Current Exhibits
Bayard Rustin’s Local Roots
Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987), whose 100th birthday would have been March 2012, was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, pacifism and non-violence, and gay rights. He was also a West Chester native who was active here and across the nation in the struggle for human rights and economic justice for over 50 years. Rustin’s extensive background in the theory, strategies, and tactics of nonviolent action proved invaluable his close association with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This exhibit will explore how Rustin became who he was because of his experiences and environment here in Chester County.
Our deepest gratitude to The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Heritage Philadelphia Program, The Philadelphia Foundation, and PGN for their support of our exhibit.
IN STITCHES: Unraveling Their Stories
December 2, 2011 through September 7, 2012
Don’t miss this rare opportunity! Westtown School and Chester County Historical Society are providing a unique opportunity to see large portions of their needlework collections in one exhibition.
Learn how commonplace pieces become heirloom treasures. Enjoy select samplers and other embroidery made by girls from Chester County and the surrounding area 200 years ago.
In Stitches is generously sponsored by William B. Parker and Westtown School.
“If Walls Could Talk”
Horticultural Hall, the main museum building for Chester County Historical Society has an amazing history. Did you know that Buffalo Bill, Frederick Douglass, Lucretia Mott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry W. Beecher, Signor Blitz, Tom Thumb have all appeared here?
This exhibit and meeting hall, built by the Chester County Horticultural Society in 1848, became the epicenter for current issues, politics and civil rights in Chester County during the Civil War period. It was the site for Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society meetings, the first Woman’s Rights Convention in Pennsylvania and a rallying place for the Wide-Awakes, young men who marched in support of Lincoln during his 1860 presidential campaign. In 1863 Frederick Douglass spoke to a packed house as he recruited men for the “Colored Troops” to fight for the Union during the Civil War.
Find out how Horticultural Hall was transformed into the posh West Chester Opera House, then into dignified Memorial Hall the home of the McCall Post of the GAR and finally into the fascinating museum of the Chester County Historical Society.
Just Over the Line: Chester County and the Underground Railroad
“Chester County, Pennsylvania was a region of tremendous paradox during the antebellum period. Located just north of the Mason-Dixon Line dividing the free and slave states, it was an important junction of the Underground Railroad’s Eastern Line…”
– William Kashatus, Just Over the Line: Chester County and the Underground Railroad, 2002
The award-winning exhibition about local Underground Railroad activities is back by popular demand! Although it is a scaled-back version, there are still many interactive ways for kids and adults to learn about what happened in Chester County before the Civil War began. How did enslaved people gain freedom? Who helped? Who did not? Come to find out.
Ellen Endslow and Mary Brooks discuss the Sampler Exhibit at
Chester County Historical Society.
