Sunshine and Philadelphia

It’s…..

The day before my birthday. And as you know, I am all about extending the celebration for a few days.

This year’s birthday weekend will be spent seeing this band in this city at a venue that just happens to be steps away from this National Historical Park. And in between visits to the Monk’s Cafe and seeing a very loud show, I am guessing I will know where to find Mr. Seed, who can’t resist a National Park site if it is within viewing range.

I wonder how much has changed since our first USA-C2C visit 5 years ago. We’ll be sure to let you know.

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A Legitimate Question

I was having a conversation with someone the other day and they asked a very legitimate question, “where are you?”

liberty bell

Michael and I have been residing in Harrisburg, PA since we ended our trip in December 2005, just a few months ahead of schedule. Bags were unpacked, the ‘Tima got a car wash, items were pulled out of storage and a new home was found (a few blocks away from the old one).

Since then, one of us went back to work, one of us found a new job, we both wrote for a few other places, and in between we’ve gone back to some of our favorite park sites to give them a second look, like Independence Hall National Historical Park, the Liberty Bell and our beloved Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial.

New sites were given National Park site designations since we created our original list, like the Carter G. Woodson House National Historic Site in Washington D.C. This was one of our final stops, but our visit was still a little premature. The African Burial Grounds National Memorial in New York is another newbie we have to add to our “still to see” list.

Did we reach our goal of Every. Single. NPS site in the Continental United States?

Almost.

Did we reach our goal of rediscovering America and answering the question, “what, exactly, does it mean to be American?”

We’re not sure if America ever becomes a static answer, or if the discovery ever ends. We found a lot of different answers, and had the time of our lives trying.

And it ain’t over yet.

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Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park

Middletown, Va.
Visited: Sometime Soon
NPS Site Visited: Not There Yet
NPS Website; Cedar Creek Website; Belle Grove Website

The Cedar Creek Visitor Center and Belle Grove Plantation are easily accessed via U.S. 11, especially if you are planning a visit to Shenandoah National Park anyway. The question you need to ask yourself is, am I willing to pay eight bucks for a house tour and then drive down the road and pay two bucks for a film and exhibit area, none of which are managed by the National Park Service?

Our answer at the time of our visit was “no” because we thought the Park was an Affiliate Site. We now know that Cedar Creek and Belle Grove are indeed considered a National Park Site so we’ve gotta go back. How can a place be a National Historical Park yet have zero Park-operated facilities? Good question. We’ll let you know.

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Independence National Historical Park – Other Sites

Bishop White House; Carpenters’ Hall; Christ Church; City Tavern; Declaration House; First Bank of the United States; Franklin Court; Free Quaker Meeting House; Independence Living History Center; Merchants’ Exchange Building; New Hall Military Museum; Philosophical Hall; Second Bank of the United States; Todd House; Washington Square
Philadelphia, Pa.
Visited: March 23, 2004
Second Visit: December 1,2005
Third Visit: December 7, 2006
NPS Site Visited: 3 of 353
NPS Website; Local Website

WHAT IS IT?
Independence NHP is a collection Old City Philadelphia buildings, museums, cemeteries and parks that commemorate events and people who were integral in the creation of the United States. This review covers the 15 Independence NHP sites whose entry requires no security check and no entry fee. Scroll down for a short synopsis of the sites covered here. There are separate reviews for the Liberty Bell Center, the Independence Hall complex and the National Constitution Center.

BEAUTY (8/10)
The mixture of red-brick Federal, white stone Greek Revival and stately white Federal architectures all set amidst open green park space and cobblestone streets is a perfect enscapsulation of the Founding Fathers’ worldly understandings and lofty aspirations. Their 18th century residences, meeting places and streets speak of English roots but their banks and post-Revolution contructions aim for equality with the Greek and Roman civilizations of antiquity.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (10/10)
Even without the inclusion of Independence Hall, the historical significance of these 15 sites is unmatched by any collection of buildings throughout the United States. Nearly every American Age of Enlightenment-era idea originated or first appeared in the western hemisphere within these grounds: the museum, the post office, centralized banking, the fire station, electricity, meteorology, the library, the philosophical society. It is no underestimation to state that American thought and the idea of the United States began here.

With that came the Declaration of Independence and the shattering of the monarchic inevitability, the notion of democracy and self rule. It all happened here. The First Continental Congress took place in Carpenter’s Hall, these revolutionaries walked and discussed violent rebellion in these same streets, lived in these buildings, wrote the Declaration of Independence here, ate in the City Tavern, lounged on these lawns and changed the world in Old City Philadelphia.

CROWDS (7/10)
Less tourist traffic means more Ranger attention for those who venture outside the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (2/5)
I-676 and I-95 both drop you off in the center of Old Town Philly. Independence Hall is located on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Street. Most of these 15 sites are located within six L-shaped blocks of each other beginning in the north at Arch Street, turning eastward at 6th and Chestnut and ending at 2nd and Walnut. Many of the connecting alleyways and sidestreets are cobblestone and could prove difficult to maneuver.

Independence NHP’s biggest deficiency is that it is not as tourist friendly as Boston’s Freedom Trail. Boston NHP strings the visitor to its attractions via a painted path. Independence NHP tells you to first go to its Visitor Center and to sort it out from there. As a result, the visitor goes to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall but forgets about these 15 sites; sites that could rightly claim to be America’s real Freedom Trail. It is also difficult to discern which Old City Philadelphia buildings are part of Independence NHP and which buildings are unaffiliated and privately-run museums. If you do not arrive with a plan, the Park could get confusing and overwhelming.

These 15 buildings also have variant and often vexing operating hours. Many are open only from Wednesday through Sunday with limited hours. Plan your visit accordingly; we would not come here on a Monday or Tuesday.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (4/5)
The Park’s bookstore is a stand-alone entity located in the Georgian brick Pemberton House on Chestnut Street between 3rd and 4th Streets. The store sells a good selection of books but nowhere near the definitive choice that the definitive American history site should have.

We enjoyed our City Tavern visit immensely. Our favorite part was the Yards Brewery ales which are brewed only for the City Tavern. These beers (the Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale, the George Washington Porter and the Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce) styles are historically accurate and based on the recipes of our Founding Fathers! And they taste good too. If spirit imbibing is not your thing, the Tavern’s lunch and dinner menus are just as historically exacting and just as scrumptious.

COSTS (3/5)
Entry into all of these buildings is free. Carpenter’s Hall, Philosopher’s Hall and Christ Church are still privately owned and all three ask for donations.

There is a series of parking lots and garages in the Independence NHP vicinity. You will end up paying somewhere between $10 and $20 for a full day. Discount parking validation at the Independence Visitor Center or National Constutition Center is a possibility. Metered and free two-hour street parking south of the Sites is possible but could prove difficult.

Dining at the City Tavern is pricey but a fun and historical experience.

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (5/5)
During his 2005 visit, Michael spent a wonderful hour plus at Philosophical Hall openly discussing some of his more unorthodox American history theories. The American Philosophical Society guide was more than willing to contribute some of her own left-field ideas. The two jabbered on and on like long lost relatives. Michael only left in order to beat the rush hour traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway…and to find his wife who was seven blocks away at the Philadelphia Convention Center.

We encountered the same engaging historical conversation with a Carpenter’s Hall docent, Independence Living History Center archeologists (on two occasions) and at the Declaration House. We did not take the Ranger-led only tour of the Bishop White House and Todd House but are confident it elicits the same sort of graduate level talk. Who else but history buffs would tour these buildings?

TOURS/CLASSES (8/10)
The terrific staff found throughout these buildings is the key to any educational visit. If you don’t engage the docents and Rangers on duty, many of your learning experiences will be underwhelming. The NPS museums at Franklin Court, the New Hall Military Museum and the Declaration House are dated and/or in disrepair.

Thankfully, you don’t have to look hard to find terrific museums.

The small American Philosophical Society museum is stellar and rotates its exhibits yearly. The 2007 exhibit has yet to be revealed but 2005’s amazing display included the only original Declaration of Independence printed on vellum, William Penn’s Charter of Privileges and the first stored and printed computer program. The other treasures on display were just as incredible.

Equally incredible is the newly reopened Portrait Gallery located in the Second Bank of the United States. The nearly 200 portraits on display put a face on the patriots, thinkers, soldiers and historical figures honored at the Park. The skillful Charles Willson Peale characterizations reveal the personalities and thoughts of 18th-century America.

FUN (8/10)
For anyone who loves American history, these 15 sites are paradise. They are a shining American treasure. They don’t have the obligatory feel of the Liberty Bell or the security-addled confusion of Independence Hall. You can experience their wonder at your leisure and either by yourself or with the aid of similarly minded guides. Your time here won’t be force-fed and might be too brainy for the casual tourist.

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (9/10)
There is so much to see at this Site. So much history and so much detail. We have been here three times in three years and have not covered everything. Each building offers untold gems and, with your proactive imagination, an adventure that transports you back in time to the American creation.

TOTAL 65/80

Independence NHP’s Less-Famous Sites

Sorted by our order-of-visit priority.

Second Bank of the United States – From 1816-1832 was the most significant bank in the world. Was the center of Andrew Jackson’s attack on the National bank. Currently is a portrait gallery whose collection composed America’s first museum.

Carpenters’ Hall – Site of the First Continental Congress. Site of first American lending library. Original site of the Bank of the United States, the world’s first central bank not owned by a monarch.

Franklin Court – Site of the only home Benjamin Franklin ever owned, his residence during the Constitutional Convention and the Continental Congress and his place of death.

Philosophical Hall – Home of Ben Franklin’s American Philosophical Society, America’s most remarkable collective of Age of Enlightenment scientific thinkers.

Independence Living History Center – Working archeology center.

First Bank of the United States – Exemplary example of Greek Revival architecture and perhaps the first American building built with a classical facade. Alexander Hamilton’s highly controversial Bank of the United States moved here from Carpenter’s Hall in 1797 shortly after the Bank’s expensive contruction. The First Bank is not open to the public.

Christ Church – Burial ground for Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Rush and countless other significant Americans.

Declaration House – House where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.

City Tavern – Tavern where the Founding Fathers ate that has been restored to its Revolution-era appearance. The tavern serves authentic period food.

Bishop White House – House restored to show upper-class Philadelphia life during the time of the Revolution.

Todd House – 1791-93 home of future first lady Dolley Madison.

New Hall Military Museum – Site of the first Department of War.

Merchants’ Exchange Building – Important example of Greek Revival architecture.

Free Quaker Meeting House – Meeting House of the fighting Quakers; dissident Friends who broke from their church’s pacifist principles during the Revolution.

Washington Square – Site of the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War soldier.

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Independence National Historical Park – Liberty Bell Center

Philadelphia, Pa.
Visited: March 23, 2004
Second Visit: December 7, 2006
NPS Site Visited: 3 of 353
NPS Website; Local Website

WHAT IS IT?
The one ton, 70% copper, 30% tin and 100% cracked symbol of liberty and freedom.

There are separate reviews for Independence Hall and Congress Hall, the non-cordoned off buildings of Independence NHP and the National Constitution Center.

BEAUTY (5/10)
The instantly recognizable Liberty Bell with its creviced exterior and orginial elm tree yoke hangs in perpertuity in a glass-sided gallery that composes the southern extreme of the newly constructed Liberty Bell Center and looks out onto Independence Hall. The Bell’s front faces inward and is spared the constant taunts of its much more beautiful former home. The warehouse-like Liberty Bell Center’s long and narrow shape is more utilitarian than attractive and unworthy of its iconic tenant.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (8/10)
One of Michael’s cheerfully cantankerous University sociology professors once explained that the most powerful ideas are abstractions; concepts that, while somehow real, have no discernable definition and are completely reliant on emotions and individual belief systems. Symbolic icons are often attached to these abstractions in order to allow us a firmer grip on the mysterious. The Liberty Bell is one of America’s most lasting representations of itself and a symbol of the idealized notions of the American Revolution: liberty, freedom and independence.

What is Liberty? What is Freedom? We are sure everyone has different answers. What object symbolizes freedom and liberty to you? We’re guessing the Liberty Bell comes to mind.

The actual history and importance of the Liberty Bell’s role in American independence is tricky. It is impossible to separate the facts from the legends. What is known, however, is that the bell first became known as the Liberty Bell in the 1830’s, over 50 years after the American Revolution. Its name not bestowed by patriotic veterans or romantic poets but by New England abolitionists intent on connecting the abstract 1776 beliefs of freedom and liberty with their anti-slavery cause. Just as in the 1830’s, the Liberty Bell means more today as a symbol and a pop culture icon than it does as an historic entity.

CROWDS (5/10)
The Center’s narrow design does not handle tourists particularly well. All the exhibits are stuffed along the Center’s eastern wall while the western half of the building appears unused. The design crowds people together and, as a result, every exhibit panel we wanted to read already had someone in front of it.

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (3/5)
I-676 and I-95 both drop you off in the center of Old Town Philly. The Liberty Bell Center is located at the corner of Chestnut and 6th Streets. The Center’s north-south length stretches almost an entire city block.

There is a series of parking lots and garages in the Liberty Bell Center vicinity. You will end up paying somewhere between $10 and $20 for a full day. Discount parking validation at the Independence Visitor Center or National Constutition Center is a possibility. Metered and free two-hour street parking is possible but could prove difficult.

During our 2004 visit, we waited almost 15 minutes in the Liberty Bell Center’s security line while a Chinese tourist was searched thoroughly. Our 2006 stop saw a great improvement. The lines moved rapidly and the number of outsourced Wackenhut security guards seemed to be cut in half.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (4/5)
The Independence Visitor Center’s ample square footage hosts a good array of Liberty Bell and American Independence-themed trinkets.

COSTS (4/5)
Seeing the Liberty Bell is free, free, free.

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (3/5)
There is one Ranger steadfastly posted next to the Liberty Bell, presumably answering “No, the Bell will never be rung again” and “Yes, this is the original Liberty Bell” twenty times every hour. We are also guessing that same Ranger takes a lot of photos and stops countless people from touching the Bell. The Ranger’s presence encourages questions that can be easily overheard by other visitors. Given the Bell’s popularity, however, more on-site Rangers would be nice.

TOURS/CLASSES (5/10)
We enjoyed the collages of the Liberty Bell as symbol throughout the ages. The panels make it clear that the Liberty Bell as icon and legend are, and always have been, much bigger than the actual object or the functions it carried out.

FUN (5/10)
We are always underwhelmed by the Liberty Bell especially when we compare it to the other Old City Philadelphia attractions. It’s just a bell. The U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence formed the physical, philosophical and administrative basis for United States. They were written across the street. They are not theories or abstractions. They are events. The story about the Liberty Bell ringing after the Declaration’s ratification isn’t even true! We have also never understood why an oversized, occupationally deficient and permanently flawed bell has come to symbolize America and its freedoms. Shouldn’t those things be represented by something that works?

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (8/10)
If you come to Philly, you have to see the Liberty Bell. It is your obligation. The security hassles have been improved and you should be in and out in no time flat.

TOTAL 50/80

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Boston National Historical Park

Boston, Mass.
Visited: April 17, 2004
Second Visit: July 28, 2006
NPS Site Visited: 26 of 353
NPS Website; Local Website; Freedom Trail Foundation Website

Want More?

Click Here for Gab’s 2004 Patriots Day Open Letter to Boston
Click Here for Michael’s 2004 Patriots Day Open Letter to Boston

WHAT IS IT?
The 2½-mile Freedom Trail. Blazed in Boston’s streets is a redbrick pathway leading from the verdant Boston Common downtown to a 211 foot-high obelisk, the Bunker Hill Monument, in Charlestown. The helpful path guides you (and 1.5 million annually) to 16 sites critical to the birth and early life of our nation.

BEAUTY (8/10)
The redbrick historic structures that make up Boston’s Freedom Trail intermingle well with the surrounding modern buildings. The inner vistas provided by Boston Common’s expansiveness are breathtaking as is its welcoming verdant space.

Many of the historic buildings that skirt the Freedom Trail are archetypical examples of Georgian-style architecture, as in these buildings are the ones shown in textbooks as the most representative and the most beautiful. The State House is an exception as the most famous use of Federalist-style architecture.

No American city’s buildings garner more of a powerful historic sense than those in Boston, primarily because they remain vibrant, living among the skyscrapers of today. These structures never died. Most of them still serve the same purpose as they did in the 18th century.

The Site’s numerous graveyards hold their own macabre feeling of beauty. Many of the ancient tombstones hold fancy etched calligraphy and intricate, symbolic designs including sinister skulls, mourning angels and mirthful skeletons. These designs, while pleasantly normal in Puritan New England, would be out of place in a modern cemetery.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (10/10)
Downtown Boston and its famous portion of the Freedom Trail are the epitome of American history. It is our self-imagined vision of what American history is: Georgian-style, redbrick buildings; stern men with white wigs saying important things; men with tri-cornered hats on horseback; lots of talking and rabble rousing; serious churches and Revolutionary War success. Our history-deficient country takes history-themed vacations here where we “follow in the footsteps of history” and clamor to listen to high-priced tour guides recount facts we tried not to listen to in school.

What exactly happened along this part of the Freedom Trail? Well, from Stops 1-11 (the downtown section) there was a lot of talking and political planning and a lot of everyday boring activity that occurs in every large city. History remembers many of the important people buried in the cemeteries along the way.

Stops 12-14 (the North End section) are where the fun starts and where the legends were made. OK, stop 10 is the Boston Massacre site but if you blink you’ll miss it. Its only marked by a circle of cobblestones and is located next to a busy auto intersection. Where were we? Stop 12 is Paul Revere’s House, the oldest house in Boston and Stop 13 is the Old North Church of two lantern lighting fame. If you want the rest of the Patriot’s Day story go to Minute Man NHP. Stop 14 is another cemetery.

Stops 15-16 are located in Charlestown, a long walk (bridge crossing included) from downtown Boston. Stop 15 is the USS Constitution, our first and greatest warship and Stop 16 is Bunker Hill, site of the Revolutionary War’s first major battle. FYI, the Boston Tea Party ship is NOT a part of the Freedom Trail and the National Park Service but it is within walking distance of downtown and was the sight of a significant historic event.

CROWDS (8/10)
Downtown Boston is perpetually crowded with cars, tourists, workers and everything in between. In addition, Beantown’s streets are maddeningly circuitous, cross at weird angles and make it very easy to get lost. No worries, though, the redbricked and clearly painted Freedom Trail changes everything.

It’s OK to be a tourist and almost impossible to get lost once you get downtown and onto the Trail. You share the walk in this vibrant beautiful city with its citizens and the sightseers around you. There is so much to see and so much to take in. Time quickly becomes irrelevant and the crowds become a joy.

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (3/5)
First, the bad parts. Parking is a nightmare. We tried and it nearly reduced us to tears. We repeat, do not attempt to park on the streets. Parking garages are a pricey but do-able option; the garage under Boston Common runs $6 for the first hour, $18 for up to nine hours. Downtown Hotel self-parking runs about $25 per day. Boston traffic is notoriously bad. The Big Dig collapsing has made things worse.

The good parts. Well, once you get downtown you should have no worries. After testing the car option, we stayed on the outskirts of town, took the subway (the T) in and had no problems. Many Boston tourists choose one of the myriad guided tour trolleys that circumnavigate the historic areas. They allow you unlimited re-boarding privileges and take you to most tourist-friendly parts of town.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (2/5)
The National Park Service (NPS) Visitor Center bookstore stocks a half-hearted selection of Revolutionary War-era books. You are better off looking for that perfect title at one of the bookstores in the privately-run Freedom Trail sites. Remember, no admission price is necessary if you are just going to the bookstore.

Freedom Trail Stop 8 used to be the Old Corner Bookstore, once home to Ticknor and Fields the Boston publisher who brought the world Hawthorne, Longfellow, Emerson, Alcott and Stowe, among others. As recently as our 2004 visit, the building housed the Globe Corner Bookstore. No longer. The current resident is the Chicago-based diamond retailing chain, Ultra Diamonds, who have 143 nationwide stores where “you should Never Pay Retail”. Why must one of them be in one of America’s most storied literary buildings and a part of the Freedom Trail?

The Globe Corner bookstore is now located across the Charles River in Cambridge. If books are your thing, you might as well go to Cambridge and browse its many clean and well lit bookshops.

COSTS (3/5)
The NPS portion of Boston NHP is free. However, the NPS maintains only a few of the Freedom Trail’s attractions. Still, only three of the 16 units charge an entrance fee: the Old South Meeting House, Paul Revere House and the Old State House. Entry into the Trail’s three churches is free but a donation is suggested. The USS Constitution Museum, while free, also asks for donations.

Check the listings at the bottom of the review for the following information: Freedom Trail Site and Stop Number; whether the Site is free; if the Site offers free tours; if the Site has a Museum; and with whom the Site is affiliated.

Boston and the Freedom Trail can be as cheap or as expensive as you would like. Just be careful. Staying in the city, parking in the city, visiting all the Freedom Trail stops, taking a guided tour and riding a tourist trolley will make your costs skyrocket. If you stay outside the city, ride the subway in and around town, walk the Freedom Trail, visit only the free sites and take only the NPS, State House and USS Constitution tours your day could be surprisingly inexpensive but also long and tiring.

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (2/5)
The NPS presence at Boston NHP takes a back-seat to private and public entities who are, in turn, seen as Park affiliates, as well as the numerous for-hire tour services. There are Rangers here who give tours and talks but unless you are looking for them, as we were, you might not even realize that the Freedom Trail is a National Park Site.

TOURS/CLASSES (7/10)
The Freedom Trail is easy to follow, stacked with informational help and sufficiently self-guided. We skipped the Ranger-led tour along the Freedom Trail but hit two other wonderful (and free) Ranger-led talks which included a humorous look at the history of Faneuil Hall, from inside the so-called “Cradle of Liberty”, and a terrific tour of the USS Constitution.

The tour of the 200 year-old Old Ironsides, still an active warship, is given by the U.S. Navy. Our guide was an active duty sailor. Despite the large group, 80 or so, he answered every question, cracked jokes, and explained everything we wanted to know about the ship. He was superb. Arrive early to ensure a spot on the Old Ironsides tour. There is limited access, security checkpoints can be an issue and the waiting queues sometimes grow out of control.

FUN (9/10)
Great free Ranger talks, sunny days, hours spent lounging and reading in Boston Common, easily followed tour paths, superb people watching and gorgeous views made our trips to Boston NHP unforgettable. There are also plenty of restaurants, shopping opportunities and taverns along the Freedom Trail in case you need a break from walking through history.

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (9/10)
Of course. Walking the Freedom Trail will bring every American History test you have taken come to life. Seriously, though, Boston sits among the pantheon of American cities and the Freedom Trail is a perfectly created tourist center. We prefer the suburban Boston Minute Man NHP but you cannot go wrong in downtown. Just don’t forgot to visit the North End and Charlestown portions of the Freedom Trail; the Old North Church and the USS Constitution are Boston NHP’s shining gems.

TOTAL 61/80

Stop No.; Site; Cost; Free Tours?; Museum?; Administrator

1. Boston Common; FREE; NO; NO; City of Boston
2. The State House; FREE; YES; NO; Comm. of Mass.
3. Park Street Church; FREE; NO; NO; Self
4. Granary Burying Ground ; FREE; NO; NO; City of Boston
5. King’s Chapel; FREE; NO; NO; Self
6. First Public School; FREE; NO; NO; Old City Hall
7. Old South Meeting House; $5; NO; YES; Self
8. Old Corner Bookstore; FREE; NO; NO; Ultra Diamonds
9. Old State House ; $5; NO; YES; Bostonian Society
10. Boston Massacre Site; FREE; NO;NO; City of Boston
11. Faneuil Hall; FREE; YES; NO; NPS
12. Paul Revere House; $3; NO; YES; Self
13. Old North Church; FREE; NO;NO; Self
14. Copp’s Hill Burying Ground; FREE; NO; NO; City of Boston
15. USS Constitution; FREE; YES; YES; U.S. Navy
16. Bunker Hill Monument; FREE; YES; YES; NPS

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Minute Man National Historical Park

Lexington and Concord, Mass.
Visited: April 18, 2004
Second Visit: July 27, 2006
NPS Site Visited: 27 of 353
NPS Website; Local Website

Want More?

Click Here for Gab’s 2004 Patriots Day Open Letter to Boston
Click Here for Michael’s 2004 Patriots Day Open Letter to Boston

WHAT IS IT?
Battle Road, Hartwell Tavern, the North Bridge and other sights preserved to commemorate the events of April 19, 1775, Patriots Day. The day that the American Revolution began. Also included at Minute Man NHP is The Wayside, the Concord home of Louisa May Alcott, later purchased by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

BEAUTY (4/10)
Minute Man NHP is situated along Boston’s outskirts, in between the city’s urban sprawl and the beginnings of the Massachusetts countryside. In fact, the Battle Road portion of the Site ends before it reaches Lexington because of U.S. Interstate 95, the road that is effectively Boston’s beltway. The Site itself is not particularly beautiful; it looks like a pleasant suburban park. The significance is historical, not natural, as are the visual draws: the Lexington and Concord Minute Man statues, the oft-rebuilt North Bridge and the period structures that still stand along the Battle Road.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (10/10)
The place where the American Revolution began. That’s the popular, understood and correct contextualization of the events of that fateful April day. At the time, however, the event was purely a local phenomenon. A single national consciousness and determination began to form over a year later when the Declaration of Independence was signed. And even then the solidarity was dubious and pragmatic at best.

Bostonians wanted the British out of their backyard. Simple as that. At no time did these unruly and violent rebels see themselves as either a part of a greater national whole or catalysts for a world-quaking governmental revolution. Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, William Dawes and thousands of Bostonians probably never thought they were starting a War. The British only thought they were seizing contraband rifles.

The notion that the United States of America, in every sense, began and exists today due to a few Minute Man who fired back because they (mistakenly) believed the Redcoats were burning their rural town is overwhelming. We wonder if those Minute Man are the epitome of the American spirit: determined, hot-headed, reactionary, delusional, resourceful and stubbornly successful. They started it all, right?

If that is not enough, the Site also includes the house where much of Louisa May Alcott’s novel “Little Women” took place, perhaps America’s most beloved children’s novel.

CROWDS (6/10)
Our first visit to Minute Man NHP came on Patriot’s Day, 2004. Understandably the crowds were large and the excitement was tangible. A whole lot of people were wearing three-cornered hats. If you can visit Boston during their Patriot’s Day holiday, do it.

Our next visit was a lot less hectic, although there were no open spaces in the Minute Man Visitor Center parking lot (too many bus spaces). On Patriot’s Day everyone parked on the grass. On a mid-summer weekday, however, the crowd tended more towards babysitters and their obligations, local joggers enjoying their park and (gasp) foreign, even British, tourists.

Most out-of-town Boston vacationers appear to stay downtown where they slog the Freedom Trail, relax at Boston Common and enjoy the city from their centralized hotel. Few venture out to the sticks to see where the Revolution began and that’s a shame. But who can blame them, Boston’s subway does not drop you off here and the traffic can be horrific.

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (4/5)
The Site’s Minute Man VC is located right off U.S. Interstate 95, about 20 miles west of Boston. Take I-95, Exit 30 (Massachusetts Route 2A) and go west. The Minute Man VC will be on your right in about a quarter mile. The Site continues westward from the Minute Man VC along the Battle Road. A driving route parallels the Battle Road Trail for about four miles until you get to the town of Concord and the North Bridge Visitor Center.

There are five parking lots located along the Battle Road Trail if you wish to walk the historic trail. The trail itself consists of crushed stone and might be difficult in a wheelchair. Both the Hartwell Tavern, a restored tavern that sits along the Battle Road, and The Wayside are only open from May through October.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (3/5)
The Minute Man NHP Visitor Centers vend a good selection of Revolutionary War books as well as books by and about the Concord-area writers: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

COSTS (4/5)
Battle Road and all Minute Man related sections of the Park are free. There is a $5 per person charge (free with the National Parks Pass) for entry into The Wayside and the mandatory Ranger-led tour.

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (5/5)
The Rangers were working hard on Patriots Day weekend. Most were dressed in period costume. Lectures were plentiful. We spoke to the musket-shooting Ranger about Revolutionary War-era Tavern culture and the events of April 19 for about 20 minutes. After his lecture, we saw him walking with about seven other people explaining incidents along the Trail. He was wonderful. He had a nose for people who wanted to ask questions.

Our second, less eventful visit, happily brought the same level of Ranger surplus and attentiveness. And a few were still dressed in period costume! They probably dress in modern clothing when off-duty. Then again, who knows?

TOURS/CLASSES (7/10)
We really enjoyed the multi-media Road to Revolution theater presentation shown at the Minute Man VC. The show, which combines electronic maps with set pieces, video screens and a moving clock, does a terrific job at establishing the complicated geography and time frame of the day’s events. Michael had been inculcated with the “one if by land, two if by sea” story since he could read but never fully grasped its complete topographic meaning before the multi-media presentation. Start your visit here.

The best part of the Site is that Minute Man NHP posts a few of its Rangers at the important Battle Road locations, instead of just at the Visitor Centers. We love this method and wish that more Parks would put there knowledgeable staff at the places where the questions are sparked. The Rangers at Minute Man NHP know their history and are immediately engaging. Our interactions delved into historical theory, legend creation and 18th-century tavern life. And yeah, they all shoot muskets too!

We were disappointed by the confusing, abstract designs of the Minute Man VC and in the lack of substantial learning opportunities at the North Bridge VC but the Rangers and the intro film more than made up for any static display shortcomings. The Wayside Tour was a little under whelming and very slow; perhaps the privately-run Concord area writers’ museums (Louisa May Alcott’s The Orchard House and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Old Manse) offer more engaging tours.

FUN (9/10)
Pictures of the North Bridge and Daniel Chester French’s Minute Man statue are so ubiquitous in tourist photos and history text books that seeing them in person feels revelatory. The distant past, the reckless bravery, the fiery chase down the Battle Road, the manic urgency and the epic drama become inescapably real. The ‘Shot Heard Round the World’ is instantly imagined; this is a place where the World’s political path irrevocably changed, moving towards a system of representative government and away from the monarchy not because of political decisions, voting solutions or protracted thought but because an angry farmer fired a rifle.

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (10/10)
The Battle Road from Lexington to Concord, with its leafy shade, forested turns, restored buildings, oft-pictured statues and famous bridge, is the real Freedom Trail. Don’t be distracted by the moniker of downtown Boston’s wonderful tourist walk. No visit to New England is complete without a visit to Minute Man NHP and no place offers a better visceral understanding of the American Revolution and the American character.

TOTAL 62/80

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Saratoga National Historical Park

Stillwater, N.Y.
Visited: March 29, 2004
Second Visit: July 23, 2006
NPS Site Visited: 10 of 353

NPS Website; Local Website

WHAT IS IT?

Site of two pivotal 1777 Revolutionary War battles.

BEAUTY (5/10)
Hills mixed with forested terrain and open fields characterize the main portion of Saratoga NHP, the approximately 3000-acre battlefield site. A 10-mile self-guided auto tour route scurries the visitor around the countryside to the time-honored places of interest with able battlefield park aplomb. Helpful red and blue stakes throughout the Site remind the visitor of the battle lines held by the British and American soldiers respectively in 1777.

Once you leave the pavement and set off on foot, the landscape’s historical power sinks in. The up-and-down hike from Chatfield Farm to the Balcarres Redoubt delves into the forest, crosses a mild ravine and eventually delivers you to the Barber Wheatfield, and open field where hours of fierce fighting occurred.

The path is the same trail that the American soldiers took over 225 years ago. When you edge out of the forest and see the cannons pointed toward you and the British fortification stakes it is not hard to be transported back in time.

The Schuyler House and the Saratoga Monument sit eight miles northeast of the Saratoga Battlefield grounds and share the small New York town ambiance of their host, Schuylersville. The Schuyler House, country home of General and patroon Philip Schuyler, is a typical two-story yellow Colonial Georgian design, fully restored and ready to tour. The 155-foot tall Saratoga Monument is a surprisingly ornate obelisk that offers spectacular views of the not so spectacular scenery.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (9/10)

The National Parks Guidebook ranks the Battle at Saratoga as one of the 15 most decisive battles in World History. It was our nation’s first significant victory of the Revolution. A Park Brochure states that in 1999 the New York Times Magazine called it the “most crucial battle of the 1000 years.” We are not going to succumb to that kind of hyperbole.

Nevertheless, had we not won, the Britons would have effectively cut New England from the remainder of the breakaway nation, dooming our chances for success. From the victory came French support and perhaps most importantly an impetus to France to rekindle war efforts in Europe against England. No Saratoga victory, no United States.

CROWDS (8/10)

During our first visit, in March of 2004, we saw very few people, just locals walking their dogs and joggers enjoying their isolated park. In March, the auto tour road had not even opened for travel. You can use your car only from April through November.

In August, however, the Saratoga area becomes a tourist mecca with the beginning of Saratoga Spring’s racing season and jam-packed waters of nearby Lake George. Given the season, the Site’s crowds were still not as large as expected. We had the hikes and the auto tour road largely to ourselves.

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (3/5)
Schuylerville, N.Y. is ten miles east of Saratoga Springs and I-87, Exit 14 via the winding New York Route 29. The Battlefield is a further eight miles south on U.S. Route 4. Once the auto tour road is opened, the Battlefield is very accessible. But during any time of the year you owe it to yourself to get out of the auto tour rut and walk. Short paved trails to and through the Redoubts make your excursion easy.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (3/5)
As would be imagined, the Store stocks a good selection of Revolutionary War texts. We bought a nice postcard of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, the handsomest man of the War and designer of the Saratoga Battlefield’s redoubt defense system.

We are pretty sure no other National Park Site vends bottled Saratoga spring water outside its Visitor Center.

COSTS (3/5)
Entry is $5 per car into the Battlefield portion of the Park. Admission is free with the National Parks Pass and free from November through March (when the roads are closed).

The Schuylerville sites are both free. You can climb Saratoga Monument and tour the Schuyler House without spending one penny. What a bargain!

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (4/5)
There are very helpful Rangers at the Battlefield Visitor Center. Once you get out on the auto tour, however, you are on your own.

It is a different story in Schuylerville where stellar, knowledgeable Rangers spew Revolutionary info at both its attractions.

TOURS/CLASSES (7/10)

The Saratoga NHP Visitor Center Museum has seen a flurry of recent additions. In 2002, a new film debuted while in 2005 the Museum welcomed a gargantuan fiber-optic map and new exhibit panels. We were not overly impressed by any of the improvements, especially the 15-minute+ electric map program, which would have been perfect with a good deal of editing.

The Site’s educational forte is its Rangers. Their talks and understandings are indispensable. Our Ranger-led tour of the Schuyler House was one of the most skilled, subtle and perfect historical teaching talks of our entire trip. A different Ranger, posted at the Saratoga Monument, talked our socks off about Benedict Arnold, the Monument’s quirks, answered dozens of our questions and enchanted us with his vibrant personality.

FUN (8/10)
When we came through Saratoga NHP the first time, we thought a 5-mile hike through the battlefield was sufficient. We were wrong. While we may have gotten the gist of the battles, we missed out on a great house tour and an equally impressive monument, each with their own stories. We made the right choice stopping in Schuylerville this time around.

We toured the Schuylerville sites with wonderful fellow central Pennsylvania tourists and a set of friendly New York history buffs and golfing enthusiasts. Our conversations and laughter with our traveling cohorts were the highlights of our return visit and made us thankful that we had given this Site another chance.

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (8/10)
Yes. It is such an important part of American history. If you are in the delightful and historic town Saratoga Springs for the races in August, definitely come. If not, Saratoga NHP deserves far more pilgrimages than it receives. At least as many people as the throngs that flock to Gettysburg.

TOTAL 58/80

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Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Harper’s Ferry, W.Va.
Visited: July 2, 2006
NPS Site Visited: 300 of 353
NPS Website; Local Website

WHAT IS IT?
Site of many American historic events, the most famous of which being wild-haired abolitionist John Brown’s October, 1859 raid of Harpers Ferry’s federal armory.

BEAUTY (8/10)
When you cross into West Virginia, things change. Your surroundings feel denser, the hillsides and the forests look bluer and the rivers take charge. The terrain rises to unforeseen heights and dips dramatically causing great gorges and dizzying slopes. Upon this impossible geography stand quirky old towns that embrace the past on their own terms. Traversing their blocks is a roller coaster ride, geographically, mentally and historically.

Harpers Ferry is the most famous of these uniquely West Virginian beauties. But wherever we’ve gone it has been the same: Wheeling, Beckley, Morgantown, Charlestown. At Harpers Ferry, the NPS ably helps the town retain its West Virginia charm. Two blocks of restored Shenandoah Street buildings double as NPS museums and portals into the past.

Harpers Ferry begs you to wander. Crooked stone sidewalks climb upward to historic churches and river vistas. Narrow passageways between buildings lead to enchanting inner courtyards. A footbridge across the Potomac guides one to canal trails and abrupt climbs up sugarloaf hills. The visitor has a plethora of choices: where to go, how to get there and which time period to experience, are all up to you.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (9/10)
The Harpers Ferry NHP aims to educate the visitor about six disparate but interweaving themes: African American history, the John Brown raid, the natural environment, industry, transportation and the Civil War. Its approach correctly characterizes Harpers Ferry as both a typical American 19th century industrial town and a place where extraordinary and important things occurred.

Harpers Ferry owes its volatile and eventful history to one thing: guns. In 1799 the federal government established its second United State Arsenal and Amory here because of the town’s choice natural location at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. From 1799 until the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, every gun manufactured in the United States came from either Harpers Ferry or Springfield, Mass.

John Brown came here in 1859 because of the guns. He aimed to capture the Arsenal, distribute the guns to the surrounding slave population and start a multi-state armed insurrection. Or at least that is the understood premise. Of course, the raid failed. His 21 compatriots were easily captured and/or killed by the federal troops led by future Confederate army commander Robert E. Lee.

A more practical conclusion is that John Brown knew the Harpers Ferry raid was a fool’s mission. He believed that through his (assured) capture and (inevitable) hanging his martyrdom would achieve an effect far more powerful than a slave revolt; it would begin a civil war. If an affecting martyrdom was his aim, then John Brown’s raid was an overwhelming success.

Brown’s raid put fear in the hearts of Southern plantation owners, rallied northerners to the abolitionist cause and hurtled the country towards the Civil War.

Multiple battles of the Civil War were fought at Harpers Ferry, the town changing hands many times. The most important of these fights occurred just days after the War’s beginning when Southern troops seized and captured the Arsenal and Armory. The Confederates brought the guns as well as the gun-making apparatuses back to Richmond, ironically arming their rebellion using the same proposed technique as their despised enemy, John Brown.

Post Civil War, John Brown’s Fort and the town of Harpers Ferry became sacrosanct places to northerners and African American’s alike. Storer College, one of the first historically black colleges, was founded here in 1867. In 1906, the first meeting of the Niagara Movement occurred on the campus of said college. The Niagara Movement, led by W.E.B. Du Bois called for full civil liberties for African Americans and in 1909 would become the NAACP, one of the most influential and important human rights organizations of the 20th century.

CROWDS (8/10)
With a population of only 300 people, Harpers Ferry is nearing ghost town status. Nevertheless, you are bound to see a lot of people at the National Historical Park because during the day, the Lower Town pulsates with life. Day tripping families, meandering retirees, stripped-down Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, bused-in Japanese tourists, locals walking their dogs, costumed reënactors, Boy Scout troops and white-water thrill seekers all flock to the historic buildings and charming streets.

Despite the large crowds, we never felt crowded. The Park’s exhibits are spread throughout dozens of buildings, hiking trails travel in all directions and an open air park near John Brown’s Fort offers ample relaxation space.

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (4/5)
Harpers Ferry, W.Va. is about 20 miles west of Frederick, Md. via U.S. Route 340. Baltimore is 70 miles east via I-70 to U.S. Route 340 and Washington D.C. is 70 miles southeast via I-270 to U.S. Route 340 making Harpers Ferry a perfect day trip escape for denizens of those fair cities.

When Route 340 starts narrowing and twisting about 18 miles west of Frederick, you are almost there. Through cartographic quirk, you will pass through three states in less than a mile’s span: Maryland, Virginia and finally West Virginia. Once you’ve crossed the Shenandoah River, you are in Harpers Ferry. Turn left into the Visitor Center’s huge parking lot, park your car and take the shuttle bus into the Lower Town.

A Parking Lot exists at the Harpers Ferry Train Station, just blocks from the Lower Town exhibits, but fills very quickly. There is also a steep rocky 2.5 mile trail that leads to the Lower Town. The shuttle is your best choice.

Once in the Lower Town, visitors with physical limitations may find they want to stick to the level Shenandoah Street or equally flat C&O Canal towpath. Which is fine, most of the NPS buildings and exhibits are here.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (5/5)
The Harpers Ferry NHP Bookstore stocks a ridiculously large amount of titles, including the best selection of African American related books we have found throughout the National Park Service. Peruse carefully because unlike most NPS stores, a great portion of books here had their prices significantly reduced. Not only is the choice terrific, but you can also find some great deals.

The Harpers Ferry NHP concessionaire experience is also enhanced by the close proximity of independently-run shops and restaurants. Unlike most Park Sites, you do not need to search the ends of the earth to get a bite to eat or shop for the perfect souvenir. The corner of Hog Alley and High Street marks the invisible Park Boundary. Once you cross the street, you’ve left federal jurisdiction and entered the free market.

COSTS (3/5)
$6 per vehicle or free with the National Parks Pass. Your $6 entrance costs is more of a parking fee than a Park entry fee. The buildings in the Lower Town are all free and do not require an “I Paid” sticker for admission; however, all parking costs money.

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (2/5)
Rangers are few and far between at Harpers Ferry. We experienced most of our Park interactions and historical questions via volunteers (period costumed and otherwise). We thought the Ranger scarcity was odd, especially because we visited during the Independence Celebration. No bother, the exhibits were sufficiently self-guided and we had a great time.

TOURS/CLASSES (5/10)
The Site delves into many different but interweaving educational topics. If you aim to learn everything in one visit, it could get confusing. In addition, some of the buildings offer self-guided exhibits that are newly refurbished and/or well-done while others showcase old and puzzling displays in cramped quarters.

We enjoyed the new John Brown exhibit building and the African American history areas but were bewildered by the Civil War recounting. Somewhere between General McClellan finding the Confederate battle plans and the subsequent Union defeat (no, really) we shut off our in-depth learning switch and approached the Site on an ooh, that’s really cool level.

FUN (8/10)
We arrived early before the sun formed a haze and the shuttles started working overtime. We spent the morning taking pictures and climbing around stone steps up to Jefferson’s Rock and into narrow alley ways. In the afternoon, we took advantage of the many air conditioned exhibits in the town’s buildings and halls.

Practically every door we opened led to a new discovery – either a refurbished general store, a short movie about the messianic John Brown or an in-depth explanation of a burgeoning social movement. The variety of topics and things and people to see kept us entertained all day. Spots special to Lewis and Clark and the C&O Canal reminded us of many previously visited park sites. How cool when history converges on one site!

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (9/10)
Harpers Ferry NHP provides one of the best immersive historical experiences in the United States. The depth and diversity of learning opportunities could keep you entertained for days. But the key to the wonder of Harpers Ferry is that a great time is not dependent on an historical interest. You could spend the day hiking and soaking in the stunning river views or you could approach the river from a more intimate vantage and rent an inner tube. Harpers Ferry makes for a terrific destination; it doesn’t matter what you choose to do once you are there.

TOTAL 61/80

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Jamestown National Historic Site – part of Colonial National Historical Park

James City, Va.
Visited: October 12, 2005
NPS Site Visited: 258 of 353
and is also an:
NPS Affiliate Site Visited: 13 of 26
NPS Website; Local Website; NPS Colonial NHP Website; Local Colonial NHP Website

WHAT IS IT?
Location of the first successful English colony in the New World, led in 1607 by Capt. John Smith.

BEAUTY (3/10)
Historic Jamestown is a visual mess. Haphazardly placed monuments and statues take their place among town ruins in various stages of excavation.

Hurricane Isabel destroyed the Park’s old VC and other permanent structures in 2003. A new Visitor Center is under construction and should open in time for the Site’s 400-year anniversary in 2007. As a result, orange plastic fences and yellow police tape cordon off Historic Jamestown sites, port-o-potties stand next to the Pocahontas statue and no photograph can avoid a 21st-century mechanized construction intrusion.

Cranes, workers, dump trucks and assorted decibel-soaring equipment successfully stake their claim as your visit’s most indelible memory. The only respite from the mechanistic madness is the five-mile Island Drive Loop that travels through the quiet, shimmery mosquito-laden marshlands of Jamestown Island.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (9/10)
During a visit to the Independence NHP in Philadelphia, a docent at the American Philosophical Society averred to Michael that everything wrong in this country is traceable to our English roots. She clearly has not studied Colonial Spanish history. The two grandest historic revelations to sprout at Jamestown, tobacco farming and its conjoined twin slavery, were nourished by the English but learned from the Spanish.

In 1617, John Rolfe experimented with new strains of tobacco, imported from the Spanish West Indies. The resulting leaf proved tastier than the native species and much more profitable. The peninsula soon moved towards mass tobacco production, a society flourished and, as the Park brochures state, “America began”.

Indeed, without tobacco farming and slavery, America would have ceased to exist. The democratic ideals of the founding fathers, our economic power, the notion of religious freedom and tolerance, and the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment put into practice; poof, gone with the wind. We are tobacco; it has always spurred our nation’s blood.

The first 10 years of British life at Jamestown are notable because of the colonists’ sheer incompetence and absolute failure to survive. These settlers starved to death instead of growing crops and turned to cannibalism rather than kill the innumerable rabbits, deer, squirrel and other small game that teemed around them. It was not until 1617 that the colony became a moneymaking success.

In 1619, African slaves were brought to Jamestown to work the tobacco crop, the first instance of slavery in the English New World. Slavery was not new to the Americas, the Spanish were using it to fuel an empire, but was new to English outposts. Virginia did not become inundated with African slave labor until after the 1676 Bacon’s Rebellion but the seeds were sown at Jamestown.

CROWDS (2/10)
The Jamestown site was stuffed to the gills, even on a mid-week, late-October morning. The Park’s space-to-tourist ratio is exacerbated by the ongoing construction.

Visitors, most of them in the septuagenarian set, walk around like guillotined chickens. No one knows where to go because the makeshift VC and signage are inadequate. The Park shows the 40+ year-old intro video in an educational mobile facility with no air conditioning and no ventilation.

Confusion reigns at the current incarnation of Jamestown NHS because just around the corner, less than a mile away, is the Jamestown Settlement, a living history Virginia State Park attraction. The State Park has reënactors and replicas of the 1607 ships. The Settlement also has a separate entrance fee. We heard dozens of guests wonder aloud, “where are the ships?” and “why did we have to pay twice”.

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (4/5)
Jamestown NHS is located a few miles southwest of the tourist beehive of Colonial Williamsburg. Numerous signs from I-64, Exit 234 point you towards the Jamestown Settlement. You can follow these signs to the NPS site because the two Museums are right next to each other. Handily, we saw a sign at nearly every intersection. You should too.

The 25-mile long Colonial Parkway connects Colonial NHP’s two major sections, Jamestown NHS and Yorktown Battlefield. The Parkway meanders amiably, allowing a stoplight and Interstate-free drive.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (4/5)
Jamestown NHS’s top attraction is the Glasshouse and its adjoining store. Here you can purchase stunning and affordably priced glass blown on-site, replicating the output of early 17th-century Polish and German artisans.

The Park’s book selection was good but hardly definitive. Do your shopping for read-ables at Colonial Williamsburg’s jumbo-sized bookstore.

COSTS (2/5)
Collectively, Jamestown NHS and Yorktown Battlefield are known as Colonial National Historical Park. The National Parks Pass (NPP) provides free entry into both Colonial NHP sites.

If you do not have the NPP, Jamestown NHS charges $8 per adult. Yorktown Battlefield charges $5 per adult. A combo pass is $10 per adult.

The Virginia State Park, Jamestown Settlement, costs $11.75 per adult. The Commonwealth of Virginia also runs its own Park at Yorktown, called the Yorktown Victory Center, which runs $8.25 per adult. Their combo pass is $17. Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center are not affiliated with the National Park Service; your NPP does not work there.

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (1/5)
If there were Rangers at Jamestown NHS, they eluded our probing eyes.

TOURS/CLASSES (4/10)
The current educational situation at Jamestown NHS is revoltingly bad. The mentions of Bacon’s Rebellion, tobacco, slavery, English common law, cannibalism, etc… are fleeting at best. The Site does not even tell the Pocahontas story. We trust that this will change once the new Visitor Center opens. Do not expect to learn anything until that date.

Our generous score comes from our pleasant experience at the Jamestown Glasshouse. Costumed artisans blow glass while a staff member explains the mesmerizing art. The finished products (assorted stemware, ewers and lamps) are sold both under the Glasshouse canopy and at NPS Visitor Centers throughout the United States.

FUN (4/10)
Gab had tons of fun at the Glasshouse. Michael was thoroughly bored. Neither of us enjoyed our time at the Historic Jamestowne site. It is difficult to transport your imagination back to 1607 while bulldozers drown out your every thought. Even though we are not intrigued by the Pocahontas story, we did want to hear it. Instead, we were met with signs beckoning us to return in 2007. All of our learning came through self-induced historical speculation based on our own readings. If you come to learn about Jamestown you will leave with the same desire.

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (4/10)
Yes, just not until 2007 when the new VC and Museum open. Maybe then we can come back and adjust our score upward.

TOTAL 37/80

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