History

In 1977 a group of Forest Countians gathered to organize a Forest County Historical Society "to collect and preserve all materials pertaining to the history of Forest County and to preserve historical buildings and structures within the County".

In the early 1980's, the group published the "Forest County Pennsylvania Pictorial History" under the auspices of then President, Donald Taft. Included in its pages were Place Names and Post Office listings compiled by Alex Badenoch.

The problem of storing the collected artifacts and written records eventually led to the purchase in 1997 of the George W. and Martha Bonner Robinson home built on Elm Street in Tionesta in late 1800’s. This house (architecture Pre-Victorian East Lake Stick Style) is now the home of the Forest County Historical Society and is known as the Forest County History Center. Housed in its several levels are displays of printing press, cobbler, blacksmith, butcher and general farming and domestic tools. The lumbering endeavors of the past are well represented. War relics and Indian arrowheads, historical paintings and quilts from the County are also on display. A library of historical books, photographs, pamphlets and documents are growning. We continue to modify the house with the addition of a storage room and a Genealogy Room in which to peruse archival material. On the grounds have been added the replica of a 19th Century lumberman's dwelling, Camp 7, and the actual West Hickory Bridge tollbooth.

The Historical Society has been instrumental in registering the Tionesta Creek Timber Crib Dam in the State and Federal Historical Registries. It is possibly the only dam of its kind left in the United States and was built by the US Army in 1893 as part of a National effort to improve river navigation.