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    Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission

    Shawn Gladden Appointed Site Administrator at Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum

    Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Shawn Gladden as Site Administrator of Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum in Lancaster. Gladden assumed his new role on August 5, 2024.

     

    August 07, 2024
    Shawn Gladden Shawn Gladden

    Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Shawn Gladden as Site Administrator of Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum in Lancaster. Gladden assumed his new role on August 5, 2024.

     

    As Site Administrator, Gladden will oversee daily operations and visitor services at Landis Valley, as well as all other aspects of site operations and preservation. He continues the long line of site stewards, dating back to George and Henry Landis who first established the museum in the 1920s at their Landis Valley homestead.

     

    “We are fortunate to have someone with Shawn’s passion for public history and stewardship take on this leadership role,” said Melissa Mann, Director of PHMC’s Bureau of Historic Sites. “His experience in strategic planning, fundraising, community engagement, and enhancing the relevance of historic sites through innovative interpretation will bring new energy to this important Pennsylvania heritage site.”

     

    Gladden joins Landis Valley from the Cumberland County Historical Society where he served as Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to that, he held the same position at the Howard County Historical Society in Maryland. Throughout his career, Gladden has demonstrated a strong commitment to preserving and promoting regional history through best practice in administration, collections management, exhibits and educational programming.

     

    A recognized expert in his field, Gladden holds a Master’s degree in Museum Studies and Public History from George Mason University and taught U.S. and African American History at Howard Community College in Columbia, MD, and at the Community College of Baltimore County in Catonsville and Dundalk, MD, as an adjunct professor from 2009 through 2022.

     

    Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum is a nationally acclaimed living history museum dedicated to preserving and interpreting Pennsylvania German heritage. With its extensive collection of over 200,000 objects and immersive exhibits, the museum offers visitors a unique opportunity to experience Pennsylvania German life as it was in the 18th, 19th and early-20th centuries.

     

    Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission with the active support of the Landis Valley Associates, a non-profit community-based organization, and is one of 23 historic sites and museums that make up the Pennsylvania Trails of History.

     

    For more information on Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, visit landisvalleymuseum.org.

     

    The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission is the official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Learn more by visiting PHMC online or following us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram or LinkedIn.