Jefferson County Historical and Genealogical Society

Purpose: Sustaining Cultural Heritage The larger project of the Jefferson County Historical Society is preserving the Nathan Greene Edelblute building and adapting it as a history center. The project is intended to engage county residents and visitors in the cultural heritage of this rural Pennsylvania county. The building preservation is nearing completion. This grant will enable the historical society to partially fund the remaining work on the building and the installation of four or more double-sided, moveable exhibit panels and one or more cases in the 800-square-foot gallery on the second floor of the building. These panels and cases will show the stories of how the county educates its children, how it copes with tragedies, how it handles conflict, and how it celebrates. The museum will also illustrate the life story of Charles Albert Bowdish, who began what is now the Miniature Railroad and Village at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. The project aims to engage county residents and visitors in an appreciation of the County's history; support residents and visitors in realizing their interdependence with nature; and show them that the life experiences of the people in our past hold valuable lessons for us in the present.