America’s Summer Roadtrip Offers Behind the Scenes Access to 12 Fascinating Historic Sites

By Amy Beth Wright and Derek Wright

The Pursuit of History, a non-profit dedicated to bringing adults together to immerse in history, has curated an epic twelve-hour virtual road trip—one that would be quite impossible to replicate in the same time with an automobile—offering unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to twelve extraordinary historic sites with expert tour guides leading the way. In one day, one can visit the birthplace of aviation on the shores of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina and the Sacramento site where the discovery of gold spurred so many to try their luck westward during the Gold Rush, and linger in the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, bridging the stories, heroes, and important moments in history that reveal the ongoing pursuit for social justice across centuries, with greater understanding and perspective.

America’s Summer Roadtrip 2020 streams from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. (EDT) on August 1, 2020 at AmericasSummerRoadtrip.org, and the journey will also be streamed and archived on The Pursuit of History’s Facebook page.

Your (free!) tour includes:

9:00 a.m. Historic New Bridge Landing, River Edge, New Jersey

This Revolutionary War site is a former battleground, encampment, and intelligence outpost, and is also home to the only building remaining from the 1776 Retreat through Bergen County. The same building served as Washington’s headquarters in 1780. The Bergen County Historical Society will lead the tour.

10:00 a.m. The Rebecca Nurse Homestead, Danvers, MAssachusetts

Rebecca Nurse’s former home is the only home of a victim of the 1692 Salem Witch Hunt that is preserved and open to the public.

11:00 a.m. National Underground Railroad Freedom Center,
Cincinnati, Ohio

The Freedom Center, which opened in downtown Cincinnati in 2002, has as its mission the intention to “reveal stories of freedom’s heroes, from the era of the Underground Railroad to contemporary times, challenging and inspiring everyone to take courageous steps of freedom today.”

12:00 p.M. Minute Man National Historic ParK
Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts

This is the site of the first battle of the Revolutionary War in April 1775, and now, a National Park Service site where visitors can bear witness to the battle via reenactments.

1:00 P.M. Faneuil Hall and The Printing Office of Edes & Gill,
Boston, Massachusetts

Faneuil Hall has been the site of historic meetings, speeches, and debates for 275 years, many of which focused on the quest for equal rights and social justice. At Edes and Gill, a historic printing office, the printed materials that led to the origin of the nation and that reveal the sites along Boston’s Freedom Trail are recreated on a colonial-era printing press.

2:00 p.m. The Molly Brown House
Denver, Colorado

Margaret “Molly” Brown, was a labor-activist, suffragette, and a powerful advocate for social justice who survived the tragedy of the Titanic; her ornate Victorian-era mansion preserves and interprets her work and her story.

3:00 p.m. Thomas Edison National Historical Park
West Orange, New Jersey

This National Park Service site preserves Thomas Edison’s Laboratory Complex, as well as his home, Glenmont, a 29-room estate with sprawling, verdant grounds. Within the Laboratory Complex are many original artifacts, as well as timelines for the research and development of Edison’s innovations, including the phonograph, incandescent lamps, fuses, motion picture cameras, batteries—and more!

4:00 p.m. Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Nageezi, New Mexico

The ruins at Chaco Culture National Historical Park are more than 1,000 years old, and offer greater insight into the largest and most advanced ancient Pueblo villages in the Southwest. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that, based on found artifacts, is also believed to have been a cultural center for many Mesoamerican communities.

5:00 p.m. American Heritage Museum at the Collings Foundation
Stow, Massachusetts

This museum focuses on America’s military engagements, tracing the historical origins of conflict as well as the details of battle, dating from the Revolutionary Way to today. An extensive collection of vehicles from World War II, World War I, and other wars is on site.

6:00 p.m. Heart Mountain Interpretive Center
Powell, Wyoming

More than 14,000 Japanese-Americans were confined here during World War II; this site preserves both the remains of the encampment and tells the stories of many who were forced on site during this time.

7:00 p.m. Wright Brothers National Memorial
Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina

The museum and grounds at this National Park Service site bring the Wright’s collaboration, methodical experimentation, and quest to life unforgettably, telling the inspiring story of the first successful, sustained, powered flights.

8:00 p.m. Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
Coloma, California

This California State Historic Park marks the place where James Marshall first discovered gold in 1848, prompting the Gold Rush to California. A blacksmith shop, sawmill, and many interpretive trails are on site, and a gold-panning tutorial is offered at the on-site museum.

Carrie Lund, founder and executive director of The Pursuit of History, explains, “While our gatherings for history enthusiasts around the country are temporarily on hold because of social distancing, the road trip enables us to continue our mission of encouraging understanding and appreciation and engagement with history.” She continues, “For organizations facing a sharp drop in visitations this summer, this is a great way to raise awareness and encourage people to visit next year and in the years to come,” explained Carrie Lund, founder and executive director of The Pursuit of History. “And for individuals, this will be a fun way to travel across the country from the comfort of your tablet, computer, or iPhone/Android device.”

For a complete breakdown of the day’s schedule, and to experience the Road Trip live on August 1, please visit: AmericasSummerRoadtrip.org.

The Pursuit of History™ is the non-profit organization that engages adults in conversation about history and connects them with historic sites in their communities and across the country through unique annual events, including History Camp Boston (the first, started in 2014), History Camp Colorado, History Camp Virginia, and History Camp Philadelphia (new in 2020) and through video and other online content. Many of the sites included in the tour are still operating temporarily with limited or no public access and services due to public health restrictions. Conducted by leading expert guides, each tour will include a special behind-the-scenes look at something that visitors would not get to see if they went in person.

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