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| (Courtesy Marian Anderson Historical Society) |
In 1939, Anderson sang at the Lincoln Memorial after being banned from Constitution Hall because of her race. She was the first African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera, sang at President Kennedy's inauguration, and was a goodwill ambassador to the United Nations. Photos and memorabilia fill the four-room Marian Anderson Birthplace house. The Baptist church where she was star of the choir is across the street, and around the corner at the Residence Museum (the house she lived in as an adult) there's a collection of records and concert programs. 762 S. Marian Anderson Way, 215/732-9505, mariananderson.org, $10, by appointment.
DANIEL BOONE, Reading, Pa.
Frontiersman Boone was a hunter and explorer who embodied the pioneering spirit of his generation. He served in the French and Indian War, fought against the Shawnee and other tribes sympathetic to the British during the Revolutionary War, and was one of the founding settlers of Kentucky. The 579-acre Daniel Boone Homestead encompasses the house where he was born in 1734 as well as a sawmill, a smokehouse, and a blacksmith shop. 400 Daniel Boone Rd., 610/582-4900, danielboonehomestead.org, $4.
RACHEL CARSON, Springdale, Pa.
Carson is credited for galvanizing the modern environmental movement with her groundbreaking 1962 book, Silent Spring. Her research on the effects of pesticides helped lead to the ban on DDT and changed how people viewed the natural world. Fittingly, the Rachel Carson Homestead (where she was born and where she lived until she was 22) includes a quarter-mile hiking trail and a native-plant garden where organic gardening classes are held in the spring and summer. 613 Marion Ave., 724/274-5459, rachelcarson homestead.org, $5, tours by appointment.
