Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society Museum
201 South Main Street
Shenandoah, PA 17976
(570) 985-3337
https://www.facebook.com/shenandoahhistory/
https://www.schuylkill.org/listing/greater-shenandoah-area-historical-society/114/
Open: Sunday
Admission: Free but donations are accepted
My review on TripAdvisor:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/R4960NKjustinw/mediabatch/13476665?m=19905
The entrance to the museum at 201 south Main Street
The sign in the front of the old museum
The Mission Statement of the Museum:
(from the museum website)
The mission of the Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society is to recognize and preserve the unique history of Shenandoah; the heritage of its people, its coal mining history, the architectural design of downtown buildings, and other aspects of what makes this community a unique, valuable and thriving part of Schuylkill County.
The main gallery of the museum and upcoming Tricky-tray fundraiser
The back part of the museum was set up for a lecture
The Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society History:
We promote the history and culture of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania through the preservation, presentation, and interpretation of historic objects, documents, and photographs. By focusing on the values, customs, and traditions of our diverse community, we hope to bring an understanding of the past and strengthen the connection for future generations
Then back part of the museum with the local hospital and miners displays
The Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society Description:
We preserve the robust history of Shenandoah, as well as the surrounding vicinity in Schuylkill County. Almost all artifacts on display throughout the museum were personal property, donated by members of our community and their descendants in order to help others remember and honor our past. Through these photographs, documents, and heirlooms, the history of the town inspires us.
Explore the exhibit of our town’s coal mining industry, observe the richness of our cultural heritage, scan thousands of images, recognize the heroism and sacrifices of our armed forces, reminisce over school spirit, immerse yourself into the character of a small town, search family genealogy, and discover how history influences us today. Whether touring the museum or attending a presentation from one of our guest speakers, enjoy learning of the character of our people as they braved the challenges of the past.
The front gallery when you walk in
The costume dress collection
The ‘Shenandoah Centennial 1966’ event sign
Dresses from the Centennial event and the Town VIP
The display of dresses from the Centennial event
Local resident Darryl Ponicsan, a famous writer and screen writer had an interesting exhibition of books, scripts and posters in a separate room in the museum dedicated to his work.
The Darryl Ponicsan exhibition at the museum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darryl_Ponicsan
The collection of scripts and posters in the museum
Literature and pictures in the collection
The town was much different in the boom years of the mines. There were blocks of stores, groceries, clothing and jewelry stores catering to a population that was more than double the current population. Items from these retail establishments were on display in and on the case lines.
Displays of business once located in Shenandoah’s downtown
Jewelry display from some of the twenty or more jewelry stores that lined the Main Street at one time
Items from merchants that once lined the downtown
Items from downtown merchants
Some of the local breweries in the area
What Shenandoah looked like at the time of the height of Mining success
The Mining exhibit and display of items used
The artifacts from the Shenandoah mines
The artifacts used in the mines
The bottling industry was a big part of the local economy
The next display was on the local hospital and its importance in the community.
Display on the hospital on the local economy
The items used in the hospitals
The models of the railroads, the mining industry and the working environment.
The models of the local industry
Models of the Mining Industry
Models of the Mining industry
The back part of the gallery shows how the engine of the economy of Shenandoah grew and prospered during the time when the mines were in full operation and the population grew.
The industrial economy of the past
The artifacts in the front part of the gallery
The local high school, Shenandoah High School Alumni donated a lot of memorabilia from both the past and the present, showing the changes in clothing and manner of dress.
The series of uniforms and spirit wear plus old school yearbooks and awards
Old school uniform and clothing
Shenandoah awards and pictures display from Alumni
The museum had an extensive collection of Military items both from members families and from the community. The display shows the pride in the armed forces in this community.
The Military exhibition
The main gallery set up for a lecture
One of the most impressive rooms in the museum was the Religious Room dedicated to the many churches that used to cater to the growing immigrant population in Shenandoah.
With its population once being double to the current population and groups not wanting to worship together, each ethnic group had their own church. Assimilation and time have since closed these churches and today only a handful still exist. As this trend continues, these artifacts have been donated to the museum and the collection has been beautifully been preserved and presented by the museum.
The Religion exhibition is extensive and very detailed
Pageantry costumes are a big part of the exhibition as old world traditions were brought to this country before WWI
Each piece is labeled so that it can be researched and admired
The costumes used in church services
The detailed outfits and religious items from church services
Items from St. Stephen’s Polish Catholic Church
Artifacts from the First Greek Catholic Church
Items from the former Greek Catholic Church
Costumes from the Greek Catholic Church
The display from the former Our Lady of Carmel church
The Religious/Church exhibition room is one of the most impressive displays of religious items outside some of the major city museums and really does tell an interesting story story of not just the religious faith of these residents of this community but of their traditions and pride they brought to this country.
Another look into the past is the museum’s display of life in the Mining community from the perspective of the Mining household and that of the Miners wives and daughters who ran the operation at home while the men worked in the mines. It was a rough life for everyone in these communities. As one of the curators explained to me is that “they may not have had a lot of money but there was an immense pride on how their houses looked and how they maintained their lifestyle. These women worked hard to make sure they had what they needed.”
The life of a housewife before indoor plumbing and electrical appliances made housework tedious in those years before WWII
The house included wash bastions, bathing items and all the kitchen supplies to keep the home running
As it was explained to me, these woman did not have that much money but these was still a lot of pride in their households and keeping things cleaned and well organized. They made a lot out of a little.
The wash basin men had to clean up in after coming out of the mines and before they entered the house to get the dust off
The handmade dollhouse shows the craftsmenship of the residents when catalog toys were out of reach for most people. This beautiful dollhouse was crafted by a local resident as well as all the furniture and accessories.
Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey were some of the famous residents to come out of Shenandoah and are the pride of the immigrant success of this community.
The Dorsey Brothers were born in this community and the exhibition shows the success of the brothers in the music industry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey and his band
Jimmy Dorsey and his band
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Dorsey
All the recordings, pamphlets and printed publicity over the years
The Dorsey Brothers historic marker in Downtown Shenandoah
As the mines closed or were downsized, women went to work in the clothing factories that were once a big part of manufacturing. The Union label and workforce meant something in this community.
The Ladies Garment Union and factories in the area
When local leaders went out and residents dressed for church and evenings out, there was a pride in appearance that seems to be lost today. When people went to dinner or to dinner or out with friends or for the holidays there was a formality to looking your best.
The ‘Flapper’ silk dress from the 1920’s
The furs, dresses and hats for a night on the town
The collection of formal wear and furs was very impressive for a small museum. The collection was so beautifully displayed.
For a small museum, it holds many treasures as the collection here is extensive and deep. The artifacts are so nicely displayed and beautifully curated.
The museum galleries
The museum galleries
Each section of the museum shows the pride of the past and the glimpse of the future of this community with innovation and creativity at its core. It is a museum that tells a fascinating story of the past.
When you leave the museum, you can see traces of a community in flux as buildings are finding new life and traces of that innovative past are returning. The town is in another state of transition.
The gentrifying downtown district that surrounds the museum
The welcoming sign of the town
The potential once again for a flourishing downtown
There is much potential in the downtown
After our visit to the museum, I took the gentleman who arranged all the tours of the cultural sites of the area for lunch at Francesca’s Ristorante and Gourmet Pizzeria at 10 North Main Street. He highly recommended it and the pizza and fried pierogis were excellent (see review on TripAdvisor).
The front of Francesco’s at 10 North Main Street in Downtown Shenandoah, PA
My review on TripAdvisor:
We had slices of their wonderful Cheese pizza for lunch and shared the Fried Pierogi that was from the Mrs. T’s company down the road. Their red sauce is amazing and spiced so well. I highly recommend lunch here after your visit to the museum.
The Cheese pizza and Fried Pierogi
The excellent Cheese pizza
The Fried Pierogi with red sauce were outstanding
After lunch, we headed back to Mahanoy City to visit the Mahanoy Area Historical Society museum. I took one last drive around and admired the museum building one more time. There is so much potential for an Arts District in this town.
The Shenandoah Area Historical Society Museum from across the street
What a hidden gem!
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 