The Vandergrift Museum is situated in the Old Sherman School, located at 184 Sherman Avenue in Vandergrift, which is currently undergoing massive renovations for our use.
Southwestern Pennsylvania
The southwestern corner of Pennsylvania is the area that was the original Washington County, formed on March 28, 1781. This is the land to the west of the Monongahela River, from the West Virginia line north and west and south of the Ohio River to the Ohio line.
Parts of the original Washington County are now Greene and portions of Beaver and Allegheny Counties. Both Pennsylvania and Virginia initially claimed this Southwestern Pennsylvania portion of the Commonwealth.
The first National Road, Route 40, came through our area, along with endless visits by the famous surveyors George Washington, Lafayette, George Rogers Clark, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, and many other renowned people.
Join Western Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh Museums to learn more about the county's notable ancestry—and possibly your own.
Museums
Zelienople Historical Society acquired the Passavant house in 1975, and today this historic building serves as a museum, the Lester Mohr Library, and the headquarters office for the society.
The Buhl House is the second historical house museum of the Zelienople Historical Society, located on South Main Street near Passavant House. Built in 1805, it is the oldest building in Zelienople, where Christian Buhl and his wife raised their eleven children.
Built in 1828 as a summer residence for Butler's only U.S. Senator, Walter Lowrie, this is the last remaining house of its type in the Butler area. A listing on the National Register of Historic Places honored its historical and architectural significance.
Red School House is the first public school in Butler, built in 1838 due to the Public School Act of 1836. It was used as a classroom until 1874, when a larger facility was built.
The original cabin, built by the Cooper family in 1810, was used as a county homestead. It was enlarged after the Civil War, and family descendants remained in it until 1963. In 1976, Cooper Cabin was deeded to the Butler County Historical Society.
The Vicary Mansion is named after its owner and builder, Philadelphia sea captain William Vicary, who began construction of his mansion in 1826 and finally completed it three years later in 1829.
David Bradford was a successful lawyer, businessman, and Deputy Attorney General of Washington County Pennsylvania when his house was completed in 1788.David Bradford and his family lived in this house from 1788 to 1794.
This house has sheltered five generations of the Marshall Family. The mid-Victorian period home offered the residents more conveniences than many homes of the times, for example, running water.
In conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the Donora Smog incident of 1948, the home of the Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum was opened in 2008 and has been flourishing ever since.
The first phase of the Duncan and Miller Glass Museum history began in 1975 when two rooms in the Washington County Historical Society building, LeMoyne House, became home for the young museum.
The Fayette County Historical Society is a non-profit organziation established in 1971. The mission and purpose of the organization is to find, collect and preserve the materials which portray the history of the county and the society.
Harlansburg Station is located in a replica train station with four Pennsylvania passenger cars at the intersection of Route 19 and Route 108, just east of New Castle in Harlansburg, PA.
The Compass Inn is a place to receive an informative and entertaining tour by costumed docents that tells the story of transportation and everyday life in the early 1800's. The tour delivers "history with a smile" by incorporating a generous sprinkling of etymology (word and phrase origins).
Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum of Rural Life, preserves the history of life on the land in Western Pennsylvania over the past 16,000 years. Meadowcroft is one of Western Pennsylvania's wonderful, off-the-beaten-path destinations.
Created by Hampton Township in 1973, the museum seeks to preserve and interpret the early years of European settlement in the Depreciation Lands.
Organizations
The Allegheny-Kiski Valley Historical Society is a non-profit, permanent institution whose primary mission is interpreting, preserving, and celebrating our cultural, industrial, and ethnic heritage of the Allegheny and Kiskiminetas river valleys in southwestern Pennsylvania, a region embracing th
The Zelienople Historical Society maintains a museum in Passavant House with many of the original articles brought by Zelie.
Established in 1927, Butler County Historical Society's main goal was to preserve the history and culture of the county. Back in 1927 a group of locals of the county met to discuss what contiburtion they could make to portray the history of their society.
The Indiana County Historical & Genealogical Society in western PA serves a largely rural area noted for its forest and mineral resources and its scenic beauty.
Once considered New Castle’s “best kept secret”, the word is out on the Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts and its vision to “provide the best possible arts to the greatest number of people”!
Incorporated on February 22, 1988, the Ellwood City Area Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich history of our community.
The Lawrence County Historical Society is located in New Castle. The home of former tin plate mogul, George Greer, it is resplendent in it's glorious woodwork and fine leaded beveled glass made by the Fry Glass Company in Rochester, Pennsylvania.
The Foundation established in 1971, December 14, is a non-profit organization. The name of Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation comes from the County name where it is situated.
The Society's goal is to arouse interest in local history and historic preservation through education, publications, meetings and events. Since its inception, the Society has grown to include more than 550 members and a permanent museum.
The Latrobe Area Historical Society of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to the collection, study and documentation of the Latrobe community's heritage and to the preservation of local history and its ethnic roots.Periodically the Society offers to the public special programs of his
The mission of the Ligonier Valley Historical Society discover, collect, preserve and disseminate any material which will help to establish or illustrate the exploration, settlement, development and general history of the Ligonier Valley area.
The McKeesport Heritage Center operates a museum and a research center. The museum has numerous displays of local memorabilia, including old photographs.
The mission of the Society for Contemporary Craft is to engage the public in the creative experience as expressed through contemporary craft.The organization seeks to move viewers beyond familiar frames of reference and challenge them to think in new ways about art, while also raising standards o