Quest for Freedom - Pittsburgh North

Bedford County Historical Society
242 East John Street
Bedford, PA 15522-1750
Phone: 814-623-2011
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Closed on major holidays.

The Bedford County Historical Society operates the Pioneer Library, the county’s most extensive collection of historical and genealogical materials. The Society’s Pioneer Library serves as a repository for all types of county historical information and offers visitors research on local Civil War and Underground Railroad subjects.

Blairsville Historical Society
116 East Campbell Street
Blairsville, PA 15717
Phone: 724-459-0580
Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. or by appointment

Operated under the auspices of the Historical Society of the Blairsville Area (HSBA), the Museum was established in 1986 in a house built by Nellie Stitt in 1909. Named after the president of the new turnpike, John Blair of Huntington, Blairsville has become one of the best-documented towns in Indiana County. Collections and records include information on the Underground Railroad and Civil War, and offers genealogical and research assistance by request.

Jefferson County Historical Society (aka Jefferson History Center)
172-176 Main Street
P.O. Box 51
Brookville, PA 15825
Phone: 814-849-0077
Tuesday – Saturday, Noon – 5 p.m. Sunday, 2 – 5 p.m.

The Historical Society is housed in the storefronts of the Nathan Greene Edelblute Building on Main Street. Changing exhibits include Native American culture and life of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The building also houses a Research Room and Archives for the county and assistance from a genealogist—advance notice requested. A large railroad display is also onsite, with Bowdish Model Railroad Sound & Light Shows included with admission or for a nominal fee if not visiting the museum. There are also special programs offered for all ages both on site and off site, and guided “torchlight” cemetery tours.

Somerset Historical Center
10649 Somerset Pike
Somerset, PA 15501
Phone: 814-445-6077
Tuesday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday, Noon – 5 p.m.

The Visitor Center at Somerset is the hub of this organization’s extensive site and recounts the agricultural and social history of the region from its earliest inhabitants to the modern industrial and mechanized rural county life. Also housed in the Visitors Center are the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County and the Museum Shop. Both are open during the winter season. See their website for operating hours.

Westmoreland County Historical Society
41 W. Otterman Street, Suite 310
Greensburg, PA 15601
Phone: 724-836-1800
Society hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. See website for hours for Historic Hanna’s Town.

Currently housed in a downtown Greensburg office, Westmoreland County Historical Society offers a wide variety of services to visitors. In addition to an extensive archival collection and research assistance, the Historical Society is also the administrator, along with Westmoreland County Parks and Recreation, of Historic Hanna’s Town, located in Hempfield Twp, founded in 1773 and site of early resistance to British rule in America. A wide variety of events, tours and other services are available. See website for more information.