Forty Years Later And Still Growing

Apr 15, 2013 in News

Jacobsburg Historical Society was an idea born in the Fall of 1972.  Members of various community groups worked together for a common cause – to preserve the beauty of the Bushkill Creek Valley – particularly the Henry’s Woods area; and to also bring to life the rich history and culture of a long lost industrial community area, namely Jacobsburg, Filetown, and Boulton.

What appeared to be a great idea of creating a new State Park, ran into immediate opposition from almost all corners of the community.  The fisherman opposed the proposed lake (all PA state parks must have lakes) because of trout habitat destruction; boaters opposed the small lake and wanted a much larger one for power boating; hunters did not like the loss of prime small game hunting fields.  Everyone was opposed to flooding Henry’s Woods and nobody wanted the campgrounds, concession stands, the swimming pool, and especially the SEWER LINES to support all of this development.

There is a lot more to the story, and we will visit it in future newsletters and on our website.  The resulting journey brought many, many people from all parts of the community together to support the preservation of the history and the unique geographical area now primarily encompassed by theJacobsburg Environmental Center and also preserved and interpreted by the Jacobsburg Historical Society.  We are two distinct entities.  JHS is a non-profit organization and JEEC is a PA state agency.  This endeavor has been very cooperative over the years.

Our Society is recognized not only as the repository for many unique and rare firearms in our PA Long Rifle Museum, but also for the interpretive and educational exhibits that document the history of this truly early American industry and art form.  JHS is also working to preserve the history of a community that was very important in the early days of the start of our great Nation

Many people have been involved in these efforts over the last 40 years and we will highlight and chronicle some of these efforts in our newly redesigned web pages.  We have accomplished much, but we still have much to accomplish.  To do this, we need more resources.  We need more volunteers and more financial help.

Jacobsburg Historical Society has been very fortunate in the past, receiving much support from the community and many generous individuals, but we need to do more, if we are going to continue to offer the educational resources to future students of history.  We thank those that have helped in the past and thank you in advance for your willingness to continue to support our commitment to the community.