Made in America
Enjoy nine days covering three National Heritage Areas in the beautiful midwest. Made in America: Coal, Steel, Flight takes you through the National Aviation Heritage Area, Rivers of Steel, and National Coal Heritage Area.
This tour is designed to inspire. Start in any of the three National Heritage Areas and look online for DIY suggestions, additional stops, and trip variations. The Made In America Tour is a rewarding experience and learning opportunity in the beautiful Midwest. Enjoy extraordinary food, take in gorgeous landscapes, and explore the historical sites that built the foundation of our great nation.
National Heritage Areas are places where historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes. Unlike national parks, National Heritage Areas are large lived-in landscapes. Consequently, National Heritage Areas entities collaborate with communities to determine how to make heritage relevant to local interests and needs.
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Locations
National Aviation Heritage Area
- Armstrong Air & Space Museum: Start your adventure inside the two-level museum with displays and artifacts of Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong’s life and career.
- Carillon Historical Park: Sample Dayton’s rich heritage of creativity and invention, including the original 1905 Wright Flyer III, and check out Hawthorn Hill, Orville Wright’s success mansion.
- National Museum Of The United States Air Force: Get a sweeping view of Air Force and military aviation progress and discover more than 360 aircraft and aerospace vehicles on display at the world’s largest military aviation museum.
- Flight Experiences: Fly in the world’s first production airplane or in a vintage WACO along the banks of Ohio’s only National Water Trail or cycle the nation’s largest paved trail network to a restored B-25.
- Henry Clay Frick’s Roots & Riches: Industrialist Henry Clay Frick’s fortune was the third largest of Pittsburgh’s Golden Age. Witness his rural beginnings at West Overton Village. After establishing himself as the Coke King who fueled Pittsburgh’s steel economy and partnering with Andrew Carnegie, Frick built Clayton, which today is one of America’s bestpreserved Gilded Age mansions. Tour his home at The Frick Pittsburgh.
- The Murals of Maxo Vanka: The walls of St. Nicholas Church are covered in striking paintings by artist Maxo Vanka, illuminating the struggles and resilience of Croatian peasants who sought a better life in America.
- Intro to Innovation Cruise: Board the Explorer riverboat for a 90-minute sightseeing cruise on Pittsburgh’s three rivers, learning about the city’s history and post-industrial transformation.
- Babuskas and Hardhats Tour: This tour gets to the heart of the Steel Town story, following Pittsburgh’s history of industry and immigration. Stand in awe at the legendary Carrie Blast Furnaces on a tour of this former iron-making plant to learn about its technology and workers. Visit two key sites in the 1892 Battle of Homestead, a defining labor history event. An immigrant-inspired lunch takes you back to Grandma’s kitchen.
- Beckly Exhibition Coal Mine: Visit a unique underground mine and learn about first hand accounts of past and present-day miners.
- Princeton Railroad Museum: Featuring the Virginian Railway with a caboose for visitors to explore and exhibits of railroad artifacts, artwork, books, and photographs.
- Historic Bramwell: Tucked away in the hills of southern West Virgina, Bramwell is a tiny town with huge histroy including the “Homes of the Millionaires.” Don’t forget to stop at the corner shop for homemade ice cream and milkshakes!
- John Henry Historical Park: This park features walking trails, a statue of John Henry, wayside exhibits, and a legends and lore marker honoring the legend of John Henry.
