Lancaster County Historical Society
http://www.lancasterhistory.org/
Ephrata Borough
Ephrata Chamber of Commerce
Ephrata Public
Library
Virtual Ephrata
YOU DID IT! The Cocalico Valley has helped us pass our 1 million dollar goal. Thank you.
Consider supporting our future, we need volunteers as well as financial support.
NOW OPEN
The William and Jemima Brossman Library and
Research Center
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday
9:30 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Saturday 8:30 A. M. to 5:00 P.M.
TheTheodore R. Sprecher Museum
Open Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
This is where we started from:
We are excited about the Heritage Matters phase 1 groundbreaking . View the pictures to share in the excitement and future of the Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley.
Click on any of the pictures to enlarge.
The Historical Society of the
Cocalico Valley was established in 1957 to “gather and preserve historical
materials and data relative to the heritage of the northeastern part of
Lancaster County known as the Cocalico Valley.”
Its resources are open to the general public, and visitors and
researchers from all across the country, as well as local citizens and school
children, come here to learn of the area’s past.
Since the Society’s inception 48 years ago it has acquired in excess of
6,300 manuscripts and typescripts, over 10,000 photographs and 360 rolls of
microfilms, over 2,000 books, over 2,500 artifacts ranging
from tall-case clocks to small advertising items, and thousands of
pieces of Cocalico Valley ephemera contained in over 2,800 vertical files.
As a result of the continual growth of the Society’s collections, the
current historic home, the former Connell Mansion, at 249 West Main Street,
Ephrata, is bulging at its seams. It
now serves as library, research area, museum and
archival storage. Proper storage of
artifacts has become very difficult. Currently
many priceless and irreplaceable paper objects cannot be protected from the
threat of water damage and fire.
Fourteen years ago in anticipation of the Society’s growth and the
eventual need to expand, the Society authorized
the purchase of the adjacent Hamaker House. The Society has title to both the Connell and Hamaker
properties and is currently debt free.
This campaign will allow major renovations to the Hamaker House,
converting the property into the Society’s new library, providing space and
protection for its collections in a fireproof,
humidity-controlled vault. A new entrance, lobby and
handicapped accessible restrooms will be built, along with a spacious
reading room for researchers. Next, the interior of the former Connell Mansion,
built in 1869, will be refurbished
and all twelve rooms of the building will be converted into exhibit spaces and
period room settings for the display of the Society’s collections.
A third aspect of the project includes the construction of a new parking
area to the rear of the Society’s property, landscaping of the grounds and
grading to insure proper drainage, the restoration and relocation of the
original late nineteenth century iron fence, and other features addressing
appearance and security. Also
included as part of the grounds project will be the restoration of the
picturesque Farmers National Bank clock on the front lawn of the Society.
A final but vital part of this plan is an addition of $200,000 to the
Society’s endowment fund. At present the income from the endowment fund is inadequate
to meet routine ongoing expenses. Interest
from this new endowment will be used in paying staff wages and continuous
maintenance of the property.
Does heritage matter to you?
Give us a call to see how you can be a part of making history happen by supporting The Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley