How do you find historic sites that fit your interests?

History-minded U.S. travelers have faced a surprising challenge when planning trips. They want a good story and tend to favor specific time periods or cultural groups. But once they’ve exhausted their own wish-list and the recommendations of friends, where do they turn for new ideas?

Sound like your problem? It certainly was ours. Conventional guidebooks are organized by cities/states/regions - that’s not good when location is secondary to the history experience. Travel guides that have topic-oriented indexes are helpful but still time-consuming to use. And...well, you know what doesn’t work.

We created America’s Living History-The Early Years to provide a solution. It is topic-oriented. Over 40 Native American attractions are featured, spanning the history of Indians over thousands of years. European colonization is explored from three different perspectives - the Spanish, French and English. About 60 centuries-old religious settlements are showcased to provide insight into diverse communal lifestyles and the devotion to God. Numerous other travel destinations tell about the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War and War of 1812; the formation of our independent nation; the emergence of the Industrial Revolution; western explorations, fur trading and much more. African American heritage is sprinkled throughout and referenced in the index for quick identification. In addition, travel information and regional maps (color-coded to the chapter topics) provide easy-to-use guidelines for trip planning.

The diversity of America’s cultural and religious heritage is startling, and the best attractions should not be missed.

What do others say?

Here's a sampling of what reviewers have said about America's Living History-The Early Years that is relevant to ethnic and religious explorers:

“Suzanne and Craig Sheumaker bring a rare kind of passion and love for America and its history to the pages that make this dense and lively volume both an exciting travelogue and a book of colorful history. The idea is to see more of America than the usual tourist sees, to see deeper and to see with eyes informed by the grand progression of past events and the pageantry of a great people and their myriad cultures.” Dennis Littrell, reviewer, Amazon.com

“Browsing through the site descriptions and photographs, I found myself smiling at recollections of those that I have visited and with anticipation of future visits to those I have not yet seen. And, in a few cases, shaking my head at my failure to visit some within easy driving distance (failures I now plan to remedy, thanks to the Sheumaker’s enthralling book).” Bruce Trinque, reviewer, Amazon.com

“My family is planning a trip to Arizona. I used the book to research all sites in the Arizona area, which has been a tremendous help in planning our trip...This book has been and I believe will be a great reference for future trips across the country. There are also a number of local sites that I have not visited yet, but are now on the list.” Randy Cook, reviewer, BarnesAndNoble.com

“The authors give interesting information about each site, but also suggest that learning about each site is partly up to the traveler as they visit each location. The attention to detail and cross-referencing is amazing. Having this book along on any journey would be invaluable to learning about our great country and all of its history...If you are planning an extended road trip, or travel frequently to enjoy history, you need this excellent book.” Carol White, reviewer, Amazon.com

“Readers will find the answers to innumerable questions about early American life in this book. Whether readers are interested in a day trip close to home or going cross-country, this is a great resource.” Lacy J. Williams, Armchair Interviews

“...neatly arranged geographically by regions with sub headings dividing the historic sites by topics, such as America’s native peoples, European colonization, religious and secular groups and road to independence.” Mary O. Bradley, Patriot News, Harrisburg, PA

Why explore America’s historic diversity?
Who we are today, as a people and as individuals, is the sum of all who came before us. Whatever you know about America’s ancestors is likely to become more meaningful with history travel. Whatever you discover is likely to bring increased understanding and personal growth.

Native Americans - Various DNA and archaeological findings suggest that waves of people traveled to our continent over the Bering Strait land bridge from Asia and possibly also along the northeastern ice sheet from Europe beginning as far back as 18,000-30,000 years ago. They headed south, gradually populating the land. (The oldest known cultural site - Meadowcroft in Avella, Pennsylvania - is 16,000 years old.) When temperatures warmed, the Bering Strait land access flooded, and the northeastern ice sheet melted away. Undoubtedly some migrations continued by sea. For the most part, though, America’s early inhabitants were separated from the rest of the world, as if living on a huge Galápagos Island.

By the time Europeans arrived, Native Peoples had achieved much that was beyond the “white man’s” comprehension. Their social systems were often complex. Their trading networks were extensive. Their spiritual practices were unique. And their understanding of the natural world was highly sophisticated. How many Indians were there? The most conservative viewpoint says that 1 million people occupied the territory north of Mexico pre-contact; most estimates however are much higher - typically 10-20 million. Today, our nation has about 2.8 million full-blooded Native Americans - 4.5 million if we include those of mixed race.

We devoted an entire chapter in our book to historical destinations relevant to both pre-contact and post-contact Native Peoples.

African Americans - America’s first permanent non-Indian settlers were African slaves left behind by the Spanish during the mid-1520s in what is now probably South Carolina.

The next group came in 1619 to Jamestown, Virginia. Listed as “servants” in the historical records, they may have been either indentured servants or slaves. Subsequent African arrivals were mostly slaves but also sailors, soldiers, explorers and free servants. Without the contributions of these American ancestors, our country might well have failed economically - and therefore politically. Today 39.7 million full-blooded and mixed-race people of African descent call America their home.

Many historic sites in our book share the African American story along with other histories. To name a few: Middleton Place near Charleston, South Carolina; Melrose Plantation and the Cane River Creole National Historical Park near Natchitoches, Louisiana; Old Salem Museums & Gardens in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; George Washington’s Mount Vernon home and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, both in Virginia; and the Black Heritage Trail in Boston.

Hispanic Americans - Hispanics were America’s earliest European colonists. Primarily Spanish explorers, soldiers and Roman Catholic missionaries, they were driven by the promise of great riches, the potential to achieve glory, and the desire to build a Spanish empire peopled primarily by Native citizens. By the time the English began active colonization on the Northeast Coast during the 1600s, the Spanish already had made a significant impact on the Southeast and Southwest, due in large part to the mission system.

Although Spain wanted all of America, it ultimately claimed about one-third and held onto much of its territory for roughly 250-300 years - until the Mexican War of Independence in 1810-1821. The first major, long-term settlements were established in St. Augustine, Florida, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. A series of others followed in Georgia, Texas, Arizona and California. In 2005, the U.S. Census showed that the Hispanic and Latino population in America had reached 42.7 million.

America has a fascinating Hispanic heritage. For the premier tourist destinations, we recommend that you review the chapters on both European Colonization and Religious & Secular Groups in America’s Living History-the Early Years.

Religious Settlers - While power plays motivated much of the European colonization, America’s early growth and development is largely a story of religious settlement and church-dictated lifestyles. The Pilgrims who landed in 1620 at Plymouth, Massachusetts, were Protestants, and roughly two-thirds were members of a Puritan sect known as Separatists.

They served as a kind of role-model for other adventurous souls. Between 1630 and 1640, an estimated 20,000 English men, women and children emigrated to New England, settling in closely bound villages most often guided by Puritan principles. Spanish-Portuguese Jews formed their first American congregation in 1654 when they found a safe haven in New Amsterdam (now New York). French Huguenots also successfully settled in New York, establishing New Paltz in 1677. English Quakers settled in Pennsylvania beginning in 1681, and their Shaker counterparts founded at least 19 northern settlements in the late 1700s. A number of Protestant groups also came from Germany, including the Quakers and Mennonites in 1683; the Amish in the 1720s-1730s; the Moravians in the 1730s; members of the Ephrata Cloister in 1732; Zoarites who settled in Ohio in 1817; and the Amana Society which arrived in 1842. At the same time across the Southeast and Southwest, Catholics established a series of Spanish missions and surrounded them with prosperous communities.

All of these religious groups are represented by historical sites that make interesting, enlightening travel destinations. In fact, we have shown 60 in our guidebook to help you identify the ones most interesting to you.