About Us

In recent years the Society has strengthened its commitment to these initiatives:

• By revitalizing the Historical Society: Injecting a new sense of volunteerism within the community and the historical society, establishing scheduled museum hours and sponsoring special exhibits each year, displaying items borrowed from private collections and family heirlooms along with museum accessions;
• By acquiring an 11-acre parcel within the original 50-acre tract of Port Penn, and developing it into a historic trail with exhibits and signage describing the life and labor along the Muncy Canal;
• By hosting a Public Archaeology Dig at the site of the Muncy Canal and involving the community in a project designed to enhance cultural preservation;
• By developing a book of vintage “Muncy” postcards with historian Robin Van Auken that explores Muncy’s heritage. Follow this link to buy this book;
• By reclaiming the Old Walton Graveyard and the Old Hill Burying Ground – rehabilitating the burial sites of the town’s founders and early pioneers;
• By restoring the “Eight Square School,” built on the site of the oldest public school in Lycoming County (Project a recipient of the prestigious Pennsylvania Preservation 2001 Initiative Award);
• By its living history programs for home-schooled young people, scout troops, adult education classes, and Muncy School District Elementary, Junior High and Senior High students;
• By being a major sponsor to the production of “The Last Raft,” a one-hour “living history” documentary film that explores the raft’s tragic journey and crash in March 1938, using rare photos, new and archival footage, artifacts and news coverage. Karen L. Frock of Creekside Creative Media is the researcher, writer, and producer of “The Last Raft” documentary. Follow this link to buy this DVD;
• By collaborating with the Muncy School District’s fifth-grade teachers and students for the annual placement of U.S. flags on veteran graves in May at Muncy’s public cemetery and flag removal in November
• Through its Civil War Soldiers’ Monument Project which included the publication of “Priceless Treasures,” authored by David L. Richards, the biographies of the 71 Civil War casualties whose names are inscribed on the monument; the redesign of the monument site to accommodate the names of an additional 129 casualties overlooked when the monument was dedicated in 1869 (Project received 2004 Honorable Mention Award from PA Federation of Museums & Historical Organizations and 2004 Certificate of Commendation from the American Association of State and Local History). Follow this link to buy this book;
• By publishing the Society’s nationally-recognized Now and Then, a magazine of history, biography, and genealogy, published biannually, 28 – 44 pages per issue;
• Through its PA Canal Packet Boat Project, from salvaging the cabin to reconstructing an authentic 1860s packet/passenger cabin as the Society’s traveling educational exhibit (Project received 2004 Honorable Mention Award from PA Federation of Museums & Historical Organizations and 2004 Certificate of Commendation from the American Association of State and Local History); and
• By establishing a “local history” presence at the Lycoming County Fair, encouraging the participation of other non-for-profit historically-oriented societies from Lycoming, Northumberland, and Sullivan counties.
• By maintaining an active membership and participatory role in the Historical Organizations of Lycoming County (HOLC);
• By publishing Deeds of the Valley – the Lands that Became the Ordnance,” authored by Paul C. Metzger, the impressively researched and detailed account of land ownership within the village of Alvira and surrounding areas – Deckertown, Maple Hill, Somerset and Spring Garden – of the White Deer Valley. This is the most comprehensive research effort to document the historical and genealogical account of the families who passed through the White Deer Valley, from the mid-1700s to the 1940s. Metzger’s research identified more than 1170 family surnames that passed through the Valley. Many of these descendants remain in the County, while others have moved well beyond its boundaries. Follow this link to buy this book;
• By encouraging and supporting local artists through the annual artists’ exhibition and sale where original artwork is on display – where guests experience a well-rounded event that includes a wide range of artistic expression–diversity and excellent artistry by some of the most talented artists in Pennsylvania whose works are exhibited and collected nationally. The show includes a wide range of arts and craftsmanship, including photography, oil painting, jewelry, fashion, pottery, metal- and woodworking, quilting, mosaics, watercolors, sculpture, stained glass, and home décor. The show will be a rich and varied collection of original work along with signed and numbered limited-edition reproductions. Also, by publishing Bruce Storm’s “Dragon Views and Other Observations,” featuring 168 color images of his art with accompanying sagas, and Judith Cole Costello’s “Amadeus Quilts, A Journal of Encouragement,” featuring color images of her original quilt designs along with observations about life, laced with humor and perception. Follow this link to buy these books;
• By collecting and/or purchasing original works of art produced by contemporary artisans for the museum’s permanent collection
• By collaborating and partnering with other local and nationally-connected organizations to recognize the sacrifices made by local veterans with grave markings, bus tours to PA frontier revolutionary war sites, and fort and road designations/signage;
• By sponsoring county-wide exhibitions, including hosting the Civil War Road Show during the 150th-anniversary celebrations of the Civil War, the Welland Museum’s Underground Railroad exhibit, and our homegrown World War II month-long exhibit;
• Through consulting, and loaning artifacts, to support UPMC’s Muncy campus Heritage Room, the Muncy School District’s memorabilia exhibition, Penn College’s Smithsonian Hometown display, and the First United Methodist Church’s anniversary celebration.