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History Museums & Historic Sites

Pittsburgh Region

  • Pittsburgh History Center
    "Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center." An internationally acclaimed museum and research facility devoted to preserving and presenting the history and heritage of Western Pennsylvania. Located in downtown Pittsburgh in the Strip District; open daily from 10 am to 5 pm.
  • Allegheny Cemetery
    Located above the Allegheny River in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, the historic Allegheny Cemetery was the burial ground for many prominent Pittsburghers.
  • American Jewish Museum
    The American Jewish Museum at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh explores Jewish art, history and culture.
  • Bushy Run Battlefield
    A site east of Pittsburgh where Colonel Henry Bouquet defeated the Native Americans in 1763.
  • Fort Ligonier
    Relive the stirring days of young Colonel George Washington, General John Forbes and the encounters of the British and Americans against the French and Indians.
  • Fort Necessity National Battlefield
    Located in southwestern Pennsylvania about 11 miles east of Uniontown. Site of the opening battle of the French and Indian War.
  • Fort Pitt Museum
    Information about the museum that recreates the British Fort Pitt at the juncture of the Allegheny and Monongahela to form the Ohio River in downtown Pittsburgh operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  • French and Indian War Commemorative Site
    Pittsburgh and the beautiful Laurel Highlands countryside are rich in American colonial history. This site features historic destinations with information on lodging, restaurants, shopping and other activities in the area. Included are three Western Pennsylvania historic trails that were important in the French and Indian War: Forbes Trail, Washington Trail, and Braddock Trail.
  • Frick Art & Historical Center
    Clayton is the house of Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Carnegie's associate, in Point Breeze. There are also historic cars in their Car & Carriage Museum.
  • George Westinghouse Museum
    The George Westinghouse Museum has now merged with the Heinz History Center.
  • Hanna's Town
    Hanna's Town, founded in 1773 and named for its founder Robert Hanna, acted as the first Seat of Westmoreland County and the first English court west of the Allegheny Mountains. The village consists of the reconstructed Hanna Tavern/Courthouse and three vintage late 18th century log houses, a reconstructed Revolutionary era fort and blockhouse and a wagon shed that houses an authentic late 18th century wagon.
  • Harmony Museum
    Located north of Pittsburgh, near Zelienople. The home of Johann Georg Rapp's communal Harmonie Society in the 1800s.
  • Homewood Cemetery
    The Homewood Cemetery is part of the American Cemetery Movement of the 1800s and was founded in 1878 to provide a cemetery for residents of Pittsburgh's East End. It is located in the Squirrel Hill Section of Pittsburgh and is bordered by both Frick Park and the neighborhood of Point Breeze.
  • The LeMoyne House
    "The 1812 home of Dr. F. Julius LeMoyne, physician, abolitionist, and humanitarian. A stop on the Underground Railroad. Artifacts display the many humanitarian efforts of Dr. LeMoyne." Located south of Pittsburgh in Washington PA.
  • Meadowcroft Museum of Rural Life & Rockshelter
    "This 200-acre living history museum offers exhibits, tours, hands-on programs and workshops which explore the history of life on the land in Western Pennsylvania over the past 14,000 years." Located south of Pittsburgh in Avella.
  • The Nationality Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh
    Classrooms that represent highly creative periods or aspects of the heritage of the various nationalities that make up the Pittsburgh community. "Men, women, and children in church, school, fraternal, labor, and social organizations labored with pride to finance these unique gifts to a burgeoning urban university where generations of their descendants would study."
  • Old Economy Village
    The Old Economy Village was the home of the Harmony Society, a nineteenth century Christian communal society best known for its piety and industrial prosperity. Today, Old Economy Village is a six-acre historic site representing the social, religious and economic hub of the Harmony Society. Old Economy Village is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission with additional support provided by the Harmonie Associates, Inc. Located north of Pittsburgh on the Ohio River in Ambridge.
  • Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
    "An operating trolley museum where visitors can ride into the past aboard one of Pennsylvania's historic streetcars. Trolley rides, guided tour, exhibitions, film, picnic area, and gift shop." Located south of Pittsburgh in Washington, PA.
  • Rachel Carson Homestead
    The home of the famous environmentalist, author of Silent Spring, in Springdale (just north of Pittsburgh).
  • Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall
    This monumental building in the center of Oakland houses a military museum dedicated to US veterans of military service, orginally dedicated to veterans of the US Civil War.
  • Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area
    Check out their hard hat tours of former steel mills.
  • West Overton Museums
    A 19th Century Historic Village that includes the Overholt Homestead, Distillery Museum, and Birthplace of Henry Clay Frick. Located in West Overton Village, Scottdale, PA 15683 (Westmoreland County).
  • Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum
    Located within the new Smithsonian wing of the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum spans 20,000 square feet of exhibit space over two floors where visitors experience more than a century of Western Pennsylvania sports history from amateur to pro and across the spectrum of sports.
  • Westmoreland Museum of American Art
    "From smoky cityscapes and rural splendors to heroes of history and toys form yesteryear, Westmoreland Museum of Art educates and presents American art through changing exhibitions and collections, 18th century to the present." Located east of Pittsburgh in Greensburg, PA.
  • Woodville Plantation - the Neville House
    The only surviving 18th-century mansion house and garden in Allegheny County, Woodville Plantation was built c. 1785 by General John Neville, a Virginian, political and social leader, friend of Washington and Lafayette, Commander of Ft. Pitt, Revolutionary War hero, and defender of the U.S. Constitution in the Whiskey Rebellion.

Pennsylvania

  • Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
    The Allegheny Portage Railroad was the first railroad constructed over the Allegheny Mountains. This inclined plane railroad operating between 1834-1854 was considered a technological wonder of its day and played a critical role in opening the interior of the United States to trade and settlement. Located 12 miles west of Altoona (east of Pittsburgh).
  • The Jimmy Stewart Museum
    located east of Pittsburgh in Indiana, Pennsylvania (Jimmy's hometown) the museum highlights its namesake's accomplishments in film, radio and TV
  • Johnstown Area Heritage Association
    Johnstown Flood Museum
    Exhibits and artifacts graphically depict the story and the film The Johnstown Flood, winner of the 1989 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject, is show each hour in the museum's theater. Located in Johnstown, east of Pittsburgh.
  • Johnstown Flood National Memorial
    located in southwestern Pennsylvania, about 10 miles northeast of Johnstown. The park contains nearly 165 acres and preserves the remains of the South Fork Dam which broke in 1889. The resulting flood killed 2,209 people and is the subject of David McCullough's book The Johnstown Flood.
  • Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
    This is the official agency of the Commonwealth for the conservation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. On their website are links to Historic Sites & Museums.
  • State Museum of Pennsylvania
    The State Museum, located in Harrisburg across from the State Capitol, is a comprehensive professional museum which was established in 1905 to collect and preserve artifacts which illustrate the Commonwealth's history and to interpret its heritage through exhibits and programs. It is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  • Valley Forge National Historic Park
    Information about George Washingtons's winter camp in 1777.

United States - Directories

  • Alliance of National Heritage Areas
    The Alliance of National Heritage Areas is a collaboration of 23 Congressionally-designated regions that represent the stories of nationally significant and distinct aspects of America's heritage.
  • Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums (ALHFAM)
    ALHFAM is the museum organization for those involved in living historical farms, agricultural museums, outdoor museums of history and folklife and those museums - large and small - that use "living history" programming. Their website has links to many living history museums.
  • Museums USA
    A searchable directory of museums that may be browsed by state (then city) and by category. Includes history museums, historic houses, churches, cemeteries, and historical societies.