The Appalachian Trail Museum Society Welcomes You to the Appalachian Trail Museum Website

The Appalachian Trail Museum has found a home: a 200-year-old grist mill at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania. The grand opening for the Museum will be on National Trails Day, June 5, 2010.

Preparing the museum for the grand opening requires a lot of funding. We are currently in the process of a major fund drive to accomplish our goals.

Click on "Appalachian Al" to make a donation, to view our progress in our current fundraising campaign, and see how you can help make the museum a reality.

The mill building is within two miles of the 2200-mile Appalachian Trail's midpoint. The building is next to the Pine Grove General Store, home of the Half Gallon Club, and near the Ironmasters Hostel. This is a favorite stop for long-distance hikers where they try to eat an entire half gallon of ice cream at a single sitting.

The inside of the building will be renovated and displays installed. The building is owned by the Park and in the past served as a visitors' center but has been lightly used for years.
Restoration work will be done largely by volunteers under the leadership of PATC's North Chapter "Yankee Clippers" crew. Hikers and trail maintainers from other clubs have volunteered to help and additional volunteers are welcome.

Exhibits initially will be on one floor of the building until additional renovations are completed. The opening exhibits will feature the Earl Shaffer Shelter, artifacts from other early hikers including Grandma Gatewood, Gene Espy and Ed Garvey. Also planned is a children's discovery area to introduce children to the A.T. and outdoor activities and give them the opportunity to play with and learn about camping equipment. The museum plans to include inside and outside areas to welcome hikers and give visitors a chance to hear trail stories directly from hikers. The museum is looking for Ideas on how to make the hiker area interesting and useful.

The museum also will have computers displaying the more than 12,000 mid-point thru-hiker photos taken in Harpers Ferry since 1979. The photo project, with support from a grant by the Quimby Foundation and in cooperation with ATC, includes a website which will be reached through the ATC website, www.appalachiantrail.org. Terry Harley-Wilson, the museum's vice president and curator, arranged for the scanning and preservation of each photo. More information and forms granting permission to display photos are available by writing to atmuseum@yahoo.com as well as by clicking on the link below.

At first, the museum will operate on weekends in the spring and fall and daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day. This schedule matches park visitation. The museum society is looking for volunteers to staff the building and others to do programs such as talks, nature walks and demonstrations of outdoor skills with an emphasis on programming for children. The museum society is continuing to collect artifacts. Questions about the museum project may be directed to info@atmuseum.org

For information about the docent program beginning January 10, 2010, click here
The museum society has launched a fund-raising campaign to pay for materials for the building renovation and for exhibits. Contributions can be made to the A.T. Museum Society, which is an independent, tax exempt group. The group has set a target of raising $100,000, of which approximately half would go toward creating displays.
Please check out the news page concerning the AT photo project and give your permission concerning your photo when you passed thru Harpers Ferry.
Thank you for your interest and support,

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