CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield County Historical Society will host an open house program to celebrate the grand opening of the William B. Alexander V Research Center at 511 Van Valzah Ave.
The research center is adjacent to the back of the society’s museum on East Pine Street. The program will take place from 1 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. May 3. The public is warmly invited to attend.
After a ribbon cutting ceremony, both the museum and research center will be open to the public for tours. Light refreshments will be supplied by Hedges Restaurant in Clearfield.
The Pennsylvania Woodmobile, a travelling exhibit that portrays the contributions of the lumber industry to north central Pennsylvania, will be parked for the program. It will be open for tours. The exhibit is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Hardwoods Development Council. All tours are free of charge.
The society will have its extensive display of Clearfield County historical books for sale. My Partner, The River, by Dudley Tonkin, which tells the history of the19th century logging and rafting era, will be discounted for the open house program.
According to society President, Dennis Shaffner, the Alexander Research Center came to be through the generous efforts of William Brown Alexander VI of Washington, D.C. in honor of his father. Alexander purchased the building for the society’s use.
The Alexander family, beginning with James Alexander, was among the first explorers and settlers of Clearfield County. In 1784, James Alexander led a survey exploration on Clearfield Creek to present-day Madera in order to mark the land that was his payment for Revolutionary War service.
James Alexander spent the freezing winter of 1777 with General George Washington in Valley Forge. After the American Revolution, the state of Pennsylvania lacked money to pay soldiers and, instead, granted them wilderness land for their wartime service. James Alexander’s son, William Brown Alexander I, settled Madera in 1809 and is buried in the town’s historic Alexander Cemetery.
Shaffner wishes to express the society’s deep gratitude to Robert Kurtz, of Clearfield. Kurtz served as honorary chair of the capitol campaign that is in the process of raising the funds needed to properly renovate the building that houses the new research center.
Shaffner also wishes to thank the many generous individuals and businesses that contributed to the campaign, which is moving close to meeting its necessary goal. He noted, “This is the greatest improvement made to the Clearfield County Historical Society since it moved into the present Kerr House museum location in 1962.
“The kindness and generosity shown by so many has made a great dream come true. Donations to the capitol campaign are still welcome.” The society was formally established in 1955.
The Alexander Research Center will contain microfilmed newspaper and census listings, as well as books, records and photos that tell the history of Clearfield County. It is indeed a boon to those researching their own family genealogy and Clearfield County history. The research center also serves as a repository for 993 family files and 421 family histories.
Parking for the May 3 event may be limited, but spaces will be found on Pine and Second streets.
