I am someone who enjoys history quite a bit. A major part of my love of history is the technology. As part of the love of historic technology I truly enjoy seeing it in action. Unfortunately it’s not always easy to find places to see history in action, or interact with it fully.
History in a book can sometimes fail to fully convey how something works or what a place looks like. In those cases visiting the site, or seeing the object in use is worth more than multiple books. In this article I’ll walk you through where I go to see history, and why I feel it’s important.
The Civil War
Most of my visits to historic locations have been related to the Civil War. I have been to multiple forts, battlefields, and a few reenactments. Not every place has been the most enjoyable. Some have so much history it restricts the ability to get a tactile feel for the site. The following are some of my recommendations for places to go or not go based on how interactive the history is.
Forts
For Civil War fortifications I have one fort I love and visit often. The other is historically significant, but is not as enjoyable to visit. I’ll tell you about both below.
Fort Pulaski
Fort Pulaski is my top recommendation for Civil War era fortifications to visit. Pulaski is important historically not so much for a battle, but technology. The siege of Fort Pulaski brought together the latest in fortification design and the new rifled cannons. In the end the rifled cannons won the day and the fort surrendered.
The fort is located just outside of Savannah. You can easily make a stop if you are staying in Savannah or heading to Tybee. As Pulaski was built to guard the port of Savannah it is located close by.
Pulaski today is the perfect fort for people who want to touch history. There are very few restriction on where you can go in the fort and what you can touch. For kids this means being able to man the cannons and go along the upper walls or in the powder magazines. For adults you can see and appreciate features of the construction and use from the exposed foundation in one of the corners to the holes and crates from the attacking cannon fire.
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is very historically significant. Unfortunately the site suffers some from its significance. Unless it has changed since I visited there is a limited amount of places you can go in the fort. There is also a decent amount of do not touch. I recommend a visit at least once due to its significance, but given the restrictive nature, and ferry ride to get there, I don’t recommend it for multiple visits.
Battlefields
There are many battlefields preserved from the Civil War that people can visit. These sites can be as simple as a small field with a plaque up to large sites like Gettysburg.
Kennesaw Mountain
Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield is basically in my back yard. I have visited it multiple times. This battlefield is a great choice to visit even if you aren’t big into history and just enjoy the outdoors. The battlefield and mountain are crossed with trails. The kids can enjoy the cannons placed around the park.
In addition to trails, plaques, and cannons the park also host multiple reenactments of various scales. I personally enjoyed going and seeing a Civil War cannon demonstration where you get to see how they are loaded and fired. They also host larger battle reenactments that are open to the public.
Kennesaw Mountain is a great park for the history and the hiking trails. If you are in the area and want to stretch your legs and learn some history it is my top recommendation.
Gettysburg
Gettysburg Battlefield is the site of one of the most historic battles of the Civil War. The site is massive and full of monuments to the various men and units present at the battle. When I last had a chance to visit we did a driving tour where the battle was explained as you drove through the battlefield. Along the way you stopped to view historic points of the field.
You may think the highly historic nature of Gettysburg would mean you can’t really touch or feel the history. That isn’t true. Gettysburg does a good job with letting you be in the same positions as the soldiers there. You can go behind a picket fence used for cover, you can walk along the same path and see the cannon that would have been firing on you.
Gettysburg as a place to visit is very sobering. You can feel the weight of the battle even over a hundred years after. This feeling is magnified if there is a fog which limits the sound you hear. I would say anyone who wants to know more about the Civil War should visit Gettysburg at some point.
Reenactments
Most major Civil War battlefields host reenactments. A majority will host them close to the days on which the battle occurred historically. In some cases there will be restrictions on the field so as to not cause too much damage to the historical site itself.
Resaca
The Battle of Resaca reenactment is the best I have been to. The battlefield is the effective home of the Georgia Division Reenactors Association. As such they work to maintain the battlefield and host the battle reenactment as their main event of the year. This reenactment ranks highest to me given it hosts infantry, artillery, and cavalry as part of the reenactment.
The Resaca reenactment is also unique in that it feels like a very open event. You are able to talk to the reenactors in camp to learn about their equipment, the battle, and general Civil War history. In a lot of cases they will show or let you handle items you are curious about.
For anyone who live in North Georgia I would recommend going out to watch this reenactment if you have any interest in Civil War history. If you are interested in becoming a reenactor yourself this is a great place to meet people and learn about the various groups.
Steam Engines
Jumping from a historic time period to a historic technology. Steam engines were a major driver in the Industrial revolution. They came in many shapes and forms as well as various degrees of complexity. If you are interested in steam engines, or obsessed with them as I am, then just reading about them is not enough.
If you want to learn more than what is just in a book about steam engines your first stop might be a museum. I have a few recommendations for good museums or exhibits around steam engines. If you want to see them in action you will need to look at either a local steam show, or a museum that offers a chance to operate a steam engine.
The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History
The Southern Museum is located in Kennesaw and makes for a great additional stop if you are visiting Kennesaw Mountain. Not only does this museum have a Civil War collection it also has the General, a train that participated in the great train chase. For someone who loves steam engines this is only the beginning.
The Southern Museum also hosts the collection from the Glover Machine Works. Glover was a local manufacturer of steam locomotives primarily for industrial work. The museum has a great display of their foundry patterns, machine shop, and locomotives in various states of assembly. You can really see the process of building a locomotive from the ground up.
For kids the Southern Museum hosts a large number of events and activities. If you are looking for something to get out and do it doesn’t hurt to check their calendar. I recommend this museum to both steam and Civil War history enthusiasts.
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History has multiple great steam engine related exhibits. They have a few examples of steam locomotives showing the progress of moving through the country. The best exhibit to me is the industrial engines. This exhibit is to show the progress of powering industry. You will be able to see static, moving, and cut-away engines.
In general Smithsonian museums always rank high to me. While you can’t always touch the exhibits they tend to do a good job showing a lot of the pieces in action in some way. Seeing parts moving and hearing the sounds always adds a layer of realism to everything.
This is a high recommendation for anyone who wants to learn about steam engines. If you have a group where not everyone is interested the nice part about the Smithsonian is they have a museum for almost any topic, and they are packed close together.
Steam and Gas Shows
If you want to experience steam engines in action you can’t do much better than a steam show. My local Steam and Gas Show can be the site of more than a dozen various steam engines including steam cars from time to time. The engines will usually be found driving around or hooked up to various equipment.
The big draw beyond seeing the engines operate is talking to the operators. Ask someone who owns a steam engine about the engine and they will usually talk your ear off. You’ll be able to learn a lot, and may even be invited to blow the whistle.
These events are held all across the country and can range from a fairly small local event like my hometown to large events drawing people from around the country. These events are fun for the family as there is usually a mix of activities and machines on display. My wife enjoys going to see some of the pink tractors on display.
Be the Engineer
If you are looking for a very unique opportunity relating to steam engines look no further than a Be the Engineer program. For this you step from observer to operator. While I have never done a Be the Engineer experience I would recommend the Nevada Northern Railway Museum as my top pick.
You can’t really get more into the history of steam beyond experiencing it for yourself. Depending on the type of package you choose you will get to experience operating a true turn of the century steam engine along working tracks. You will have your hand on the throttle and get to see what it was like to move people and freight over a hundred years ago.
If you love steam engines, or know someone who does, then this should be on your bucket list. I have it on mine even though I own my own steam traction engine.
Computers
While it may be hard to think of anything relating to computers as historic that isn’t the case. The computers used to go o the moon are over 50 years old at this point. Computers are unique in their exhibition due to how they operate.
My preference is that items of a historic nature should be shown in use to better contextualize them. A horse drawn plow makes more sense when seen behind a horse cutting into the land. For computers the problem is the nature of their operation. Weird electrical components or hard to find components makes operating them dangerous to either the exhibit or the user.
Some museums display computers as static exhibits. Some operate a few as demonstrations. The museums that operate their exhibits as demonstrations rate the highest to me.
Computer History Museum
The Computer History Museum ranks the highest to me as to how they display and demonstrate historic computers. The museum has machines covering from the earliest devices that relate to computing up through the modern era. Being located in Silicon Valley has helped them attract support from major tech companies.
When I visited they were demonstrating a difference engine designed by Charles Babbage. That exhibit is no longer there but being able to see such a large mechanical computer in person and operating was awe inspiring.
The museum has a rotating set of machines that they demonstrate. That list includes the IBM 1401 pictured above. These demonstrations help to show what computing was like in the early years of the Information Age. Sometimes you need to see a computer the size of a room to really appreciate how far we’ve come.
If you are a computer nerd like myself and find yourself in San Fransisco the you should stop by. You can check the museums page to see what they may be demonstrating that day and at what times.
Computer Museum of America
Closer to home is the Computer Museum of America. This museum also offers a range of exhibits relating to the history of computing. Similar to the Computer History Museum this museum also has demonstrations. The big difference is that these demonstrations are hands on. The Computer Museum of America hosts chances for visitors to create punch cards, or play classic computer games.
The exhibit on supercomputers shows how far computing has come over the years in terms of raw power. The information and comparisons are done in such a way to make it easy to understand for any visitor. They also have one of the few surviving Enigma machines on display.
If you have kids then you should check out some of their camps and activity days. This museum is relatively small at the moment, but is quickly growing. Both times I have visited their has been large changes to make it worth the multiple visits.
Conclusion
Hopefully my suggestions can help you find where to better experience history. If you want to see history leap from the page or get a better idea of how it felt then go out to some of my recommendations. I have found that the information sticks in my head better when I get it from multiple ways.
If you have kids then visiting museums and events can help spark an interest or hobby. Learning can be fun if you help make it fun. I strongly attribute my joy of learning to being able to go out and experience the places I’ve listed. The best part with a large number of these is they are a short drive and make for fun day trips.
Get out there and get to learning.