Made and molded by history: The museums of Washington County are local treasures

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Take in the culture and history of Washington County by spending time at one of many notable museums.

Bradford House Museum and Whiskey Rebellion Education and Visitor Center

A visit to downtown Washington is not complete without a stop at the award-winning Bradford House Museum and Whiskey Rebellion Education and Visitor Center. A new highlight at the museum this year is an exhibit board focused on the defenses on the frontier, specifically the roles women played in this unique time in history.

Smell the mouthwatering aromas and take in the hearth-cooking demonstrations in the kitchen cabin the last Saturday of every month for an immersive feel of what life in the 18th century was really like.

If you are looking to create a special event, book a whiskey tasting or a private 18th-century style dinner in David Bradford's dining room prepared by a local, top-notch chef.

Meadowcroft Rockshelter & Historic Village

Travel back to prehistory with a hands-on, experiential tour of the Meadowcroft Rockshelter & Historic Village in Avella.

See the internationally renowned archaeological gem which has provided evidence of 19,000 years of a human presence in our region and experience rural life over the past 500 years through each exhibit. Explore a wigwam and test your aim with an atlatl at the 16th-century Eastern Woodland Indian Village. Walk through an 18th-century log cabin and open-sided trading post to learn about the challenges Native people and European settlers faced as these cultures came together. Watch a blacksmith forge red-hot iron or take a lesson in a one-room schoolhouse at the site's 19th-century Historic Village.

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the excavation at Meadowcroft. This milestone will be celebrated with additional programming and two separate days of baseball games featuring teams from the Vintage Base Ball Association playing by rules of the 1860s.

LeMoyne House

The LeMoyne House is a Historic National Landmark and famed stop of the Underground Railroad in downtown Washington. Tour this stately stone house and hear the important stories of Dr. LeMoyne and the free African American population in Western Pennsylvania who risked their personal freedom to take a stand against slavery.

A facility dedicated to research that will house collections not currently on display at the LeMoyne House opens this summer. A new research library will give visitors interested in genealogy and family history or students completing research projects access to more than 100,000 documents to conduct thorough research.

Duncan & Miller Glass Museum

Many do not realize that glass manufacturing dominated Western Pennsylvania industry from the Civil War era through the 20th century. The history and heritage of this era, but most importantly, the beauty of the glass, is captured at the Duncan & Miller Glass Museum, located in an ADA-accessible building on Ridge Avenue in Washington.

Guided tours give visitors an in-depth look at those ordinary people who made extraordinary glass. A favorite area of the museum is the How It Is Made Room which focuses on the original tools that were used, as well as the processes utilized to create Duncan & Miller glass. New this spring will be a 1930s parlor and kitchen exhibit that will display furniture and glassware found in the average kitchen during this time period.

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