We visited Fort Moultrie National Historical Park in Charleston, South Carolina.
Visitor center:
The fort:
Underground command post:
View of the fort from a deck on top of the visitor center:
Nearby, a funky-looking lighthouse:
national monument
National monuments that we have visited.
Fort Sumter National Historical Park
We visited Fort Sumter National Historical Park in Charleston, South Carolina.
The fort is on an island, so the only way to visit it is via a ferry operated by Fort Sumter Tours; best to book a few days ahead:
Aircraft carrier across the harbor, part of a museum:
Approaching Fort Sumter:
Entering the fort:
The first submarine in history to sink an enemy ship, in 1864:
Model of the fort:
Back to the ferry:
Fascinating.
Fort Frederica National Monument
We visited Fort Frederica National Monument in Georgia. It was established in 1736 to help protect the British colonies from the Spanish in Florida.
An interactive map:
Visitor center:
Model of the fort and town:
Building foundations:
Ancient live oak tree:
Archaeology dig site:
Foundations of the fanciest house in town:
Remains of the fort:
The fort info sign:
Cannons:
Fort selfie:
What happened?
The barracks:
Reenactors:
He and Jenn chatted for a while, explaining about the hut, his uniform, his gun, and more:
A fascinating visit.
2024 parks and museums
In the previous post I covered the National Parks we visited in 2024, but we also visited many National Monuments and other National Park Service units, plus state parks, museums, and such. So this post summarizes those.
Again, you can also see the attractions from 2023, from 2022, and from 2021. And you can see all of the attraction-related blog posts via the exploring category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top, or more specifically the park category (with earliest or latest posts at the top), and the museum category (with earliest or latest posts at the top).
Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida:
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Florida:
Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center in Florida:
Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park in Florida:
Island ‘Ting with Sebago Watersports in Florida:
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida:
World of Coca‑Cola museum in Atlanta, Georgia:
Myrtle Beach State Park beach in South Carolina:
Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina:
Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina:
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site in North Carolina:
The Birthplace of Pepsi in New Bern, North Carolina:
Colonial National Historical Park: Yorktown in Virginia:
Colonial National Historical Park: Jamestown in Virginia:
Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia:
Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland and Virginia:
Blue Ridge Parkway north end in Virginia:
Manassas National Battlefield Park in Manassas, Virginia:
Gettysburg National Military Park: museum and visitor center in Pennsylvania:
Gettysburg National Military Park: memorials and cemetery in Pennsylvania:
DC monuments by night tour in Washington, DC:
Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, DC:
Smithsonian American History Museum in Washington, DC:
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia:
Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland:
Blue Ridge Parkway south end in North Carolina:
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park in Kentucky:
Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois:
Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village National Historic Landmark in Mitchell, South Dakota:
Legion Lake in Custer State Park, South Dakota:
Iron Mountain Road, Needles Highway, Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park, South Dakota:
Mount Coolidge, Wind Cave National Park, Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park, South Dakota:
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana:
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park in Santa Clarita, California:
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, California:
Museum of History in Granite in California:
Fort Davis National Historic Site in Texas:
Galveston Island State Park beach in Galveston, Texas (post coming in January; this link won’t work until then):
River Bottomland Hardwood Trail hike in Springfield, Louisiana (post coming in January; this link won’t work until then):
Some fascinating places.
Fort Davis National Historic Site
We visited Fort Davis National Historic Site in Texas. As the NPS site says, “It is one of the best surviving examples of an Indian Wars’ frontier military post in the Southwest.”
The NPS map; click or tap to see more on their site. The red-roofed buildings on this map are now ruins, often just foundations, but the others are mostly intact, with some furnished:
Entrance:
Gift store:
Museum exhibits:
Officers quarters:
Exhibits:
Commissary:
Officers quarters:
Hospital:
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
We visited Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana.
Just a quick visit, after a long drive of our coach on a one night stop.
Map:
Temporary visitor center:
Custer National Cemetery:
Battlefield drive:
Battlefield markers show where soldiers fell:
Custer’s monument:
Lincoln Home National Historic Site
We visited Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois, featuring the only house that Abraham Lincoln ever owned, and neighboring houses.
Gift store:
“The Lincolns Buy a Home”:
Floor plan:
Lincoln’s home:
Lincoln’s outhouse:
Neighboring homes:
Another look at Lincoln’s home:
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
We visited the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park in Kentucky, a small park with the country’s first monument to Lincoln, enclosing the Symbolic Cabin, a reconstruction of the tiny cabin where Lincoln was born. The memorial was built between 1909 and 1911.
56 steps up to the memorial, one for each year of Lincoln’s life:
The symbolic cabin inside the memorial:
Peeking inside:
Model of the cabin:
Info outside:
Boardwalk to the visitor center:
Visitor center:
Parents and kids:
Passport stamp:
Gift shop:
Family Bible:
More exhibits:
Table made by Lincoln’s father:
Boundary oak tree:
Model of the memorial:
Antietam National Battlefield
We visited Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland, where “23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862”.
Visitor Center:
Old church:
Cannons:
Stone bridge:
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
We visited Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia.
Relief map:
Bus from the visitor center to the town:
Exploring the old town of Harpers Ferry:
