The Museum is located behind the Courthouse in Laporte. From Route 220, go 1/4 mile south on Route 42.
This building contains records and artifacts relevant to Sullivan and surrounding counties. Included are:
County and local government records
Family histories and genealogies
School records and old school texts
Photographs
Old maps
A collection of local newspapers
Old tools: lumbering, mining, farming
Household implements and crafts
Old toys
Furniture
Clothing
Eagles Mere glass
Displays about local towns and industries
Accounts of local history:
The following histories and anecdotal reports were transcribed or contributed by several people interested in Sullivan County History, or were prepared by Bob Sweeney, the Sullivan County Genealogical Web Page coordinator, from documents in the public domain. They may be copied or used freely by any reader for any non-commercial purpose.
The Chautauqua at Eagles Mere by Donna Andrews
Source: The Chronicle: Journal of the Historical Society of the Central Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church, Harrisburg,
Spring 1998 Issue
The Grange Descendancy
Roach and Kelly: Irish Migrant Families in Nineteenth Century America
Kellys Go West: Grandma Bradley's Life in Her Own Words
Leonard T. Kelly and Mabel Kerrick
An Early History of the Elkland Meeting of Friends by David Wayne Bailey
The Diary of Reverend Richard Bedford 1850-1883
Historic Hodge-Podge by Harry H. Greene
1933 Endless Mountains History
1978 Lake Mokoma and Laporte
Pioneering With Sullivan County Pioneers by Pauline Holcombe et al
1995 Sullivan County Natural Areas Inventory by Anthony L. Davis et al
Eagles Mere and the Sullivan Highlands 1944
Laurel Leaves: Remembrances of Sullivan County Residents, 1981
1954 Sullivan County Industries--Then and Now
The Irish at Barclay Mountain by Henry Farley
Irish Folk Lore About Birds
1934 Souvenir of Hillsgrove
1929 R. G. Dun List and Rating of Sullivan and Wyoming County Businesses
100 Years of Pride--A History of Lopez: 1876-1976
Some Descendants of Joel and Sarah Bird Bennett by Charles Kehler
Facade Easements et al: A History of Eagles Mere
*
* Editor's Note: This document was written by Robert Wise as a
thesis for the Master of Science Degree at the University of Pennsylvania, 1993.
A History of Eagles Mere Association by Deborah Lueders (1978)
The Murder of John Vitengruber 1855
The Victim's Skull
Located at the SCHS Museum
Laporte, PA
BALDWIN HOUSE
The Society has a shared interest with the County in THE BALDWIN HOUSE
located across Meylert Street from the Museum. Built in the 1850's, this is one of the oldest houses in Laporte. It is now a house museum illustrating life in the County before 1880.
It is open the same hours as the Museum for guided tours.
CELESTIA
The Society also owns the site of CELESTIA
, a religious community founded in the 1850's by millenialists.
It was abandoned in the 1880's after the death of Peter Armstrong, its leader. At one time the land was deeded to God,
but God paid no taxes, and the land was repurchased at a sheriffs sale by the Armstrong family. It is located 1 1/2 miles west of Laporte on Route 42. An illustrated history of the community and a guide for a walking tour are available at the Museum. Those who want
more information can read through From Wilderness to Wilderness: Celestia by D. Wayne Bender. Another source if the Now and Then journal, which first began publication in Muncy, PA in 1868, then was revied in 1929.. Scroll down to part 53, published in 1936, to read more about the personalities of Peter Armstrong and his wife, life at Celestia, and the comments of their son Alvah Armstrong, made years later.
The Family Bible of Jacob and Percival Wentzell
Title Page 1850
Photo by Lynn Franklin
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