McKean County Historical Society

06/21/2026

The McKean County Historical Society's float in the 250th parade in Bradford today.

06/13/2026

The Appalachian Arts Studio will be at the Arts on the Islane near the tennis courts. Please checkout their exhibit.

https://www.mchsmuseum.org/arts-on-the-island

06/13/2026

The museum will be closed on June 20th for the PA 250th parade in Bradford. Come and join or see the parade

The museum will be Closed for Smethport's Arts on the Island weekend celebration. https://www.mchsmuseum.org/arts-on-the-Arts on the Island

The museum will be closed July 4th as our volunteers will be enjoying the holiday with their families. We hope you will have a great holiday too.

06/06/2026

Wade is a member of the MCHS board. Congratulations Wade.

06/04/2026

06/03/2026

In lieu of trophies, we will be awarding 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners with a commemorative 250th Arts on the Island Zippo lighter.🇺🇸

Winners from the following Arts on the island events: Car Show, Cardboard Boat Race, Kayak Race, and Patriotic Boat Parade will all receive one!

Visit Arts on the Island for dates, deadlines, & more information!

05/20/2026

We just finished decorating the museum for Memorial Day. Thanks to Don Vandermark for his assistance. Great job. Looks fantastic.

04/20/2026

Crystal Woodard and Rob Dickinson are in charge of vender relations this year. Anyone interested in being a vendor for the 2026 Arts on the Island weekend should email : [email protected]

03/30/2026

A very dear friend and former McKean County Historical Society director, Ruth Covert, passed away on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at the age of 86.
Ruth was a very involved and dedicated community member with her church, the McKean County Fair, and the McKean County Historical Society to name a few.
She played an integral part in the move of the museum from the basement of the courthouse to the old jail located directly behind it. She was also a much-valued volunteer who spent hours doing genealogy research, gave tours, wrote articles for The Bucktail News – the MCHS newsletter – and participated in and helped to set up many of the programs offered by the museum. In addition, everyone counted themselves lucky to be at the museum whenever Ruth stopped by; especially if she was sharing her baked goods, in particular her Peanut Butter Blossom cookies.
Ruth was a passionate historian on the topic of the Civil War. She took on a role and helped contribute family stories toward a well-received program dubbed "The Tuesday Club" regarding a group of women who gathered once a week on a Tuesday to work on sewing projects during the war. She also helped Chris Mackowski, a professor at St. Bonaventure, with his research on Ulysis S. Grant. One of her last projects was working with John Simpson on his book "All for the Union" that featured information utilizing letters written by one of the Bucktails. The author was so impressed by Ruth’s assistance and input that he later donated these letters to the MCHS when he came to do a program for the museum that; once again, she helped to set up.
She was a close friend to all of us at the museum and will be very much missed.