November 2010

The first institution built by a major U.S. city to house and interpret the life and work of African Americans, the Museum allows visitors to experience the richness of African American culture.

Inspired by the vision and creativity of Henry C. Mercer (1856-1930), it is the mission of the Bucks County Historical Society to cultivate among its many audiences a broad appreciation and awareness of the past, helping people find stories and meanings that both sustain them in the present and aid them in approaching the future.The museums house a wide selection of displays and artifacts, many belonging to famed scholar Henry Chapman Mercer, who commissioned both buildings.

The refurbished historic structure houses a library, theater, Bible lab, museum store, exhibit gallery and offices. In one of the main exhibits, panels describe the history and culture of key Biblical periods. Visitors can make their own booklets to take home and use for reference. Included in the exhibit are ancient lamps demonstrating the science of archaeology and how it relates to the Bible as well as ancient artifacts depicting early writing that relate the history of writing and the Bible. Learning the Bible’s history and the journey is made interesting to young and old alike.

This meticulously restored example of Federal architecture and interior design is noted for its finally carved woodwork. Descendants of the original owner John Johnson III, who built the house between 1795 and 1798, lived here until 1938.

A dramatic chapter in this country's struggle for human rights, the Underground Railroad was created by enslaved Africans who desired freedom passionately and risked their lives to attain it. Many people joined forces to guide escaping runaways through a system of secret trails and hiding places to sites where they could exist as free people. One of these hiding places was the Johnson House, where the Quaker Johnson family sheltered fugitive slaves on their third floor. Today, the Johnson House is the only accessible and intact Underground Railroad site in Philadelphia.

The centerpiece of the property is the Belle Meade mansion built in 1853. This Greek revival house was home to five generations of the Harding-Jackson family, original owners of the Belle Meade Farm. In the late 19th century, the farm encompassed 5,400 acres and was one of the largest private estates in Nashville. The farm was a thoroughbred nursery famous for breeding and training championship race horses. Recent Kentucky derby winners like Funny Cide and Barbaro, even racing legends like Secretariat can trace their bloodlines back to the breeding stock at Belle Meade.

Visitors step back in time to discover a living record of the comforts and tastes of the rising middle class in an era when central heat, indoor plumbing, and running water were wondrous luxuries. . . when gas lighting, grained woodwork and stenciled ceiling decorations were emblems of social standing.

In 1859, Ebenezer Maxwell, a cloth merchant, built his villa a few blocks away from the railroad station and rode the train each day to his office in Philadelphia. The cost of the land and the house was $10,000. The Mansion’s first floor has been restored to depict Victorian life in the 1860’s. The second floor is interpreted to represent the late 1870’s to 1880’s.

The Maxwell kitchen was very innovative for its time and features many labor-saving devices of the Industrial Revolution. The new technology of mechanical gears was applied to apple peelers, meat and coffee grinders, cherry pitters and whips for cream.

The Northern York County Historical and Preservation Society was formed in 1984 to promote and encourage the study, collection and preservation of any or all aspects of the historical and cultural heritage of the area included within the Northern York County School District, and to do all things necessary, proper and incidental to accomplish such purpose. Meetings of the society are held the first Thursday of each month at the society's headquarters, the Maple Shade Barn.

The Beck Cultural Exchange Center is an interactive museum that researches and exhibits African American achievements.

Located in the historic home of James and Ethel Beck, two black civic leaders from the first half of the 20th century, the Exchange Center aims to memorialize the achievements and culture of African Americans in East Tennessee. Its exhibits explore the lives and accomplishments of prominent individuals, such as William H. Hastie, and the historic and cultural institutions within the community, such as the local high school and newspapers. The Library and Resource Center also preserves the community’s history through innumerable biographies and other works of literature.

The Historical Society manages two buildings: The Little Beaver Museum, a two story building built in 1882 housing artifacts and displays; and the Greersburg Academy, a two-story 1802 structure that is the oldest standing building in the county.  In 1882, it was converted to a railroad station and is the oldest standing rail station in the nation. Today, it houses artifacts, including 3,000 Native American ones.