Everyone participating in this event is welcome to stay for a light lunch at noon and enjoy the Women’s History Program by Jessica Young at 1 pm at no charge. 

This nostalgic look at the earliest mall in Westmoreland County and beyond will include lunch and a multi-media presentation by Gary Nelson, who posts on the YouTube channel “Lost Westmoreland,” and Chad Altman, who will display many treasures that he recovered before the mall’s demolition began. Bring stories of your favorite store or shopping experience, and we’ll reminisce together!

For Reservations call 724-836-1800, ext. 210

The cost—$48 per person—includes the program, a sit-down lunch choice, dessert, and a non-alcoholic beverage.

Keli Kovalick, WHS Library Coordinator will demonstrate how to use the online record of deeds from the Westmoreland County website.

Call for reservations at 724-836-1800, ext. 210

$10, Members. $12 Others

Join us for our highly anticipated Victorian Tea at Historic Hanna’s Town! Enjoy a delightful selection of savories, scones, sweets, and pastries, accompanied by freshly brewed tea in the charming parlor of the historic 20th-century Steele Family farmhouse as we celebrate the arrival of Spring. This event marks not only the opening day for guided tours of the historic site but also the debut of our new exhibit in the Kendra Gallery, “Cut from the Same Cloth,” which showcases fashion from the early 19th to mid-20th centuries.

RESERVATIONS FOR TEA WILL OPEN MARCH 10, 2025 . Please call 724-836-1800 x210 to make a reservation.

Reservations cannot be accepted before March 10th. 

Seating at 11:30 a.m. & 2:00 p.m.

$30, Members  /  $35, Others

Reservation required.

Historic Hanna’s Town opens for the 2025 season on Saturday, May 3rd!

Enjoy visiting a Revolutionary War-era historic site, that features several reconstructed and renovated log buildings, as well as a walking path. Staff and volunteers offer an interpretation of Hanna’s Tavern, Stockade, the textile exhibit inside the Murry Beacom House, and the Conestoga Wagon.

Seasonal events include living history displays, blacksmithing, and demonstrations and drills by I.B.W.C.P., a group that portrays the military body formed at Hanna’s Town in 1775. Children are welcome to enjoy 18^th-century toys and games throughout the day.

Guests are encouraged to step into the past and explore all that Historic Hanna’s Town has to offer!

Visitors can also enjoy history-inspired gifts and keepsakes in the Westmoreland History Shop.

The new exhibit at the Kendra Gallery will showcase an impressive variety of clothing, spanning from high-end designer fashion to practical feed-sack dresses. These garments are drawn from the extensive collection of the Westmoreland Historical Society, highlighting the rich textile heritage of the region. The pieces on display date from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century, offering visitors a firsthand look at the evolving styles, materials, and craftsmanship of each era. This collection not only reflects the aesthetic and historical significance of the garments but also provides a deeper understanding of the cultural values and everyday lives of the people from Westmoreland County throughout history. Visitors will gain insights into how fashion has been influenced by socioeconomic factors, historical events, and local traditions.

FREE, Members – $5, Others

Author Brady Crytzer will take you through the events that fueled the second-largest domestic uprising in U.S. History when Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton excised a whisky tax to balance the American debt.

The Whiskey Rebellion stands as the second largest domestic rebellion in American history, only outdone by the Confederate States of America in 1861. In March 1791 Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton shocked the western frontier when he proposed a domestic excise tax on whiskey to balance America’s national debt. The law, known informally as the “Whiskey Act,” disproportionately penalized farmers in the backcountry, while offering favorable tax incentives designed to protect larger distillers. Hamilton viewed the law as a means of both collecting revenue and forcefully imposing federal authority over the notoriously defiant frontier settlers in Western Pennsylvania. These settlers bristled at its passage and demanded that the law be revoked or rewritten to correct its perceived injustices.  As the months passed, the people of Western Pennsylvania grew restless with the inadequacy of the government’s response, and they soon turned to more violent means of political expression.

This is a FREE event.

Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 1:00 pm.

Antiques & Collectibles, a community tradition since 1974, provides excellent buying and selling opportunities for lovers of antiques and anyone seeking vintage items. Browse for bargains and support local history preservation. Proceeds from this event have been vital for the reconstruction of Historic Hanna’s Town. The quaint and historic setting hosts numerous vendors offering a variety of one-of-a-kind items covering a wide price range.

Antiques and Collectibles is held the second Sunday of the month May through October. For 2025, these dates are May 11, June 8, July 13, August 10, September 14, and October 12.

This event will be held rain or shine. Sorry, no pets are permitted; service animals only.

ADMISSION: $5 per car.

VENDORS: Vendors of antiques, folk art, historical crafts, and collectibles (please no flea market items) are welcome to set up for the day or weekend. Spaces are 28′ x 20′ and cost $40 per space, per show. Discounts are available if all shows are paid in advance by May 11. If you are interested in being a vendor, call 724-836-1800 x100.

The morning of the Hanna’s Town Resolves 250th anniversary, the inaugural 5K Resolve to Run will begin at 8:30 a.m. We hope this new event will become an annual tradition and introduce a new audience of runners to Historic Hanna’s Town. Spearheaded by Dawn Lamuth and Karen Markle with expert advice from Mark Sorice, this inaugural race will begin and end at Historic Hanna’s Town. Sponsors, volunteers, and runners are needed to make this new adventure a success! If you are interested in being a part of this event, please email lisa@westmorelandhistory.org.

Start Time 8:30 a.m.

Fee schedule TBD.

As we begin the commemoration of America’s 250^th birthday, a special event will take place at Historic Hanna’s Town on Saturday May 17, 2025, to honor the 250^th anniversary of the Hanna’s Town Resolves, a bold precursor to the Declaration of Independence.

News of the events at Lexington & Concord on April 19, 1775, reached the frontier of Western Pennsylvania in mid-May. The residents of Westmoreland County gathered at Hanna’s Town on May 16, 1775, to discuss how they should react to these events. They “Resolved unanimously, that there is no reason to doubt that the same system of tyranny and oppression will (should it meet with success in Massachusetts Bay) be extended to every other part of America: It is therefore become the indispensable duty of every American, of every man who has any public virtue or love for his country, or any bowels for posterity, by every means which God has put in his power, to resist and oppose the execution of it; that for us we will be ready to oppose it with our lives and fortunes … animated with the love of liberty, it is no less our duty to maintain and defend our just rights (which, with sorrow, we have seen of late wantonly violated in many instances by a wicked Ministry and a corrupted Parliament) and transmit them to our posterity, for purpose which we do agree and associate together.”

The Hanna’s Town Resolves were printed in a newspaper in Philadelphia, but the original document has not been found. We don’t know who signed it, and we can only imagine the discussion that resulted in this compromise document in which they declared their willingness to fight to protect their rights but stopped short of declaring independence from Great Britain. This May 17, reenactors will give a plausible recreation of the discussion based on our knowledge of the culture and motivations revealed in other writings of the 18th century residents of Westmoreland County. Special living history demonstrations and displays will also be featured that day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

We will meet at Historic Hanna’s Town in the old parking lot at 8:30 AM and travel by car the 40 miles to the Museum. Jim Laskoski, an experienced volunteer tour guide at the Flood Museum will provide insight and context to the events of that dreadful day—May 31, 1889. We plan to visit Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site in the morning; watch the 20-minute film at the Visitors Center; and see the Lemon House and Engine House #6. Then lunch on our own; restaurant suggestion to follow. In the afternoon, it’s a visit to the Johnstown Flood Memorial Visitors Center to watch another film (35 minutes). Then we’ll go to the remains of the dam.  The north side is ADA compliant, and the south side gives the opportunity to walk down into the former lakebed and through the breach of the dam. The side we visit with Jim would be based on the mobility of our guests. Last we would stop at the Clubhouse. We expect to return to Historic Hanna’s Town by 5 PM. There is no fee, just the cost of your lunch.

Sometimes, we postpone visiting nearby places, intending to go “someday.” This is an opportunity to visit or revisit this National Park with other interested people and our own personal guide! Please call the office at 724-836-1800 ext. 210 to let us know if you will join our caravan.

Antiques & Collectibles, a community tradition since 1974, provides excellent buying and selling opportunities for lovers of antiques and anyone seeking vintage items. Browse for bargains and support local history preservation. Proceeds from this event have been vital for the reconstruction of Historic Hanna’s Town. The quaint and historic setting hosts numerous vendors offering a variety of one-of-a-kind items covering a wide price range.

Antiques and Collectibles is held the second Sunday of the month May through October. For 2025, these dates are May 11, June 8, July 13, August 10, September 14, and October 12.

This event will be held rain or shine. Sorry, no pets are permitted; service animals only.

ADMISSION: $5 per car.

VENDORS: Vendors of antiques, folk art, historical crafts, and collectibles (please no flea market items) are welcome to set up for the day or weekend. Spaces are 28′ x 20′ and cost $40 per space, per show. Discounts are available if all shows are paid in advance by May 11. If you are interested in being a vendor, call 724-836-1800 x100.

A Living History Event!

Details coming soon!