Our newest permanent exhibit is now open to the public and includes sections titled Out of the Mist, the Settlers’ Lot, Clear-cuts & Conservation, Working the Fields, Moving About, Buried Treasure, Business & Industry, and Into the Woods.  Walk through each of the sections, explore the buildings, learn more from our interpretive touch screens and let the kids explore the numerous hands-on displays.

Panoramic Photographs by Frederick E. Knapp

The newest second floor exhibit features a gallery full of yard long photographs from the Knapp collection in the JCHC archives.  The interesting large group photos were taken between 1920 and 1942 and include family reunions, company employees, high school graduations, church organizations and musical groups. Stop by and help us identify a relative.

Bring the kids and grandkids and take time to play a game or two when you visit this one.

You will be transported back in time when you step into this room decorated for the holidays more than a century ago.

 
Roger Richards of Brookville is the latest in the History Center series of exhibits, History in a Hobby. Roger began his banking career in Brockway where he spent fourteen years before coming to the DuBois Deposit Bank in Brookville. He retired after working there for twenty-six years.

He has combined his career in banking with a lifelong interest in cars and trucks. “When I was a kid, I liked cars and trucks. I always had an interest in them, so when I went into banking and discovered the car banks, I continued with my interest.”

Roger has a large collection of car banks made by Banthrico, Spec-Case, Ertl, and Gearbox models, and the History Center is exhibiting
a portion of them in the Skylight Room on the second floor.

Imagine what these rusty objects recovered by the Northfork Chapter 29 of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology at their ongoing excavation in Clear Creek State Park must have looked like when the blacksmith at Frasier Sawmill finished making them.

View this exhibit about the County Judicial history, then visit the newly preserved Jefferson County Courthouse.

Arranged chronologically, the Indian portraits of Shirley VanAtta presents the many of the historical figures from her roots within the Seneca Nation of Native Americans.

The Awesome Angels raised $14,000 by selling names for this large and beautiful quilt designed by quilter Carol Kenemuth.

The story of the creative genius of Charles and his minature railroads. 

There’s always something new on the layout―see if you can discover what our Bowdish Volunteers have created in 2009!

Welcome to the Fair

The air is nippy and snow is on the ground but our thoughts are turned to sunny days in July and the cacophony of the Jefferson County Fair. Now held on the fairgrounds just north of I-80, our fair history goes back more than a century and a quarter to 1870 when the Mountain  Park Association held it on Jacob Emery’s farm off of what is now Rt. 28.

This spring the History Center plans to install a short-term exhibit in one of our upstairs galleries depicting the Jefferson County Fair history.  Like most of the exhibits we produce, we look to our members and others living in the county and those living outside the county who have Jefferson County connections to help us.

We are looking for ribbons, trophies and other awards, fair program books, photographs, objects entered for judging, registration forms, tickets, and other fair-related memorabilia that can be loaned for this exhibit.