Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) has awarded almost $2 million in grants to 141 eligible museums and official county historical societies from 57 Pennsylvania counties that met the following criteria:
- Museums located in Pennsylvania with annual operating budgets exceeding $100,000 (excluding capital and in-kind services) and at least one full-time professional staff person.
- Official County Historical Societies designated as the official historical society for the county.
This is the fifth year that the PHMC has provided funding for museums through the grant program.
“Pennsylvania has an incredible story to tell through its rich history and culture, and we are fortunate to have so many wonderful museums and historical societies to serve as messengers,” said Governor Tom Wolf. “This grant funding will be distributed throughout all four corners of the commonwealth to ensure these facilities are able to continue serving as educational resources for all Pennsylvanians.”
The goal of this program is to strengthen Pennsylvania’s museum community by supporting the general operations of eligible museums and official county historical societies that are not supported by other state agency funding programs.
“For the past several years the legislature has made this program and investment across our state a priority,” Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati said. “Our Commonwealth is truly fortunate to have so many outstanding museums and historical societies. I am very pleased that once again this year, these grants will help offer assistance to historical sites so that they can continue to provide excellent educational opportunities within our communities.”
Award amounts are determined using an equation based on a percentage of the eligible museum’s previous year’s operating budget. The maximum any museum could receive is $50,000. All official county historical societies receive a $4,000 minimum grant.
“PHMC is pleased to once again award these general operating support grants to museums and historical societies,” PHMC Executive Director James Vaughan said. “It’s great that we have a program to help meet the need for such support.”
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is the official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Visit PHMC online at www.phmc.pa.gov
Media Contact: Howard Pollman, 717-705-8639
Editor’s Note: The following is a list of Cultural and Historical Support Grant Awards by county:
Adams
Adams County Historical Society - $4,000
Allegheny
Carnegie Institute - $50,000
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh - $50,000
Frick Art & Historical Center - $50,000
Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania - $50,000
Rivers of Steel – Steel Industry Heritage Corporation - $24,949
Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum Trust, Inc. - $28,517
Beaver
Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation - $4,000
Bedford
Old Bedford Village - $4,725
Berks
Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust - $11,979
Foundation for the Reading Public Museum - $40,030
Historical Society of Berks County Museum and Library - $10,476
Blair
Blair County Historical Society - $4,000
Railroaders Heritage Corporation - $11,653
Bradford
Bradford County Historical Society - $4,000
Bucks
Bucks County Children’s Museum - $6,149
Bucks County Historical Society - $31,170
Pearl S. Buck International House - $12,161
Trustees of the Mercer Fonthill Museum - $5,114
Butler
Butler County Historical Society - $4,000
Cambria
Johnstown Area Heritage Association - $35,583
Cameron
Cameron County Historical Society - $4,000
Centre
Centre County Historical Society - $4,000
Chester
American Helicopter Museum and Education Center - $7,577
Chester County Historical Society - $23,692
Graystone Society - $9,742
Historic Sugartown, Inc. - $4,000
Historic Yellow Springs, Inc. - $11,639
Mill at Anselma Preservation and Education Trust - $4,000
Wharton Esherick Museum - $4,484
Clearfield
Clearfield County Historical Society - $4,000
East Broad Top Railroad Preservation - $8,863
Clinton
Clinton County Historical Society - $4,000
Columbia
Children’s Museum, Inc. - $4,000
Crawford
Crawford County Historical Society - $4,000
Cumberland
Cumberland County Historical Society - $12,823
Dauphin
AACA Museum, Inc. - $28,489
Hershey Derry Township Historical Society - $4,000
Historical Society of Dauphin County - $4,000
The Hershey Story - $28,158
The National Civil War Museum - $15,749
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts - $50,000
Delaware
Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation - $4,000
Delaware County Historical Society - $4,000
Nicholas Newlin Foundation - $8,925
Elk
Elk County Historical Society - $4,000
Erie
Erie County Historical Society - $6,848
ExpERIEnce Children’s Museum - $7,144
Fayette
Fallingwater - $50,000
Fayette County Historical Society - $4,000
Franklin
Conococheague Institute - $ 4,000
Franklin County Historical Society-Kittochtinny - $4,000
Fulton
Fulton County Historical Society - $4,000
Huntingdon
Huntingdon County Historical Society - $4,000
Isett Acres Museum - $5,541
Indiana
Historical and Genealogical Society of Indiana County - $4,000
Jefferson
Jefferson County Historical Society, Inc. - $4,000
Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center - $4,000
Juniata
Juniata County Historical Society - $4,000
Lackawanna
Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science and Art - $11,568
Lackawanna Historical Society - $4,000
Lancaster
Children’s Museum of Lancaster - $9,518
LancasterHistory.org: LCHS and Wheatland - $27,675
National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors - $12,695
North Museum - $21,424
Rock Ford Foundation - $4,009
Lawrence
Lawrence County Historical Society - $4,000
Lebanon
Historic Schaefferstown, Inc. - $4,000
Lebanon County Historical Society - $4,000
Lehigh
Da Vinci Discovery Center - $43,966
Lehigh County Historical Society - $9,479
Luzerne
Luzerne County Historical Society - $4,000
Lycoming
Lycoming County Historical Society - $4,409
World of Little League Museum - $6,144
McKean
McKean County Historical Society - $4,000
Mercer
Mercer County Historical Society - $4,000
Mifflin
Mifflin County Historical Society - $4,000
Monroe
Monroe County Historical Association - $4,000
Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm - $5,198
Montgomery
Historical Society of Montgomery County - $4,000
Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania - $6,583
National Audubon Society, Inc. - $8,313
Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center - $8,086
Northampton
Historic Bethlehem Partnership - $21,023
Moravian Historical Society - $4,000
National Canal Museum - $16,637
National Museum of Industrial History - $17,827
Northampton County Historical Society - $4,000
Northumberland
Northumberland Historical Society - $4,000
Philadelphia
Academy of Natural Sciences - $50,000
African American Museum of Philadelphia - $21,642
American Philosophical Society - $8,504
American Swedish Historical Museum - $10,065
Athenaeum of Philadelphia - $14,067
Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia - $5,712
Chemical Heritage Foundation - $10,237
Christ Church Preservation Trust - $8,695
Cliveden of the National Trust - $7,123
College of Physicians of Philadelphia - $50,000
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc. - $50,000
Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion - $4,000
Fireman’s Hall Museum - $4,000
Franklin Institute - $50,000
Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery, Inc. - $5,347
Germantown Historical Society - $4,063
Girard College Founder’s Hall - $6,379
Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation - $4,000
Historic Philadelphia, Inc. - $5,278
Historical Society of Pennsylvania - $50,000
Independence Seaport Museum - $50,000
Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia - $7,605
John Bartram Association - $33,539
National Constitution Center - $50,000
National Liberty Museum - $30,017
National Museum of American Jewish History - $50,000
Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania - $50,000
Philadelphia History Museum - $19,249
Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks - $16,834
Please Touch Museum - $50,000
Rosenbach Museum and Library - $16,470
Stenton - $4,084
Wagner Free Institute of Science - $12,853
Woodlands Trust for Historic Preservation - $5,810
Wyck Association - $4,000
Pike
Pike County Historical Society - $4,000
Schuylkill
Historical Society of Schuylkill County - $4,000
Somerset
Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County - $4,000
Sullivan
Sullivan County Historical Society - $4,000
Susquehanna
Susquehanna County Historical Society - $4,000
Tioga
Tioga County Historical Society - $4,000
Union
Union County Historical Society - $4,000
Warren
Warren County Historical Society - $4,000
Washington
Pennsylvania Trolley Museum - $8,442
Wayne
Wayne County Historical Society - $4,000
Westmoreland
Fort Ligonier Association - $13,552
Ligonier Valley Historical Society - $4,000
West Overton Museums - $4,000
Westmoreland Historical Society - $4,764
Wyoming
Wyoming County Historical Society - $4,000
York
Steam into History, Inc. - $17,048
York County Heritage Trust - $19,336
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