New Deal Homestead Museum

Arthurdale, West Virginia was the initial project of the Subsistence Homesteads Division, part of the President Roosevelt's New Deal agencies. Construction started on the 165 house community in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression with a goal of providing modern, safe living conditions for unemployed farmers, miners, and their families. The community was designed to be self governing and self sufficient with an administration building, community hall, forge, school, post office, stores, and businesses. Each house had a large plot of land so that the families could grow their own food using shared farm equipment. 

This was a pet project of Eleanor Roosevelt, who was very involved in the planning and visited the community 33 times. She also convinced businesses to open factories in the town. Unfortunately, none of them lasted long.Twenty nine communities, located all across the country, were constructed by the division before it was abolished in 1937 because it wasn't popular with either political party and the communities didn't live up to expectations. Even so Eleanor Roosevelt and families living in Arthurdale considered it a success because of the improvements in people's lives. 

Guided tours are the only way to see the museum buildings which consist of the admiration building, the forge, a few outbuildings, one of the houses furnished circa 1930s, and the community hall. The tour is very interesting. A map is available if you want to take a driving tour of the community. Most of the houses are still standing and occupied although many have been remodeled. I highly recommend using the map because we tried just driving around and kept hitting dead ends. 

                  

The administration building, where most of the exhibits are located, and the community hall, which is empty except on special event days, are accessible. The entrance to the house has a high threshold and the second floor is accessed by stairs only. Assistance may be needed to see the outbuildings due to rough terrain.

The parking lot is large enough for RVs. Museum  39.49481, -79.81564

 

Montour Trail

The Montour Rail Trail follows the rail bed of a route that was primary used for hauling coal out of the many mines in the hills around Pittsburgh, Pa. It's 61.5 miles long and most of it is surfaced with crushed limestone but the section that we visited is paved with asphalt. We walked/rolled about 6 miles round trip, staying on the Arrowhead section when the Montour Trail veered off to join trails that go all the way to Washington DC. 

It's close to a busy road and goes through residential and commercial neighborhood but there are enough trees and shrubbery so most of that is blocked from view. We started from a parking lot that is accessed from Valley Brook Road. A short but steep section of trail leads to the main trail. By going south we went up a gradual incline and then had an easy return trip. The trail is wide and smooth with just a bit of unevenness where it joins an overpass.

The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. Trail  40.28531, -80.099 

Litzenberg Memorial Woods and McKinnis Litzenburg Farmstead

Charles and Mary McKinnis, who started farming here in 1822, built the large house, which still stands, in 1847. The next owners Otta and Ruby Litzenburg bequeathed the property to Hanover County Parks. Much of the 227 acres is preserved as a wildlife habitat and includes wetlands, prairie, and woods with about 6.5 miles of trails. As far as we could tell the farmhouse, outbuildings, and activity barn are opened for school groups, rental parties, and rare public events. 

A paved trail goes from the parking lot to a picnic shelter and the activity barn. Both the house and the activity barn have ramps but neither were open during our visit.We walked/rolled along the Meadow Trail, a 3/4 mile mowed grass path that starts at the north end of the parking lot and makes a loop around the meadow. It's accessible with a strong helper. The other trails are too rough and hilly. 

RVs will fit in the lot if backed over the grass or parked across the spaces. Woods  41.06048, -83.76466

 

Wabash and Erie Canal Interpretive Center

 Ground was broken on February 22, 1832 to begin construction of the Wabash and Erie Canal. The canal, which took 11 years to finish, stretched  more than 460 miles, linking the Great Lakes to the Ohio River and making it the longest canal built in North America.

The interpretive center has very good exhibits covering the history and construction of the canal, the lives of the workers who built the canal, and life on the canal and in the towns along the way. The center was built to resemble a small town Main Street and is located in a park on the outskirts of Delpi, Indiana. A portion of the canal has been refurbished and several log houses have been relocated to the park. A large house built in1844 by Reed Case, the contractor responsible for building for building the Carroll County portion of the canal, has also been relocated to the property. A portion of the towpath is graveled to make a nice walking trail. During the summer visitors can take a ride on a replica canal boat. The interpretive center is open all year but the other buildings are only opened in the summer and for special events. 

The interpretive center is accessible but there are some problem areas. The floor has slopes that are not very noticeable so use caution. A few of the exhibit areas have steps up or are too narrow for wheelchair access.  Some of the hands on exhibits can not be accessed from a seated position. None of the relocated buildings appear to be accessible. The towpath is level and accessible. 

 

The parking lot is large enough for any RV. Center  40.59145, -86.68156

 

 

 

 

Bishop Hill Museum

Bishop Hill was founded 1846 by Swedish immigrants in an attempt to create a utopian, communal society. They had followed Erik Jansson from Sweden to Illinois believing that his teachings came directly from God. They arrived too late in the year to plant crops and 98 people died the first winter but the settlement grew and became successful with 12,000 acres under cultivation and 20 commercial buildings erected. Jansson was murdered in 1850 by John Root, who was married to Jansson's cousin. She wanted to stay in the community, he wanted to leave, and Jansson sided with her. After the murder a board of seven trustees managed the community. Bad investments by one of the trustees led to an economical collapse which caused the community to dissolve in 1861. Today the population is only 113 but many of the original buildings are still standing and house shops, restaurants, and museums. 

Four buildings are owned by the State of Illinois plus there are other buildings open to the public to tour. There isn't good signage in the town and we wandered around looking for the main museum, not realizing that the historic exhibits are in the Steeple Building. Download this map before visiting. 

 

We eventually found the Bishop Hill Museum which has an exhibit of the artwork of Olof Krans. Twelve year old Olaf came to Bishop Hill in 1850 with his parents. He started painting memories of his childhood in 1896 while he was recovering from a fall. The docent was a wealth of information and filled us in on the town's history. We stayed so long talking with him that we missed the other buildings. 

The museum is accessible. 

The parking lot is large enough for any RV. Parking is available on the streets if you want to visit the rest of the town. Bishop Hill  41.1961, -90.11957

 

Henry County Historical Museum

An old school has been renovated to serve as the museum so exhibits fill the classrooms and line the hallway. Donated items have been grouped together to portray life in the early days but the exhibits don't include much history or information on the items. 

 

The museum is accessible.

Parking is available on the street. Museum 41.19905, -90.12119

 

Isle of Capri Casino Bettendorf

To get to the casino, exit I-74 and go east on Grant Street, then right on George Thuenen Drive. At the levee road we turned right into a parking lot with a row of trees because we wanted the shade. I think this lot is a park and ride lot which is also used by people who want to access the levee trail. It doesn't get a lot of traffic. A tractor trailer and a trailer trailer were the only vehicles besides ours that were there overnight. To get to the casino lots turn to the left. 

It's a bit of a hike to get to the casino entrance. The walk/roll from the casino lots is somewhat shorter. The curb cuts are in good condition. I don't remember whether the casino chairs are easy to move. There are ramps to access the levee trail but we did not go on it. Casino  41.52268, -90.5098

 

National Pearl Button Museum

The first button company in Muscatine, Iowa was founded in 1884 by J. F. Boepple. The buttons were made by punching circles from the shells of freshwater mussels harvested in the shallow waters of the Mississippi River. The iridescent shells give the finished buttons a lustrous shine. By the early 1900s there were 43 factories in Muscatine involved in various aspects of button making from harvesting to sewing the buttons on cards. Between 1908 and the 1920s the factories produced 1.5 billion pearl buttons per year.  The invention of plastic buttons in the late 1940s and over harvesting of the mussel beds led to a decline in the pearl button industry. Some factories closed, some switched to plastic, and last one, McKee Button Company, founded in 1895, closed its doors in 2020.

The museum has excellent exhibits featuring button making machines, information on the workers, and displays with a huge variety of buttons. Buttons may seem like a dull subject but the museum is interesting and very well done. The second floor  has exhibits on the many local companies that help sponsor the museum.

 The museum is accessible with an elevator to the second floor.

Parking is available on the street but the sidewalk slopes toward the street which makes it difficult to exit using a lift. The parking is limited but large RVs can be parked at Riverside park which is located a few blocks south. Museum  41.42103, -91.04634