Historic places of wildlife reflect our natural world’s past and present. While national parks have laws to govern them, their policies vary based on specific provisions contained within their enabling legislation.
National parks were born of intellectual, social and economic shifts that contributed to an appreciation of wilderness and the environment.
History of zoos
People have kept wild animals for millennia, though their collections did not always resemble modern zoos. Menageries were used as private displays of exotic creatures for entertainment by royalty and elites around the globe.
By today’s standards, early collections often featured enclosures which would be considered cruel by any standard today and lacked any form of natural enrichment.
The concept of the zoo as a public attraction first emerged during the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century, changing why wild animals were kept from status seeking to educating a curious public about animal behavior and anatomy. Furthermore, this new development fostered conservation efforts through housing wildlife in settings which closely resemble their natural environments – thus taking an important first step toward conservation efforts.
Everglades National Park
The Everglades is one of the most striking natural landscapes in America. This expansive wetland features tropical hardwood hammocks, pine rocklands, mangrove forests and vast saltwater marshes – providing shelter to an incredible diversity of plants and animals.
This ecosystem is defined by Lake Okeechobee’s slow moving water. Fresh and saltwater come together in the Everglades to form a wide, shallow river which flows south.
The Everglades is unique because it is the only wild area where alligators and crocodiles coexist together in their natural state. Additionally, this diverse wetland provides habitat to species typically associated with drier environments like pinelands or coastal prairies as well as endangered Miami blackheaded snakes and Cape Sable seaside sparrows that make this diverse wetland unique.
Wade House
Wade House was constructed near Sheboygan and Fond du Lac along a well-traveled stagecoach trail, serving travelers for three generations until railroad bypassed Greenbush and caused its inn to become obsolete.
Wade House Historic Site is now a living museum dedicated to plank road stagecoach travel and horse-drawn transportation, featuring Sylvanus Wade House, blacksmith shop, sawmill and Wisconsin’s largest collection of 19th-century horse-drawn vehicles (Wesley Jung Carriage Museum).
Guided tours of the Wade House feature stops in rooms that portray how Jennie was killed and the family hid during battle; another room contains objects present during this tumultuous period (including bullet holes on a bed), creating an immersive experience like traveling back in time to 1863.
Lehigh Canal National Heritage Area
National Heritage Areas honor America’s historic transportation network of rivers, canals and railroads by providing educational experiences about how it has shaped our nation while offering recreational and educational activities to their visitors.
Pennsylvania is home to the Delaware and Lehigh Canal Heritage Corridor, an expansive 165-mile route tracing historic transportation routes through Carbon, Luzerne, Lehigh, and Northampton counties. As one of 49 national heritage areas that “tell the vibrant story of America’s development and culture”, it serves as one of 49 national heritage areas that “reveal their colorful narrative of progress and development.
Visitors to the Borough can traverse a historic towpath, view Hendrick Island – a special management area where remnants of waterwheels used to propel canal boats through locks are still visible – and take a ride in Hugh Moore Park’s mule-drawn canal boat for an immersive look at how industrialization transformed America over the past 200 years.
Ridley Creek State Park
Ridley Creek State Park, 16 miles southwest of Philadelphia, features woodlands, fishing creeks and newly constructed campgrounds. Additionally, Ridley Creek hosts a Colonial Pennsylvania plantation which recreates everyday life on pre-Revolutionary farms.
A 4.4-mile multiuse trail makes for the ideal hike or bike ride, while its well-marked woodland trails are great places for birding. Additionally, picnicking and horseback riding are both offered within the park as well as areas designated for trout fishing and catch-and-release fly fishing.
This summer, three DCNR interns have undertaken work on the park’s cultural resources management plans. Hunter Mengel has assisted with surveying historic farmsteads. A 1976 map and associated descriptions of buildings, structures, and ruins documented for National Register nomination have proven helpful in identifying resources at the park.
