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 to house the Muncy Historical Society Museum of History. The oldest 2 ½-story section was built in 1812 and features the original fireplace and a squirrel-tail beehive oven. The back staircase leads to the second-floor bedroom, which features locally made furniture pieces and the Society’s fraktur collection.
The museum collection features a WPA-commissioned replica of Fort Muncy, a military gallery, Native American artifacts, diverse and impressive artwork, a working barn loom, William Lowmiller’s jacquard attachment, and a selection of his woven coverlets.
The Muncy Heritage Park and Nature Trail is an 11-acre historic and environmentally significant property that serves as a park and trail for all Lycoming County, Pennsylvania residents, as well as tourists and visitors to the Susquehanna River Valley.
The Society once operated 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 conducted one-room living history programs by appointment. The annual Strawberry Festival and Old-Fashioned School Social were held at this site in Moreland Township, approximately 3 miles east of Clarkstown, by taking Church Road from Route 442.
The Muncy Historical Society’s Pennsylvania Canal Packet Boat is a reconstruction of an authentic 1860s packet/passenger cabin, serving as the Society’s traveling educational exhibit. The project received the 2004 Honorable Mention Award from the PA Federation of Museums Historical Organizations and the 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
