Mount Union Area Historical Society

04/06/2026

REMINDER: The next planning meeting to create a series of walking tours for the Mount Union area will be held on Tuesday, April 7th at 6:00 pm at Checker's Grill.

Everyone is welcome to attend!

01/23/2026

🎉 ALL ARE INVITED to the county kick-off Rally for America250PA in Huntingdon County on Friday January 23rd at 11:45am at the Bailey Building next to the Huntingdon County Courthouse!! 🇺🇸

Please RSVP so we have an accurate count for light refreshments.

Link to RSVP: https://form.jotform.com/253344756467164

10/16/2025

Our Chicken BBQ has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.

09/01/2025

06/21/2025

Thank You for Attending Our Annual Meeting!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our society’s Annual Meeting last evening!

A special thank you goes to Paul Fagley for his insightful presentation, “In Search of… The Juniatas.” His talk provided a fascinating look into the Juniata people—who they were and what we’ve come to understand about their history.

There were no new board members elected this year, and we’re grateful that all current members have agreed to continue their service.

If you’re interested in volunteering or would like to be considered for a future board position, please reach out to our President, J. Murray Africa:
📞 (814) 599-8495
📧 [email protected]

06/18/2025

📢 Mount Union Area Historical Society – Annual Dinner Meeting

Dear Members and Friends,

We apologize for the short notice, but we are excited to announce that the Mount Union Area Historical Society’s Annual Dinner Meeting is scheduled for:

🗓️ Date: Thursday, June 19, 2025
⏰ Time: 5:30 PM
📍 Location: Bricktown Senior Center, 18 North Washington Street, Mount Union, PA 17066

This will be a covered dish meal; please bring a dish to share. Table service and water will be provided.

🎤 Guest Speaker: Paul Fagley
🗣️ Presentation Title: “In Search of… the Juniatas”

📌 MUAHS Updates:

Genealogy Research: We continue to assist families researching their local ancestry and have received valuable information from former residents.

Archival Recovery Training: Andy McNitt and Murray Africa recently completed Archival Recovery classes sponsored by the EBT Foundation. Additionally, we have received disaster preparedness supplies, which are stored at the Bricktown Museum.

Volunteer Opportunities: Volunteers are actively cleaning the Sharrar and Price Houses, but additional help is needed. The roofs at the Interpretive Park require repairs, and the back porch and shed need removal to create more storage space.

Upcoming Events:
Orbisonia and Rockhill Homecoming (August): We plan to participate in this community event.
Free Museum Day (September): We will open the houses to the public and will need volunteers to assist.

💳 Membership Information:
This is an excellent opportunity to renew your membership, gift a membership to someone, or join for the first time. Your support is vital to our mission.

📞 Contact Information:
For more details or to volunteer, please contact Murray Africa
Phone: (814)-599-8495
Email: [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you on June 19th!

06/05/2025

Chicken Barbecue Fundraiser!! 🍗
Saturday June 12, 2025 from 11am-1pm at the MU Historical Society property on Water Street.
Meals are $12 and all the proceeds support the Mount Union Area Historical Society!!

06/03/2025

Join the Orbisonia - Rockhill Furnace Historical Society for a presentation of “Local Events & Happenings from Bygone Days” on Tuesday June 3rd at 7pm at the Orbisonia Church of the Nazarene in their Fellowship Hall.

Presented by Ellen Cheslock Mellott who has researched through the newspapers “Orbisonia Correspondents” and the “Mount Union Times” between 1900-1915!

Free and Open to the public, all are welcome!
Donations to the society are always appreciated!

594 Meadow Street, Orbisonia PA 17243

05/25/2025

Today’s the day we’ve been waiting for! The William E. Swigart Jr. Auto Museum is officially OPEN for the 2025 season!!! 🎉

Located in beautiful historic Huntingdon County PA and the Raystown Lake Region is the Swigart Museum, which is the oldest automobile museum in America!
There are 30 to 35 cars on display rotated from our collection. When visiting you may see two Tucker's, and Herbie The Love Bug. In addition to the cars, the museum displays bicycles, horns, toys, lights, license plates from every state, name emblems/badges from numerous cars, trains and more!

🚗 Swigart Museum
⏰ 10am-5pm
🗓️ Open Daily, 7 Days a Week
Memorial Day Weekend through October
📍12031 William Penn Highway, Huntingdon PA 16652
📞 (814)-643-0885
📧 [email protected]
💻 www.swigartmuseum.com

If you have a question about if certain vehicles are on display or not please call or email us.

🚙 ☕️ Every Saturday Morning (unless it’s raining) is Kars & Koffee by Raystown Kruisers from 8am-11am. The museum will open at 9am on Saturdays.

See you down the road! 🚘

05/19/2025

John Dougherty was also one of the founders of Mount Union!

Segmented canal boats were introduced on the Portage in October 1834, by John Doughtery of the Reliance Transportation Line, but never really caught on in great numbers. Records indicate that even when flatbed rail cars were specifically designed to haul canal boats up and over the mountain, they only represented a small portion of the overall traffic and weight. For example, in 1849, one of the most successful years of the Portage, they represented only 4.3 percent of all tonnage traffic. Two Generations on the Allegheny Portage Railroad by Chris J. Lewie. (jh)

Image: Sectional canal boats.

05/02/2025