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Book Excerpts A Traveler’s Guide: America’s Living History-The Early Years ISBN: 978-0-9792598-0-7 by Suzanne and Craig Sheumaker 224 pp with 500 color photos. Red Corral Publishing. $29.95
THE FOLLOWING ARE EXCERPTS FROM LONGER DESCRIPTIONS Defining Living History - Page 6 “The term ‘Living History,’ as we use it, refers to places and experiences which immerse us in history, making real through direct exposure what otherwise can only be imagined through books, lectures, museums and films. A substantial portion of our recommended travel destinations are National Parks, National Monuments or State Historic Sites. Six have been designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Many others are privately operated attractions, made exceptional because of the hard work and commitment of proud, dedicated Americans...Where possible, the sites have history-based activities, re-enactments and other special events. Staff members typically include individuals in period clothing who share information through third-person discussions or first-person portrayals...Excluded are amusement parks and sites that have not properly restored or maintained their properties. Conventional museums also have been excluded because they display their collections out of context with real-life use. However, we could not resist ‘museum plus’ destinations, whose exceptional exhibits include creative re-creations and historic buildings.” Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Collinsville, Illinois - Page 38 “While the Mississippian culture has been lost to time, many monumental earthworks remain. The people at Cahokia constructed at least 120 earthen mounds in their city plus another 100 in satellite centers. The primary mound - Monks Mound - is the largest ancient earthwork in the Americas, covering 14 acres at its base and rising 100 feet in terraces. Its footprint is larger than that of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.” Photo caption: “All Mississippian mounds were made entirely by carrying basketloads of dirt from borrow pits to building sites. An estimated 15 million basketloads, weighing 55 pounds each, were required to build Monks Mound at Cahokia. On top stood a massive building measuring 105 feet long, 48 feet wide and about 50 feet high.” Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, St. Augustine, Florida - Page 66 Constructed in 1672, “Castillo de San Marcos is a fascinating place to visit. There is no visitor center or guided tour, but museum exhibits provide a very good overview of the Castillo’s illustrious history. Each exhibit focuses on a different theme or time period, such as construction of the fortress, military battles, the Castillo’s powerful artillery and local Native Peoples. Some of the rooms have been furnished to represent Spanish barracks, British barracks and a storeroom. Part of the ‘Cubo Line,’ a palisaded city wall, has been rebuilt, and a stairway leads to the gundeck, where impressive Spanish iron and bronze artillery are exhibited.” Old Fort Niagara, Youngstown, New York - Page 69 “Originally the ‘Castle’ was the only structure at Fort Niagara. Designed to look imposing but not intimidating, it was actually a citadel capable of resisting Indian attack. Within its stone walls was everything needed for a garrison of about 60 officers and men - even a deep well. There were storerooms, meeting rooms, the powder magazine and a guardhouse. Living quarters for both officers and soldiers were on the second floor, across the vestibule from a chapel. On the attic level, overhanging dormers provided defensive positions for muskets and light cannon. (Years later, during the War of 1812, the wooden roof was replaced by earthen ramparts, and cannon were positioned on the attic floor.) One of the most important features of the Castle was its ground floor Trade Room, where Indians came to exchange furs for manufactured goods. All of this is visible today, expertly restored to its 1727 appearance. It is so well outfitted that you will feel as though you have entered a working fort in the eighteenth century.” Historic St. Mary’s City, St. Mary’s City, Maryland - Page 82 “The square-rigged Maryland Dove is docked at the waterfront. This 76-foot sailing ship represents the smaller of two vessels that brought the colonists to America. On board, sailors share tales about the tobacco trade and immigration. Nearby, the Woodland Indian Hamlet provides insight into the lives of local Native Peoples and the ways in which they interfaced with settlers. Godiah Spray Plantation re-enacts the day-to-day activities of a successful tobacco farmer, his family and indentured servants. The Town Center includes Cordea’s Hope, a storehouse; Smith’s Ordinary, an inn typical of Maryland in the late seventeenth century; and the 1676 State House, where most government and court business took place. It’s easy to imagine the paths colonists trod 370 years ago.” Pennsbury Manor, Morrisville, Pennsylvania - Page 97 “William Penn, a highly influential Quaker and proprietor of three colonies in America, built his residence in 1682-84...preferring a rural estate to a home in bustling Philadelphia. In the countryside, he wrote, ‘we see the works of God, but in cities little else but the works of man.’After Penn’s death, his plantation fell into disrepair and eventually was covered by nineteenth-century buildings. In the 1930s, however, the land was donated to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and this remarkable place was reconstructed based on archaeological findings and Penn’s original instructions for its design.” Mission San Fernando, Rey de España, San Fernando, California - Page 114 After secularization, “the mission complex fell prey to careless outsiders. Roof tiles were removed by locals for use in their buildings, leaving the adobe walls unprotected. (Only the tall convento was spared.) Vandals, following a rumor that the padres had prospected for gold, dug up the church floor looking for buried treasure. The church and hospice became a warehouse and stable; the central quadrangle became a hog farm. Yet, somehow enough survived to allow San Fernando to become a church again in 1923. Since then, it has been restored to much of its early California glory.” Fort Ticonderoga, Ticonderoga, New York - Page 140 “The French blew up the powder magazine and set fire to the warehouse when they left in 1759. Although the British immediately made repairs, they too blew up the fort two decades later, rather than allow its use by American rebels. Locals and visitors then carried off building stones. When the restoration began in 1908, most of the walls were only knee-high. Still, the fort’s ‘footprint’ was clear, and the two-story Officers’ Barracks was complete to nearly its eaves. Through private philanthropy by the William Ferris Pell family, an impressive rebuilding program brought back the fort’s grandeur. This was the earliest commitment - private or public - to historic preservation in America.” Tryon Palace, New Bern, North Carolina - Page 175 “On many levels, this is an amazing place. In its day, Tryon (tree-ON) Palace was the colonial capitol of North Carolina and home of the Royalist governor. Yet, the most remarkable part of the story is not its place in history but its modern re-creation. All but one wing of the palace burned in a disastrous fire in 1798. Much of what remained was demolished in the early 1800s, and the property virtually disappeared as George Street extended over the foundations, new buildings filled the space and the Trent River bridge took over the riverfront. In 1944, well over 100 years later, the almost-unbelievable occurred: Mrs. James Edwin Latham, a wealthy, civic-minded native of New Bern, challenged the state of North Carolina to join her in rebuilding the palace. The state agreed; Mrs. Latham established a trust to fund the project; and in the 1950s, work began. Their first challenge was to remove more than 50 buildings and reroute SR 70, including the bridge over Trent River.” Frontier Culture Museum, Staunton, Virginia - Page 200 “To truly understand the westward movement, we must look back to the European immigrants and what they experienced before and after venturing across the Atlantic. One fascinating source of information is the Frontier Culture Museum. It has transported three historic farm houses from their countries of origin, reconstructed them on museum property and peopled them with Living History interpreters. These ‘snapshots’ of the Old World represent the lives left behind in Germany, Northern Ireland and England. They stand in contrast to two relocated American farmsteads and their Living History occupants.” ### © 2007 Suzanne and Craig Sheumaker and Red Corral Publishing. All rights reserved. Download in: MSWord or .PDF format. These materials are provided solely for editorial and promotional purposes relating to the book | ||
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