Lehigh County Historical Society
 | |
| Established | 1904 |
|---|---|
| Location |
432 West Walnut Street Allentown, Pennsylvania 18102 |
| Coordinates | 40°36′08″N 75°27′57″W / 40.60219°N 75.46592°W |
| Type | Historical/Museum |
| Director | Joseph Garrera, M.A. |
| Curator | Jill Youngken, M.A. |
| Website | http://www.lehighvalleyheritagemuseum.org |
Lehigh County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1904, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the history of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. The Historical Society and Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum are located at 432 West Walnut Street in Allentown.
Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum
The Lehigh County Historical Society is headquartered in the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum, a state-of-the-art 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) museum facility with four galleries and more than 10,000 square feet (930 m2) of exhibition space.[1] Recent exhibits have included exhibits on the Civil War, on Pennsylvania Germans, and its current exhibit on the American Revolution. The Museum maintains an extensive collection of local and regional historical materials, with more than 35,000 historical artifacts in its collection.
Scott Andrew Trexler II Research Library & Archive
The Lehigh County Historical Society's library, the Scott Andrew Trexler II Research Library and Archive, houses 70,000 vintage photographs and nearly three million historical documents.[1] Included in its collections are more than 800 volumes of church and cemetery records for Lehigh and neighboring counties, early county records (tax rolls, wills and land deeds), indexed marriage records and announcements, 800 volumes of family genealogical histories, city directories (1860 onwards), maps, census records and published histories.[2] The library also maintains microfiche versions of many of Allentown's early German and English-language newspapers.[2] Access to the library is free for Society members; a small fee applies for non-members.
Historic Sites
The Lehigh County Historical Society administers several historical sites in the region:
- Claussville One-Room Schoolhouse (1893) – This brick One-room schoolhouse was the last in Lehigh County. 2917 Route 100, north of Fogelsville.
- Haines Mill Museum (ca. 1850, rebuilt 1909) – Working grist mill. 3600 Dorney Park Road, Cetronia, South Whitehall Township.
- Lockridge Furnace Museum (1868) – 19th century ironworks, now a museum and park dedicated to the anthracite iron industry. 525 Franklin Street, Alburtis.
- Saylor Cement Industry Museum (1893) – Cement kilns built by David O. Saylor, father of the American Portland cement industry. North Second Street, Coplay.
- Trout Hall (1770) – Colonial stone mansion. Home of James Allen, son of Allentown's founder, William Allen. 4th & Walnut Streets, Allentown.
- Troxell-Steckel Farm Museum (1756) – Pennsylvania German stone farmhouse, one of Lehigh County's oldest structures. 4229 Reliance Street, off Route 329, Village of Egypt, Whitehall Township.
Publications
Proceedings, the journal of the Lehigh County Historical Society, was published on a bi-annual basis since 1906[3] and featured articles focusing on local and regional history. From 1947 to 1994, the publication was bound in a distinctive blue buckram hardcover binding with gilt lettering. In 1994, the journal was published in softcover. Publication of Proceedings was discontinued in 2004.
See also
- Allentown, Pennsylvania
- Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
- List of historical societies
- Historical and Notable Sites in Allentown, Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies
References
- 1 2 "Welcome to LCHS". Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- 1 2 "LCHS Collections". Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- ↑ "LCHS Publications". Retrieved 2008-06-17.