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LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER
Bethlehem Catasauqua East Penn Northampton Northwestern Parkland Salisbury Whitehall-Coplay

Celebrating local history and community

Published August 30. 2022 01:43PM
by Ed Courrier Special to the Bethlehem Press

Five weekends in July offered free admission to select local historic sites during the Lehigh Valley Passport to History’s 2022 flagship event, Passport to History Month.

As one of more than 36 participating historic organizations and museums, the Governor Wolf Historical Society welcomed visitors to three historic buildings at 6600 Jacksonville Road, Bath July 16.

Members of the public toured the one-room Wolf Academy historic site built by George Wolf in 1785 before he became Pennsylvania’s seventh governor. Visitors trekked through the circa 1795 Ralston-McKeen Georgian-style limestone house and the three-room Monocacy School that serves as the society’s headquarters.

Passport to History Month celebrates local history and the community that brings Lehigh Valley history to life with free tours, interactive exhibits, children’s activities, and more.

Among the museums and organizations involved with the month-long celebration of local history are the National Museum of Industrial History, Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, National Canal Museum, Coopersburg Historical Society, Northampton Area Historical Society, Emmaus Historical Society, Alburtis Lock Ridge Historical Society, George Taylor House, Jacobsburg Historical Society, and Whitehall Historical Preservation Society.

Upcoming monthly virtual programming includes Native American History, Haunted Historic Lehigh Valley, Veteran History, and Holiday Traditions.

Lehigh Valley Passport to History is a partnership of historic sites and resources in and around Pennsylvania’s Lehigh and Northampton counties. Information and links to in-person events at partner organizations: https://lvhistory.org/

PRESS PHOTOS BY ED COURRIER Gov Wolf 01: The Wolf Academy Historic Site was one of three buildings open for visitors July 16. The circa 1785 is a one room limestone structure built as a school of higher learning for young men.
Gov Wolf 02: Bath resident and society member Bob Swan picks up an antique hand saw from a collection of vintage tools on display in the Wolf Academy. Swan explains that the tool is also known as a buck saw or bow saw.
Gov Wolf 03: Set up in the parlor of the Ralston-McKeen house, colonial ‘Spice Girl' Jean Decker from Catasauqua explains how the early residents of the Lehigh Valley used locally grown herbs in food preparation, medicinal treatments as well as to ward off bad smells.
Gov Wolf 04: Bill Reppert from Northampton skillfully cuts out an intricate pattern with his scroll saw inside the Wolf Academy Historic Site. He is a descendent of the John George Kleppinger family who were early settlers of his hometown.
Gov Wolf 05: Nazareth resident Lucienne Hosford offers a sample of her potato pie freshly baked in the open hearth of the Ralston-McKeen house kitchen.¬