Museum Guide News

The Sandy Historical Society Museums location was built on the exact site of the famous Barlow Road, which was the last leg of the Oregon Trail that brought thousands of pioneers in covered wagons over the Cascade Mountains to Western Oregon from the mid 1840s until the 1870s. The museums carefully curated exhibits conjure a history and peoples who endured hardship and travail to help bring civilization to our piece of Oregon Territory. The museum's two floors of exhibit space are devoted to the geography, the pioneers and settlers, and their role in the settling of the West. The main exhibit hall showcases the role of geography in influencing the immigrants to stay in this area rather than push towards the Columbia River. The exhibit hall includes a diorama, video, logging equipment and an excellent collection of photographs of the logging industry, which was the heart of the Sandy economy. From the kitchen to the parlor, the barnyard to the local shops, the displays in the top floor gallery (accessible by elevator) are meant to be a look back in time. The exhibits include a good selection of home goods that were at the core of home life - cast iron pots, kitchen implements and more. There is also the museum's Jonsrud Library with relevant history volumes and the family histories of Sandy-area families who have submitted them. The family histories also include photographs and obituaries that volunteers have contributed to the paper history. The Museum also has meeting facilities for rent, a visitor center, and a gift shop. Where there is a large variety of items from the area: souvenirs, hats, t-shirts and logo items. You are sure to find something to take home! Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 4PM. Sunday & Monday Closed Come visit us soon, as a visit to the Sandy Historical Society Museum is like stepping back in time! https://www.sandyhistory.com/museum  

Kingfield, Maine is the home of The Stanley Museum, dedicated to preserving the Stanley family history of art, photography, and steam car automobiles. The building was originally designed in 1903 by the Kingfield-born identical twin brothers Francis Edgar and Freelan Oscar, and was known as the Stanley School through 1980. Later, when the aging school faced demolition, the townspeople with eventual founder and first director Sue Davis, organized to save the building. Raymond Stanley, son of Francis Edgar, became an ardent member friend and supporter, donating his family collection of photos, artifacts, and papers, as well as his great personal knowledge. More museum backers and steam car owners joined in, membership grew, and the museum's first newsletter was printed in 1983. The Stanley family achievements include portraitures, the brothers dry-plate formula for photography, and of course the Stanly steam automobile, known for its power and reliability. In 1899, Mr. and Mrs. F.O. Stanley made the first automobile ascent of Mt. Washington. More than 10,000- to 11,000 cars would later be produced under the Stanley name, through 1924. Violins also figure prominently in Stanley history. with the twins lifelong interest in music and wood carving. When the steam car business ended in 1924, surviving twin Freelan joined nephew Carlton Stanley in violin making until his death in 1940; Carlton carried on until 1954. The twins sister Chansonetta, with her own innate artistic abilities, learned photography from her brothers, and her enduring images and hand-colored glass plate slides captured the rural scenes that were beginning to disappear. And Chansonetta's daughter Dorothy, the twins niece, became a highly regarded painter with her own passion for vanishing country life. The Stanley Museum is committed to preserving the Stanley family achievements and vision. We are located at 40 School St. in Kingfield, ME 04947. 207-265-2729 Our hours:  April – May (Tuesday - Friday 11-4) and June – October (Tuesday - Sunday 11-4), and November - December, (Tuesday - Friday 11- 4).  https://www.stanleymuseum.org/

Albacore Park, a nonprofit maritime museum and National Historic Landmark Site in Portsmouth, New Hampshire that famously offers walk-through tours of the decommissioned submarine, USS Albacore (AGSS-569), is currently undergoing its very first building expansion—a 1,500 square foot extension to its existing visitor center—since the museum originally opened in 1986. In support of this expansion, Albacore Park will be hosting a Gala dinner fundraiser on Saturday, October 26th, 2024 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. The Gala will be held at Atlantic Grill (located at 5 Pioneer Road, Rye, New Hampshire 03870) and will offer hors d'oeuvres, a sit-down dinner, a silent auction featuring a dazzling array of items generously donated by various local businesses, organizations, and artists on the Seacoast, and a very special guest speaker—Dr. Ali (Al) Naqvi, CEO and Professor from the American Institute of Artificial Intelligence. The USS Albacore’s motto, “Forerunner of the Future” represents the collaboration between science and technology that has always driven America forward. Dr. Al Naqvi is a pioneering leader in Artificial Intelligence whose mission is to responsibly revolutionize AI, while guiding governments, companies, and professionals through AI adoption. At the Albacore Park Gala, he will give an introduction to what AI really is and what it means in the context of the future, reminding us that the USS Albacore is a symbol of technological advancement and a model for how we should approach the development and use of AI. Tickets for the Albacore Park Gala are on sale now and can be purchased online by visiting AP2024.eventbrite.com. Guests will be asked to make their choice of entree upon ticket purchase. If you’re unable to attend this event but would still like to donate to Albacore Park’s expansion project, please visit them online at ussalbacore.org/donate.  

Carillon Historical Park is a 65-acre open-air history museum that serves as the main campus for Dayton History, with over 30 buildings to visit. We share the amazing stories of how Dayton changed the world! The Historical Park is in existence due to the generosity of Colonel Edward Andrew Deeds (1874–1960) and Edith Walton Deeds (1869–1947). In the 1930s, while traveling in Bruges, Belgium, Edith, an accomplished musician, found inspiration in magnificent carillon music, and she dreamed of sharing this music with the people of Dayton. Edith’s dream became reality through the construction of Deeds Carillon—her most visible legacy to the community she loved. In 1950, Carillon Historical Park’s Museum complex opened with the purpose of showcasing the region’s industrial innovations, transportation achievements, and Dayton’s contributions to world progress. Since construction first began on Deeds Carillon in 1940, the dreams of Edith and Edward Deeds have evolved into a beautiful 65-acre campus—designed by the Olmsted Brothers (the famed landscape architects responsible for Central Park)—containing dozens of museum buildings and countless artifacts. The Dayton region’s remarkable story continues to inspire visitors from around the world. Here are the Things to Do and See at the Park! Heritage Center of Dayton Manufacturing & Entrepreneurship - learn about innovation and invention! By the turn of the century, Dayton had more patents, per capita, than any U.S. city, and one-sixth of the nation’s corporate executives had spent a portion of their career at legendary Dayton company National Cash Register (NCR). Beginning in the mid-1800s, Dayton established itself as a center of manufacturing and entrepreneurship. Early Settlement Area Walk into life as an American settler! Consisting of Newcom Tavern (Dayton’s oldest standing building, ca. 1796), the William Morris House (ca. 1815), the Hetzel Summer Kitchen (1817), Newcom House (ca. 1841), the Watervliet Shaker Building (ca. 1819), and Locust Grove School No. 12 (1896), Carillon Historical Park’s Early Settlement Area recalls the early days of Dayton—a city that would grow and evolve to eventually change the world. The Wright Brothers National Museum, come discover Dayton’s rich past and see the original Wright Flyer III! Dayton is the birth place of the Wright brothers. Come and learn about them! The Print Shop Visit our fully-operational 1930s letterpress print shop! The Carillon Historical Park Print Shop is the nation’s only fully operational 1930s letterpress job shop in a museum. With authentic 1930s printing equipment and furnishings, the Print Shop harkens to a time when Dayton had 77 printing companies, ranging from one-person operations to McCall’s, which produced 4 million magazines daily, including Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Reader’s Digest, Redbook, and Popular Science.The James F. Dicke Family Transportation Center Climb aboard one of the old trains in the world! The James F. Dicke Family Transportation Center houses the 1835 B&O #1, John Quincy Adams (the oldest existing American-built locomotive), a breathtaking Barney & Smith parlor railcar, an authentic Conestoga wagon, and many other exceptional transportation-themed artifacts. The Great 1913 Flood Exhibit  Learn about the Great 1913 Flood and how it shaped Dayton today! The Great 1913 Flood was Ohio’s worst natural disaster; waters reached 20 feet in low-lying areas and rushed up to 25 miles-per-hour. Gas lines broke, fires roared across town, and the Great Miami River swelled to more than a mile wide on either side. While over 1,400 horses died, the region only accounted for 361 human casualties, largely due to NCR’s massive relief efforts. History on the Hill & Moraine Trails Walk the trails and learn about the Moraine’s geological history! The History on the Hill Interpretive Center tells the story of the land on which Carillon Historical Park sits—its geological history, its settlement by the prehistoric Hopewell people, and its use as a segment of the Miami and Erie Canal. Featuring a number of exhilarating tunnel slides and the Archeology Adventure Zone, History on the Hill has become a popular spot for guests of all ages. Along with these historical exhibits and musuems the park is also filled with entertainment, special events and festivals year-round. Come and see the rich history of Dayton, OH and how it help shape our Country!  Open: Mon - Sat: 9:30am - 5:00pm, Sun: 12:00pm - 5:00pmhttps://www.daytonhistory.org/    

History awaits you in Blacksburg, VA at Historic Smithfield. This historic plantation, was originally part of the Preston family and today, it stands as a preserved historic site and museum, showcasing colonial-era architecture and offering insights into the lifestyle of early settlers.  Historic Smithfield seeks to inspire a new generation of Americans through the stories and values of the Preston Family and all those who lived at Smithfield. These values are liberty, courage, leadership, education, and justice. Smithfield began operating independently of the APVA (now Virginia Antiquities) in 2018 when the Smithfield-Preston Foundation took full ownership of the property. It partners with Virginia Tech, which holds an historic preservation easement on the manor house, out buildings, and historic landscape. With the help of the Preservation Virginia and the Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution, the property was restored and opened to the public in 1964. The rooms of the house are furnished with eighteenth and nineteenth century decorative arts furniture, portraits and other items, while the basement level Museum contains a variety of artifacts found on-site, including Native Anerican relics. The landscape includes an eighteenth-century kitchen garden tended by volunteers.  Historic Smithfield uses the complx histories of the regions indigenous peoples, the Preston Family and the enslaved community to inform our present and future! They are open for tours April through the first week in December! Come visit soon and experience this Anerican rich and complex history in Blacksburg, VA ! https://www.historicsmithfield.org/  

A Veterans Museum Dedicated to its History in Western Tennessee   The Veterans’ Museum (Halls, Tenn.) is located on the ramp of a WWII B-17 Training Base in West Tennessee, 65 miles north of Memphis. The Museum is dedicated to sharing the history of the base and its 770 crews. It also includes the effect this facility had on the area. In operation from 1942 through 1945, it churned out crews that were moved to the European Theatre with expediency. A recent outside exhibit has monuments memorializing the 115 crewmen who were killed in air crashes during training. The Museum has 12,080 sq. ft. for exhibits that, in addition to the B-17 Base, includes WWI through present day. Military vehicles inside and aircraft outside make this museum a popular place to visit. An A-7 Corsair II and a CH-46E Sea Knight Helicopter are the aircraft on display. The main feature it offers is private, personal tours by people who have travelled the journey of this museum development. The Museum Director is an 83-year-old, who remembers the war and how her family was influenced by the facility. On the weekend, one may have an 84-year-old docent, who remembers Halls during WWII, or a Vietnam Veteran who served on the Oriskany. A recent docent addition is the granddaughter of a WWII B-17 pilot who trained here. During the week, one will be guided by the granddaughter of a man who was on the Crash Crew on the Base. Mainly, we want to hear about you and your military experiences. When we do, those experiences become a part of what we share with future visitors. So, for a stroll down memory lane where you become a living addition, you should visit The Veterans’ Museum (www.dyaab.us)

You might wonder why the National Museum of the Pacific War (NMPW) is located in a small, land-locked town in Central Texas. The answer is simple: Fredericksburg is the hometown of WWII hero Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. A world-class museum and now a Smithsonian Affiliate, NMPW is a six-acre complex housing 55,000 square feet of exhibits, a Memorial Courtyard filled with thousands of tributes to WWII veterans, a Japanese Garden of Peace and more. The Pacific Combat Zone is home to a battlefield emulating Pacific Islands and where Living History reenactments demonstrate weaponry, battle tactics and other resources used by both the U.S. and Japanese forces.   The Admiral Nimitz Gallery provides intimate glimpses into the life of Fredericksburg’s hometown hero. Almost 100 personal and family artifacts are displayed, dotting the rich biography of Nimitz from childhood through his retirement at the highest rank in the U.S. Navy. The Gallery boasts state-of-the-art interactives that engage and educate the entire family.  The George H.W. Bush Gallery chronicles the Pacific war, beginning with the “backstory” of the geopolitics that led Japan to attack the U.S. Exhibits answer questions such as, “Who was Ensign Sakamaki, the first POW of WWII?” Sakamaki’s story, along with the Japanese midget submarine he piloted during the attack on Pearl Harbor are displayed at the Museum. Ever wondered what an atomic bomb looks like? You can walk right up to a bomb casing identical to the casing on the Fat Man bomb that destroyed Nagasaki and which many say prompted the war’s end.  The artifacts themselves are impressive, but it is the stories of ordinary Americans who did the extraordinary that are inspiring. One of the staff’s favorite displays is a flag made by American POWs who for three years hid the stars from a flag they had to destroy to avoid its capture. When their liberation was imminent, they sewed a new flag with parachute material and the stars saved from their old flag. With over 5,000 oral histories housed in the Oral History Collection, visitors can listen to the voices of men and women who served on ships and planes, on the front lines, the home front, in hospitals and more.  NMPW welcomes visitors from all over the world. Fredericksburg is a picturesque town with German heritage, good food and plenty to do. Located in the heart of Texas Hill Country, it is slightly cooler and drier than its closest cities San Antonio and Austin. Visit their website which hosts many videos about the Museum and WWII history. Sign up for their email updates to be informed about webinars, onsite and virtual events, and Museum news. NMPW’s mission is to “educate and inspire present and future generations about World War II in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and the continuing global relevance of its lessons.” They reach students with school visits, hosts many field trips and has a robust Distance Learning program that hosted 9,000 students in the past year – including some as far away as Ghana!  ©2021 National Museum of the Pacific War All rights reserved. 

Located at 2145 NE 36 th St., the 45 th Museum sits less than a mile West of I-35 on NE 36 th St.The museum boasts 27,000 square feet and a fifteen-acre military park containing over 70military vehicles, tanks, artillery pieces, aircraft, and ancillary equipment.Within the walls of the old 1936 WPA armory you will follow Oklahoma’s military history from the time of the conquistadores to modern times.Among the thousands of artifacts on exhibit you’ll see several special collections. The museumis proud to display the Jordan Reaves US Military Firearms Collection, the third largest of itskind in the nation.The largest collection of items once the personal property of Adolf Hitler on public display in theworld (there are larger collections but not on display).The Bill Mauldin Art collection. Bill Mauldin began his military career in the 45 th Divisionbefore WWII. On display here is the largest collection of Bill Mauldin’s original, Willie & Joecartoons as he drew them in the field during the Second World War. Mr. Mauldin received thePulitzer Prize for this body of work.In our Supporting Forces Hall, you’ll bare witness to the many achievements of the OklahomaAir National Guard and Oklahomans in military aviation, here too is where we maintain all themuseum’s operational vehicles and aircraft.The Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 am till 4:14 pm. The park is closed notlater than 5:00 pm. Weekends we’re open, Saturday 10:00am to 4:15 pm and Sundays 1:00 pm to4:15 pm.As always, the museum is FREE.Currently the 45 th Infantry Division Association is raising funds with the “Walk of Honor”,they are selling bricks onto which you can have engraved information about any honorablydischarged veteran. Funds raised will not only support the museum but pay for severalmonuments to be erected at American Military Cemeteries in Europe.For more information email curator@45thdivisionmuseum.com or call 405.424-5313.

The USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc. is the owner of a wonderful ship that is located in Evansville, Indiana.  How did this come to be?  A war ship in Indiana? During World War II, there were many inland shipyards that built shallow draft vessels to support the war effort.  Landing Ship, Tanks were one of those vessel types.  Evansville, Indiana was the location of one of these shipyards and therefore is a very appropriate home port of LST 325. Hundreds of thousands of men either served on LSTs or were transported with various types of equipment.  The 1,051 LST’s that were built in American shipyards were designed for amphibious landings that were critical to the Allied Forces.  After the war, these ships were often given to other countries to help them recover from the horrors of war.  Some remained in active use during Korea and Vietnam.  Others were ‘mothballed’ for future use, some were scrapped.  Moving forward fifty years, a group of men began looking for a suitable LST to establish a Museum Ship to commemorate those who built, sailed and served on this type of ship.  Their goal was to obtain a ship for a museum and to educate us about the importance of the LST.  In the late 1990’s, Mr. Ed Strobel located a few of them that were being scrapped by Greece, one of the Allied countries that received ownership of some LSTs after World War II.  After much investigation, negotiation and an act of the U. S. Congress, a group of 35 men were selected and set off to ensure the ship was seaworthy and ready to sail the ship back to the United States.  With no taxpayer funding and no guarantee of assistance, these men funded themselves, the ship’s requirements, their travel and living expenses.  Funds were raised or donated to buy equipment and parts, fuel and oil, insurance, and navigation tools.  The work was performed by the men who traveled to Greece, with some assistance by our Allies and the Military.  28 of the group of 35 men sailed the ship 6,000 miles back across the Atlantic.  The average age of the group was 72.5 years old. The LST-325 is the ONLY WWII-configured landing ship, tank still in operation. This historical ship relies on private donations and hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours to function.  The ship is located at Evansville, Indiana for 11 months of the year; the other month the ship cruises to other cities to educate the public regarding their involvement and importance during WWII, Korea and Vietnam.  Please come and visit us - enjoy a docent led tour of LST 325 and visit other wartime museums in Evansville!     USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc., 610 NW Riverside Drive, Evansville, IN 47708 812-435-8678     www.lstmemorial.org    Facebook: USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc. A 501(c) 3 Entity. Author Susie Bloom

Although it receives visitors from all over the world, and hundreds of schoolkids a year on field trips, and is well-known among buffs of historic fire apparatus, the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting still considers itself one of Phoenix’s too-well-kept secrets. The world’s largest museum of firefighting history is a hidden gem known locally mostly by word of mouth.   The museum is located along East Van Buren, near the Phoenix Zoo, the ASU baseball stadium (Phoenix Municipal) and the Salt River Project building. It’s been in this location since the early ‘70s, after its relocation from Wisconsin. It was founded there in 1961 by businessman George Getz, Jr., due to an unusual Christmas gift he received in 1955.   Getz had noticed a vintage fire truck alongside the road while driving through Illinois with his family that year, and remarked admiringly of it. His wife Olive and son Bert arranged to buy the vehicle—a 1924 American La France Type 12 pumper—and gave it to him for Christmas as a rather elaborate gag gift.   The result, however, was the beginning of a lifelong fascination for Getz with the history and technology of firefighting, which led to the foundation, just six years later, of a museum in Kenosha, Wisconsin, devoted to preserving the traditions of the fire service. Getz dubbed the new facility the Hall of Flame, making it the rare example of a museum with a pun for name. Some years later, the Getz family moved their business and home base to the Valley, and brought the Hall of Flame collection with them.   The Hall of Flame’s galleries are home to more than 100 pieces of larger apparatus, spread out over six galleries and ranging from the early 18th Century to the 21st Century. Gallery 1 features an English hand pumper built in 1725, a spectacular hand pumper built in Philadelphia in 1844 that spent its career in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and a parade carriage built in New York in 1870 that represented the Hotchkiss Fire Department of Derby, Connecticut, but looks more like what Cinderella rode to the ball in.   Gallery 2 contains fire trucks primarily from the first half of the 20th Century, including an 1897 Champion-Christie water tower from Toledo, Ohio and a 1919 Mack bulldog army truck converted into a fire truck by the fire department of Baltimore, Maryland by the addition of a previously horse-drawn ladder wagon and a chemical cart. This gallery is also home to a visitor favorite, the 1935 American La France 400 series pumper from Norfolk, Nebraska, with its memorable white paint job, and a 1921 Seagrave pumper that served the Phoenix Fire Department until about 1950, and was eventually rescued from the desert near Taos, New Mexico and returned to its former beauty by the Hall of Flame’s late restorer Don Hale.   Gallery 3 contains vehicles of more recent vintage, many of which are used in parades and other public events around the area, as well as an exhibit on the Phoenix Fire Department’s call center. It’s also the home of the FDNY’s Rescue 4, which responded to the World Trade Center in Manhattan on September 11, 2001, and whose entire crew was lost.   Gallery 4 features a similarly solemn exhibit; one of the two transport buggies which carried the Granite Mountain Hotshots of Prescott, Arizona to the Yarnell Hill Fire of 2013, resulting in the loss of 19 members of that crew (the other vehicle is at the County Fire Museum of Los Angeles). The gallery also displays large ladder rigs and most of the Hall of Flame’s extensive, world-wide shoulder patch collection.   Along with these large galleries, the Hall of Flame also has a video theater which also features a fine collection of antique helmets from around the world, a Hall of Heroes memorializing firefighters who have died in the line of duty or been decorated for bravery, and a wildland gallery devoted to smokejumpers, hotshots and firefighting aviation. Throughout the museum, you’ll find early insurance marks, historical fire extinguishers and more. At the rear of Gallery 4 there’s a hand-on children’s activity area, and, in Gallery 2, possibly the museum’s most well-loved piece: a 1951 American La France from Miami, Arizona that kids, and grown-ups, can climb aboard and play on.   These exhibits have all been familiar to visitors for many years. But during the Museum’s recent closure to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, between mid-March and the re-opening in early July, the Hall of Flame has taken the opportunity to make many improvements to the facility, as well as add new exhibits and expand existing ones. The Kids’ Area and several other parts of the Museum were repainted and/or refloored, and new décor was added.   New exhibits have been added, including a display depicting the evolution of EMS equipment in the Hall of Heroes, an exhibit devoted to early firefighting equipment in Gallery 1 and a display on the firefighting comic strip Smokey Stover in Gallery 2. Also in Gallery 2 is an 8-to-1 scale model of a 1933 Ahrens-Fox C-T-4 pumper, donated to the Hall of Flame, along with its impressive display case, by the late Bert Hansen of Boulder City, Nevada. At the entryway to Galleries 3 and 4 is a new computer station allowing access to information on the Hall of Flame’s 7,000-strong collection of arm patches   Along with these enhancements, the Hall of Flame has also been attempting to increase its virtual profile, by presenting the collection through the Hall of Flame YouTube Channel, offering both video “tours” of many of the most prominent exhibits, and by continuing its educational mission with many story time videos of classic firefighting children’s stories like No Dragons for Tea, Hercules, Bravest of All, Fireboat, The Fire Cat, The New Fire Engine, The Too Little Fire Engine, Pink Fire Trucks and Curious George and the Firefighters, among others. Some of these stories, notably Curious George and the Firefighters and Pink Fire Trucks are available in Spanish as well. These videos are available for free on the Hall of Flame Museum’s YouTube Channel, as a homeschooling option in history or science.