museum (Shelburne; www.shelburnemuseum.org)

Virginia

• Claude Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run (McLean; www.1771.org)

• Colonial National Historical Park (Jamestown and Yorktown; www.nps.gov/colo)

• Colonial Williamsburg (Williamsburg; www.colonialwilliamsburg.com)

• Frontier Culture Museum (Staunton; www.frontiermuseum.org)

• Jamestown Settlement (Jamestown; http://historyisfun.org)

• Pamplin Historical Park (Petersburg; www.pamplinpark.org)

Washington

• Fort Nisqually Living History Museum (Tacoma; www.fortnisqually.org)

West Virginia

• Prickett’s Fort State Park (Marion County; www.prickettsfortstatepark.com) Wisconsin

• Old World Wisconsin (Eagle; www.wisconsinhistory.org/oww/)

• Stonefield (Cassville; http://stonefield.wisconsinhistory.org/)

Wyoming

• Museum of the American West (Lander; www.museumoftheamericanwest.com)