(10/18) Adams County Historical Society (ACHS) presented to the Carroll Valley Council at its October meeting seeking support for its capital campaign project.
ACHS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving millions of local priceless treasures and sharing the remarkable story of one of America's most famous communities, according to executive director Andrew Dalton.
ACHS is building a Beyond the Battle Museum and Education Center to further expand its outreach and offer a one-of-a-kind experience through three centuries of local stories.
The new facility will pay tribute to the community through a program center and museum to highlight local history of Adams County, not just the Battle of Gettysburg, Dalton said.
Showcasing the unique items preserved by the organization, Dalton showed the council an original photograph of the Steelman Marker dedication, a monument located in Liberty Township to the first European trader west of the Susquehanna River. "Photographs like it, and millions of other irreplaceable items such as records, artifacts and other collections are at risk of being lost forever without the new facility," Dalton said
The organization’s current headquarters is located on the Lutheran Seminary campus. This facility location lacks essentials such as fire protection and climate control, which poses a risk to the millions of historic items contained by the society. The new 29,000 square-foot facility will be located just north of Gettysburg on Biglerville Road.
The Beyond the Battle Museum and Education Center will also be a community center where people can attend programs and classes and events and will offer free admittance to all local schools. "We have so many great things right here in our backyard to educate kids about," he said.
Although the society would be honored for any amount to aid the campaign, ACHS was asking municipalities to consider allocating a small portion of their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding toward the project.
COVID-19 relief funding such as ARPA can be utilized toward improving tourism and hospitality infrastructure, according to Dalton.
The society was requesting five percent of the borough’s total allocation, which is $20,000 over a period of five years, according to Dalton.
The capital campaign has already raised over $5 million for the $6-7 million dollar estimated project with the vast majority of it acquired locally.
