Natural Resources
The natural resources collections offer centuries of evidence about how Americans have used the bounty of the American continent and coastal waters. Artifacts related to flood control, dam construction, and irrigation illustrate the nation's attempts to manage the natural world. Oil-drilling, iron-mining, and steel-making artifacts show the connection between natural resources and industrial strength.
Forestry is represented by saws, axes, a smokejumper's suit, and many other objects. Hooks, nets, and other gear from New England fisheries of the late 1800s are among the fishing artifacts, as well as more recent acquisitions from the Pacific Northwest and Chesapeake Bay. Whaling artifacts include harpoons, lances, scrimshaw etchings in whalebone, and several paintings of a whaler's work at sea. The modern environmental movement has contributed buttons and other protest artifacts on issues from scenic rivers to biodiversity.
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Environmental Button
- Description
- This button promotes the recreational uses of nature. The tremendous expansion of outdoor recreation throughout the 1960s, 70s, and 80s helped raise the level of support for environmental causes. Ironically, it also contributed to the degradation of natural areas. The increasing numbers of visitors have caused traffic jams inside national parks and increased use has damaged fragile ecosystems.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Hallmark Cards, Inc.
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.0759
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.0759
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Environmental Button
- Description
- The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. The occasion was first conceived by Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, as a national day of observance for environmental problems. Millions of people participated in events across the country, while thousands of schools held special educational sessions, all dealing with environmental concerns. Earth Day has since become an annual event, celebrated worldwide.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.1175
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.1175
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Environmental Button
- Description
- This button is part of a donation from Jerry Meral, an environmental activist from Sacramento, California. In over 35 years, Meral collected nearly 1,600 buttons from around the world. He donated his collection to the Museum in 2003.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.1446
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.1446
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Environmental Button
- Description
- This button makes use of a dramatic image taken from space to remind people of the fragility and uniqueness of Earth.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1989
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.1229
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.1229
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
- Description (Brief)
- Stereograph by J.W. Hansard. View of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a cliff face, with running water. Written in ink on verso: "The famous Eureka Spring, Eureka, Ark. 1880." Printed on verso: "J.W. Hansard, / Portrait and Landscape / Photographer / Fayetteville, Ark." and "Eureka Springs No. 20".
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1880
- maker
- Hansard, John W.
- ID Number
- 2012.3033.0003
- nonaccession number
- 2012.3033
- catalog number
- 2012.3033.0003
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Ship's Medicine Chest
- Description
- Starting in 1790, American merchant ships larger than 150 tons and with more than 10 crew members were required to have medicine chests with contents assembled by an “apothecary of known reputation.” These had to be accompanied by instructions for the administration of each medicine. Most commonly, either the captain or first mate administered pharmaceutical products to any crew in need.
- This example has labels from the ports of Baltimore, Maryland; Mamaroneck, New York, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, indicating it was replenished more than once over its useful life.
- Date made
- 19th Century
- maker
- Gray Telephone Pay Station Co.
- ID Number
- MG.302606.154
- catalog number
- 302606.154
- accession number
- 302606
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Cast Iron Whale
- Description
- The words “BAKER NEW BEDFORD.” appear on the back of this cast-iron sperm whale, which has two mounting lugs on the bottom for fastening to a flat surface. These features suggest that it was a shop sign for one of the many stores in New Bedford, Massaschusetts that provided items to whalers needed for their dirty and dangerous business. In the 1878 New Bedford city directory, the only person listed with the surname Baker was Ansol Baker, a machinist.
- New Bedford was the largest American whaling port in the industry, which flourished until the Civil War and lasted into the early 20th century.
- Date made
- 19th century
- possible owner of sign
- Baker, Ansol
- ID Number
- CL.25052
- catalog number
- 25052
- accession number
- 2009.0157
- catalog number
- 2009.0157.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Gasoline Pump
- Description
- Made in Fort Wayne Indiana, this gasoline pump sold "Red Crown" gasoline, a brand produced by Standard Oil of Indiana. Consumers could see how much gas was pumped as the arrow moved around the face dial.
- As Americans began to drive gasoline-fueled cars in large numbers, oil companies and gasoline stations created technologies and systems to fulfill the demands of consumers. By the 1930s, pumps were the recognizable ancestors of the ones we use today.
- Date made
- 1930
- date made
- 1932
- distributor
- Amoco
- maker
- Wayne Oil Tank & Pump Company
- ID Number
- TR.326809
- accession number
- 265699
- catalog number
- 326809
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Hygrometer
- Description
- The 1901 Factory and Works Act established precise limits as to the amount of water vapor that would be allowed in British industrial settings. These limits were especially important in coal mines where some water could lessen the chance of explosions, but too much water could lead to medical problems for the miners.
- This hygrometer was made to measure humidity in mines, and may have been used in West Virginia. The inscription reads: "John Davis & Son (Derby) Ltd. No. 443 Derby & London. Reg No. 518758." This was an English firm that specialized in mathematical and other instruments for the mining industry. Comes with a case.
- Ref.: Henry Davis, "The Application of the Hygrometer in Coal Mines," Transactions of the Institute of Mining Engineers 35 (1907-1908): 285-290.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1925-1950
- maker
- Davis Derby Ltd.
- ID Number
- PH.321863
- catalog number
- 321863
- accession number
- 244292
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Earth Day Seed Packet
- Description
- The first “Earth Day” was established by environmental activists in 1970 to awaken the country and its lawmakers to the need for protecting our environment and conserving our natural resources. Response to the event was overwhelming as thousands of concerned citizens participated in community activities across the nation to show their support for the movement.
- This Earthday seed packet was distributed in 2010 by movie director and environmentalist James Cameron’s “Avatar” Home Tree Initiative in a worldwide effort to plant one million trees.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2010
- referenced
- Cameron, James
- ID Number
- 2010.0106.10
- accession number
- 2010.0106
- catalog number
- 2010.0106.10
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Department of Energy Tree Wheel Diagram
- Description
- The first “Earth Day” was established by environmental activists in 1970 to awaken the country and its lawmakers to the need for protecting our environment and conserving our natural resources. Response to the event was overwhelming as thousands of concerned citizens participated in community activities across the nation to show their support for the movement.
- This revolving tree diagram was produced by the U.S. Department of Energy and distributed on the National Mall during the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. It shows "how trees work for us." As you rotate the diagram it gives examples of how trees can affect our health and environment such as "trees reduce - heat, noise, flooding, soil erosion" and "trees supply - nuts, fruits, wood, shelter."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 2010
- producer
- Department of Energy
- ID Number
- 2010.0106.14
- accession number
- 2010.0106
- catalog number
- 2010.0106.14
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
H. M. Wood Windmill Patent Model
- Description
- During most of the 19th century, the U.S. Patent Office required inventors seeking patent protection to submit both a written application and a three-dimensional model. This wood and metal patent model of a windmill succeeded in gaining its inventor, H. M. Wood, Patent Number 222,340, which was issued on December 2, 1879. As farms spread into the American heartland, windmills proved an extremely important technology, allowing settlers to use the renewable power of wind to pump groundwater for agricultural and household use. Efficiency and reliability were key attributes for rural windmills, and professional and lay inventors experimented with hundreds of design variations throughout the years.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1879
- patent date
- 1879-12-02
- inventor
- Wood, Harvey M.
- ID Number
- MC.309136
- catalog number
- 309136
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 222,340
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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