More additions to my Google Maps

While busy preparing an itinerary for my road trip along the trail from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River and back, I've been adding some new destinations to my website. I posted a couple of days ago about some recent additions, and here are some more.

C.M. Russell Museum Great Falls, MT
Lodgepole Gallery and Tipi Village Browning, MT
Ice Harbor Dam Visitor Center Pasco, WA
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute Pendleton, OR

Additions to my website

I recently added some important interpretive centers and a state park to the Google Maps in my Lewis and Clark Trail website. The first four are located along the Kansas City - Omaha stretch of the Missouri River, and the final two are in the Columbia River Gorge. Would you please welcome:

Lewis and Clark Visitor Centers-Trail Headquarters Omaha, NE
Missouri River Basin Lewis & Clark Visitors Center Nebraska City, NE
National Frontier Trails Museum Independence, MO
Indian Cave State Park in Nebraska Shubert, NE
Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum Stevenson, WA
Bonneville Lock and Dam Cascade Locks, OR

Museums and Interpretive Centers

While developing my website, The Lewis and Clark Road Trip Planner, I selected a number of museums and interpretive centers for inclusion on the maps. The selection criteria was to select any place whose central theme was the settling and development of the American Frontier, as it moved westward.

Following is a list by state of the museums and interpretive centers included in my website, each one linking to the page dedicated to the referenced establishment.

Missouri
Jesse James Farm	Kearney
Airline History Museum at Kansas City	Kansas City
Steamboat Arabia Museum	Kansas City
Pony Express National Museum	Saint Joseph
Jesse James Home	Saint Joseph
Patee House	Saint Joseph
Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center	St. Charles
Kansas
Wyandotte County Historical Society and Museum	Bonner Springs
Frontier Army Museum	Fort Leavenworth
Carroll Mansion	Leavenworth
Evah C. Cray Historical Home Museum	Atchison
Muchnic Art Gallery	Atchison
Nebraska
Corps of Discovery Welcome Center	Crofton
Iowa
Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center	Sioux City
Harrison County Historical Village & Welcome Center	Missouri Valley
General Dodge House	Council Bluffs
Squirrel Cage Jail	Council Bluffs
South Dakota
Dakota Territorial Museum	Yankton
Klein Museum	Mobridge
Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center	Chamberlain
North Dakota
North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center	Washburn
Fort Mandan Visitor Center	Washburn
North Dakota Heritage Center	Bismarck
Montana
MonDak Heritage Center	Sidney
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center	Great Falls
Lolo Pass Visitor Center	Lolo
Peter Yegen Jr. Yellowstone County Museum	Billings
Western Heritage Center	Billings
Ravalli County Museum	Hamilton
Beaverhead County Museum	Dillon
Elk Country Visitor Center	Missoula
Idaho
Clearwater Historical Museum	Orofino
Spalding Visitor Center, Nez Perce National Historical Park	Spalding
Appaloosa Museum	Moscow
Oregon
Fort Dalles Museum and the Anderson Homestead	The Dalles
Columbia Gorge Discovery Center	The Dalles
Flavel House Museum	Astoria
Heritage Museum	Astoria
Columbia River Maritime Museum	Astoria
Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum	Hood River
Washington
Fort Walla Walla Museum	Walla Walla
Franklin County Historical Society and Museum	Pasco
Maryhill Museum of Art	Goldendale

Featured Stop: Patee House Museum in St. Joseph, MO

The Patee House in St. Joseph, Missouri, served as the Pony Express headquarters from 1860 to 1861, was occupied by the Union Army during the Civil War, and is where Jesse James was killed by a fellow gang member.

Built by John Patee as a luxury hotel in 1858, the Patee House Museum now features two full floors of exhibits. Featured are artifacts from Jesse James' life and death, and from Frank James and the Ford brothers. Climb aboard an 1860 train and let your kids ride the vintage "Wild Thing" carousel. See the Grand Ballroom where Pony Express riders danced with local girls, and where war trials were held by the Union Army during the Civil War.

Home Page
1202 Penn Street
St. Joseph, MO 64503
(816) 232-8206

On Google Maps
Patee House Museum
Jesse James Home

The Pony Express National Museum

On April 3, 1860, a lone rider left the Pikes Peak Stables in St. Joseph, Missouri. Carrying saddlebags filled with mail, riders traveled 2000 miles to Sacramento, California, racing against nature’s elements and rugged terrain. A portion of the neglected Pikes Peak Stables was saved from total extinction in the 1950s, becoming the Pony Express Museum. The museum underwent a further renovation in 1993 which restored the remaining portion, thereby bringing the stables back to their original size.

At the Pony Express National Museum you can experience state-of-the-art exhibits which convey the need, creation, operation and termination of the historical Pony Express.

Home Page
914 Penn Street
Saint Joseph, MO 64503
1-800-530-5930

On a Google Map
Pony Express National Museum

The Frontier Army Museum at Fort Leavenworth

The Frontier Army Museum at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, exhibits artifacts from Frontier Army soldiers who served west of the Mississippi River from 1804 through 1917. The collection at the museum began in 1939, when the wagon shop closed and the horse-drawn vehicles were relocated to what was initially called the "Old Rolling Wheels Museum". The Museum was officially recognized as an Army Museum in 1960, and its collection of nineteenth century military artifacts is considered to be one of the finest in the country.

Home Page
Reynolds Ave, Bldg 80
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027
(800) 844-4114

On Google Maps
Frontier Army Museum

Mapping exhibit to open in Bismarck, ND

An new exhibit called "Finding North Dakota: 250 Years of Mapping" will be featured at the Camp Hancock State Historic Site in Bismarck, North Dakota. The exhibit opens this Wednesday and will continue through August 16. The exhibit reviews the history of the exploration of North Dakota, by means of displaying a progression of maps.

Full article in the Bismarck Tribune
Mapping exhibit to open in Bismarck

Fort Leavenworth

Fort Leavenworth, established by Col. Henry Leavenworth in 1827, is the oldest active Army post west of the Mississippi River. Colonel Leavenworth established the post on the west bank of the Missouri River, instead of on the east bank as he had been directed to, because he preferred the formidable terrain on the western side of the river. Fort Leavenworth is considered to be one of the most significant historic military installations in the nation, and a 213-acre section was established as a National Historic Landmark District in 1974.

While visiting the fort you can stop in at the Frontier Army Museum, which displays historical artifacts telling the story of the Frontier Army from 1804 through 1916, and Fort Leavenworth from 1827 to the present. You can also pay tributes to our nation's heroes by visiting the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery.

Home Page
Grant Ave
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027
(800) 844-4114

On Google Maps
Fort Leavenworth

Wyandotte County Historical Society and Museum

The Wyandotte County Museum showcases one of the few remaining Native American dugout canoes, in addition to a rare American laFrance Steam Fire Engine manufactured in 1903. In front of the museum is a monument to the World War II Bomber Builders, honoring employees who built close to 7,000 B-25 bombers in that district during World War II.

Home Page
631 N 126th St
Bonner Springs, KS 66012
Phone: (913) 721-1078

On Google Maps
Wyandotte County Historical Society and Museum

The Steamboat Arabia Museum

The Steamboat Arabia was a side wheeler steamboat built in 1853, and was capable of carrying a full 222 tons of cargo. It hit a large walnut tree just below the water level in the Missouri River on September 5, 1856, and sank near current-day Parkville, Missouri. Thousands of artifacts from the cargo and the steamboat were recovered, and are displayed in the Steamboat Arabia Museum, which is located in the River Market district of Kansas City, Missouri.

Home Page
400 Grand Blvd.
Kansas City, MO 64106
(816) 471-1856

On Google Maps
Steamboat Arabia Museum

Airline History Museum at Kansas City

The Airline History Museum is located in Kansas City, Missouri's Historic Downtown Airport. Walking through the museum brings you back to a more graceful era in air transportation, with collections of photographs, printed material, and audio/visual displays. Uniforms, instrumentation, logbooks, galley items, and personal mementos bring to life the propeller-driven era. There's also an aircraft collection including a Lockheed L1049 "Super G" Constellation, a Martin 404, and a Douglas DC-3 (currently undergoing restoration).

Home Page
Kansas City Downtown Airport, Hangar 9
201 NW Lou Holland Drive
Kansas City, Missouri 64116-4223
(816) 421-3401

On Google Maps
Airline History Museum at Kansas City

The Jesse James Farm

At the Jesse James Farm in Kearney, Missouri, you can take a tour beginning (and ending) at the James Farm Museum. The museum holds Jesse James and James family artifacts, including three of Jesse James's guns, the boots he was wearing when he was killed, and the James family Bible, which contains hand-written inscriptions. You can also see the remains of Jesse's original tombstone (the base and the foot stone are all that's left).

Home Page
21216 James Farm Road
Kearney, Missouri 64060
(816) 736-8500

On Google Maps
Jesse James Farm

Featured Stop: Arrow Rock State Historic Site

Arrow Rock, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964, is a place where you can enjoy the serenity of an easygoing, quiet village. This once thriving river port is dotted with architectural treasures from the past.

The historic site features a visitor center museum, the Bingham Home, built by Missouri's preeminent artist of the 1800s, and the Huston Tavern, dating back to 1834. The site offers a walking tour which will take you to the old courthouse, a stone jail, a town doctor's home and other historic buildings.

Arrow Rock State Historic Site
P.O. Box 1
Arrow Rock, MO 65320
660-837-3330