Program areas at YCHT
A major aspect of all of the History Center's program-related activities are the organization's 140,000 total square feet of museum galleries, historic sites, and collections storage. With only a facilities staff of two, the History Center maintains the internal and external spaces of the historical society museum and library & archives; the bonham house; the colonial complex (which is comprised of the general gates house and golden plough tavern, the barnett bobb log house; and the reconstructed colonial court house); fire museum, agricultural & industrial museum and over 30 York murals. In addition, this same staff assists in the construction and installation of displays/equipment of new exhibits.
During the past fiscal year (july 2022- june 2023) the History Center welcomed 17,114 visitors to its sites as visitors, program participants, library researchers, and special event attendees. Of that number, more than 1,688 students participated in field trips to the History Center's five museums. In addition to in-person programs, the History Center's online program engagement counted 3,419 participants streaming content through social media and zoom, while more than 35,000 people accessed the various resources and content offered on our website. School age programming includes thematic tours focusing on York County's colonial and revolutionary era History, the civil war period, industrial and manufacturing heritage and more. These programs provide an overview of state and local History and align with the Pennsylvania board of education academic standards. The History Center was able to offer 128 programs reaching a diverse audience base through demonstrations, a monthly lecture series, workshops, and interactive experiences at both online and in-person. In addition, the History Center hosts a number of community organizations' monthly meetings and programs often open to the public free of charge. Traditional partnerships continued, such as support for the city of York special events, re-enactor groups for living History events, and the York County convention and visitors bureau for promotion and coordination of County wide heritage tourism. The History Center has also provided numerous community educational programs for continuing adult education courses, talks for various community organizations, public walking tours, and monthly library and archives seminars offering insights into various research and genealogical techniques.
The York County History Center's exhibits & collections department is responsible for the preservation and interpretation of about 90,000 artifacts across eight sites and encompassing the History of York County, Pennsylvania and its inhabitants through time. The collections - ranging from textiles to militaria, artwork, agricultural implements, native american objects, and numerous decorative arts pieces - are used in a variety of museum exhibitions throughout the year to provide rich, educational experiences and for research purposes for the local York County community and beyond.
The History Center's library & archives houses an extensive and varied collection covering a wide range of topics including genealogy and family History, local History, the decorative arts and military History with the emphasis of York County History. Over 977 patrons visited the History Center's library & archives during this past fiscal year including school groups and college students. The library staff fielded nearly 542 emails and 351 phone calls and processed over 78 research requests and 36 photo reproduction requests. It also co-hosts three monthly meetings/programs: allvets oral History program, the south central Pennsylvania genealogical society and the York civil war round table. The library & archives also publishes the annual journal of York County heritage. Over 149 donations to the library & archives were received.