The Harmony Museum - Harmony, Pennsylvania

HARMONY BOROUGH                           HISTORIC HARMONY INC.
Municipal Building 218                                 Mercer St., P.O. Box 524
217 Mercer Street, P.O. Box 945                Harmony, PA 16037
Harmony, PA 16037                                    724-452-7341
724-452-6780                                             www.harmonymuseum.org
www.Harmony-PA.gov

HARMONY MUSEUM PRESENTS 6TH ANNUAL ANTIQUE GUN SHOW

HARMONY, Pa. -- The Harmony Museum presents its 6th annual antique firearms show and sale 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14, in the museum's Stewart Hall at 218 Mercer Street in Harmony's National Historic Landmark District. Admission is $5, and lunch and refreshments are available.

The show emphasizes 18th and 19th century guns and accoutrements, especially those made or used in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. Visitors are encouraged to bring items from their collections to learn more about them from exhibiting experts.

Collectors from throughout the region exhibit firearms made before 1898. Many longrifles displayed were designed for hunting or shooting competitions, while others will have military histories or represent advanced or unusual technologies. Some firearms will be rare examples. Many classic Pennsylvania longrifles, later often called Kentucky rifles as the frontier moved westward across Ohio Valley territory, are of significant value and often considered works of art.

Among exhibits will be high-quality percussion hunting and target rifles made in the classic Pennsylvania style by Harmony gunsmith Charles Flowers during the second half of the 19th century. A former coal miner, his prolific gun making career began about 1850 and, with the exception of a year's Union Army service in the Civil War, continued until his 1897 death. Previously unknown rifles made by Flowers have appeared at every one of the museum's antique gun shows, in displays or brought to the show by owners seeking more information about the firearms. Six showed up at the 2009 show, three owned by area residents and the others by Ohioans. While museum representatives do not have a precise count, they are amazed to have seen or have heard of about 90 surviving Flowers rifles.

For an additional fee, guided Harmony Museum tours will be offered hourly, affording visitors the opportunity to see the outstanding Ball Collection of 10 longrifles that represents Flowers' career.

Information about the antique firearms show and exhibitor registration can be obtained from the Harmony Museum at 724-452-7341.

Harmony has attracted cultural tourism for 200 years. The area's recorded history began with an Indian village visited by young Virginia Maj. George Washington during his 1753 mission to the region that helped spark the French & Indian War. Nearby, the war's first shot was fired at Washington by a "French Indian," but somehow missed its mark. That mission, and the shot that could have changed American history radically had Washington been killed, are the subjects of an exhibit and dramatic painting displayed in the museum.

The communal Harmony Society of German Lutheran Separatists founded Harmony in 1804, adopted celibacy and believed the return of Christ to be imminent. When they moved to southwest Indiana Territory in 1814, area resettlement was led by Mennonites from eastern Pennsylvania. The Harmonists returned in 1825 to establish their third and final home, Economy (now Ambridge) in Beaver County, where the society was dissolved in 1905 and is commemorated at Old Economy Village. Harmony became the region's first National Historic Landmark District in 1974.

Ranked among the Pittsburgh area's top 25 museums, the eight-property Harmony Museum interprets the area's extraordinarily rich history. It is open 1-4 p.m. daily except Mondays and holidays. Harmony is at I-79 exits 87-88, about 10 miles north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and 30 miles south of I-80.
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[Editors: A digital photo of a Flowers rifle is available on request.]
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CONTACT: Administrator Kathy Luek, 724-452-7341
7/26/2010

SPECIALTY PIZZA AND MUSIC IN HARMONY MUSEUM ANNEX GARDEN

HARMONY, Pa. -- The Harmony Museum and McPharlin's Guitar & Violin music studio of Harmony present pizza and music 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, July 29, and Thursday, Aug. 26, in the garden of the Wagner House museum annex, 222 Mercer St. in the National Historic Landmark District.

Specialty pizza will be served by the slice from the garden's reconstructed 19th century bee hive bake oven. Beverages will be available, and diners are welcome to bring their own. Proceeds benefit the museum.

Musicians playing classical selections on July 29 will include Butler Symphony violinist Christie Kecskemethy and violist Stephanie Maharg, Beaver String Quartet violinist Lisa Sentell, and the studio's Shelley McPharlin, a classical guitarist.

A program of contemporary and pops tunes performed by friends and students of McPharlin Guitar & Violin is on tap for the evening of Aug. 26.

Harmony was founded in 1804 by pacifist German Lutheran Separatists who sought religious freedom independent of state control. They organized as the communal Harmony Society, adopted celibacy, believed Christ's return to be imminent, and eventually numbered nearly 900 people. They relocated to Indiana Territory in 1814, then returned in 1824 to settle Economy, now Ambridge, where 19th-century America's most successful communal group was dissolved in 1905.

Harmony, one mile east of Zelienople at I-79 exits 87-88, about 10 miles north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, is one of the region's most significant historic sites and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974. When Harmony's "second founder" Abraham Ziegler bought the society's 9,000 acres in 1815, his and other Mennonite families led the community's rebirth.

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CONTACT: Administrator Kathy Luek, 724-452-7341
7/25/2010

GERMAN BUFFET AT THE HARMONY MUSEUM AUGUST 21st.

Saturday, August 21st, 2010 - 4:30 & 6:30 seatings at the Harmony Museum. $15.00 per person. Prepaid reservations only.
Buffet includes: Roast Pork & sauerkraut, chicken cordon bleu, German potato salad, spaetzle, fried green tomatoes, sautéed squash, red cabbage, cucumber salad, applesauce & assorted desserts, iced tea, coffee, & tea. You're welcome to bring along your favorite German beverage! For more information and reservations call: 724-452-7341.

BRING YOUR SPECIAL-INTEREST VEHICLE TO HARMONY'S BIG CAR CRUISE JULY 17

HARMONY -- The Harmony Business Association invites owners of antique, classic and customized cars and trucks, sports cars and other specialty vehicles to participate in its car cruise in the center of Harmony's National Historic Landmark District the afternoon of Saturday, July 17.

The cruise, HBA's contribution to this year's Zelienople-Harmony Horse Trading Days, begins with a cruise through Zelienople. In Harmony, the vehicles will be displayed around the diamond and along Mercer Street. Participation is free, and the first 150 to register get a free dash plaque for the event.

The event's cruise, led and followed by fire trucks, will begin at 1 p.m. from the parking lot of Connoquenessing Valley Elementary School, 300 Pittsburgh St., Harmony, four blocks south of Pa. 68 via Harmony's Pittsburgh Street and five blocks east of Zelienople's Main Street (U.S. 19) via East Beaver Street. The cruise will go west on Beaver Street, north on Main Street through downtown Zelienople, east on Grandview Avenue (Pa. 68) and north on Main Street into Harmony's National Historic Landmark District, where they will be displayed until 4 p.m. Late arrivals should go directly to Harmony's diamond, two blocks north of Pa. 68. Harmony and Zelienople are near Interstate 79 exits 87-88.

Froggie Radio's broadcasting van will be on hand, Harmony Inn will offer food and beverages and the Harmony Museum some light refreshments, and specialty shops in and near the historic district will provide diversionary breaks from car-gawking. Ample parking is available.

Harmony was founded in 1804 by Lutheran Separatists from the Stuttgart area of Germany. Their Harmony Society became 19th century America's most successful communal group. When the Harmonists left the area in 1814, Harmony's resettlement was led by Mennonites from eastern Pennsylvania. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974, Harmony was presented the Historic Preservation Award of the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 2004.

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7/XXXXX/2010
CONTACT: Jo Annette Cynkar or Joan Busching at 724-452-6220

HARMONY MUSEUM'S ANNUAL HERB AND GARDEN FAIR

HARMONY, Pa. -- The Harmony Museum's annual Herb and Garden Fair, which includes plant exchanges and sales, is set for 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, June 12, in and around the organization's historic barn museum at 303 Mercer Road, just north of the Connoquenessing Creek. Admission is free; lunch and snacks will be available.

Gardeners may trade potted plants. Specialty vendors will offer heritage vegetables, herbs, roses and other ornamentals, perennials, and garden art. Experts will answer gardening questions. Used and new books on gardening, birds, trees and decorating will be available, and a Museum Shop booth will emphasize gardening and yard items. And there will be a garden-oriented flea market.

Donors and exchangers who bring plants to the fair will receive vouchers for other plants. Museum gardening specialists recommend donated and exchange plants be potted well in advance to assure a fresh, vigorous appearance for display.

Harmony's adjacent hiking-biking trail is another attraction, linking the 1805 barn and the museum's 1825 Harmony Mennonite meetinghouse and cemetery on the Wise Road ridge overlooking town. A segment of the nearly one-mile trail runs along the Connoquenessing; birds and other wildlife are likely to be seen anywhere along its length.

Fair visitors are also encouraged to walk three blocks to the National Historic Landmark District. Along the way they will find the museum, specialty shops and an art gallery. Admission is charged for guided tours of three museum buildings, including a mid-1800s log house, 1-4 p.m. Garden plantings at the museum's Wagner House annex include herbs and rare roses. An arbor supports German grape vines that are more than 150 years old.

Harmony is one of the region's most significant historic places. In the mid-1700s the area was the site of the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) Murdering Town, visited by young Virginia Maj. George Washington during his 1753 mission to demand French withdrawal from the region, essentially assuring war between Britain and France. A "French Indian" fired the French & Indian War's first shot at Washington nearby.

Harmony was founded in 1804 by pacifist German Lutheran Separatists, spanning about 9,000 acres of what is today's Harmony Borough and Jackson and Lancaster townships. They organized as the celibate Harmony Society, which became the most successful American communal group of the 19th century that was known for agricultural and industrial accomplishment as well as its religious heart. A cultural tourism site for more than 200 years and Western Pennsylvania's first National Landmark District, Harmony retains an architectural character much like that of the hometown villages of its founders in the Stuttgart area of southwestern Germany.

In 1814 the Harmonists moved to Indiana Territory, and Mennonite Abraham Ziegler bought all of the society's holdings except its cemetery. The Harmony Society returned in 1824 to establish Economy, now Ambridge, only 22 miles southwest of Harmony in Beaver County, where its final home is commemorated by Old Economy Village. The commune was dissolved there in 1905.

Harmony Museum exhibits present many elements of the area's remarkably rich history. It is open daily except Mondays and holidays. Harmony is at I-79 exits 87 and 88, about 30 miles north of downtown Pittsburgh, 10 miles north of Pennsylvania Turnpike exit 28, and 30 miles south of I-80.
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CONTACT: Kathy Luek, Administrator, 724-452-7341
5/16/2010

AUTHOR DISCUSSES SIGNIFICANT BUILDINGS AT HARMONY MUSEUM PROGRAM ON JUNE 8

HARMONY – The public is invited to a free, illustrated presentation and book signing by architectural historian Lu Donnelly, 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8 in the Harmony Museum's Stewart Hall at 218 Mercer St. in the heart of the National Historic Landmark District.

Donnelly is principal author and editor of "Buildings of Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania," published in April by the University of Virginia Press and describing residential, commercial and government structures from the mid-18th century to the dawn of the 21st century. Her program at the Harmony Museum will focus on 19th-century buildings in and around Harmony, elsewhere in Butler County, and in and near Old Economy Village in Ambridge, Beaver County.

The book, which will be available for purchase, is the product of a 14-year survey and research project undertaken by Donnelly and her team. This latest volume in the "Buildings of the United States" series of the Society of Architectural Historians comprises the first comprehensive survey of architecture, landscapes and towns of 31 Western Pennsylvania counties. Some 400 illustrations include photographs, maps and drawings.

For the book, Donnelly and co-authors H. David Brunble IV and Franklin Toker organized the counties into five regions, within each of which towns and buildings are arranged along routes that readers may follow using global positioning system (GPS) coordinates. Also described are Western Pennsylvania's Native Americans, its subsequent settlement, evolution of its transportation modes and networks, tourism and historic preservation, and some of the architects -- professional and untrained -- whose work is represented in Western Pennsylvania.

Harmony, in southwest Butler County about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh, was founded late in 1804 by pacifist Lutheran Separatists who left the Stuttgart area seeking religious freedom independent of state control and organized as the communal Harmony Society. Their first American home, eventually numbering nearly 900 residents, encompassed the present borough as well as portions of today's Jackson and Lancaster townships. The celibate Harmonists, who believed Christ's return to be imminent, relocated to Indiana Territory in 1814, then returned in 1824 to settle Economy, now Ambridge, on the Ohio River only 22 miles from Harmony. The most successful communal group of 19th-century America was dissolved there in 1905.

Harmony and Old Economy Village at Ambridge rank among Western Pennsylvania's most significant historic sites, designated Pennsylvania's first National Historic Landmark Districts outside Philadelphia in the mid-1970s. When Harmony's "second founder" Abraham Ziegler bought the society's Butler County holdings in 1815, his and other Mennonite families led the community's rebirth. Donnelly and her team note the architectural contributions of Harmony Society business manager Frederick Reichert Rapp, as well as those of area Mennonites and Amish.

Harmony is one mile east of Zelienople at I-79 exits 87-88, about 10 miles north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. More information about the June 8 program is available from the Harmony Museum at 724-452-7341 or www.harmonymuseum.org.
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5/10/2010
CONTACT: Kathy Luek, Administrator, 724-452-7341

HARMONY BOOK SIGNING DEC. 18 AT BOTTLEBRUSH GALLERY

HARMONY -- Shelby Miller Ruch will sign copies of her book, "Harmony," and display vintage pictures of the community on Friday evening, Dec. 18, at Bottlebrush Art Gallery and Shop, 539 Main St., Harmony.

Ruch's 127-page book, published in Arcadia Publishing's popular Images of America series, presents more than 200 images that chronicle more than 250 years of Harmony area history, people, places and events. Sales proceeds benefit Historic Harmony, the nonprofit volunteer historical society and preservation advocate that operates the eight-property Harmony Museum.

Bottlebrush Gallery occupies an early 19th century building, pictured in Harmony, that was constructed by the communal Harmony Society that founded Harmony in 1804 and then in 1815 became the home of the community's Mennonite "second founder," Abraham Ziegler. The town center and nearby Harmony Society cemetery became western Pennsylvania's first National Historic Landmark District in 1974.

The book signing is part of a 5-8 p.m. Procrastinator's Party with libations, tasty treats and sales. For more information, contact the gallery at 724-452-0539, Web site www.bottlebrushgallery.com, or Historic Harmony at 724-452-7341, Web site www.harmonymuseum.org.
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CONTACT: Kathy Luek, Administrator, 724-452-7341
12/11/09

HISTORIC HARMONY INSTALLS DIRECTORS FOR 2010-2012 TERMS

HARMONY -- Historic Harmony installed attorney Tim Shaffer, Prospect, and retired teacher Linda Werner Powlus, Harmony, to three-year board terms beginning Jan. 1 during the organization's annual membership Christmas dinner on Tuesday (Dec. 8). The nonprofit historical society and preservation advocate, founded in 1943, operates the Harmony Museum.

They were elected in September. Shaffer, who joined Historic Harmony's board in 1998, was a member of the Pennsylvania Senate 1981-1996. Werner Powlus returned from Germany upon retirement from the U.S. Department of Defense, for which she was a school guidance counselor and previously an elementary school teacher. She also served on Historic Harmony's board, 1978-1980, before going to Germany.

Werner Powlus succeeds longtime director Eleanor M. Wise, Harmony, who did not stand for reelection. The retired Seneca Valley School District teacher has been an Historic Harmony board member since 1982 and was previously a director in 1977 and 1971-1974.

Historic Harmony's eight other directors are President John Ruch, Zelienople; Vice President Cathryn Rape, Harmony; Recording Secretary Joan M. Szakelyhidi, Harmony; Treasurer Joseph White, Harmony; Mary Ann Landis, Economy Borough; Barbara Pabst, Forward Township; Vincent Stefanos, Stowe Township; and Barbara Vickerman, Jackson Township.

Harmony, at I-79 exits 77-78, is western Pennsylvania's first National Historic Landmark District and one of the region's most significant historic sites. George Washington visited an Indian village here during his 1753 mission to the French Fort LeBoeuf, south of Lake Erie, sparking the French & Indian War; a "French Indian" fired its first shot at him nearby. Harmony was founded a half-century later, encompassing about 9,000 acres as the first American home of the Harmony Society of pacifist German Lutheran Separatists that gained international fame as 19th century America's most successful communal group. The Harmonists moved to southwest Indiana Territory and sold their holdings in 1815 to Harmony's Mennonite "second founder" Abraham Ziegler, then returned in 1824 to found what is now Ambridge, only 22 miles from Harmony. All of this and many other aspects of the area's rich history are presented in Harmony Museum exhibits.
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CONTACT: Kathy Luek, Administrator, 724-452-7341
12/10/09

HISTORIC HARMONY INVITES 2010 HERITAGE AWARD NOMINATIONS

HARMONY -- Historic Harmony will accept written nominations until Dec. 31 for Heritage Awards to be presented at its annual Harmoniefest dinner and historical program on Feb. 13.

Awards are offered in two categories: preservation, restoration or renovation of buildings or sites, and efforts to encourage appreciation of local history.

A preservation/restoration nomination should explain why a site is worthy of recognition, and include its street address and the owner's name, address and telephone number. Local history nominations should identify the individual or organization and the noteworthy activity, as well as the nominee's address and phone number. A nomination for either category should also include the name, address and phone number of the person submitting it.

Submissions can be mailed to Heritage Awards, Historic Harmony, Box 524, Harmony PA 16037, or e-mailed to hmuseum@zoominternet.net. Historic Harmony's board of directors chooses award recipients after evaluating nominations.

Historic Harmony established the recognition program in 1991. Of 96 Heritage Awards presented, 83 recognized preservation or restoration projects, most of them in Harmony, Zelienople, and Jackson and Lancaster townships.

Special commendations were presented during Historic Harmony's 2009 Harmoniefest to Joan Teichart, Zelienople, for her efforts to conserve area heritage that included preservation of Zelienople's 1805 Buhl House and Strand Theater; and to Patrick J. Boylan, Zelienople, and members of the Dietz family in Florida and California for assuring continuation of the historic Baldinger's Market business.

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CONTACT: Kathy Luek, Administrator
724-452-7341
12/2/2009

ELEGANT ANNUAL DINNER BENEFITS HARMONY MUSEUM

HARMONY, Pa. -- This month's special Harmony Museum Candlelight Christmas fundraising dinner will be served on Sunday evening, Dec. 13, in Stewart Hall at the museum, 218 Mercer St. in the center of the Harmony National Historic Landmark District.

Admission is $25 per person, and prepaid reservations are required by Tuesday, Dec. 8, for an elegant annual repast that always fills the hall. Reservations and more information are available from the museum office, phone 724-452-7341 or e-mail hmuseum@zoominternet.net. Proceeds benefit museum operations.

Entree choices are beef Wellington (seasoned filet baked in puff pastry), chicken allouette (breast baked in puff pastry with herbs and cheese) and seafood lasagna (fresh crab, scallops and shrimp in wine béchamel sauce). These are served with potato gratin, sweet potato streusel and green beans in citrus marinade.

The evening begins at 5 p.m. with a wine and cheese reception; dinner is served at 5:30. Select desserts prepared from home recipes complete the meal. Beverages will be provided, but guests are welcome to bring their own favorites.

The museum, housed in a building 200 years old this year, is open 1-4 p.m. for regular guided tours. A new exhibit describes an 1811 mill on the Connoquenessing Creek whose dam survived until its removal this summer. Exhibit rooms are decorated for Christmas, and the Yobp-Eckstein log house village and toy railroad display is a Christmas season attraction in the adjacent Wagner House museum annex. The Museum Shop as well as Harmony's other specialty shops and art gallery are also open for the afternoon.

Harmony is 10 miles north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and 30 miles north of Pittsburgh's Point at I-79 exits 87-88. The area's recorded history began more than 250 years ago with George Washington's visit to a Delaware Indian village here during a 1753 diplomatic and military mission that sparked the French and Indian War. Pacifist Lutheran Separatists from southwest Germany founded Harmony in 1804, and their Harmony Society became 19th century America's most successful communal group. After their relocation to Indiana Territory in 1814, resettlement was led by pacifist Mennonites from eastern Pennsylvania. These and many other aspects of a remarkable area history are presented through Harmony Museum exhibits.
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11/23/2009
CONTACT: Kathy Luek, Administrator, 724-452-7341

WASHINGTON'S 1753 MISSION COMMEMORATION SET FOR NOVEMBER 27
"A little snow never stopped George! See you Friday!!"

HARMONY, Pa. --If a walk in the woods sounds like a good plan after a day of Thanksgiving eating, you'll want to join other hikers and history buffs at the Harmony Museum on Friday, Nov. 27, for a scenic hike and "history party" commemorating George Washington's travels through Butler Country in 1753. Washington, then a 21-year-old major in the Virginia militia, traveled through Pennsylvania Indian country to confront the French who were building forts on land claimed by England and the Virginia Colony. The findings of his trip were instrumental in the start of the French and Indian War less than a year later.

The event starts, and ends, with Harmony Museum tours and a hot-apple-cider-and-cookies reception in the museum's Stewart Hall, on the diamond at the center of Harmony's National Historic Landmark District. Groups of hikers will be taken by bus to a hiking path in Connoquenessing Township that closely follows the Indian path that Washington likely traveled in the winter of 1753. Slippery Rock University history students will serve as history guides on a 45-minute hike through the woods. The shuttle will return hikers to Stewart Hall.

The program is sponsored jointly by the Harmony Museum, The Old Stone House and Washington's Trail 1753.

The reception at Stewart Hall includes area artists and experts with a special interest in Washington's 1753 mission. Carl Robertson, director of Providence Plantation near Evans City, will discuss his research on Washington's fateful journey. Noted artist Deac Mong of Franklin will discuss The First Shot, his painting depicting a "French Indian" firing the French and Indian War's first shot at Washington near today's Evans City that is displayed in the museum; signed prints will be available for purchase from Washington's Trail 1753. The Harmony Museum and Old Stone House will offer their recently republished book on Washington and guide Christopher Gist's mission journals and other items.

Event hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m., with hike departures scheduled for 11 and 11:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Cost is $5 per person, $12 per family, including the reception, museum tour and shuttle transportation to and from the hike. While walk-ins are welcome, reservations are strongly encouraged to secure a hiking time. The first 100 hikers to reserve a spot will receive a free "Washington's Trail 1753" button. Make reservations by calling the Harmony Museum at 724-452-7341.

The event replaces a Harmony Museum commemoration previously scheduled for Nov. 28.
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CONTACT: John Ruch, Harmony Museum, 724-316-6002
Rod Gasch, Hike Volunteer, 724-290-2129

HARMONY MUSEUM FLEA MARKET

HARMONY, Pa. -- A flea market at Stewart Hall, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3rd, benefits museum operations. Lunch will be available. Table rentals are $12 each or $20 for two. Vendors may set up during the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 2nd. Information and table reservations are available by phoning 724-452-5860

HARMONY MUSEUM OFFERS FALL FEST GERMAN BUFFET

HARMONY, Pa. -- As autumn's coolness and color emerge across Western Pennsylvania, it's time for another Harmony Museum "like Mutter made" German dinners, on Saturday, Oct. 10, in the museum's Stewart Hall at Main and Mercer streets in the center of Harmony's National Historic Landmark District. As in Octobers past, the reservation-only buffet is presented as part of the Zelienople-Harmony Area Business Association's annual weekend-long Country Fall Festival.

This time around the spread includes sauerkraut soup, bratwurst, meatballs with bleu cheese, roasted pork, sauerkraut, German potato salad, spaetzle (German noodles), seasonal salads and vegetables, and an assortment of desserts. Tea and coffee is available for those who don't bring their favorite German beverage.

Cost is $15 per person, with proceeds benefiting museum operations. Prepaid reservations for either of two sittings, at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., are required and can be arranged with the museum office at 724-452-7341 -- the museum's dinners are so popular that walk-ins can not be accommodated.

Harmony is at I-79 exits 87-88, about 10 miles north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, 30 miles north of downtown Pittsburgh and 30 miles south of I-80. Its recorded history began with a Delaware Indian village visited by George Washington during his 1753 mission seeking French withdrawal from the region, triggering the French and Indian War. The first shot of the war, which grew into the first global conflict called the Seven Years War, was fired at Washington nearby.

The original Harmonie, founded in late 1804 by German Lutheran Separatists, comprised some 9,000 acres spanning today's town and portions of today's Jackson and Lancaster townships. Their communal Harmony Society, which adopted celibacy while anticipating the imminent return of Christ, soon gained international renown and substantial wealth. The Harmonists departed in 1814 to create a second Harmonie in Indiana Territory, returning a decade later to establish Economie, now Ambridge, where the society was dissolved in 1905. Harmony's resettlement began in 1815 under Mennonites Abraham Ziegler from Eastern Pennsylvania.

The Harmony Museum offers guided tours 1-4 p.m. daily except Mondays and holidays. Visitors learn about the Harmonists, Mennonites, the region's 18th century Indians and 19th century pioneer life, the regional boarding school for girls that operated 1817-1826 in what is now the main museum building, classic percussion sporting longrifles by 19th century gunsmith Charles Flowers, oil and gas booms, two centuries of local medical practice, and Harmony's ongoing historic preservation.

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CONTACT: Administrator Kathy Luek, 724-452-7341
9/20/2009

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SUMMER'S FINALLY GOTTEN HOT, BUT HARMONY MUSEUM OFFERS COOL DINNER

HARMONY, Pa. -- August has finally brought hot weather to the area, but you can enjoy another one of those popular Harmony Museum German buffet dinners in air conditioned comfort on Saturday, Aug. 22, in the museum's Stewart Hall at the center of Harmony's National Historic Landmark District.

The spread will include sauerbraten, bratwurst, chicken schnitzel, cucumber salad, tomato salad, German potato salad, spaetzle, red cabbage, green beans and zucchini cakes, plus dinner rolls and a dessert assortment. Tea and coffee will be available for those who don't bring their own favorite German beverage.

Harmony is at I-79 exits 87-88, about 10 miles north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, 30 miles north of downtown Pittsburgh and 30 miles south of I-80. Its recorded history began with a Delaware Indian village visited by George Washington during his 1753 mission seeking French withdrawal from the region that sparked the French & Indian War. The war's first shot was fired at Washington nearby by a "French Indian."

The original Harmony, founded in late 1804 by German Lutheran Separatists, comprised some 9,000 acres spanning today's borough as well as major portions of what became Jackson and Lancaster townships. Their communal Harmony Society, which adopted celibacy while anticipating the imminent return of Christ, soon gained international renown and substantial wealth. The Harmonists departed in 1814 to create a new home in Indiana Territory, returning a decade later to establish Economy, now Ambridge, where it was dissolved in 1905. The resettlement of Harmony began in 1815, led by Mennonites from eastern Pennsylvania.

The Harmony Museum offers guided tours 1-4 p.m. daily except Mondays and holidays. Visitors learn about the Harmonists, Mennonites, the region's 18th century Indians and 19th century pioneers, a boarding school for girls that operated 1817-1826, the classic percussion sporting longrifles made by 19th century gunsmith Charles Flowers 1850-1897, the area's oil and gas booms, two centuries of local medical practice, and Harmony's award-winning historic preservation successes.

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CONTACT: Administrator Kathy Luek, 724-452-7341
8/9/2009

HARMONY CHRISTMAS DINNER ON FOODIE YOUTUBE

HARMONY MUSEUM INVITES PUBLIC TO AUG. 11 WOODLAND INDIANS PROGRAM

HARMONY – Historic Harmony invites the public to attend "Portal to the World of the Eastern Woodland Indians 1750-1813," a presentation by Dr. Stephen Glinsky of Slippery Rock, at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11, in the Harmony Museum's Stewart Hall. Admission is free.

The program brings history to life with firsthand accounts by Eastern Indians of their impressions of the British, French and settlers from before the French and Indian War to post-Revolution America and the death of the great Seneca Chief Tecumseh. Glinsky, who encourages audience interaction, discusses Indian land cessions, George Washington's 1753 mission to western Pennsylvania (then considered part of Virginia while also claimed by France), Christian Frederick Post's work with Delawares and other tribes, capture of Mary Jemison by Indians, murder of Chief Logan's family, 1778 treaty with White Eyes and other Delawares, and Tecumseh.

Glinsky illustrates his presentation with two dozen paintings by famed area artist Robert Griffing. Side displays include Griffing books and prints as well as flintlock rifles and pistols, powder horns and other accoutrements. Members of the audience also receive a 10-page booklet. Historic Harmony will serve light refreshments.

Glinsky's program and appearance are made possible by a grant from the Venango Center for Creative Development.

The Harmony Museum, ranked among the region's top 25 museums, is on the diamond at the center of Harmony's National Historic Landmark District. The area's recorded history began with an Indian village visited by 21-year-old Washington during his 1753 mission that sparked the French & Indian War. Nearby, the war's first shot was fired at him by a "French Indian." The mission, and the shot that might have radically changed American history had Washington been killed, is the subject of a museum exhibit and a dramatic painting, "The First Shot," displayed there.

The communal, celibate Harmony Society of German Lutheran Separatists founded Harmony in 1804. When they moved to southwest Indiana Territory in 1814-1815, area resettlement was led by Mennonites. The Harmonists returned in 1825 to establish their third and final home, Economy (now Ambridge) in Beaver County, where the society was dissolved in 1905 and is commemorated by Old Economy Village. Harmony became the region's first National Historic Landmark District in 1974.

The eight-property Harmony Museum interprets this and more of the area's extraordinarily rich history. It is open 1-4 p.m. daily except Mondays and holidays. Harmony is at I-79 exits 87-88, about 10 miles north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and 30 miles south of I-80.

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7/19/2009
CONTACT: Kathy Luek, Administrator, 724-452-7341

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HARMONY MUSEUM'S 5TH ANNUAL "REGION-MADE" ANTIQUE GUN SHOW

HARMONY, Pa. -- The Harmony Museum presents its 5th annual antique firearms show and sale on Saturday, Aug. 8, in the museum's Stewart Hall on the diamond in the center of Harmony's National Historic Landmark District.

As has been the case with all previous shows, visitors of all ages will learn about 18th and 19th century guns and accoutrements made in the Western Pennsylvania-Eastern Ohio region, and see at least one previously unknown rifle made by outstanding 19th century Harmony gunsmith Charles Flowers. Historic Harmony invites visitors to bring items from their own collections to learn more about them from exhibitors.

Show hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m., admission is $5 per person, and lunch and refreshments will be available. Proceeds benefit museum operations. Harmony's specialty shops and art gallery are added attractions.

Collectors from Western Pennsylvania and Ohio will exhibit mostly non-cartridge firearms made before 1898. Many of the longrifles displayed were made for hunting and target competitions, although others will have military or other significant histories. A number of guns displayed will be rare and important examples not often seen by the public. Many, especially fine flintlock and percussion longrifles made in the classic design that originated in Pennsylvania (sometimes called Kentucky) by the region's gunsmiths, are sought today as works of art.

Among dozens of exhibits will be custom-built percussion hunting or target longrifles made in Harmony by Flowers during the second half of the 19th century. The former coal miner and Civil War veteran became a gunsmith ca. 1850, and continued in the trade until his death in 1897. A number of previously unknown Charles Flowers rifles have appeared at each of the museum's past shows, and the Aug. 8 edition will be no exception. A particularly unusual example, returned to Harmony from Atlanta via Tennessee, will be among at least 10 Flowers rifles on display.

For an additional fee, guided tours of the Harmony Museum will be offered 10 a.m.-4 p.m., affording an opportunity to view its outstanding Ball Collection of 10 longrifles that spans Flowers' career.

Also displayed will be a rare, crudely repaired rifle by Charles Chaney, briefly -- ca. 1836-1840 -- a gunsmith in New Sewickley Township, Beaver County, and then Birmingham, now Pittsburgh's South Side. Believed to have apprenticed with the exceptional gunsmith Thomas Allison at Lovi, west of Butler County's Cranberry Township, Chaney moved his family to Blair County in 1840 and pursued a career as an engineer.

Additional information about the antique firearms show and exhibitor registration can be obtained from the Harmony Museum at 724-452-7341.

Harmony has attracted cultural tourism for 200 years. The area's recorded history began with an Indian village visited by 21-year-old Virginia Maj. George Washington during his 1753 mission to the region that sparked the French & Indian War. Nearby, the war's first shot, fired with a flintlock musket from less than 50 feet by a "French Indian," missed Washington. The mission, and the shot that might have radically changed American history had Washington been killed, is the subject of a museum exhibit and a dramatic painting, "The First Shot," on temporary loan to the museum.

The communal, celibate Harmony Society of German Lutheran Separatists founded Harmony in 1804. When they moved to southwest Indiana Territory in 1814-1815, the area's resettlement was led by Mennonites from eastern Pennsylvania. The Harmonists returned in 1825 to establish their third and final home, Economy (now Ambridge) in Beaver County, where the society was dissolved in 1905 and is commemorated at Old Economy Village. Harmony became the region's first National Historic Landmark District in 1974.

Ranked among the Pittsburgh area's top 25 museums, the eight-property Harmony Museum interprets the area's extraordinarily rich history. It is open 1-4 p.m. daily except Mondays and holidays. Harmony is at I-79 exits 87-88, about 10 miles north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and 30 miles south of I-80.
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[Editors: Digital photo of a Flowers rifle in the museum's Ball Collection is available.]
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CONTACT: Administrator Kathy Luek, 724-452-7341

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HARMONY MUSEUM SEEKS DONATIONS FOR HISTORIC MENNONITE CEMETERY CARE

HARMONY, Pa. -- Historic Harmony, the volunteer historical society and preservation advocate that operates the eight-property Harmony Museum, has launched a special fundraising campaign to support ongoing care of the cemetery at the Harmony Mennonite meetinghouse.

The organization hopes descendants of Harmony's 19th century Mennonites will be especially interested in assisting maintenance of the cemetery grounds and its grave markers. The campaign was suggested by a Westmoreland County resident, a descendant of local Mennonites and the drive's first contributor.

Harmony was founded in 1804 by German Lutheran Separatists. When they moved to Indiana, their 9,000 acres were purchased in 1815 by Abraham Ziegler of Lehigh County. His and other Mennonite families -- including Boyer, Moyer, Rice, Schontz, Stauffer, and Weisz/Wise -- resettled the area. They established a burial ground that year immediately north of Harmony, and in 1825 erected the meetinghouse, the oldest Mennonite church west of the Allegheny Mountains. Among those buried there are Ziegler, Harmony's "second founder," many members of his and other Mennonite families, and three of the congregation's bishops, John Boyer, Abraham Tinstman and Joseph Ziegler, Abraham's youngest son. Others interred there are veterans of the War of 1812 and Civil War, including gunsmith Charles Flowers.

The cemetery contains about 600 graves. Most date from the 19th century, although a number of burials occurred in the first third of the 20th century and its most recent was in 1955. The oldest marked grave is that of Solomon Funk, who died in September 1815.

The stone and brick meetinghouse was closed in 1902, its congregation by then in serious decline. Care of the site was later assumed by the Mennonite Memorial Church & Cemetery Association, a descendants group that ceased to exist after giving the property to Historic Harmony in 1977.

"While there's been no local congregation for more than a century, many people throughout Butler County, northern Beaver County and far beyond the area count Harmony Mennonites among their ancestors," said Historic Harmony President John S. Ruch. "We hope they, and of course anyone who is interested in preserving this important historical site, will help us build a fund to assure continued proper care for this historic cemetery. It is the most difficult of our protected properties to maintain, and unfortunately we've never had the benefit of a dedicated fund for its maintenance."

Ruch noted that donations by local descendants in the 1990s paid for repair or replacement of markers on ancestors' graves, but many other markers remain in need of repair. In addition, Historic Harmony has done extensive meetinghouse restoration and maintenance, and continues to do so.

Contributions can be sent to Historic Harmony, Box 524, Harmony, PA 16037, with a notation they are for the Mennonite Cemetery Fund.

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CONTACT: Administrator Kathy Luek, 724-452-7341

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HARMONY MUSEUM'S DISPLAYS PAINTING DEPICTING WAR'S FIRST SHOT

HARMONY, Pa. -- "The First Shot," Deac Mong's painting depicting a "French Indian" firing the first shot of the French and Indian War at young Virginia Maj. George Washington near Harmony in 1753, has been placed on display at the Harmony Museum.

The historically important but little-known incident occurred near today's Harmony and might well have changed American history dramatically had its outcome been different -- the musket ball missed Washington. The five-foot by four-foot painting is on loan to the Harmony Museum after being displayed at the Ft. Pitt Museum in Pittsburgh.

Martin J. O'Brien, chair of the nonprofit organization Washington's Trail - 1753 that commemorates Washington's mid-18th century mission and a retired Butler County Common Pleas Court judge, commissioned the work. Unveiled in April 2008 at Pittsburgh's Sen. John Heinz History Center, the painting has also been displayed at Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Fayette County. Its Harmony appearance marks the first opportunity for the general public to see it in Butler County, where the shooting occurred nearly 256 years ago.

Washington, then only 21 and with no military experience, came to the region from Williamsburg, Va., late in 1753 bearing Lt. Gov. Robert Dinwiddie's ultimatum that the French withdraw from what Britain considered part of Virginia. When he delivered the document at Fort LeBoeuf (Waterford, Erie County), the response was a counter-demand that the British stay out of New France. The mission itself essentially assured war between Britain and France.

As Washington traveled to Fort LeBeouf his party spent the night of Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 1753 at Murdering Town, a Lenni Lenapi (Delaware) village across the Connoquenessing Creek from where Harmony would be established 51 years later. Returning unaccompanied on Dec. 27, on foot in harsh winter weather, Washington and guide Christopher Gist encountered an Indian whom Gist recalled having seen at the French Fort Venango (Franklin). The native offered to show them the fastest route south to the Forks of the Ohio, but instead led them several miles to the northeast, then without warning fired at Washington. He was allowed to flee and Washington and Gist resumed their southward trek.

Area historians consider this the first shot of the French and Indian War, and many believe North American history would have unfolded much differently had the young Washington died in that remote Western Pennsylvania clearing. A few months later French forces drove off Virginians building a stockade at the Forks of the Ohio and constructed Ft. Duquesne there. After soldiers and Indians led by now Lt. Col. Washington ambushed a small French party at Great Meadows (near Uniontown), French troops secured Washington's surrender on July 4, 1754, at Ft. Necessity, and the French and Indian War, which expanded into the first global conflict, the Seven Years War, was under way.

The Harmony Museum was the region's first museum to install an exhibit interpreting Washington's 1753 mission and the start of the French and Indian War.

Harmony, one of southwest Pennsylvania's most significant historic places, was founded in 1804 by pacifist German Lutheran Separatists. Their celibate Harmony Society became 19th century America's most successful communal group, and Harmony has been a heritage tourism destination for more than 200 years. In 1814 the nearly 900 Harmonists began relocating to Indiana Territory, and Mennonite Abraham Ziegler from eastern Pennsylvania bought all society holdings except its cemetery. The Harmonists returned in 1824 to settle their third and final home only 22 miles southwest of Harmony, now commemorated as Old Economy Village in Ambridge. The commune was dissolved in 1905.

During the second half of the 19th century, Harmony's Charles Flowers made fine percussion hunting and target longrifles, now considered works of art as well as historic firearms. Oil and natural gas booms emerged in the area during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Ranked among the region's top 25 museums, the eight-property Harmony Museum presents these and other elements of rich area history. It is open 1-4 p.m. daily except Mondays and holidays.

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CONTACT: Administrator Kathy Luek, 724-452-7341
6/24/2009

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HARMONY BUSINESS ASSN. PRESENTS SIX SUMMER EVENTS

HARMONY -- The Harmony Business Association invites the public to enjoy six music events this summer, with three Thursday concerts in the diamond at the center of Harmony's National Historic Landmark District as well as three more intimate Saturday acoustic performances in the Harmony Museum garden.

The diamond will be closed to vehicle traffic for the free 7:30 p.m. concerts by Eugene and the Nightcrawlers on July 2, Zelienoople-Harmony Community Jazz Band on Aug. 6 and The Right Rhythm Band on Sept. 3. HBA suggests concert-goers bring lawn chairs. Refreshments will be available.

McPharlin's Music Studio will provide the music on three Saturdays during the summer, June 27, July 25 and Aug. 29, when old fashioned European style pizza will be available 3-7 p.m. Fresh from the Harmony Museum's wood-fired beehive oven.

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CONTACT: Harmony Museum Administrator Kathy Luek, 724-452-7341
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HARMONY MUSEUM INVITES PUBLIC TO MAY 12 OPEN HOUSE

HARMONY – Historic Harmony invites the public to an open house 6:30-9 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12, to learn more about the organization, its Harmony Museum, and activities for those of all ages seeking volunteer activities important to the community and region. Light refreshments will include goodies fresh from the first-ever bake with the museum’s recently restored 19th century beehive oven.

HH relies on volunteers with diverse personal interests who are committed to assuring ongoing success of the organization’s work. “Many people during the past 66 years have made it possible for the historical society to preserve Harmony’s history and historic sites and interpret them for visitors from across the country and around the world,” said President John Ruch.

The open house is an opportunity for people less familiar with Historic Harmony to get to better know the community as well as the organization and its active volunteers.

“Whatever an individual’s interest, we can benefit from their involvement,” Ruch said. “Whether a longtime or brand new member, or someone who is just curious about what Historic Harmony is about, all are welcome. Folks of all ages and talents keep the museum functioning with ever-improving quality and professionalism that has brought Historic Harmony so far while garnering a deserved reputation as the region’s most active historical society and preservation advocate.”

The Harmony Museum is the only Butler County institution among the region’s top 25 museums in an annual ranking compiled by the Pittsburgh Business Times. More information is available from Historic Harmony at 724-452-7341.

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4/26/2009
CONTACT: Kathy Luek, Administrator, 724-452-7341

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HARMONY MUSEUM WELCOMES SPRING WITH GERMAN BUFFET

HARMONY, Pa. -- The Harmony Museum welcomes the spring season with the first of its popular German buffet dinners for 2009, presented on Saturday, April 18, in Stewart Hall adjacent to the museum at the center of Harmony's National Historic Landmark District.

The buffet will be laden with stuffed pork, meatballs in caper sauce, assorted sausages, dandelion salad, asparagus, glazed carrots, German potato salad, spaetzle, red cabbage, potatoes, applesauce, and a dessert assortment. Tea and coffee will be available for those who don't bring their own favorite German beverage.

Cost is $15 per person, and all proceeds benefit the museum. For required prepaid reservations for either of two sittings, at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., contact the museum office at 724-452-7341. The dinners have become so popular that the museum can no longer accommodate walk-ins.

Harmony, a heritage tourism attraction for 200 years, is at I-79 exits 87-88, about 10 miles north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, 30 miles north of downtown Pittsburgh and 30 miles south of I-80. Its recorded history began with a Delaware Indian village visited by George Washington during his 1753 mission seeking French withdrawal from the region that sparked the French & Indian War. The war’s first shot was fired at Washington nearby by a "French Indian."

The original Harmony, founded in late 1804 by German Lutheran Separatists, comprised some 9,000 acres spanning today's borough as well as major portions of what became Jackson and Lancaster townships. Their communal Harmony Society, which adopted celibacy while anticipating the imminent return of Christ, soon gained international renown and substantial wealth. The Harmonists departed in 1814 to create a new home in Indiana Territory, returning a decade later to establish Economy, now Ambridge, where it was dissolved in 1905. The resettlement of Harmony began in 1815, led by Mennonites from eastern Pennsylvania.

Harmony Museum visitors learn about these nationally significant aspects of area history, as well as of the region’s Native Americans and pioneer life, the boarding school attended by daughters of affluent southwest Pennsylvania families that operated 1817-1826, classic hunting and target rifles made by local master gunsmith Charles Flowers 1850-1897, oil and gas booms in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the practices of local physicians, and Harmony's award-winning historic preservation successes. Guided museum tours are available 1-4 p.m. daily except Mondays and holidays.

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CONTACT: Administrator Kathy Luek, 724-452-7341
3-15-2009
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BUY THE BOYER HOUSE

HARMONY, Pa. -- The anticipated sale near year-end of the cut stone house built in 1816 by John Boyer, first bishop of Harmony's 19th century Mennonite congregation, did not occur, so HH has listed the property for $119,900. We believe original chestnut floors are hidden by the carpeting. The original spring house is in the hillside just outside the back door. We've installed a high-efficiency forced air furnace and a hot water tank will be installed shortly. The property is zoned residential and in the Seneca Valley School District, with downtown Pittsburgh 35 minutes away. The house is serviced by a well but public water is available; it is on public sewerage. The full basement has a concrete floor, and the spacious attic could become additional living area. A preservation easement will protect the house facade and spring house. View the listing at www.northwood.com/759349 ; contact Pat Murray, 724-452-1400, or the HH office, 724-452-7341.

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HARMONY SOCIETY MUSIC & SONGS TO BE PERFORMED AT HARMONIEFEST

HARMONY, Pa. -- A concert of 19th century music will be performed by the 1830 Old Economy Orchestra and Old Economy Singers during Historic Harmony's 42nd Harmoniefest on Valentine's Day, Saturday, Feb. 14. The annual dinner and historical program fundraiser benefits Harmony Museum operations and is held in the museum's Stewart Hall at Main and Mercer streets.

Harmoniefest begins with a 6 p.m. reception. Dinner entree choices are crab fettucine in wine sauce, stuffed roasted pork tenderloin and, for vegetarians, fresh pasta with vegetables and cheese. Admission is $25 per person. Reservations are required, and must be received with advance payment by Friday, Feb. 6. Information and reservations can be obtained from the Harmony Museum office, phone 724-452-7341 or e-mail hmuseum@zoominternet.net.

The orchestra's professional musicians, playing instruments identical to those of the early 1800s, and the vocalists appear in authentic 19th century Harmonist costume. Volunteers, they perform period music that includes works written or commissioned by the communal Harmony Society of German Lutheran immigrants who settled Harmony in 1804 and Economy, now Ambridge, in 1824.

A portion of the program's proceeds will be donated by Historic Harmony, the volunteer historical society and preservation advocate that operates the museum, to the music program of Old Economy Village. The Ambridge historic site commemorates the Harmony Society's final home and is operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Historic Harmony will also recognize contributions to the preservation of area heritage, as well as its own volunteers for support of museum activities.

Special Heritage Commendation Awards will be presented to Joan Teichart, whose efforts to conserve area heritage have included preservation of Zelienople's 1805 Buhl House and the Strand Theater; Patrick J. Boylan, for assuring continuation of the historic Baldinger's Market by buying and relocating the business; and the Dietz Family, which also chose to assure Baldinger's continuation by encouraging Boylan's purchase rather than closing and liquidating the business.

Harmony was founded in 1804 by pacifist German Lutheran Separatists, led by Johann George Rapp, who left the Stuttgart area to escape militarism and enjoy freedom of religion without state interference. They organized as the communal Harmony Society in February 1805, an event celebrated with an annual feast they called Harmoniefest. Their first American home, which eventually had a population of nearly 900, encompassed the town and much of what became Jackson and Lancaster townships. The celibate Harmonists, who believed Christ's return to be imminent, relocated to southwestern Indiana Territory in 1814. They returned 10 years later to settle Economy along the Ohio River only 22 miles from Harmony. The most successful communal group of 19th century America, which was dissolved in 1905, is commemorated at Ambridge by Old Economy Village, the historic site operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Historic Harmony’s version of Harmoniefest celebrates not just the foundings of Harmony and the Harmony Society, but all of more than 250 years of extraordinary area history that began with Native Americans. George Washington, then only 21, visited local Delaware Indians during his 1753 mission demanding the French withdraw from the region, sparking the French & Indian War. The war's first shot was fired at Washington a few miles from Harmony by a "French Indian."

Harmony and Old Economy Village are recognized as among western Pennsylvania’s most significant historic sites. Harmony's National Historic Landmark District comprises the town center and nearby Harmony Society cemetery. When "second founder" Abraham Ziegler bought the Harmony Society’s holdings in 1815, his and other Mennonite families led the area's resettlement. Other highlights of the area's history include troops camping at Harmony on their way to support Oliver Hazard Perry's fleet and protect Erie from British invasion during the War of 1812, songwriter Stephen Foster's brief residency as a youngster, production of fine classic Pennsylvania percussion longrifles by gunsmith Charles Flowers during the second half of the 19th century, and the area's involvement in Butler County's oil and gas booms of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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CONTACT: Kathy Luek, Administrator, 724-452-7341
1/25/09

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HARMONY MUSEUM FLEA MARKET

HARMONY, Pa. -- A flea market at Stewart Hall, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7, benefits museum operations. Lunch will be available. Table rentals are $12 each or $20 for two. Vendors may set up during the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 6. Information and table reservations are available by phoning 724-452-5860.

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