Chester County History Center

Chester County History Center (CCHC), formerly the Chester County Historical Society,[3] is a nonprofit historical society, founded in 1893, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the history of Chester County, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding area. The History Center is located at 225 North High Street in downtown West Chester.

Chester County History Center
Established1893
Location225 North High Street
West Chester, Pennsylvania
TypeHistorical/Museum
DirectorConor Hepp
Websitemycchc.org
Horticultural Hall
Built1848[1]
ArchitectThomas U. Walter
Part ofWest Chester Downtown Historic District (ID85001447[2])
Designated CPJuly 2, 1985

History

Dr. Robert Lukens served as the President of the Chester County History Center from 2011 until 2015.[4] Lukens oversaw the renovations and beautification of the society's buildings and other facilities.[4] He acquired state grants for the society and published a historical column in the Daily Local News.[4]

Building
Horticultural Hall in 1958

The History Center is a 56,000-square-foot complex that houses a museum and a library. It includes two connected buildings.

The older building, known as Horticultural Hall, was designed by architect Thomas U. Walter in 1848. It was the site of the 1852 Pennsylvania Women's Rights Convention.[5] CCHC moved to the building in 1942 and modernized it in 1979.

In 1992, the adjacent YMCA building was incorporated into the complex. The library collection contains over 500,000 manuscripts, 80,000 photographs, and 20,000 volumes. The National Register of Historic Places named West Chester one of "America's Dozen Distinctive Destinations" in 2006.[6]

Horticultural Hall in the 1870s

See also

References
  1. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System.Note: This includes Ray H. Ott Jr. (October 1984). "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: West Chester Downtown Historic" (PDF). Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. Snavely, Allison (July 7, 2020). "CHESTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY REBRANDS TO BETTER CONNECT WITH COMMUNITY". chestercohistorical.org. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  4. Coyle, Cat (August 6, 2015). "Robert D. Lukens, 42, president of Chester County Historical Society". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  5. Young, Robyn (October 3, 2015). "The 1852 Women's Rights Convention at Horticultural Hall in West Chester". Chester County Day. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016. Note that the pages are store by year, click "2015"
  6. "About". Chester County Historical Society. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
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