Goal: $30,000.00

Specific Need

Be inspired.

Be informed.

Be transformed.

What’s your story? Do you have children or grandchildren? What’s your favorite memory from childhood? What’s the family recipe that still makes your mouth water? What’s the strongest moment in your life…the one that still evokes emotions years later, but still the one you’d not trade for anything? These moments make you the person you are…and these memories - these stories - make up our collective memory of Crawford County.

We're writing to ask for your support in our mission to uncover and protect these stories - these memories of the past - in order to enrich our future through a donation this year during Crawford Gives. Crawford Gives is a four day philanthropic event held from August 24-27, 2024 inspiring the people of Crawford County to support the nonprofit organizations that help our community thrive. The Historical Society works tirelessly to collect, preserve, and share who we are as people and your help is needed to assist us in carrying out this work for future generations.

In the last year, the Society has worked directly with over 300 children in Crawford County through field trips, summer camps, and tours and thousands of adults. We’ve cleaned and preserved over 75 gravestones in local cemeteries and given cemetery tours in an attempt to learn from our ancestors and preserve the legacy of those who have come before us . An oral history program, in conjunction with StoryCorps and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, is being rolled out this summer to collect the everyday stories - your stories - that make us unique! A brand new museum gallery is nearly ready to fill with exhibits at the Tarr Mansion, helping to educate future generations on what makes our community special. We’ve even unveiled the “History on the Road” program, acquiring a 1921 Ford Model T to take the Historical Society throughout Crawford County and reach audiences where they live.

We're asking for your support through a donation of whatever you are able, either via a check in advance of the four days of giving, or via a credit card donation at crawfordgives.org between August 24th and 27th. A check donation form is included with this letter. Your generosity means more to us than you can imagine - and with your help we hope to keep the stories that make us special - your stories - for generations to come. Thank you for all you do to preserve the history of our community!

This year's spefic projects:

-Restoration and opening of museum space at the Tarr Mansion

-Staffing to ensure the mission and programs of the Society are stable and expanded in the future

-Expanding the oral history program, school tour program, and "History on the Road" program further

-Developing and expanding the exhibits in the Society's new gallery to cover the history of YOU in Crawford County!

Mission

OUR MISSION

The mission of the Crawford County Historical Society is to protect and share our past in order to enrich our future! According to our by-laws, the purpose of the Society is to preserve and interpret the history of Crawford County for future generations. The means to accomplish this goal shall include but not be limited to:

Collecting and preserving materials deemed historically relevant, most particularly materials which relate to the history of Crawford County
Making accessible and disseminating to the public its historical resources by such methods as become feasible
Owning, restoring and preserving real property [The Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum, The Tarr Mansion, the Mosier Medical Museum, the French Creek Canal Kiosk, and more!]
Promoting the county’s heritage through such means as outreach programs and in cooperation with other like-minded entities.

Profile

…IN OTHER WORDS

It is our goal to keep history alive for future generations! We promote national and local history with a strong emphasis on the preservation of real estate (such as the Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum and Tarr Mansion) and artifacts as well as archival material. Founded in 1880, the Society archive contains one of the oldest and most comprehensive repositories for genealogical resources in northwestern Pennsylvania, an extensive library of regional and state history and local authors, a large manuscript and photo collection and a massive collection of records of the Erie Railroad as well as Talon Zipper Company. We’d love to have you stop in and see the amazing things we have…we’ll see you soon!