About Crawford County Historical Society
The Crawford County Historical Society is a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to helping people, locally and globally, connect with their past while at the same time, connecting our past to the present through our research archive, programming, and museums in addition to preserving properties with historic value that contribute to the area’s economic development. Ultimately, the Society’s goal is to become a self-sustaining organization with the means and resources to protect the nationally significant history of Crawford County, Pennsylvania for generations to come. Learn more about us.
About Us
Interact with Your History!
Research & Resources
The Historical Society has one of the most comprehensive research collections in western Pennsylvania, with over 20,000 photographs, tens of thousands of pages of manuscripts, 220 years of newspapers, and everything needed to start discovering the history of YOU!
Preservation
The Society strives to be an example in the field of Historic Preservation, maintaining several historically significant properties as well as leading workshops on cemetery preservation, DIY restoration classes, and more.
Learning
We are actively collecting stories through our Oral History Program, bringing history countywide in our 1921 Ford Model T Depot Hack, and more.
Visit
Mount Hope: The Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum, Johnson-Shaw Stereoscopic Museum, and the J. Russell Mosier Medical Museum are just a few of the Society’s portfolio of properties. We offer tours, special events, and even rent facilities for weddings and other events.
Events
Thanks to our many members, volunteers, partners, and corporate sponsors, the Crawford County Historical Society is able to offer a variety of educational, cultural, and fun-loving programming that a wide range of audiences will find appealing. It doesn’t matter if you like history or not; you’re likely to find an event you’ll enjoy. Review our current list of upcoming events
Browse Events
Restoring Holland Hall
Among the Society’s historic preservation efforts, is our latest project - the restoration of Holland Hall. As Meadville’s only Gilded Age mansion, Holland Hall was built by entrepreneur and philanthropist, AC Huidekoper in 1899. Today, we are in the process of turning this historically significant property into a major amenity for the region.
Donate to the Restoration
The Crawford Messenger
Drawing from the legacy of the Crawford Weekly Messenger which was the first newspaper published in NWPA, the Crawford Messenger is the Society’s blog. Here, you will find articles full of little-known bits of our history. Read about the national impact of the area’s people, places, and events that you probably didn’t learn about in school.
Leaf Through The Crawford Messager
The End of Stagecoach Mail & A Local History of the Stage
The following was submitted to the Meadville Republican by John Reynolds Sr. On the 30th of June, 1869, the mail by the Mercer turnpike was carried for the last time. Our venerable friend, John Reynolds,...
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Yolanda Barco: Titan of Women’s History in Crawford County (and Beyond)
Yolanda Barco was a massive figure in 20th century legal, business, and women’s history pioneer in Crawford County. From being a cable television pioneer to an impressive legal career, and so much more – our...
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W.E.B. DuBois Spoke on Civil Rights and Race in 1903 Meadville.
This article written in 1903 by editors of the Meadville Morning Star and Meadville Gazette newspapers, covers an address Professor W. E. B. Dubois gave at the Unitarian Church twice during his visits on Thursday,...
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