The Luzerne County Historical Society is one of the oldest continually operating local historical societies in America. It was founded on February 11, 1858, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first successful burning of anthracite coal by Jesse Fell, and was originally named the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. The organization operates the historic Swetland Homestead in Wyoming, Pennsylvania and the Luzerne County Museum which also features a separate research library in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It also administers the Nathan Denison house.
On February 11, 1858 a group met at the Old Fell Tavern in Wilkes-Barre to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first known successful burning of anthracite coal in an open grate by Judge Jesse Fell. During the ceremony, General Edmund L. Dana suggested the founding of a historical society. A resolution was passed unanimously, and the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society was incorporated in May 1858.
By 1877, the Society had acquired rooms in the Odd Fellows Hall and was able to open its collection to the public on Friday evenings. It later added a meeting room and library, and memberships and donations increased.
In 1882, Isaac Osterhout directed that space for the Society be included in the free library that was to be established under his will. The Osterhout Free Library trustees voted to erect a separate building behind the library to house the collections of the Society. The money was appropriated, and building opened in 1893.
With the acquisition of the Swetland Homestead in 1958 and the Bishop Library in 1971, the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society reached its present stature.[1]
Society's missionedit
The Society strives to promote and preserve Luzerne County's collective history. In 2000, the Society adopted a new name to better reflect its mission: the Luzerne County Historical Society.
The Society maintains the storehouse for the collective memory of Luzerne County and its environs. It records and interprets the history, traditions, events, people and cultures that have directed and molded life within the region.
Museum admissionedit
Throughout most of its existence, admission to the museum has been free at all times to anyone. Recently due to economic situations, The Luzerne County Historical Society has begun charging an admission fee of $3.00 for children & $5.00 for adults to its downtown museum and research library. Members are still admitted for free.
See alsoedit
Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies
Referencesedit
^Luzerne County Historical Society. . Luzernecountyhistory.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
Oscar Jewel Harvey, The History of Wilkes-Barre and Wyoming Valley
luzerne, county, historical, society, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, . This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Luzerne County Historical Society news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations January 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The Luzerne County Historical Society is one of the oldest continually operating local historical societies in America It was founded on February 11 1858 in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first successful burning of anthracite coal by Jesse Fell and was originally named the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society The organization operates the historic Swetland Homestead in Wyoming Pennsylvania and the Luzerne County Museum which also features a separate research library in Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania It also administers the Nathan Denison house Contents 1 History and development 2 Society s mission 3 Museum admission 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory and development editOn February 11 1858 a group met at the Old Fell Tavern in Wilkes Barre to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first known successful burning of anthracite coal in an open grate by Judge Jesse Fell During the ceremony General Edmund L Dana suggested the founding of a historical society A resolution was passed unanimously and the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society was incorporated in May 1858 By 1877 the Society had acquired rooms in the Odd Fellows Hall and was able to open its collection to the public on Friday evenings It later added a meeting room and library and memberships and donations increased In 1882 Isaac Osterhout directed that space for the Society be included in the free library that was to be established under his will The Osterhout Free Library trustees voted to erect a separate building behind the library to house the collections of the Society The money was appropriated and building opened in 1893 With the acquisition of the Swetland Homestead in 1958 and the Bishop Library in 1971 the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society reached its present stature 1 Society s mission editThe Society strives to promote and preserve Luzerne County s collective history In 2000 the Society adopted a new name to better reflect its mission the Luzerne County Historical Society The Society maintains the storehouse for the collective memory of Luzerne County and its environs It records and interprets the history traditions events people and cultures that have directed and molded life within the region Museum admission editThroughout most of its existence admission to the museum has been free at all times to anyone Recently due to economic situations The Luzerne County Historical Society has begun charging an admission fee of 3 00 for children amp 5 00 for adults to its downtown museum and research library Members are still admitted for free See also editPennsylvania Federation of Historical SocietiesReferences edit Luzerne County Historical Society Welcome to the Luzerne County Historical Society website Luzernecountyhistory com Archived from the original on 2009 02 21 Retrieved 2010 04 06 Oscar Jewel Harvey The History of Wilkes Barre and Wyoming ValleyExternal links editOfficial website 41 14 47 N 75 53 05 W 41 24625 N 75 88468 W 41 24625 75 88468 nbsp This Pennsylvania related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Luzerne County Historical Society amp oldid 1211444518, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
