Spring Banquet set for April 11th. Reserve Your Tickets While You Can!!

The Juniata County Historical Society Annual Meeting and the Spring Dinner Program, will be held at 6:30 p.m., Apr 11, 2018 at Walker Grange, Mexico, PA. The menu for the program will be roast beef, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, California blend with cheese sauce and assorted cakes and ice cream. The price is $20 and any profit benefits the General Operating Fund. There will also be a 50/50 drawing. The deadline for dinner reservations and payment
is Apr 4, 2018. The Archives is in the lower level of the Juniata County Library building, Mifflintown. Effective Mar 6, 2018, volunteers work Tuesdays, 10 a.m.– 4 p.m. and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Tickets will be given out for this dinner so if you are able, please stop by to pay for and pick up your ticket(s). If you mail your payment, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to have your ticket(s) sent to you. Call 717-436-5152 to make sure tickets are available before sending a check. Make checks payable to The Juniata County Historical Society and send to: 498 Jefferson Street, Suite B, Mifflintown, PA 17059.

The Juniata County Historical Society Annual Meeting and the Spring Dinner Program, will be held at 6:30 p.m., Apr 11, 2018 at Walker Grange, Mexico, PA. The guest speaker will be historian and author Cooper H. Wingert who will explore the history of the anti-slavery movement in South Central Pennsylvania.

Close to the Mason-Dixon line, that part of the Keystone State was a magnet for slave catchers and abolitionists alike. Influenced by religion and empathy, local abolitionists risked their reputations, fortunes and lives in the pursuit of what they believed was right. Women, alongside men, wrote protests, petitioned Congress and pioneered the Underground Railroad.

The sister of Benjamin Lundy, one of America’s most famous abolitionists, married into an Adams County family, and spent decades helping runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. National figures such as Frederick Douglass toured the region, delivering anti-slavery orations to mixed receptions.

In 1859, John Brown planned his Harper’s Ferry raid from Chambersburg, where his identity was concealed by local abolitionists.

Wingert has authored 11 books including: Slavery and the Underground Railroad in South Central Pennsylvania; Abolitionists of South Central Pennsylvania; The Confederate Approach to Harrisburg: The Gettysburg Campaign’s Northernmost Reaches; and Harrisburg and the Civil War: Defending the Keystone of the Union. He received the 2012 Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. Literary Award for Confederate History, has appeared on C-SPAN Book TV and Pennsylvania Cable Network, and is a student at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA.

Book image courtesy of Cooper H. Wingert.

 

2018 Opening set for March 6th

The Juniata County Historical Society Archives Room will begin regular business hours on March 6th, 2018. This year however there will be a change in archives hours as we to try and help those who work during the day.

Hours for 2018 and beyond will be as follows:

Tuesday: 10 a.m to 4 p.m.

Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  

Society Receives Tuscarora Female Seminary Painting

On December 7th, the Juniata County Historical Society received a very special donation from  Ruth Eddy, publisher of the Lewistown Sentinel. Ms. Eddy’s donation was an oil  Painting done by local artist Dennis Hutchings of the Tuscarora Female Seminary, which the Sentinel purchased to use in one of their publications. The Tuscarora Female Seminary was established in  1847 as only secondary school for women in the county,and operated about 25 years. The society is very grateful for this donation and we are excited to add it to our collection of county history!

Mike Hower – JCHS President

 

Photo by Sue Shearer

 

Successful Week at the Juniata County Fair

Source: http://www.juniatacountyfair.com/

 

It was a successful week for the Historical Society at the 163rd annual Juniata County Fair. The society had a booth in the Commercial building and a volunteer at that booth everyday the whole week! We were very pleased with the amount of people that stopped by to say hello and give us their support as we sold quite a few books! We want to thank everyone that stopped by and thank those who made a purchase. The money will be put to good use! Hope to see you again next year!

Mike Hower – JCHS President

 

Last Chance to Visit Academy in 2017!

The month of August is the last month of 2017 that the Tuscarora Academy will be open to visitors. It has been a successful year for the Academy so far and we look forward to seeing even more people in the month of August! The Academy is open on Sundays from 1:30pm to 4pm.