🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Thomas Stone National Historic Site

(Explore the history and landscape of the United States as we approach the 250th anniversary of American Independence. Get out your atlas and almanac and follow along!)

Maryland is our homeschool state-of-the-week, so why not spend a few minutes today with your students learning about one of Maryland’s most important historic places: the Thomas Stone National Historic Site, which preserves and commemorates the life of Thomas Stone, one of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence.

“In 1776, Thomas Stone and 55 others signed the Declaration of Independence. In doing so, Stone risked his home, his family’s security, and even his life to support the Declaration of Independence’s promise of freedom.”

The story of Thomas Stone National Historic Site is not just the story of one of Maryland’s signers of the Declaration of Independence. The Stone family has produced a colonial governor, and a state governor; a representative in the first Congress of the United States, and not only a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but a signer of the United States Constitution. For four centuries, the Stones of Maryland have played roles in some of the most significant events in American history.

In 1771, Thomas Stone had a house constructed on his property, known as Haberdeventure, which was used as his primary residence until he moved his family to a new home in Annapolis in 1783. At one time, more than a dozen people lived there, including extended family, indentured servants, enslaved individuals, and guests. Successive generations of Stone family descendants owned and occupied the home until 1936. (nps.gov)

You can find a wealth of additional information about the Site’s history, landscape, location(s), and visitor facilities on the webpage for the Thomas Stone National Historic Site from the National Park Service, and also on the Site’s page on Wikipedia.

Explore America’s National Parks, National Historical Parks, National Historic Sites, National Monuments, and more via Wikipedia and via the U.S. National Park Service’s website today.

What American treasures are you and your students exploring in your homeschool this Cygnus Term? 🇺🇸

❡ The great globe itself: This is one of our regular Homeschool Geography posts featuring important natural and historical sites in the United States. Print your own copy of our River Houses American Heritage Calendar and follow along with us, and add your name to our weekly mailing list to get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 🌎

❡ We set to-day a votive stone: If you want a great long-term history and geography project for your homeschool, explore the Historical Marker Database online (hmdb.org) and make a plan to find all the markers that are listed in your local area. Add any new ones you know of that are missing, and add new photos or descriptions for the ones already included. Your students will gain a better appreciation for your local community and will learn a wealth of new information about history and geography. 🏛

❡ Print this little lesson: Down at the bottom of this post you’ll find a special “Print” button that will let you create a neat and easy-to-read copy of this little lesson, and it will even let you edit and delete sections you don’t want or need (such as individual images or footnotes). Give it a try today! 🖨

❡ Books in the running brooks: You can always turn to your River Houses atlas and almanac for more information about any of our homeschool states-of-the-week. The almanac has detailed profiles of all the U.S. states and territories, and the endpapers of the atlas are indexes that will show you where all of the individual national and regional maps may be found. 📚

❡ Homeschool calendars: We have a whole collection of free, printable, educational homeschool calendars and planners available on our main River Houses calendar page. They will help you create a light and easy structure for your homeschool year. Give them a try today! 🗓

❡ Support our work: If you enjoy our educational materials, please support us by starting your regular Amazon shopping from our very own homeschool teaching supplies page. When you click through from our page, any purchase you make earns us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for helping us to keep going and growing! 🛒