🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Morristown National Historical Park

(The year 2025 is the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution, and the year 2026 is the 250th anniversary of American Independence, so this month we are beginning a two-year Homeschool American Heritage tour that will invite you and your students to learn about parks, historic sites, and national monuments all across the United States. Get out your homeschool atlas and almanac and come along with us!)

New Jersey is our homeschool state-of-the-week, so why not spend a few minutes today with your students learning about one of New Jersey’s most important collections of historic sites: Morristown National Historical Park, which commemorates George Washington’s winter encampments of 1779.

Morristown National Historical Park “commemorates the sites of General Washington and the Continental army’s winter encampment of December 1779 to June 1780, where they survived through what would be the coldest winter on record.”

Morristown National Historical Park is nationally significant as the site of the 1779–80 winter encampment of the Continental Army under General George Washington. Few places evoke the spirit of patriotism and independence, represent individual and collective sacrifice, or demonstrate the resolve, tenacity and determination of the people of the United States to be free as does Morristown. The historic landscapes, structures, objects, and archeological and natural resources at Morristown are tangible links to one of the most defining events in our nation’s history. Here the Continental Army under Washington’s leadership emerged as a cohesive and disciplined fighting force. The Morristown experience is fundamental to American history and remains a source of inspiration for Americans and the world. (nps.gov)

You can find a wealth of additional information about the park’s history, landscape, location(s), and visitor facilities on the Morristown National Historical Park website from the National Park Service.

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!

And to orient your students to the whole Revolutionary period that Americans will be commemorating in the coming months, turn to the overview on pages 298–299 in your recommended homeschool history encyclopedia.

What American treasures will you and your students be 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 wonderful 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! 🛒

❡ Join us! The aim of the River Houses project is to create a network of friendly local homeschool support groups — local chapters that we call “Houses.” Our first at-large chapter, Headwaters House, is now forming and is open to homeschoolers everywhere. Find out how to become one of our founding members on the Headwaters House membership page. 🏡