Quest for Freedom - Pittsburgh North

Beaver Area Heritage Foundation
P.O. Box 147
Beaver, PA 15009
Phone: 724-775-7174
March – December: Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sundays, 1–4 p.m.

Beaver Area Heritage Foundation is housed in a renovated railroad station on East End Avenue in the heart of Beaver. There is also a log house reconstructed on-site using logs found in a local home and thought to belong to the eighteenth-century Fort McIntosh. It offers a glimpse of life in the early 1800s through crafts and programs. Fort McIntosh no longer exists, but recent efforts have uncovered chimney remnants and a special park has been established around these areas in what was once part of the original fort.

Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation
The William Vicary Mansion
1235 3^rd Avenue
Freedom, PA 15042
Phone: 724-775-1848
Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. or by special appointment

Housed in the 20-room mansion built by Captain William Vicary, in what is now Freedom, PA, the Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation is restoring the home to its original 1800s appearance. Here visitors can take a tour of the home and obtain information on the local Underground Railroad sites and history in the County. Special events representing the home through various time periods, since its completion in 1829, highlight the changing exhibit space and the museum shop.

Lawrence County Historical Society
408 North Jefferson Street
P.O. Box 1745
New Castle, PA 16103
Phone: 724-658-4022
Tuesday – Saturday, 9 – 5 p.m.

Housed in the Joseph A. Clavelli mansion, formerly the George Greer mansion, it offers visitors a variety of permanent and changing exhibits including: Shenango China, vintage clothing and furnishings, and sports history. The society also offers archives with documents, photographs, letters, maps and other items related to the region’s past. Lawrence County has a substantial Underground Railroad and the Civil War history that includes such prominent citizens as: Reverend A.B. Bradford (Buttonwood mansion); P. Ross Berry, an African American sub-contractor whose buildings include the county courthouse, and Congressional Medal of Honor recipients Joseph Chambers and Cyrus B. Lowel.

Little Beaver Historical Society
P.O. Box 304
Darlington, PA 16115
Phone: 724-622-5342
Free and open weekends June – October. Sunday, 1 – 5 p.m. or otherwise by appointment.

Little Beaver Historical Society maintains exhibits in two buildings in Darlington about two blocks from each other. Both buildings house exhibits about the area’s history, including connections to the Underground Railroad. The Greersburg Academy building dates back to 1802 and was originally used as a prep school for men entering the ministry and later changing to a classical academy. William McGuffey and John Brown are purported to have attended the academy. The Little Beaver Museum building was constructed in 1883 and served as the area’s high school until 1957. The museum building has been fully renovated.