Spring is here, summer is around the corner – and this means that the busy season for local history will soon be underway.

The Greene County Historical Society Museum will re-open for the season on May 2 and stay open through August 31. Such an asset to our county, a museum tour should be high on your family outing to-do list this summer. Embracing the physical history of Greene County’s heritage, the museum’s collection combined with the building’s own exceptional role as the former county Poor Farm, will provide a visitor a rare opportunity to experience the times of our ancestors.

Recent additions to the museum’s gift shop may supply further incentive for stopping in. The historical society staff and volunteers have been working through the winter months to begin a digital archive project. Rare documents in the GCHS library are being photographed and organized onto CDs for sale to the public. Many of the original documents are too fragile for hands-on research, but this digitization initiative will reunite researchers with these valuable records. Rather than a transcription or another researcher’s interpretation, these CDs will have high-quality images of the actual document pages. The digital archive project is on-going and will continue indefinitely as records are prepared for inclusion. CD #1 “Record of Inmates at the Greene County Poorhouse” which appropriately captures the museum building’s own history, debuted during Heritage Week in March and is available by mail order (Greene County Historical Society, P.O. Box 127, Waynesburg, PA 15370). CD #2 is expected to be on sale by mail order as of April 1, and will provide a digital version of Fred High’s Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful first published 100 years ago in March 1907. CDs to follow will include such subjects as: family Bible records; special edition newspapers; relevant excerpts from Justice of the Peace dockets, store ledgers and similar records maintained by individuals in the county. The CDs will be $25 each plus tax (and shipping when applicable). Call 724-627-3204 or visit www.greenecountyhistory.com to view updates on the Greene County Historical Society events, museum hours and gift shop additions.

On May 19, you can double-up on your local history opportunities by beginning with a pancake breakfast at the GCHS Museum and then stopping into the Cornerstone Genealogical Society for their second annual open house. The CGS library is open year round and is staffed with volunteers ready to help you track local and family history – the open house is a great day not only for first-timers to see what CGS has to offer, but also for re-visitors to explore recent additions to the research collection. Additions include the county-wide yearbook project and the county-wide photo archive project, as well as a constantly growing list of family genealogies and Greene County church and school records, among others. The open house is a great time to meet other researchers, sign-up for genealogy workshops and browse the vast array of records available. Call 724-627-5653 or visit www.cornerstonegenealogy.com to learn more about the library, view items for sale and see a selection of records made available online.

When visiting either of these facilities or their respective web sites, be sure to view the benefits of becoming a member. Membership is a simple and mutually beneficial way to support these organizations and their missions. Both are non-profit and rely on community support to maintain the buildings and collections. These organizations exist to benefit you and you are encouraged to become involved as a visitor, member or volunteer.

Another summer Greene County heritage opportunity, the “History on the Hill” tour beginning at the fountain in College Park and winding through the past of the parks, Waynesburg College and the people of Green Mount Cemetery, will run again this summer from May 17 through September 2 (see flyer for details). Tour times will be: Thursday and Friday at 7pm; Saturday at 10am; and Sunday at 2pm. Additional times can be scheduled by calling 724-627-8841 ext. 7 or emailing candicelynnb@yahoo.com.

A tip to those who took the tour last year, don’t forget that there are two tours “A” and “B” both beginning at the same time and place. “A” is the standard tour best taken first and “B” is an additional tour offering more compelling Green Mount Cemetery people stories and allowing for quality Q&A time. If you only toured once before, stop by again and let the tour guides know that you need to take the tour you missed.

Keep an eye open for additional local history opportunities this summer. Don’t miss a chance to learn and support your hometown heritage!