ENTER           Last update: May 8, 2012   

Allison-Antrim Museum, located in Greencastle, PA, provides a home for the artifacts, treasures, and history of Greencastle - Antrim.  With the founding of AAMI, the future of our historical legacy will be more secure. Allison-Antrim Museum is tucked into the residential community on South Ridge Avenue across from the Greencastle-Antrim Middle School, and for this reason it is somewhat camouflaged to the passersby.  Inside its front door though, lies a gem where one may discover Greencastle-Antrim's Heritage.  Admission is free, so it makes the perfect family destination during these difficult economic times.  It's location directly across from the GA School District campus also provides opportunities for students at all grade levels with educational field trips.  The Pennsylvania Department of Tourism has designated Allison-Antrim Museum an official site on the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails of History.

May 10 Monthly Speaker Meeting
On Thursday, May 10, at 7 pm, Allison-Antrim Museum will hold a monthly speaker’s meeting in the restored German bank barn at 365 South Ridge Avenue, Greencastle, PA.  "Soul Drivers: The Story of the Logan Brothers" is the theme of the May monthly program.  Award winning journalist Winnie Wagaman will discuss the community of Africa in Franklin County and the Logan family of Ringgold, MD and Quincy, PA.  While Franklin County was an avenue of escape on the Underground Railroad, it was also home to a number of slave catchers like brothers Dan and Hugh Logan who made their living catching slaves.  They were also among the men who captured John E. Cook, a John Brown insurrectionist and delivered him to the jail in Chambersburg. Wagaman’s “Soul Drivers” is an exciting and little-told story, based on original research.  Wagaman is an award-winning writer for Roanoker Magazine, Leisure Publishing, and formerly wrote for the Waynesboro Record Herald.   She was the editor of Antietam Review and Warm Welcomes Magazine.  Wagaman is also active in the field of living history.

Second Annual Garden Tour
Allison-Antrim Museum will be hosting the 2^nd Annual Spring Garden Tour as a fund raiser on Sunday, June 3, 1 pm to 5 pm.  Six Greencastle-Antrim area homes will be featured on the tour.  They are:  Dale & Karen Thatcher, 14007 Williamsport Pike; Emile & Jeanine Charest, 20 Starlight Drive, off Williamson Ave; Tom & Jane Pensinger, 538 Meadow View Circle, Moss Spring; Steve & Judy Mountain, 8701 Golf Vista Drive, Castle Green; Dee Hawbaker, 437 Leitersburg Pike; Gary & Karin Bruner, 7262 Ruritan Drive, Kauffman’s Station. 
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Dolly Harris Statue and Contest
To honor the bravery of Dolly Harris, Allison-Antrim Museum is raising money to construct a life-size bronze statue of her, near the location of Dolly’s childhood home at 37 North Carlisle Street.  The cost of the bronze statue is $37,000.  If every female, from baby to elder, in Franklin County would donate $2.00, the bronze statue would be paid for.  The “Dimes & Dollars for Dolly” fundraiser was launched in April of 2011 and will continue with a special interactive opportunity for women in the area. 

Officials are looking for women who can spend the next four years portraying Dolly as a teenager, as well as a woman who can be Dolly, later in her life.   Any woman interested may print the registration form and contest information packet.  Research on Dolly’s life can also be found on this website.  All women registered for the casting call for Dolly Harris will debut at Greencastle-Antrim’s 2012 Civil War 150^th event on June 16 at Allison-Antrim Museum, 365 South Ridge Avenue.   From there, the contestants will make appearances at events in the county, raising money for the proposed statue of Dolly.  The final two winners will be chosen during “Celebrate! The Arts at Old Market Day” in Chambersburg on Saturday, July 21.
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Mission Statement
The purpose of this organization is to establish a museum in the Greencastle-Antrim area to preserve and display the history of the Borough of Greencastle and Antrim Township.

    Allison-Antrim Museum, Inc. was founded in June 1994.
    A building was purchased in April 1998.
    The museum highlights the area's Scot-Irish heritage.

History of Museum Property
Alexander L. Irwin bought 14 acres and 76 perches of land from Jacob Stover May 3, 1860. This piece of land was part of the original tract of land belonging to John Allison that is now known as the Tayamentasachta Environmental Center. The 1860 county tax records indicate that Irwin built the house, that is now Allison-Antrim Museum, in that same year.  The Irwin family owned "Walnut Hill" for 73 years, from May 1860 until the death of Sarah Annie, his last surviving child, in December 1933. The two youngest daughters, Sarah Annie and Margaret Belle, never married. Upon the death of Sarah Annie the property was willed to the United Presbyterian Church of North America in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  We surmise that the property, while under the 2 1/2-year ownership of the church, was rented. The church then sold it to Cletus L. and Maude C. Zimmerman in September 1936. The Zimmerman's owned the property until 1988 when they sold it to the May's. Allison-Antrim Museum then bought the property in April 1998.
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The Barn
When the long-range plan for AAMI was developed in 1999, one of the objectives was to provide the proper storage environment with climate control for the museum’s collections, which would be built according to archival standards.  The primary action plan to fulfill that goal was to build a separate curatorial storage facility.

Some of the considerations included in the concept were maintaining the historic integrity of the property, the aesthetics of placing another building in proximity to the 1860 house, and the stated purpose of AAMI which is to preserve, exhibit, and interpret, items that will serve to illustrate the history of the Borough of Greencastle and Antrim Township.

The barn itself is an exhibit and the upper level provides exhibit, meeting and workshop areas. The lower level has storage for the collections.

The addition of the barn facility allows Allison-Antrim Museum to expand its programs and become more of an integral part of the Greencastle-Antrim community by strengthening its partnership with the school district and helping to increase the economic vitality of the area.