Museums

Explore a piece of America’s military history at Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site and learn about the experiences that molded a Laclede country boy into one of the nation’s legendary generals. Pershing and his family moved into the nine-room Gothic-style house in Laclede when he was six. Prairie Mound School, where Pershing taught prior to his admission to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, is also on the site and includes a unique exhibit that allows visitors to pass through many of the same doorways Pershing passed through on his journeys from Missouri to Mexico and France.

The SS Wisconsin was a steamboat that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States. In 2009 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Wisconsin was built at the Dry Dock Complex in 1881. During World War One, she served as a convalescent hospital ship named the General Robert M. O'Reilly after Robert Maitland O'Reilly, a former Surgeon General of the United States Army. In addition to Wisconsin and General Robert M. O'Reilly, the vessel was also named the Naomi, the E. G. Crosby and Pilgrim. The Wisconsin foundered in October of 1929 after a leak occurred during a violent storm. The wreckage site is a popular location for historians, archaeologists and divers. It lies in 90 to 130 feet (27 to 40 m) of water, 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south-southeast of Kenosha.

American military history unfolds at the Virginia War Museum. Outstanding collections of personal artifacts, weapons, vehicles, uniforms, posters and much more trace the development of the U.S. military from 1775 through the present.

The National Guard Memorial Museum is the only national museum dedicated to telling the story of the citizen-soldier and the National Guard. Free and open to the public, the museum is an integral part of the National Guard Educational Foundation's (NGEF) community outreach and educational programming.

This museum maintains an important piece of history about California's involvement in World War I; the Book of Gold. Military records were searched to identify the war dead of California, and a calligrapher then wrote each name into the Book of Gold. There is a PDF download available on their website where the public can view, and research, its contents. In November of each year, the book is put out on display in the museum. The rest of the year, the Book of Gold is stored safely away.

The museum recounts the 20th century stories of the citizen-soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines - the men and women of the Commonwealth who served in defense of their state and nation. The story of modern warfare unfolds in the gallery exhibits which highlights the museum's excellent vehicle and weapons collections. The 65-acre park surrounding the museum includes the 28th Infantry Division National Shrine memorializing the service of the Pennsylvania National Guard.

The mission of the Veterans Museum at Patriot Park is to recognize and honor all U.S. Military Veterans.
Those who fought on the battlefields and those who served in support of them should be remembered and honored so that future generations never forget the sacrifices that these men and women have made.

In January of 2002, the County Commissioners of Charles County established a Charles County Veterans Memorial Committee to develop a plan for locating, designing, funding, and constructing a permanent memorial to honor the County's Veterans. This concept was amended in January of 2008 to include all Veterans.

The Commissioners authorized leasing of the Glasva Elementary School site for the Museum. The site has a total of 7.7 acres located on the northbound side of Route 301. The location is approximately 8 miles south of La Plata and 5 miles north of the Maryland Visitors Center.

The property is also bounded on the south side by the Glasva Road which is a paved county road. The Center is accessible from the Route 301 North lane. This site also overlooks one of the most scenic natural views in the county, Allens Fresh.

As the State of Maryland’s official museum of African American heritage, the Banneker-Douglass Museum serves to document, to interpret, and to promote African American history and culture (particularly in Maryland) through exhibitions, programs, and projects in order to improve the understanding and appreciating of America’s rich cultural diversity for all.

The Banneker-Douglass Museum is a component of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, which is a unit of the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives — an executive-department agency, whose mandate to coordinate outreach efforts to communities, organizations, and local governments across Maryland serves as a unifying principle for all its departments.

Located on Mitchel field, a former military airfield founded in 1917. the museum interprets the history of aviation and spaceflight as it relates to Long Island, NY, people, places, events and corporations. To this end it has assembled a collection of 65 aircraft and spacecraft, most of them locally produced. It's World War One Gallery houses several original and reproduction aircraft as well as numerous objects.