Visited: Thursday, October 24, 2024
Taft's boyhood home is, as presidential sites go, reasonably interesting, though a lot of that comes from Taft's family, including his father who purchased the house and who had a notable political career of his own. The house tour was brief but enjoyable, and the movie provided a nice overview of Taft's career and its interaction with Teddy Roosevelt's.
Visited: Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Tomorrow, we'll be going to the Air Force Museum, which I haven't seen in many years. While this NPS site is nice, I'm not sure it stands out as much as a tribute to the Wright Brothers as does the museum. The site is modern and fairly inclusive - there are three visitors centers, two of which were open today (the main one in Dayton and the small one overlooking Huffman Prairie, where they did a lot of their work and where the statue to them is located). And the main visitor center is the only place that really focused on Paul Laurence Dunbar. Oh, _and_ there's a parachuting section as well. But these different items tend to clutter the place, at least for me - it was a worthwhile stop, but I can't particularly imagine heading back.
Visited: Wednesday, October 23, 2024
The parallels to the Maggie Walker site in Richmond are clear; Young's field was the military, but they both aimed to improve the conditions for African Americans within their sphere. Like with Walker, the site is headquartered in Young's house (Youngsholm); like with Walker, the place he had influence was local (Wilberforce University, just down the road). And as with Walker, he met with famous African American leaders of the day. The post-Civil War era was an interesting one; Young became the third African American to graduate from West Point with a commission, and the last to do so for around fifty years. I was very pleased to see Klondike Gold Rush on the list of sites connected to the Buffalo Soldiers, since we heard about the baseball game there last Summer.
On the whole, Young had an interesting and noteworthy collection of accomplishments; it was very nice to see extensive work being done on the house to keep it accessible and in good condition for years to come.
Visited: Sunday, September 15, 2024
Back when my brother lived in Pennsylvania, we passed by Valley Forge many times - but this was before we set a goal of visiting all of the NPS sites, so we never actually stopped in. It's clearly a site that has a lot of support, and is nicely run. But to be honest, we were both suffering from a degree of NPS War Fatigue by this point, and a desire to get home. Worthwhile, and the museum is great, but - the story really isn't different from what I expected, and it's busier than I'd tend to prefer.
Visited: Saturday, September 14, 2024
Often small NPS sites are particularly interesting to visit. However, the relative recent addition of the First State NHP works against it; there just isn't that much to it. To their credit, they have a movie - but the movie, and the exhibits, just don't have that much of interest to say.
Visited: Friday, September 13, 2024
Somehow, when we were planning this trip, I missed this one. But we did find it, and - it's an impressive site, particularly for such a recent addition to the NPS. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the fort - which, like many forts, never actually saw combat - was the decision of the commander when three escaped slaves arrived right after Virginia seceded to (1) decide that the fugitive slave act did not apply, since Virginia was claiming to be a foreign country, then (2) decide that the only way he would need to turn them over would be if their owner arrived and proclaimed loyalty to the Union (thus legally requiring they be returned, but something he was sure wouldn't occur), and finally (3) deciding that they qualified as contraband, and therefore could stay and contribute. This led to 20,000 slaves appearing at Fort Monroe during the US Civil War, where they were housed, employed, and later recruited to the Union effort. This is a reason Hampton University - a prominent HBCU - is located where it is - and is considered one of the actions that eventually led to the Emancipation Proclamation.
Oh, and the C&O eventually reached to Fort Monroe, leading to the Mile 0 marker for the railroad being adjacent to the fort.
