Historical society hosts open house for Research & Education Center
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
This displays an outside view of the Washington County Historical Society’s Research & Education Center.
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
Clay Kilgore, executive director of the Washington County Historical Society, addresses the crowd at an open house at the society’s future Research & Education Center.
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
Clay Kilgore, executive director of the Washington County Historical Society, addresses the crowd at an open house at the society’s future Research & Education Center.
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
Some of the work that has been done inside the building at 48 E. Maiden St.
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
The historic home of John J. LeMoyne, built in 1826, will house office space for the Washington County Historical Society once it is completed.
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
The Francis J. LeMoyne House has been the home of the Washington County Historical Society since 1943. The society has outgrown the building, causing the need for the expansion project to extend operations across East Maiden Street.
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
Some of the completed work on the exterior of the Washington County Historical Society’s future Research & Education Center.
Progress continues at the Washington County Historical Society’s Education & Research Center.
An open house was held Thursday at the site at 48 E. Maiden St. in Washington.
The project is an expansion of the Washington County Historical Society (WCHS) operation across the street from the Francis J. LeMoyne House, where the historical society has been housed since 1943.
Once the project is completed, offices for the society will be across the street in the historic home of John J. Lemoyne, father of Francis J. LeMoyne. The elder LeMoyne built the home in 1826.
Clay Kilgore, historical society executive director, said the first phase of the project is about half completed.
‘The exterior is done, except for the John Julius LeMoyne House,” Kilgore said. “We’re doing a lot of work to maintain its historical features. We’re not doing a full restoration, but we’re going to maintain all of the features that are still there. I think it’s going to look beautiful to see what that looked like in 1826. Interior finishing should be done by the end of the year.”
Kilgore explained that the idea to hold an open house midway through the project stemmed from the construction of the Washington County Courthouse in 1900.
“They got about half way done and actually ran out of money,” Kilgore said. “They decided to finish the first floor and then they would have an open house and allow the community take a look. Thousands of people came through and saw the beautiful first floor of the courthouse and afterward they raised a little over $650,000 to finish the courthouse.”
Kilgore said there is enough funding to be able to build the building through donations and a little more than $700,000 in Local Share Account funding. But Kilgore said items such as tables and chairs still need to be purchased.
“We’re still fundraising,” he said.
Preparations for the WCHS Research & Education Center began in 2018. The property was acquired with a view toward redevelopment to accommodate the growing number of tourists, students and researchers who visit the LeMoyne House.
In addition to conference, meeting and teaching space, the new facility will provide storage space for WCHS’s growing archival/artifact collection.
“We have about 100,000 documents in our archive and around 10,000 objects in our collection,” Kilgore said. “We’re going to have a proper place to store it.”
The second element of the project is the construction of a 6,000-square-foot structure added to the John J. LeMoyne House to the south. This will be the home of WCHS’s library, research and collections preservations operations, as well as the Washington County Museum and a Pennsylvania National Road Museum.
“We’ve got to raise another million (dollars) or million and a half to finish that,” Kilgore said. “I would like to think in the next two years we will break ground on phase two.”
Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Promotion Agency, said the project is important to the county and the city of Washington.
“This project is going to be multi-impactful,” Kotula said. “Not only will it allow people to research their genealogy, it’s going to be a great way for us to celebrate our history in Washington County by finally having a permanent storage area for the county’s archives. It’s also a way to continue the revitalization of Downtown Washington.”
Washington County Commissioners Diana Irey Vaughan and Larry Maggi expressed their continued support for the project.
“We’re so proud of what’s going on here,” Maggi said. “Things like this in Washington County make this a special place. If we don’t remember our history or past, we our bound to make the same mistakes. I just love what the historical society is doing.”
“I think the history of Washington County and the city of Washington is what makes us unique,” added Irey Vaughan. “We’re so blessed to be a county and an area that has so much to offer and has meant so much to our nation. We stand here to help you and back you up every step of the way.”
The historical society aims to welcome the public to view its new facility in mid-2023.