The Historic Preservation Trust of Lebanon County is throwing wide the doors of history on Saturday, May 11, with its annual open house at four historically significant locations.
According to a release from the Trust, the free open house runs from 1 to 4 p.m. at the following sites:
Chestnut Street Log House
1110 Chestnut St., Lebanon
Town founder George Steitz laid out lots for what would eventually become the City of Lebanon. This 1½-story structure remains as a reminder of 18th century life. The log house came under the care of the Trust in 1976 and was added to the National Register of Historic places in 1978.
Read More: LebTown tours the Chestnut Street Log House
Light’s Fort
11th and Maple streets, Lebanon
The property was constructed in 1742 by Johannes Leicht (John Light) with stone walls that are about 24 inches thick. The house includes a vaulted arched ceiling in the cellar, and a never-failing spring in one corner provided plenty of fresh water. The building was originally used as home and a Mennonite place of worship.
Monroe Valley Chapel
449 Monroe Valley Drive, Jonestown
A post-Revolutionary War-era church situated between two ridges of the Appalachian Mountains in northern Lebanon County, the chapel came under the care of the Trust in 1976. The fieldstone structure was reconstructed through the efforts of the students and staff of the Northern Lebanon High School and now is available for weddings and other religious activities.
Lindley Murray School
Ashner Miner Road, Annville
Students attended grades one through eight from 1854 to the early 1940s in this classic one-room schoolhouse. The property was renovated in 1974, completed in time for the nation’s 1976 Bicentennial celebration.
Read More: The one-room schoolhouses that once made up rural education in Lebanon County
Named after a Harper Tavern native who left an immense educational impact, Lindley Murray School was one of the last one-room schoolhouses to still be used as such in Lebanon County. At that point, the military purchased the land and began to use it as a paint shop.
Read More: Lindley Murray, the Harper Tavern native who left behind an educational legacy in Lebanon and beyond
For more information text or call 717-304-2093 or email info@lebanonhpt.org.
Another of the Trust’s annual summer traditions, the garden tour, is scheduled this year for Saturday, July 13, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This year, the tour will focus on the north Lebanon area.
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