Long-Range Preservation for Local History Archives

FAIN: PG-50341-08

Ligonier Valley Historical Society (Laughlintown, PA 15655)
James Koontz (Project Director: March 2008 to October 2009)

Consultation with a conservator to develop a long-range preservation plan for archives related to the history of the Ligonier Valley in Pennsylvania, during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The archives includes some 3000 documents of local history dating back to 1780 and the family records of the Armor family who purchased a property which became known as Compass Inn in 1814 and ran it as a stagecoach inn until 1862. Compass Inn is owned and operated by the historical society as a living history museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Included in the archives are wills, deeds, indentured servant contracts, letters, diaries, maps, newspapers, and photographs. This grant would allow us to hire a consultant to assist in writing a long range preservation plan for our archives, which is an important primary source for the research in and understanding of both family life and transportation as it occurred from the east coast to the western frontier in our nation's history.