American/Local History

Allegheny Kiski Valley Historical Society

Administers the AK Heritage Museum, a 1931 Art Deco Building in Tarentum. The museum has cobalt blue glass walls in the ballroom, murals that tell the story of the home front during W.W.II, an aluminum collection from the world's first large-scale production plant for aluminum - the Tarentum Glass collection - and more

Allegheny Kiski Valley Historical Society
225 East Seventh Avenue
Tarentum, PA 15084

724.224.7666
Fax: 724.224.7666
E-Mail: akvhs@salsgiver.com

Open Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8:00 am - 3:00 pm

Admission Fee

Limited accessibility

Web site: www.akvhs.org

August Wilson Center for African American Culture

August Wilson Center for African American Culture presents, interprets and preserves the art, culture, and history of African Americans in Pittsburgh and of people of African descent throughout the world.

The August Wilson Center for African American Culture is currently in the process of building a new facility: a state-of-the-art, multi-disciplinary venue. With its future location at Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh, the AWCAAC will make a stunning addition to the growing Cultural District, and a strong contribution to the financial and cultural regeneration of the city.

More than a museum, the new August Wilson Center for African American Culture building will be reflective of all aspects of African American culture. The AWCAAC will include galleries, classrooms, a 500-seat theater, a gift shop, a cafe, and many multi-purpose spaces to be used for visual and performing art and expression, and which will be available for rental and use by the community.

While the new facility will house exhibits that help tell the story of how African American culture has developed, including both historical and current experiences, this is only a small part of what the August Wilson Center is about. The Center will serve as a hub for people celebrating and experiencing the on-going contributions of African Americans - in music, theater, dance, science, athletics, business and many other aspects of American life. It will bring together people from all walks of life and foster mutual understanding and appreciation rooted in the values and ideals that drive the evolution of dynamic cultures worldwide.

The new AWCAAC building will open to the public in early 2008.

Web site: www.augustwilsoncenter.org

Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation

The purpose of the Foundation is the collection, preservation and interpretation of the county's historic sites, records and artifacts for the educational benefit of the public. The Foundation is housed in the historic Vicary Mansion. Former Philadelphia sea captain William Vicary, began building his stone mansion in 1826 on a knoll overlooking the Ohio River in what is now the community of Freedom, Pennsylvania. The home was completed in 1832, and stands as a testament to the wealth and influence of its builder.

Vicary Mansion
1235 3rd Avenue
Freedom, PA 15042

724.775.1848
FAX: 724.775.1523
E-Mail: bchrlf@bchrlf.org

Monday-Friday, 10:00 AM-2:00 PM
And by appointment

The first floor only of the house is completely accessible.
There is no access to the basement or second floor at this time.

Web site: www.bchrlf.org

Beaver Falls Historical Society and Museum

Oldest historical society (founded in 1945) and second oldest museum (founded in 1948) in Beaver County. Artifact displayed relating to over 125 years of Beaver Falls history

Group tours by appointment

Carnegie Library
1301 Seventh Avenue
Beaver Falls, PA 15010
724.846.4340

Open Monday-Wednesday, Friday 10 am - 3 pm

Complete accessibility

Web site: www.flealess.org/beaver1a.html

The Braddock Road Preservation Association

The land in a 20-mile radius of the site of Dunbarís Camp and Jumonville Glen stands today as one of the richest in American history. Here George Washington began the first true "world war." Here he fought his first battles. Here lie the remains of British Major-General Edward Braddock and countless artifacts of his grand army. Here sit traces of the first National Road, with its weigh stations, stagecoach stops, and toll houses.

The Braddock Road Preservation Association stands ready to champion these sites not only for their historic importance, but also for the magnificent story they tell about who we were and who we are as Americans.

The annual French and Indian War seminar at Jumonville,which is presented by the Braddock Road Preservation Association, held the first Friday and Saturday of November, is now the largest such annual gathering in Pennsylvania and one of the largest in the country.

Braddock Road Preservation Association
887 Jumonville Road
Hopwood, PA 15445
724.439.4912
Far: 724.439.1415
E-Mail: info@jumonville.org

Web site: www.braddockroadpa.org

Bushy Run Battlefield

Pennsylvania's only recognized Native-American battlefield commemorates the conflict between British and Native-American forces that opened the Ohio frontier to European settlement.

State Route 993
Jeannette, PA

Mail: P.O. Box 468
Harrison City, PA 15636-0468

724.527.5584

Open all year

Museum April - October

Admission Fee

Complete accessibility (limited).

Web site: www.bushyrunbattlefield.com

Butler County Historical Society

Four sites:

Cooper Cabin (1810)

Shaw House (1828)

Little Red Schoolhouse (1838)

Butler County Heritage Center

Each tells a unique story of early county life. Group tours by arrangement.

National City Bank Building
Corner of Main and Jefferson
Butler, PA 16001

724.283.8116

Open May - September

Admission Fee

Web site: www.butlercountyhistoricalsociety-pa.org

Center for American Music at the Stephen Foster Memorial

A museum and library devoted to music in American life. The world repository for materials related to Pittsburgh songwriter Stephen Collins Foster. Fee for guided tours.

Stephen Foster Memorial
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

412.624.4100

Open all year

Web site: www.pitt.edu/~amerimus/cam1.htm

Clarion County Historical Society

The CCHS administers the Sutton-Ditz House Museum & Library, in the heart of Clarion Borough across from Clarion County Memorial Park. The Sutton-Ditz House was erected in 1850 by Thomas Sutton, a young attorney who settled in Clarion county when it was established on March 11, 1839. The two-story rough brick frame structure is located across from the park and County Courthouse in the center of Clarion Borough. Through the years the house has seen a number of owners until 1908 when it was purchased by John A. Ditz, a Clarion Borough hardware store owner. The Ditz family operated a tourist home in the 1940's and 1950's and it remained in the family until 1975 when it was sold to the Clarion County Historical Society and established as the Sutton-Ditz House Museum & Library. The home still retains its grand late Victorian ambiance.

The Museum & Library feature:

A Victorian parlor, bedroom and kitchen.

Changing exhibitions using artifacts from the museum collections and illustrating the history of Clarion County.

Annual Victorian Holiday Open House.

Permanent Exhibits illustrating the iron, lumber and glass industries, Purinton pottery, an old-time country store, and Clarion County military.

1,500 volumes including county, regional and family histories, census indexes, newspapers, church records, maps, photographs, manuscripts, and other ephemera.

Sutton-Ditz House Museum & Library
18 Grant Street
Clarion, PA

814.226.4450
Fax: 814.226.7106
E-Mail: cchs@csonline.net

Open all year

Tuesday - Saturday
10 am to 4 pm
Other times by appointment

$1.50 Adults
$1.00 Students and Senior Citizens
$0.50 Children
Members Free

Web site: www.orgsites.com/pa/clarioncountyhistoricalsociety

Coolspring Power Museum

A walk-through display of more than 250 historically significant internal combustion engines depicting more than 115 years of development and its effect on 20th-century industrial America.

Main Street
Coolspring, PA

Coolspring, PA 15730

814.849.6883

Open 3rd full weekend, April-October

Admission Fee

Web site: www.coolspringpowermuseum.org

The David Bradford House

Administered by the Bradford House Association. Restored 18th century home of David Bradford, successful lawyer, businessman, and Deputy Attorney of Washington County. Furnishings are those used in the 18th century in Pennsylvania that would reflect Bradfords wealthy status

724.222.3604
E-Mail: mthart@pulsenet.com

Web site: www.bradfordhouse.org

Depreciation Lands Museum

A little known corner of our historic past: The Depreciation Lands. Learn about them at the:

Museum

Log House

Conestoga Wagon/Tool Building

One-Room School House

Herb/Dye Garden

4743 South Pioneer Road
Allison Park, PA 15101

412.486.0563

Open Sundays, all year

Admission Fee

Web site: www.depreciationlandsmuseum.org

Flatiron Building Heritage Center

The Flatiron Building Heritage Center is housed within the Historical Flatiron Building which was built circa 1830 directly on the National Road as a commercial structure. In addition to the age of the building, the unique shape (like an old-fashioned clothes iron) makes it a significant structure in the community. The building is the oldest structure on lower Market Street and is a contemporary of the early nineteenth century buildings on Brownsville's North Side, these buildings are believed to be the oldest, most intact, commercial buildings west of the Allegheny Mountains.

Also housed within the Heritage Center is The Frank L. Melega Art Museum. Frank L. Melega (1905-1997) produced artwork out of his Brownsville studio for over six decades.

69 Market Street
Brownsville, PA 15417

724.785.9331
E-Mail: flatiron@lcsys.net

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9 am -5 pm
Saturday and Sunday 12pm -6 pm
Other times are available byappointment.

Web site: www.flatironcenter.com

Fort Ligonier

A reconstructed French and Indian War fort on the exact location of the original and a museum with as extensive collection of archeological artifacts andeighteenth-century art.

216 South Market Street
Ligonier, PA 15658

724.238.9701

Open April-October

Admission Fee

Web site: www.fortligonier.org

Fort Necessity National Battlefield

George Washington's first military encounter and only military surrender happened here. On July 3, 1754, a French and Indian force surrounded his fort of necessity and forced its surrender.

1 Washington Parkway
Farmington, PA 15437

724.329.5512

Open all year

Admission Fee

Complete accessibility

Web site: www.nps.gov/fone

Fort Pitt Museum

Fort Pitt Museum recalls the fierce struggle between France and Britain for Western Pennsylvania and the Old Northwest and tells the history of Fort Duquesne, Fort Pitt and early Pittsburgh.

101 Commonwealth Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

412.281.9285

Open all year

Admission Fee

Web site: www.fortpittmuseum.com/WelcomePage.html

Fort Roberdeau Historic Site and Natural Area

Fort Roberdeau Historic Site and Natural Area is located near Altoona in Blair County, Pennsylvania. The rural 230-acre tract features a reconstructed Revolutionary War stockade surrounding six log cabins. It also includes an 1858 barn containing exhibits and a museum shop, an education center in an 1860 farmhouse, three nature trails, picnic facilities, and White Oak Hall, a large multipurpose facility.

R.R. 3 Box 391
Altoona, PA 16601

814-946-0048
FAX: 814-943-5074

May 1 through October 31
Tuesday -Saturday: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sunday and Monday: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Web site: www.fortroberdeau.org

The Frick Art and Historical Center

A six-acre site comprising:

Clayton, the restored Frick family home.

Carriage Museum.

Art Museum.

Greenhouse.

Museum Shop.

Educational Center.

Cafe.

Fee for Clayton tour.

7227 Reynolds Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15208

412.371.0600

Open all year

Complete accessibility

www.frickart.org

Friendship Hill National Historic Site

Friendship Hill preserves the country estate of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He served his country for nearly seven decades.

State Route 166
Point Marion, PA 15474

724.725.9190

Open all year

Complete accessibility

Web site: www.nps.gov/frhi

George Westinghouse Museum

Magnificent 19th-century table and glassware, full-size replica of first Time Capsule, recording of world's first commercial radio broadcast, array of early home appliances.

Commerce Street
Wilmerding, PA 15148

412.823.3004

Open all year

www.georgewestinghouse.com

Greene County Historical Society Museum

The museum is home to exhibits and displays of local artifacts dating from the early native Monongahela culture to the early 20th Century. The Historical Society operates and maintains the historical museum and local history library and is also involved with other historic sites thoughout the county. Among these other sites are the W.A. Young Machine Shop & Foundry in Rices Landing, PA., and the Thomas Hughes House in Jefferson, PA. The Hughes House is currently being restored by the State of Pennsylvania

918 Rolling Meadows Road
Waynesburg, PA 15370

724.627.3204
E-Mail: museum@greenepa.net

Open May 1 - August 31
Wednesday - Friday, 10 am - 4 pm
Saturday and Sunday, 12 Noon - 4 pm

Web site: www.greenepa.net/~museum

Harmony Museum

Harmony, a National Historic Landmark District, was first (1804) home of communal Harmony Society. Exhibits: Harmonists, Mennonites (1815), 19th-century gunsmith Charles Flowers, other aspects of area history.

218 Mercer Streets
Harmony, PA

Harmony, PA 16037

724.452.7341

Open all year

Admission Fee

Complete accessibility

Web site: members.tripod.com/harmonymuseum

Jefferson County Historical Society

In 2004 the Society moved into the preserved Nathan Greene Edelblute Building on Historic Brookville's Main Street where exhibits, research room and library, shop, and offices are now located. The Society maintains an active program of research, changing exhibits, public programs, and publications related to Jefferson County and the Lumber Heritage Region of the Commonwealth.

The Society is open:

Tuesday-Saturday Noon to 5 pm
Sunday 2-5 pm

Calling ahead is advised.

Jefferson County Historical Society
172-176 Main Street
Brookville, PA 15825.
Phone: 814.849.0077
Email: jchc@alltel.net

Website: www.orgsites.com/pa/jeffersoncohistsoc

Jimmy Stewart Museum

The Jimmy Stewart Museum, located in the actor's hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania, highlights the many accomplishments of this legendary actor in film, radio and TV. His roles as military hero, civic leader, family man and world citizen are also woven into displays, film presentations and gallery talks. There's even a special room dedicated to his family's long and colorful history in Western Pennsylvania. Visitors can view clips of Stewart's films or watch a biography in the 50-seat theater. Jimmy Stewart afficionados have transformed the third floor of the Indiana Public Library into a museum that captures the quiet magic and small town charm that catapulted the star to enduring fame. Display items include original movie posters, costumes, scripts and military uniforms.

845 Philadelphia Street
Indiana, PA 15701

724.349.6112
Toll free: 1.800.83 JIMMY
FAX: 724.349.6140
E-Mail: curator@jimmy.org

10-5 Monday-Saturday and 12-5 Sundays

Adult admission is $5, with discounts for seniors, students, and children, and free to all members.

Complete accessibility

Web site: www.jimmy.org

Johnstown Flood Museum

The Museum tells the story of one of the most shocking episodes in American history. On May 31, 1889, a neglected dam and a phenomenal storm led to a catastrophe in which 2,209 people died, tens of thousands were left homeless, and a prospering city became a wasteland. Exhibits and artifacts graphically depict the story, the film The Johnstown Flood, and a temporary exhibits gallery where visitors can learn more about the history of a unique industrial city. The museums archives, containing thousands of images of the great flood as well as local history resources, are open to the public by appointment.

304 Washington Street
Johnstown, PA 15907
814.539.1889
E-Mail: rburkert@jaha.org

Web site: www.jaha.org/FloodMuseum/oklahoma.html

Johnstown Heritage Discovery Center

The Center, developed by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association (JAHA), examines the story of life in industrial America and will place the visitor in Johnstown Pennsylvania in the early 20th century. It preserves and interpretes the nationally significant historic heritage of the Greater Johnstown Area through its museum facilities, historical collections and educational programs. Its themes include Johnstown's identity as an industrial and transportation center, the community's social and cultural history including ethnicity and the legendary Johnstown Flood.

Since 1993, JAHA has been conducting historical research and architectural planning to create the Johnstown Heritage Discovery Center and its permanent exhibit, "America: Through Immigrant Eyes."

Route 56 Broad Street and Seventh Avenue Johnstown, Pennsylvania

814.539.1889
E-Mail: rburkert@jaha.org

Open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM

Web site: www.jaha.org/DiscoveryCenter/virtualtour.html

Lawrence County Historical Society

Local history museum in a turn-of-the-century mansion that features finely crafted woodwork and leaded beveled glass. Changing exhibits include Shenango China. Tours welcomed.

408 North Jefferson Street
New Castle, PA 16103

724.658.4022

Open all year

Admission Fee

Web site: www.lawrencechs.com

Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum of Rural Life

The museum is home to the Meadowcroft Rockshelter National Historic Landmark, a 16,000-year-old site that has provided the earliest evidence of people in North America.

401 Meadowcroft Road
Avella, PA 15312

724.587.3412

Please call ahead in 2007 for museum hours and season schedule

Admission Fee

Web site: meadowcroft.pghhistory.org

Nemacolin Castle

In 1789, Jacob Bowman, a pioneer merchant from Hagerstown, Maryland, built a frontier trading post on the approximate site of Old Fort Burd. Active in business and commerce, Bowman was an important figure in the early development of Brownsville. In the years that followed, a mansion was built around the simplistic trading post. For several generations, the castle was home to the Bowman family. Today, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is open to the public.

Within the spacious interior are twenty-two furnished rooms which reflect early life in America from Colonial times to the late Victorian era. Included in the collection are many original Bowman family furnishings.

Located off of historic route US 40
Front Street and Third Avenue
Brownsville 15417

724.785.6882
E-Mail: info@nemacolincastle.org

11 am - 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday

Web site: www.nemacolincastle.org

Old Economy Village

Final home of the Harmony Society, one of America's most successful Christian communal groups. Seventeen restored buildings (1824-1830) contain original Harmonist furniture, paintings, ceramics and Pittsburgh glass. Historic gardens.

Experience life in the 19th century at this National Historic Landmark site. See ever-changing traditional trade demonstrations. Try your hand at daily chores & crafts. Enjoy a guided tour or program & learn about those German immigrants, the Harmonists.

270 Sixteenth Street
Ambridge, PA 15003

724.266.4500

Open all year

Admission Fee

Web site: www.oldeconomyvillage.org

Photo Antiquities Museum of Photographic History, Images and Equipment

The museum is devoted to the exhibition, preservation and study of photography; with an emphasis on 19th century photography. The museum's collection is comprised of 500,000 images and negatives, as well as 20,000 cameras and accessories. The collection represents every photographic process including Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Tintype, Salt, and Albumen prints, Ivorytype, Orotone and many more lesser known processes.

Photographers represented in the collection include Mathew Brady, Julia Margaret Cameron, Edward S. Curtis, The Detroit Photographic Company, Roger Fenton, Alexander Gardner, Timothy H. O'Sullivan and F.A. Reinhart. Collection's genres include an extensive portrait display of Civil war Generals, vintage photographs of Abraham Lincoln, African Americans, Native Americans and a large exhibit of illuminated lantern slides

531 East Ohio Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

412.231.788
E-Mail: frank@photoantiquities.org

Museum Hours: Monday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm

Admission: Adults $4
Seniors & Students (with ID) $3.00
Children 6-12 years old $2.50

Web site: www.photoantiquities.com

Rachel Carson Homestead

Birthplace and childhood home of ecologist and author Rachel Carson (1907-1964), whose 1962 book Silent Spring helped to launch the environmental movement. Guided tours, classes.

613 Marion Avenue
Springdale, PA 15144

724.274.5459

Open all year

Saturday 10 - 4, Sunday 1 - 5

Admission Fee

Web site: www.rachelcarsonhomestead.org

Senator John Heinz History Center

The Senator John Heinz History Center is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and the largest history museum in Pennsylvania. The History Center features the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum and the Library and Archives, and includes six floors of permanent and changing exhibitions that tell the story of Western Pennsylvania. The History Center and Sports Museum are located at:

1212 Smallman Street, in the city’s Strip District

Open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Regular admission includes both the History Center and Sports Museum:

$9 for adults
$7 for seniors over 61
$5 for students with ID
$5 for children ages 6-18, and free to members and children under 6

Complete accessibility

For a complete listing of current exhibits and events, please visit: www.pghhistory.org

Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum Memorial

Dedicated to the history and memory of those who served the United States during times of war. This Historical Landmark was built in 1910 by Civil War Veterans and houses one of the largest collections of Civil War artifacts in the country. The exhibits begin with the Civil War and continue through to present day conflicts and explore the deeds and sacrifices of ordinary citizens during extraordinary circumstances.

4141 5th Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

412.621.4253
Fax: 412.683.9339
E-Mail: salutetickets@soldiersandsailorshall.org

Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 4 pm

Open Memorial Day Veterans Day

Web site: www.soldiersandsailorshall.org

Somerset Historical Center

Interprets the everyday lives of the rural population of South-western Pennsylvania from the prehistoric times to the present.

10649 Somerset Pike
Somerset, PA 15501

814.445.6077

Open May - October

Admission Fee

Complete accessibility

Web site: www.somersetcounty.com/historicalcenter

Washington County Historical Society

The Society is housed in the Le Moyne House, the 1812 home of Dr. F. Julius LeMoyne, physician, abolitionist, and humanitarian and a stop on the Underground Railroad. Artifacts display the many humanitarian efforts of Dr. LeMoyne. Administers the LeMoyne Crematory, the first in the U.S. Library and archives.

49 East Maiden Street
Washington, PA 15301

724.225.6740
Fax: 724.225.8495
E-Mail: info@wchspa.org

Open February - mid-December
Tours of LeMoyne House: Monday - Friday: 8 am - 4 pm
Saturday & Sunday: noon - 4 pm
Office: Monday - Friday: 8 am - 4 pm
Call for tours of crematory

Admission Fee

Limited accessibility

Web site: www.wchspa.org

Waynesburg College Museum

The Paul R. Stewart Museum at Waynesburg College collections include local Native-American prehistoric artifacts, fine examples of the Greensboro-New Geneva pottery, early American glass, and an excellent mineral and rock collection.

Waynesburg College
Waynesburg, PA 15370

724.852.3214

Open all year

Complete accessibility

Web site: www.waynesburg.edu/visit/museum/index.html

West Overton Museums

Nineteenth-century industrial village:

Distillery

Museum

Abraham Overholt Homestead

Birthplace of H. C. Frick

Currently restoring the large barns. Tours. Special and seasonal events.

West Overton Village
Scottdale, PA 15683

724.887.7910

Open mid-May - mid-October

Admission Fee

Complete accessibility

Web site: www.fay-west.com/westoverton

Westmoreland County Historical Society

Administers Old Hannas Town, a reconstructed revolutionary war ear Western Pennsylvania town. The site of the first English courts west of the Allegheny mountains, and Westmoreland Countys first county seat. The historical society contains a research library. Old Hannas Town: Rte. 119, 3 miles north of Greensburg.

951 Old Salem Road
Greensburg, PA 15601 Westmoreland County

724.836.1800
Fax: 724.836.1653
E-Mail: history@wchspa.com

Tuesday - Friday: 9 am - 5 pm
Saturday: 10 - 1 / Monday: by appointment
Old Hannas Town: May 1 - October 31
Tuesday - Saturday: 10 am - 4 pm / Sunday: 1 pm - 4 pm

Admission Fee

Web site: www.starofthewest.org

Woodville Plantation

"Woodville," the John and Presley Neville house, is Southwestern Pennsylvania's principal link to the late 18th century, interpreting the time period of 1780-1820 and documenting the lives of the three families that resided there, the Nevilles (1775-1815), the Cowans (1815-1835), and the Wrenshalls (1835-1975).

Home (c. 1785) of John Neville, friend of Washington and Lafayette, Commander of Fort Pitt, Revolutionary war hero. Involved in the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794.

1375 Washington Pike
Bridgeville, PA 15017

412-221-0348 or 412-531-0559

Open Sundays, May - September

Admission Fee: $5.00 per person, $10.00 for family of parents and children under age 18

Web site: www.woodvilleplantation.org

Zelienople Historical Society

Buhl House (1805), homes of Zelienople's founders, house the historical society, a library and artifacts. Tours May-October and by appointment. Genealogy.

243 South Main Street
Zelienople, PA 16063

724.452.9457
E-Mail: zhs@fyi.net

Open all year

Web site: www.fyi.net/~zhs