Welcome to the New Holland Area Historical Society
On July 5, 2024, the New Holland Band presented our 2nd annual Isaac Witwer Award for outstanding community service to New Holland. This year's awardee was the New Holland Area Historical Society. Accepting the award for the NHAHS is L to R: George Weaver, Ida Gall, Susen Leary, Steve Loewen, Wilbur Horning, and Mike Ressler.
Paving of the New Holland Area Historical Society’s museum parking lot. Another example of our commitment to preserving the most historical building in New Holland.
The New Holland Area Historical Society (NHAHS) is an organization committed to the preservation of the rich history of the greater New Holland area and to finding creative ways to share that story with our community. To continue the legacy upon which this organization was founded, it takes a network of enthusiastic volunteers with a wide variety of skills and experience, as well as the willingness to commit time and energy to the effort. As we continue to grow and expand our efforts, we have varied opportunities for people interested in supporting the organization and its mission. If you have experience or interest in any of the following areas, we welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can partner with you.
· computer data entry of artifacts into our database program (PastPerfect)
· warehousing donations
· social media skills – website, Facebook, Instagram
· grant writing
· museum cleaning
· museum exhibit design and setup
· newsletter preparation
· basic property maintenance; electrical, plumbing, general repairs, painting, etc.
· sale of excess inventory on eBay or local auctions
· print media liaison
· public and NHAHS event planning
· serving as a docent for our museum
· writing articles, essays, or even a book
If you are interested, please send us an email at NHAHS@nhhistorical.com
or call 717-419-1511.
Thanks for your consideration and support!
Check out the excitement of one of the many visitors to our museum.
Exhibit on display till 7/31/2024
No public meetings held June through August.
An Uncommon Woman, the life of Lydia Hamilton Smith
September 19th, 2024 @ 7 pm
A prominent mixed-race businesswoman in Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
and the longtime housekeeper, life companion, and collaborator
of congressman and staunch abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens.
presented by Mark Kelley
a Ph.D. in journalism from Syracuse University
DuPont
October 17th, 2024 @ 7 pm
How the company started, established, and thrived
How the family came to America
presented by Lucas Clawson, The Hagley Museum
Wilmington, DE
New Holland Area Historical Society Public Meetings are held at
Garden Spot Village, 433 S Kinzer Ave, New Holland, PA 17557.
Presentations begin at 7 pm.
Your support and contributions will enable us both preserve and publicize the rich history of the New Holland area.
See an article entitled "Pieces from the Past" describing artifacts at the NHAHS Museum that appears in the Shopping News of Lancaster County Facebook page. Click the button below to see the article!
An article describing the museum's 125th Anniversary of New Holland Borough exhibit appears on the Shopping News of Lancaster County Facebook page. Click the button below to view the article!
The Power Library site shown to the left houses digital copies of the town newspaper published from 1873 through 1950.
The papers are stored in 3 different collections based on their publication date.
The collections are shown to the left.
This link takes you to the Clarion Collection list shown to the left Individual collections are listed alphabetically, so scroll down through the list till you come to the section entitled "LancasterHistory - New Holland Clarion Newspaper"
The Power Library website is not owned by or affiliated with the New Holland Area Historical Society. We do not provide any support or assistance to those wanting to utilize this resource.
Support assistance is available through the "? Help" menu found in the extreme right-hand side of the menu bar.
This resource is a real treasure trove of historical information for the New Holland area, and we hope that you enjoy your time doing some research into our history!
Visit our Current Exhibits page for a preview of the exhibits on display in the museum. The most recent addition is an exhibit dedicated to the 65th Anniversary of the Garden Spot Grassland FFA Chapter.
This book chronicles the life of Victor Weaver from the humble beginning of a Market Stand to processed poultry brands known through the Northeast. More than just a success story, the author writes about the profound impact Mr. Weaver had on employees, the town and many other organizations.
Copies of the book, hard back @ $40 and soft cover @ $20, can be purchased at the museum during regular hours, or by calling Don Horning @ 717.538.3079
Read the story of a humble Mennonite man who invented the automatic tying baler, putting New Holland on the map.
Soft cover copies of the book can be purchased for $20 at the museum during regular hours, or by calling Don Horning @ 717.538.3079
The museum is blessed with thousands of New Holland area photos that were donated by countless supporters of our efforts to preserve our history . Many of them include some type of identification information, and others were identified my NHAHS members based on local knowledge or other photographic evidence.
But there are hundreds of interesting - and potentially historically significant - photos that we are not able to identify. The purpose of this initiative is to solicit your help in identifying these photos.
The plan is to place small batches of these pictures on the website in the Photos section, including whatever info we have for each, and providing you with a contact form where you can tell us how you can help identify these treasures. Each photo is assigned a number, and all you need to do is tell us that "photo #7 is a picture of my great grandmother Elvira's birthplace, located just east of N Railroad avenue." That's it. If you'd like to include your name that would be great.
As information is received we will update the captions for these photos, and after a reasonable amount of time (no idea what this means exactly) we'll publish the information gathered along with the contributors. Then we'll publish the next set of photos and repeat the exercise.
It's a chance for you to participate in the work of the NHAHS, and we greatly appreciate your assistance.
Thanks!
We love to share our museum with you, so feel free to visit during normal business hours!
207 E Main St, New Holland, PA 17557
Thursday & Saturday
10:00 am till 2:00 pm
other hours by appointment only
Sign up to hear from us about upcoming events and exhibits
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