Most Important US Historical Site?

[bendis]

Hello,
I have a semi-educational history site covering US timeline history per state. Added a survey/questionnaire to find out what is regarded as the most important/attractive/interesting historical place/site in each state, and why.
Appreciate your feedback.
Ben

 

[aunt kelly]

Well, I would say the most important "event" in Oklahoma was the land run which took place in 1889 and opened the territory to white settlers.

However, you are looking for a historical "site." Sadly, most people would probably agree our most important historical site is the site of the Oklahoma Bombing Memorial in downtown Oklahoma City. A beautiful memorial and museum has been built at the site of the Murrah Federal Building and is visited by thousands of visitors every year from around the world.

 

[MareQ]

Hello,
I have a semi-educational history site covering US timeline history per state. Added a survey/questionnaire to find out what is regarded as the most important/attractive/interesting historical place/site in each state, and why.
Appreciate your feedback.
Ben

For NY/NJ (It's debatable which state they're really it) it would be Ellis Island and of course the Statue of Liberty.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

I haven't a clue how to narrow it down to one for Virginia.

The homes of many Presidents, including Jefferson's Monticello and Washington's Mount Vernon, as well as Madison's and Monroe's homes. Patrick Henry and Edgar Allen Poe are also from the Richmond area.

There's also Arlington Cemetery, Jamestowne, Williamsburg, Yorktown (Cornwallis surrendered to Washington 225 years today), Appomattox Court House (R. E. Lee surrendered to U. S. Grant), and numerous Civil War and Revolutionary War sites in VA.

If I have to narrow it down, I'd say the historic triangle of Jamestowne, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. You have the beginning and the decline of the British Empire in North America within 30 miles of each other.

 

[caitycaity]

i would say st. mary's city in maryland, or perhaps the maryland state house which has a very rich history and is the oldest legislative building in continuous use in the us.

 

[Alice28]

The end of the Oregon Trail in Oregon (Oregon City, OR! My town!). Or it could be the fort over on the coast. (I'm blanking - Ft. Stevens I think?).

 

[Frantasmic]

For Texas, most will say the Alamo, but I think the San Jacinto monument is just as important.

However, I think that due to recent budget cuts, there was talk of not manning that site for visitors. That's sad.

 

[SwedishMeatball]

In NC I would choose the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

 

[Dodie]

This is a tough one - but a good question. (I love history myself.)

I'm going to chime in for Indiana. The two sites that come to mind first are Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home (ages 7-21) and the George Rogers Clark Memorial in Vincennes, the site of Ft. Sackville and one of the final deciding battles of the Revolutionary War.

There are also several documented "stations" from the Underground Railroad throughout the state.

By the way, Indianapolis has more war memorials than any other city in the world, other than Washington, D.C.

 

[Devil_Dog99]

Within Massachusetts, I would say the Freedom Trail - it covers several Revolutionary sites/homes.

Nationwide - I would have to say either Gettysburg or Pearl Harbor.

On the world stage - Normandy

 

[bicker]

For Massachusetts, I vote for Christ Church ("One if by land; two if by sea; ...")

 

[bicker]

That's cheating Devil Dog. The Freedom Trail is a bunch of places/sites.

 

[Frantasmic]

Nationwide, I'd say the Philadelphia site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence or the National Gallery where that and the Constitution reside today.

 

[ChrisFL]

In Florida, it would be St. Augustine, the first town made by westerners in the "new land" that turned into the U.S.

The big symbol of St. Augustine is the Castilio De San Marcos, a big fortress made by the Spaniards right on the water.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Also for Massachusetts, the USS Constitution. The oldest commisioned ship afloat in the world and is still in service in the US Navy. She was ordered in 1794, Laid Down in summer of 1795, launched in Oct. 10, 1797 and commissioned Oct. 21, 1797 - according to Wikipedia

 

[LuvOrlando]

This beautiful country is filled with places that were witness to monumental events in our history. State by State there are countless historical sites that range from social, artistic to military. Many people will have many opinions and I respect them all.


To me, however, the single most important site in present day history has to be Ground Zero. My choice is for many reasons. This is because, being from Staten Island, NYC is my hometown its where I grew up, where I went with friends to have fun & bend the rules. This is because I used to work near there. This is because I can still see all those people eating breakfast outside the buildings before work in my minds eye, knowing many of them are gone. This is because I lost friends there. This is because it could have been me. This is because I love that city.

But mostly, it is because the attacks there taught me that we are not un-touchable in this country. That place taught me not to take a single moment for granted. That place taught me that people can hate me without ever knowing me. That place also taught me that this nation is filled with people of unmeasurable compassion.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I also want to add something for New Mexico, since I am originally from there.

1) Oldest State Capital in the US (sorry Philly) - Santa Fe, which means "holy faith" in Spanish, was once a collection of Pueblo Indian villages from around 1050 to 1150. It was first inhabited by Spanish settlers on a very small scale in 1607, then truly settled by the conquistador Don Pedro de Peralta in 1609-1610. The Pilgrims wouldn't land in Plymouth, Mass. for another 10 years. She's also the highest US State Capital at 7,000 feet above sea level.

2) Trinity Site, home of the first atomic bomb blast - The "Trinity" test was the first test of a nuclear weapon, conducted by the United States on July 16, 1945 at 33.675° N 106.475° W, thirty miles (48 km) southeast of Socorro on what is now White Sands Missile Range, headquartered near Alamogordo, New Mexico. It was a test of an implosion-design plutonium bomb, the same type of weapon later dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The detonation was equivalent to the explosion of around 20 kilotons of TNT, and is usually credited as the beginning of the Atomic Age.

 

[disneymom3]

In WY I would say Yellowstone Nat'l park since it was the first National Park.

For MN, probably Fort Snelling which housed and trained troops since prior to MN becoming a state.

Nationwide I would say Pearl Harbor, Ellis Island, Jamestown and Philadelphia in general as well as Ground Zero.

 

[Crankyshank]

There's way too many to pick here in RI but there are 3 I would say are the most significant for different reasons
.
Daggett House. Located on the land where Roger Williams first settled. It is also home to the Slater museum - Slater was the father of the American Industrial Revolution (the mill is on the land where Daggett house is).

There's Nine Men's Misery in Cumberland, which is the oldest monument to US veterans built in 1676.

The Gaspee Room - where the raid on the Gaspee was organized. That was the unofficial start of the Revolution.

 

[Beth76]

In Missouri, we have the Gateway Arch, the Gateway to the West. From where the Westward Expansion started. The Arch itself is a fairly impressive piece of architecture and there's a museum underneath. I'm sure there are other things in the state, but I am not a history buff.