This blog post will cover five of the lesser known historical sites around the United States that you may not know about. It will discuss the backstory and interesting facts about each site, as well as provide tips on how to get there, and what to do when you arrive.
1.Monticello – was the plantation of our third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. At the age of 14 he inherited 5,000 acres from his father and began designing his home. Today the plantation has been designated a National Historic Landmark, and is a landmark everyone should visit. The home and grounds are magnificent. I recommend you buy tickets early and they can be purchased here. Packages include house tours, garden tours, and even family tours, so you can decide what you want to explore and what you want to spend. You will definitely want to wander the house, and grounds which includes the Monticello Cemetery, where Thomas Jefferson is buried.
2. Mount Vernon – is the plantation home of our first president George Washington. The home and grounds are located on the Potomac River, south of Washington DC, in Virginia. The home was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is definitely a beautiful place to visit to learn more about the way of life in the early years of our country. Purchase tickets here, especially if you are traveling to the area in the summer months. The land was first acquired by the Washington family in 1674, and remained George Washington’s home until his death.
3. Hearst Castle – is an iconic historic estate in San Simeon which is located in the California Central Coast. This spectacular estate was built and designed between 1919 and 1947 by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his architect Julia Morgan. Originally the estate was called La Cuesta Encantada which is Spanish for The Enchanted Hill. It is a incredible place to wander and experience the workmanship that was implemented into every facet of this historic landmark. If you are traveling in the summer, I definitely recommend buying tickets early, and you can purchase them here.
4. Fallingwater – is a home designed in 1935 by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The home is located about 70 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, in the Laurel Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania in the United States. It is built partly over a waterfall which helped keep the home cool in the summer months. The home is surrounded by the forest, and was used by the original owners to escape the summer city heat before air conditioning was invented. If you want to learn more about Frank Lloyd Wright you can visit his long time residence Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona. Learn more here.
5. Mark Twain House – located in Hartford, Connecticut, the Mark Twain House and Museum, was the home of Samuel Langhorne Clemens and his family from 1874 to 1891. It was designed by Edward Tuckerman Potter and built in the American High Gothic style. The house is a lot of fun to visit and get a glimpse of life from that era of history.
There are so many incredible places to visit in the United States.
These are just a few to get you started.
