Myerstown heritage museum holds grand opening holiday weekend

The Myerstown Area Heritage Center and Museum opened its doors to the public Independence Day weekend to high turnout, according to board president Susan Eckenroth.

The board has long planned for a Fourth of July — and U.S. 250th anniversary — grand opening, which Eckenroth said they were proud to accomplish. She said attendance July 4 was high, including visitors from Washington state and Florida who originally came from the area and were in town visiting family.

Exhibits are made up almost entirely of donations with a few loans, exclusively containing items that connect to the history of Myerstown Borough and Jackson Township. Volunteers have been processing donations for around 18 months, Eckenroth said, a process that involved labeling and cataloging every item into museum management software.

The museum, vice president Joel Zinn told LebTown in November, is an idea dating back years, though it was officially established in 2024 when funds from a trust became available. Myerstown Borough completed renovations on a Community Center room and waived fees, giving them a free location.

Several areas are dedicated to education, featuring yearbooks, photo albums, and jerseys from Myerstown High School and Albright College (originally Palatinate College, once situated in Myerstown).

Others are dedicated to the businesses of Myerstown’s past, with Eckenroth explaining that the area was once home to many businesses and financial institutions.

A postcard display curated and donated by local collector Donald Brown of the Institute of American Deltiology provides detailed captions for historic photo postcards of Myerstown locations and people.

Among other items on display include literature from Myerstown’s churches, a historic Myerstown Borough Police uniform, and preserved local newspapers.

An exhibit loaned from a Bucktails Regiment group, filling a small room to the side of the main museum, contains information about the Civil War and the regiment. On Saturday, Eckenroth said, a reenactor came to talk to attendees about the exhibit.

The museum is open Thursdays from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. and the first Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Myerstown Community Center. More information is available on its Facebook page and website.

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