Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission

The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission Awards $4 Million to Bolster Pennsylvania’s Museums and Historical Societies for the Nation’s 250th Anniversary and Beyond

Annual Cultural and Historical Support Grants provide critical operational funding to 182 institutions across 60 counties to preserve local heritage.

Harrisburg, PA – In support of the continued preservation and celebration of the Commonwealth’s rich history for the nation’s 250th anniversary and beyond, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) today announced the award of nearly $4 million in Cultural and Historical Support Grants. This year’s funding will empower 182 eligible museums and official county historical societies across 60 Pennsylvania counties.

“Museums and historical societies all across the Commonwealth share in telling the story of Pennsylvania, its diverse communities and regions, and the important role they have played in our nation’s story,” says Andrea Lowery, Executive Director of PHMC. “We are thrilled to be able to help support these vital institutions in their efforts to preserve and share Pennsylvania’s rich history.”

Designed to fortify Pennsylvania’s foundational history and museum community, the grant program delivers essential, unrestricted operating support to qualifying institutions. To qualify for the 2026-2027 grant cycle, eligible museums must maintain an annual operating budget of over $100,000 (excluding capital and in-kind contributions) and employ at least one full-time professional or an approved equivalent.

This is the fifteenth year that the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission has worked with the state legislature to secure funding for museums and historical societies through the grant program.

Awards are calculated using a formula based on a percentage of each organization’s annual operating budget, with grants ranging from a minimum of $4,000 up to a maximum of $47,000. 

The following is a list of Cultural and Historical Support Grant awards by county:

Adams

Adams County Historical Society – $30,000

Gettysburg Foundation – $28,030

Pa Museum of Military Vehicles (dba WWII American Experience) – $10,000 

Allegheny

Carnegie Institute Carnegie Museum of Natural History – $47,000

Carnegie Institute (dba Kamin Science Center) – $47,000 

Childrens Museum of Pittsburgh – $47,000

Frick Art And Historical Center – $47,000

Historical Society of Western Pa (dba Heinz History Center) – $47,000 

Rivers Of Steel Heritage Corporation – $47,000

Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum Trust Inc – $40,000

The Tree of Life, Inc – $20,000

Armstrong

Armstrong County Historical Museum and Genealogical Society – $9,500

Beaver

Beaver County Historical Research & Landmarks Foundation – $9,500

Bedford

Old Bedford Village Inc – $8,000

Pioneer Historical Society (dba Bedford Co Historical Society) – $9,500 

Berks

Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles – $30,000

Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust – $40,000

Foundation For the Reading Public Museum – $47,000

General Carl Spaatz USAAF Museum – $6,000

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Assn – $47,000

Mid Atlantic Air Museum – $20,000

The Historical Society of Berks Co (dba Berks History Center) – $20,000 

Blair

Blair County Historical Society – $9,500

Railroaders Heritage Corporation – $20,000

Bradford

Bradford County Historical Society – $9,500

Bucks

Andalusia Foundation – $25,000

Bucks County Childrens Museum – $11,000

Bucks County Historical Society – $47,000

Historic Fallsington Inc – $6,000

New Hope Historical Society – $6,000

Newtown Historical Association Newtown Historic – $6,000

Pearl S Buck International House & Historic Site – $30,000

The Grundy Foundation – $12,750

The Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre – $6,000

The Tileworks of Bucks County – $30,000

Butler

Butler County Historical Society – $9,500

Historic Harmony Inc – $6,000

Cambria

Cambria County Historical Society – $9,500

Cameron

Cameron County Historical Society Inc – $9,500

Centre

Centre County Historical Society – $9,500

Discovery Space of Central Pa Inc – $30,000

Columbus Chapel & Boalsburg Estate Society (dba Columbus Chapel & Boal Mansion Museum) – $6,000 

Chester

Chester County Historical Society – $21,000

Graystone Society Inc – $20,000

Historic Sugartown Inc – $15,000

Historic Yellow Springs Inc – $30,000

Oxford Area Historical Assn – $6,000

Clearfield

Clearfield County Historical Society – $9,500

Clinton

Clinton County Historical Society – $9,500

Columbia

The Berwick Historical Society – $9,500

The Childrens Museum Inc – $6,000

The Columbia Co Historical and Genealogical Society – $9,500

Crawford

Crawford County Historical Society – $9,500

Cumberland

Cumberland County Historical Society – $20,000

Dauphin

AACA Museum Inc – $30,000

Hershey Derry Township Historical Society – $6,000

Historical Society of Dauphin County – $9,500

National Civil War Museum – $30,000

The MS Hershey Foundation (dba Hershey Theatre, Hershey Gardens, the Hershey Experience) – $40,000 

Whitaker Center For Science and The Arts – $47,000

Delaware

Colonial Pennsylvania Farmstead – $10,000

Delaware County Historical Society – $9,500

Nicholas Newlin Foundation Newlin Grist Mill – $20,000

Elk

Elk Co Historical Society – $9,500

Erie

Erie County Historical Society – $30,000

Experience Children Museum – $6,000

Presque Isle Light Station – $8,000

Fayette

Fayette County Historical Society – $9,500

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy – $47,000

Franklin

Conococheague Institute for The Study of Cultural Heritage – $15,000

Franklin County Historical Society Kittochtinny – $9,500

Renfrew Committee Inc (dba Renfrew Museum and Park) – $9,500 

Fulton

Fulton County Historical Society Inc – $9,500

Greene

Greene County Historical Society – $9,500

Huntingdon

Huntingdon County Historic Society – $9,500

The William E Swigart Jr Automobile Museum – $6,000

Indiana

Historical And Genealogical Society of Indiana County – $9,500

James M Stewart Museum Foundation – $6,000

Jefferson

Jefferson County Historical Society – $9,500

Punxsutawney Weather Center Inc (dba Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center) – $6,000 

Juniata

Juniata County Historical Society – $9,500

Lackawanna

Lackawanna Historical Society – $9,500

The Everhart Museum of Natural History Science & Art – $20,000

Lancaster

Hands On House Childrens Museum of Lancaster – $20,000

Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society – $30,000

Lancaster Science Center (dba Lancaster Science Factory) – $30,000 

Lancasterhistory.org LCHS & Wheatland (dba Lancaster Co Historical Society) – $47,000 

National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc – $40,000

North Museum Corporation (dba North Museum of Nature & Science) – $30,000 

Rock Ford Foundation (dba Historic Rock Ford) – $20,000 

Lawrence

Lawrence County Historical Society – $9,500

Lebanon

Historic Schaefferstown, Inc – $6,000

Lebanon County Historical Society – $9,500

Lehigh

America On Wheels Inc – $10,000

Da Vinci Discovery Center of Science and Technology – $47,000

Lehigh County Historical Society – $20,000

Luzerne

Wyoming Historical and Geological Society – $9,500

Lycoming

Little League Baseball Incorporated – $6,000

McKean

Eldred World War II Museum – $6,000

Mckean County Historical Society – $9,500

Mercer

Mercer County Historical Society – $9,500

Mifflin

Mifflin County Historical Society – $9,500

Monroe

Monroe County Historical Association – $9,500

Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm – $9,000

Montgomery

Historic Trappe – $20,000

Historical Society of Montgomery County – $9,500

Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania – $8,500

Morgan Log House Historical Society – $6,000

National Audubon Society Inc – $20,000

Schwenkfelder Library – $20,000

Northampton

Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Inc – $16,000

Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites Inc – $40,000

Moravian Historical Society – $15,000

National Museum of Industrial History – $24,000

Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society – $20,000

Northumberland

Northumberland County Historical Society – $9,500

Perry

Historical Society of Perry County Pennsylvania – $9,500

Philadelphia

American Philosophical Society – $47,000

American Swedish Historical Museum – $30,000

Arch St Meeting House Preservation Trust – $25,000

Athenaeum Of Philadelphia – $35,000

Chestnut Hill Conservancy – $16,720

Christ Church Preservation Trust – $13,000

Cliveden Of The National Trust – $25,000

College Of Physicians of Philadelphia – $47,000

Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site Inc – $47,000

Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion (dba Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion Inc) – $6,500 

Friends Of Laurel Hill & West Laurel Hill Cemeteries – $35,000

Friends Of The Japanese House and Garden (dba Japan America Society Of Philadelphia) – $25,000 

Fund For Girard College – $17,500

Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation – $35,000

Historic Fair Hill Inc – $4,000

Historic Germantown Preserved (dba Historic Germantown) – $8,000 

Historic Philadelphia Inc – $47,000

Historical Society of Pennsylvania – $47,000

Independence Seaport Museum – $47,000

John Bartram Association (dba Bartrams Garden) – $47,000 

Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia – $15,000

Museum of The American Revolution – $47,000

Naomi Wood Testamentary Trust (dba Naomi Wood Trust) – $15,000 

National Constitution Center – $47,000

National Liberty Museum – $47,000

Philadelphia Fire Department Historical Corporation – $5,000

Philadelphia Society for The Preservation of Landmarks – $45,000

Please Touch Museum – $47,000

Rosenbach Museum & Library Rosenbach of The Free Library of Philadelphia – $45,000

Science History Institute – $47,000

The Carpenters Company of The City and Co of Philadelphia (dba Carpenters Hall) – $15,000 

The Franklin Institute – $47,000

The Library Company of Philadelphia – $47,000

The National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Pa – $15,000

The Trustees of The University of Pennsylvania Penn Museum – $47,000

Wagner Free Institute of Science – $35,000

Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History – $47,000

Woodlands Trust For Historic Preservation – $30,000

Wyck Association – $10,000

Pike

Pike County Historical Society – $9,500

Schuylkill

Schuylkill County Historical Society – $9,500

Somerset

Historical & Genealogical Society of Somerset Co – $9,500

Susquehanna

Susquehanna Co Historical Society and Free Library Association – $9,500

Tioga

Tioga County Historical Society – $9,500

Union

Lewisburg Childrens Museum – $15,000

Union County Historical Society – $9,500

Venango

Oil Region Music Preservation Museum (dba Debence Antique Music World) – $6,000 

Venango County Historical Society – $9,500

Warren

Warren County Historical Society – $9,500

Washington

Bradford House Historical Assn – $8,500

Historical Society of Western Pa Meadowcroft Museum of Rural Life – $47,000

National Duncan Glass Society Inc (dba Duncan & Miller Museum) – $6,000 

Pennsylvania Trolley Museum Inc – $30,000

Washington County Historical Society – $9,500

Wayne

Wayne County Historical Society – $9,500

Westmoreland

Fort Ligonier Association – $30,000

Ligonier Valley Historical Society – $6,000

Westmoreland County Historical Society – $9,500

Westmoreland Fayette Historical Society (dba West Overton Village) – $15,000 

Wyoming

Wyoming County Historical Society – $9,500

York

Hanover Area Historical Society – $6,000

Spring Grove Area Historical Preservation Society – $6,000

Steam Into History Inc (dba Northern Central Railway) – $30,000 

Susquehanna Heritage Corp (dba Susquehanna National Heritage Area) – $6,000 

York County History Center – $40,000

The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission is the official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Learn more by visiting PHMC online or following us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram or LinkedIn.

 

 

PHMC Media Contact Details

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717-705-8639
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Media