Muncy Historical Society
Muncy Historical Society and Museum of History, a not-for-profit, all-volunteer organization founded in 1936, focuses on preservation and conservation of the rich history and heritage of Muncy and surrounding communities – its people, businesses, education, arts, traditions and folklore – by sponsoring educational programs and activities, through research and publication of our history, and interpretation of the museum’s collection for the community, including schools, colleges, community groups and professional historians.
The museum and research library are located at 40 N. Main Street, Muncy, Pennsylvania. In 1936 Mrs. Forrest Clapp donated her husband’s family homestead, the Thomas Clapp House, to the town of Muncy for the purpose of housing the Muncy Historical Society Museum of History. The oldest 2 ½ story section was built in 1812 and features the original fireplace and squirrel-tail beehive oven. The back staircase leads to the second-floor bedroom which features pieces of locally-made furniture and the Society’s fraktur collection.
The museum collection includes a WPA-commissioned replica of Fort Muncy and military gallery, Native American artifacts, diverse and impressive artwork, a working barn loom and William Lowmiller’s jacquard attachment and a sampling of his woven coverlets.
The Muncy Heritage Park and Nature Trail are 11 acres of historic and environmentally significant property that is a park and trail to be utilized by all Lycoming County, Pennsylvania residents, as well as tourists and visitors to the Susquehanna River Valley.
The 8-Square School Marm
The Society operates the “Eight Square,” a fully restored one-room schoolhouse, built-in 1872, on the site of Lycoming County’s first public school. This frame structure replaced the original 8-sided log structure built in 1796. Volunteers conduct one-room living history programs by appointment. The annual Strawberry Festival and Old Fashioned School Social is held at this site in Moreland Township, approximately 3 miles east of Clarkstown, left onto Church Road from Route 442.
Muncy Historical Society’s Pennsylvania Canal Packet Boat is the reconstruction of an authentic 1860s packet/passenger cabin that has become the Society’s traveling educational exhibit. The project received 2004 Honorable Mention Award from PA Federation of Museums Historical Organizations and 2004 Certificate of Commendation from the American Association of State and Local History.
Contact Muncy Historical Society, 40 North Main Street, P.O. Box 11, Muncy, PA 17756, (570) 546-5917. On the web at http://www.MuncyHistoricalSociety.org, or e-mail MuncyHistorical@aol.com
