Independence Day is a good time to learn a bit more about one or more American heroes by visiting their historic homes.

The trip need not be extensive or expensive — America has many heroes and their homes are scattered across the nation. So, just name your favorites and find out where they lived and whether their homes are open to visitors.

Here, in alphabetical order and selected because their profiles are so divergent and they lived in different corners of America, are several suggestions:

Clara Barton, America's "battlefield angel," nursed wounded Civil War soldiers regardless of whether they wore blue or gray. She's memorialized at Clara Barton National Historic Site in Glen Echo, Md., near Washington, D.C. What is now a fine museum with historically restored offices and meaningful memorabilia (including Barton's own small, backless chair) was originally a supplies depot for the Red Cross, the American branch of which was founded by Barton. More info: Maryland Office of Tourism, (800) 543-1036, www.mdisfun.org.

"Buffalo Bill" Cody, who rode the Pony Express to fame and brought fame to the American West with his Wild West Show, is celebrated at Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo. Buffalo Bill's six-shooters are displayed. The Paul Stock Center is a replica of Cody's ranch, the Irma Hotel was named for his daughter and his statue stands proud on Sheridan Avenue. More info: Wyoming Tourism, (800) 225-5996, www.wyomingtourism.org.

Wyatt Earp brought law and order to a town called Hell on the Plains during the 1870s. That town, aka Dodge City, Kan., honors its hero and his era at Famous Gunfighters Wax Museum, Boot Hill Museum, Long Branch Saloon, Boot Hill Cemetery and nearby Fort Dodge, where Cody, George Custer, "Wild Bill" Hickok and Phil Sheridan bunked. More info: Dodge City Tourism, (800) 653-9378, www.visitdodgecity.org.

Benjamin Franklin, the great statesman and inventor, founded the Philadelphia-based American Philosophical Society, which now displays his will and other historical documents. In Independence Hall, Franklin and other Founding Fathers secretly wrote the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Franklin and his wife are buried in Christ Church Burial Ground. More info: Philadelphia Visitors Bureau, (215) 636-3300, www.philadelphiausa.travel.

Martin Luther King, Jr. is memorialized at Atlanta's Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, which includes the great civil libertarian's birthplace at 501 Auburn Ave. and Ebenezer Baptist Church, where both he and his father preached. Dr. King's minister's robe, Bible and Nobel Peace Prize are displayed at Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, and Dr. King is buried in a crypt outside the center. More info: Atlanta Tourist Office, (404) 521-6600, www.atlanta.net.

Abraham Lincoln's Springfield, Ill. home is now a National Historic Site displaying Lincoln artifacts. Nearby are Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, Old State Capital, where Lincoln's body lay in state, and Oak Ridge Cemetery, where the "Great Emancipator" was buried. A signed copy of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation is exhibited at Illinois State Historical Library. More info: Illinois Tourism, (800) 226-6632, www.enjoyillinois.com.

Herman Melville wrote "Moby Dick" while gazing out of the window of his home, Arrowhead, at humpbacked Mount Greylock, near Pittsfield, Mass. Arrowhead's kitchen chimney, which "ate cords of wood," is the subject of Melville's story "I and My Chimney." More info: Berkshire Visitors Bureau, (800) 237-5747.

Will Rogers was born in a log cabin in Oologah, Okla., a Tulsa suburb, in 1879. In nearby Claremore, Will Rogers Memorial displays the beloved entertainer and cowboy philosopher's manuscripts, saddles and other artifacts. Rogers' grave is in Oologah. More info: Oklahoma Travel Information Center, (800) 652-6552, www.travelok.com.

Sacagawea, the Shoshone woman who guided and translated for Lewis and Clark, is honored with a statue at Bismarck, N.D. In 1805, she joined the famous explorers near what is now Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, where Shoshone and other tribal lifestyles are demonstrated. Nearby, Washburn is a reconstruction of Fort Mandan, where Lewis and Clark wintered in 1804 to 1805. More info: North Dakota Tourism, (800) 435-5663, www.ndtourism.com.

Mark Twain Museum of Memories in Virginia City, Nev., displays the famous author's likeness and much Twain memorabilia. From 1862 to 1864, the famous author and social commentator wrote for Territorial Enterprise, a local newspaper. At the lavishly appointed Piper's Opera House, now fully restored, Twain lectured on subjects sensible and nonsensical. More info: Nevada Tourism, (800) 237-0774, www.travelnevada.com.

To find out more about Jennifer Merin and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.