US History and LDS Church History Trip…and links to each days blog

This is a National Cemetery were many soldiers are buried from the Battle of Antietam.

Brigham Young’s Mill and Home Site

We visited 218 US History and LDS Church History sites in 47 days.  (That included visiting 54 different cities). Each day is blogged with information about places we visited, maps, photos and highlights of the day.

If you would like more information if you are planning a trip, you can email me at priceless6191@gmail.com.  I kept very detailed records including: budgets, trip plans, and calenders for the trip showing our day by day progress.  I also have tons of brochures and maps for specific places, although I did try to scan the most important details I have onto each blog page.  Below is listed each city we visited, and what we did there.  Click on a city and start exploring.

I made this blog because I realized I would have appreciated a site with more specific information.  I hope this is beneficial to anyone who wants to take a history trip.  It was our families dream trip, and we still refer to it often.

Here is a PDF with a summary of our trip. (If you would like an editable version, I have the spreadsheet version also.)
Trip Itinerary

** Just a side note as you look around the site…no my kids names are not Bazooka, Starburst, Jawbreaker etc…our kids just picked nicknames so they could have some privacy.  Have fun looking!!!!

Alcova, WY
Devils Gate, Church, Trek, Independence Rock

Custer, WY
Custer County Museum, City 4th of July

Crazy Horse, SD

Keystone, SD
Mount Rushmore 4th July Celebrations

Rapid City, SD
Dinosaur Park, Storybook Park

Wall, SD
Wall Drug

Omaha, NE
Winter Quarters Visitors Center, Winters Quarters Temple (E,B), Mormon Pioneer Cemetery, Glenn Cunningham Lake, Pioneer Courage Park

Council Bluffs, Iowa
Kanesville Tabernacle

Nauvoo, IL
Play “High Hopes and Riverboats”, Movie “Remembering Nauvoo”, Play “Sunset by the Mississippi”, Women’s Garden, Riser Boot Shop, Blacksmith Shop, Seventies Hall, Lucy M Smith Home, Brickyard, Heber Kimball and Wilford Woodruff’s homes, Movie “Joseph Smith-Prophet of the Restoration”, Joseph Smith’s Homestead, Mansion House, Nauvoo House, Red Brick Store, Smith Family Cemetery, Trail of Hope, Youth of Zion, Play “Old Anna Amanda” 2xs, Nauvoo Pageant 2xs, Carriage Ride, Pioneer Park Pastimes, Nauvoo Temple (B,E), Frontier Fair 2xs, Play “Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo”, Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds, Lands and Records Office, King Follet Discourse, Emma and Josephs Letters Vignette

Carthage, IL
Carthage Jail

Macomb, IL
Dinner with Steve -Guadalupes Restaurant

Petersburg, IL
Lincolns New Salem (camped there)

Springfield, IL
Springfield Vis Ctr, Lincolns Home Vis Ctr, Lincolns Home, Lincolns-Herndon Law Office, Old Capital, Lincoln Library, Lincoln Presidential Museum

Chicago, IL
Chicago Navy Pier, Magnificent Mile, Millennium Park, Cloud Gate, Chicago Temple (B,E)

Gary, IN
Just for Gas and Photos

Kirtland OH
Kirtland Ward, Ashery, Isaac Morley Farm, Newel K. Whitney Store, Whitney Home, Sawmill, Schoolhouse, Kirtland Temple RLDS

Parma, OH
Brian and Camilla’s Home

Hiram, OH
John Johnson’s Home

Middlefield, OH
Amish Country, Cheese Factory, Hiram College (where President Garfield attended and taught)

Kenmore, NY
Mags home, Keeners, Lindbergh Elementary, Pam’s Home

Niagra Falls
Niagara Falls, Cave of Winds

Buffalo, NY(2 sites or events)
Downtown Buffalo, Duffs Chicken Wings

Mendon, NY
Home built by Brigham, Early Meeting Home, Phineas Young’s Home, John Young’s Home, Tom Tomlinson Inn, Heber Kimballs home site, Camped at John Young’s Home, Site of Brigham Young’s Mill and Home, Baptismal Site, Tomlinsons Cemetery

Palmyra, NY
Palmyra Visitors Center, Palmyra Temple (B,E), Palmyra Pageant, Sacred Grove, Smith’s Log Cabin and Frame House Alvin built, Hill Cumorah, Martin Harris’s Home, Book of Mormon Publication Site (Grandin Building)

Waterloo, NY
Peter Whitmer home

Oakland, PA
Aaronic Priesthood Monument, Joseph and Emma’s Home Site, Grave of Emmas parents and son Alvin Smith, Susquehanna River

Jersey City, NJ 
Liberty Harbor

New York, NY
PATH Rail System, Site World Trade Center, 911 Memorial and Museum, Battery Park, Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange, China Town, Little Italy, Noho, Washington Square Park, New York University, Empire State Building, Garment District, Bryant Park, Time’s Square, Theatre District, NBC Studios, Carnegie Hall, Central Park, New York City LDS Temple, Madison Square Gardens

Philadelphia, PA
Independence Visitor Center, Independence Hall, Congress Hall, City Tavern (restaurant), Carpenters Hall, New Hall Military Museum, Benjamin Franklin’s Grave, President’s House Site, Liberty Bell Center”

Hershey, PA
Hershey Amusement Park

Gettysburg, PA
Gettysburg National Park

WashingtonDC
Washington DC Temple (B,E), IKEA, Ford’s Theatre, Petersen House and Center for Education and Leadership, Spy Museum, National Archives, Washington Memorial, World War II Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Holocaust Museum, Lincoln Walking Tour, Arlington Cemetery, United States Capital Building, a Session of Congress, a Session of the House of Representatives, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Smithsonian American History Museum, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, White House, Holocaust Museum, Nationals Game

Alexandria, Virginia
Mount Vernon

Centreville, VA
Bull Run Regional Park (Camping), visit with Tamara and family, Atlantis Water Park

Manassas, VA
Battle of 1st and 2nd Bull Run (Manassas)

Harpers Ferry, WV
Harpers Ferry

Sharpsburg, MD
Antietem Battle Field

Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, VA Pier and Chick-fil-A

Chantilly, VA
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Annex

Middletown, VA
Cedar Creek Battlefield (2nd Manassas Battle Reenactment)

Charlottesville, VA
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, University of Virginia

Buena Vista, VA
Southern Virginia University

St Louis, MO
St Louis Temple (B,E), St Louis Arch and Musuem, Old Court House (Dred Scott Case), Outside Busch Stadium, Feet in the Mississippi, Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Park and Grant Farm, Home Town Buffet, St Louis Cardinals Game, St Louis RV Park

Cottleville, MO
Joel and Christy’s Home

Independence, MO
LDS Visitor’s Center, Harry Truman Presidential Library, Missouri Mormon Walking Tour (things we saw on the tour: Clinton’s Soda Fountain, Jackson County Courthouse, 1827 Log Courthouse, Bingham-Waggoner Estate, Church of Christ Temple Lot, Community of Christ Temple, Gilbert and Whitney Store, Printing Office Site (Evening and Morning Star), Governor Boggs Home Site, and Partridge Home Site and School) , Campus RV Park (next door to the LDS Visitors Center), Vaile Mansion

Kansas City, MO
Kansas City Temple (B)

Liberty, MO
Liberty Jail, Eight Witnesses Monument

Richmond, MO
David Whitmer’s Grave, David Whitmer’s Livery site (marked by with a plaque), Old Richmond Jail Location, Statue of General Alexander W. Doniphan, Pioneer Cemetery (Monument for the Three Witnesses, Grave for Oliver Cowdery, Peter Jr. and Jacob Whitmer’s Graves)

Farwest, MO
Far West Temple Site

Jamesport, MO
Amish Country, Amish Baseball Game, and Shopping

Jameson, MO
Adam-ondi-Ahman , Jameson Town Fair and Parade

Doniphan, NE
Mormon Island

McKinnon, WY
Little America

Boston, MA
11 years later we went back to add Boston to our list or US/church history travels. Here is a link to the beginning of that trip. Yale, Scarburough and Prospect Ave in Hartford, CT, Mark Twain’s Home, Boston Temple, Boston Aquarium, Faneuil Hall, Boston Massacre Site, Old State House, Boston Latin School Site, Park Street Church, Granary Burying Ground, New State House, Boston Commons, Harbor Cruise, USS Constitution, Bunker Hill Monument, Old North Church, Paul Revere’s Home, Old South Meeting House, Union Oyster House, Omni Parker House, Cheers, Prudential Tower Observation Deck, Trinity Church of Boston, Old South Church

Other Valuable Links:
Mormon Pioneer Trail Auto Tour Route Guide
mormontrails.org

DAY 42 – August 9, 2012 – Independence, Missouri – LDS History and Truman

Independence turned out to be a different visit than I expected.  I thought we would have a short visit at the LDS Visitors Center, drive by a couple sites and leave for other parts of Missouri.  This is probably what we would have done if we were in a hurry.  But having a little time, we decided we would do a more thorough visit.  Independence is much larger than I expected, and yet it’s still very small for all it contains.

There are three things I love, LDS Church History, US History, and old architecture and design.  Independence has all three of these things, and one day is not enough time to do them all.

We started at the LDS Visitors Center.  The Center is open until 9pm, so you might not want it to be your first stop.  We found that 5pm came to fast today, and other places we wanted to visit were closed.  If I did it again, I might have ended my day here.  It is a great visit, and there is enough to do to be here for 1-2 hours.  We visited for 2 hours.

The Visitor’s section is split into a couple of sections.  The section called “Gods Plan for the Family” was very moving.  Then we went across to Scripture and Revelation section.  We were there a long time, our kid liked going through all the kiosks and watching all the videos.  They have a Christus here, so we stopped there for a while.  Then we went downstairs to the area where they cover the history of the Saints in Missouri.  They did a great job, and it was a great setup to help our younger kids visualize everything.  At the end they have a section where the kids can play with a pioneer wagon and log cabin.

Mr. S asked if they had a room that we could use privately.  Our family sat in the room together and went over all we had seen at all the church sites (Winter Quarters, Palmyra, Nauvoo, Kirtland, Mendon, Pennsylvania etc).  Since we visited them out of historical order, we reviewed where and when everything happened.  It was great to be able to talk about church history with our kids having a point of reference now, to know what we were talking about.  It was a great family moment, and I’m glad Mr. S took that opportunity.

Independence, Missouri, is the home to Harry S. Truman, our 33^rd President of the United States.  Many significant things happened during Truman’s Presidency, including… dropping the Atomic bomb, his Marshall Plan, the beginning of the Cold War, his Fair Deal, officially recognizing Israel, the McCarthy years, and the Korean War are a handful.  Can you believe all of that happened under one president!  He also had an assassination attempt that we had learned about while we did our Lincoln walking tour in Washington DC.  The older boys didn’t think we could possibly miss this.  So we visited the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library for a couple of hours.  if you like US History, it’s a must see.

One of the boys favorites quotes from Harry Truman,

“Readers of good books, particularly books of biography and history, are preparing themselves for leadership.  Not all readers become leaders, but all leaders must be readers.”

When we were done with the library it was after 5pm, and we realized a handful of the other places we had

Where Harry Truman had his first job.

wanted to visit were now closed.  So we decided to do the Missouri Mormon Walking Trail.  We picked up a brochure at the LDS Visitors Center (although there are also other places you can probably get this).  This tour is put together by The Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation which is a not-for-profit non-sectarian group dedicated to the promotion and understanding of local history.  It’s a free self-guided walking tour about 1 mile long.  It was good.  (We did drive some parts of it, and there was plenty of parking, even for our motor home to do this.)

*** After we finished, I found a more detailed map in our book, “LDS Family Travel Guide Independence to Nauvoo”.  This map (in the book on pg. 51) is provided by the Independence Tourism Department.  And instead of 14 stops, it lists 21 stops, not just Mormon Historical, but US Historical sites.  That would have been better to use, because we were walking past US historical markers as we were doing the Church walking tour. 

Some of the highlights of the 21 stop tour which includes LDS and US History stops…
1) Clinton’s Soda Fountain where Harry Truman worked for his first job,
2) Jackson County Courthouse where Sidney Rigdon preached, and Bishop Partridge and Charles Allen were tarred and feathered, there are also monuments to the Oregon Trail and the Santa Fe Trail there
3) Gilbert & Whitney Store; where brother Gilbert sold goods,  a meeting was held here where the Mormon leaders were told that they should leave the county, and on this spot a mob of 500 men gathered to destroy if Brother Gilbert did not close the store and leave.
4) Harry Truman Home
5) Bingham-Waggoner Estate
6) Vaile Mansion

The walking tour brought us down near the Bingham-Waggoner Estate.  It hadn’t been on our list of stops, and it was closed for the evening.  The home was so beautiful.  We were able to walk around, and I peaked in the windows.  It was filled with old rich wood, and the era of design the that I love!  I told Mr. S that we can’t possibly leave unless we stop there first.  So tomorrow morning I don’t know if anyone else will come with me, but I will be visiting the Bingham-Waggoner Estate and the Vaile Mansion.

The Bingham-Waggoner Estate is a 22 room mansion that has been extensively restored to the earlier period (about a 1 hour tour).  The Vaile Mansion was once known as the princeliest home in the west.  It’s a 30 room mansion built in 1880 (and it’s a 1 hour tour also).  The mansion has been seen on America’s Castles in the 1999 National Geographic Guide to America’s Great Houses.  I just won’t be able to pass these up.   I had been telling Mr. S I had really wanted to see some southern plantation homes, but it just never worked out.  This will work out great, and I am very much looking forward to tomorrow.

It was a great day, but I do wish we had been able to fit a couple more things in.  It’s very apparent that we have all hit a wall.  We are all a little tired, so it seemed hard to get through the day.  I’m grateful it took until day 42 to hit this point.  What a blessing that we were able to keep such a fast and happy pace for so long.  If we had dragged this slow the rest of the trip, we would not have gotten much done.  It’s a good thing we are a couple of days from home.  But it is funny… everyone keeps trying to add things on the list to keep the trip going.  We all must have mixed feelings of wanting it and yet not wanting it to end.

Original log court house built in 1827, later used as a home by Brother Sydney Gilbert. The plaque out front said it was used for events by Harry Truman when we lived in town.

Summary of Day 42
Drove: 312 miles (100475-100787)

Places we visited or saw:  LDS Visitor’s Center, Harry Truman Presidential Library, Missouri Mormon Walking Tour (things we saw on the tour: Clinton’s Soda Fountain, Jackson County Courthouse, 1827 Log Courthouse, Bingham-Waggoner Estate, Church of Christ Temple Lot, Community of Christ Temple, Gilbert and Whitney Store, Printing Office Site (Evening and Morning Star), Governor Boggs Home Site, and Partridge Home Site and School) , Campus RV Park (next door to the LDS Visitors Center)

*When it has the word “site” next to it, it means there was nothing there but maybe a plaque.  Everything else was still standing.