Museum Spotlight: The Passavant House
2021-08-17 17:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York)
Step back in time with the Passavant House! A representative from the Zelienople Historical Society will provide engaging conversation on the history of this museum, from the early days of the original founder, Dettmar Basse, to the artifacts and memorabilia in their collection dating back to the early 1800s. Following the presentation there will be an opportunity to ask questions and learn more!
The Passavant House was built in 1808 and was the second oldest house in Zelienople. It had been owned by Zelie and Philippe Passavant, who were instrumental in establishing Zelienople in the early 1800’s. Today the Passavant House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it serves as a museum, library, and headquarters for the Zelienople Historical Society. It features artifacts and memorabilia of the Passavant family and the town’s historic past.
This virtual program is part of a series promoting the Experience Kits initiative at select Allegheny & Washington County Libraries, and is sponsored by the Heinz Center Affiliates Program (HCAP). With your library card, receive free admission passes for up to four people to several local museums and historical sites. Learn more!
Upcoming Museum Spotlight Lectures:

Tuesday, August 24, 2021: McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center

PLUS: If you have children, join us on Saturday, August 21 at 10 am for a special virtual storytime!
Registration is required. Please click here to register!

Museum Storytime: The Passavant House
2021-08-21 10:00 - 10:30
Enjoy our special virtual storytime in honor of the Passavant House! We will read a story that will introduce children to local history in a fun and engaging way. Following the storytime, kids will be encouraged to participate in an activity based on the story we read!
The Passavant House was built in 1808 and was the second oldest house in Zelienople. It had been owned by Zelie and Philippe Passavant, who were instrumental in establishing Zelienople in the early 1800’s. Today the Passavant House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it serves as a museum, library, and headquarters for the Zelienople Historical Society. It features artifacts and memorabilia of the Passavant family and the town’s historic past.
This virtual storytime is part of a series promoting the Experience Kits initiative at select Allegheny & Washington County Libraries, and is sponsored by the Heinz Center Affiliates Program (HCAP). With your library card, receive free admission passes for up to four people to several local museums and historical sites. Learn more!
Upcoming Museum Storytimes:

Saturday, August 28, 2021: McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center

Registration is required. Please click here to register!

Museum Spotlight: The McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center
2021-08-24 17:00 - 18:00
At this virtual program, learn more about the history of the Mon Valley! Discover what artifacts await your visit – from the original schoolhouse of McKeesport, which opened in the first ward in 1832; to the Industry Room, which displays a variety of artifacts from McKeesport’s National Tube Works. Following the presentation there will be an opportunity to ask questions and receive personalized recommendations for what to see first!
Founded in 1980, The McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center is a non-profit museum and research facility dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of McKeesport and its surrounding area. The Center houses the City of McKeesport’s first schoolhouse, previously situated at five other locations. Five additional rooms display varying aspects of McKeesport and the Mon Valley’s history, including an Industry Wing with a large-scale model of the US Steel National Tube, church collections, and an exhibit honoring Helen Richey. Peruse our nostalgic room of former store and restaurant donations and numerous nostalgic photos and paintings that will always bring to mind fond memories from the area’s rich historical past.
This virtual program is part of a series promoting the Experience Kits initiative at select Allegheny & Washington County Libraries, and is sponsored by the Heinz Center Affiliates Program (HCAP). With your library card, receive free admission passes for up to four people to several local museums and historical sites. Learn more!
PLUS: If you have children, join us on Saturday, August 28 at 10 am for a special virtual storytime!
Registration is required. Please click here to register!

Museum Storytime: The McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center
2021-08-28 10:00 - 10:30
Enjoy our special virtual storytime with the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center! We will read a story that will introduce children to local history in a fun and engaging way. Following the storytime, kids will be encouraged to participate in an activity based on the story we read!
Founded in 1980, The McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center is a non-profit museum and research facility dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of McKeesport and its surrounding area. The Center houses the City of McKeesport’s first schoolhouse, previously situated at five other locations. Five additional rooms display varying aspects of McKeesport and the Mon Valley’s history, including an Industry Wing with a large-scale model of the US Steel National Tube, church collections, and an exhibit honoring Helen Richey. Peruse our nostalgic room of former store and restaurant donations and numerous nostalgic photos and paintings that will always bring to mind fond memories from the area’s rich historical past.
This virtual storytime is part of a series promoting the Experience Kits initiative at select Allegheny & Washington County Libraries, and is sponsored by the Heinz Center Affiliates Program (HCAP). With your library card, receive free admission passes for up to four people to several local museums and historical sites. Learn more!
Registration is required. Please click here to register!

2nd Saturday Civil War Series: The Veteran Reserve Corps with David Welker
2026-05-09 13:00 - 14:00 | Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Avenue, Carnegie, PA, 15106, United States
In Person in the Lincoln Gallery at ACFL&MH

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9370579279Meeting ID: 937 057 9279

In early 1863, just two years into the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln’s Union cause was in deep trouble, and short on manpower the president was forced to implement the nation’s first general military draft. Similarly beset was Col. James B. Fry, the Union’s new provost marshal general, who had been placed in charge of the draft but without any troops to carry out the controversial effort. Just as troubled were thousands of individual wounded and injured Union combat veterans in the North’s many hospitals, who found themselves retained in military service but unable to return to withstanding the rigors of front-line service. In a bold stroke of organizational innovation Fry set in motion solving all these problems at once by creating the Invalid Corps. Renamed the Veteran Reserve Corps (VRC), Fry’s force contributed to Union victory not just by conducting the Union’s drafts, but in myriad other significant ways as well. By freeing healthy men to serve in the field the VRC ensured Northern victory and by the war’s close new Brig. Gen. Fry had commanded 60,000 men – only Gen. Ulysses S. Grant led more troops.

Performing important rear-area duties such as guarding government facilities—military stores, bridges, and prisoner of war camps—or working as office clerks and hospital nurses, the VRC’s presence scattered across the North served as a unifying, stabilizing force during the Civil War’s darkest days. Yet in some instances these invalid soldiers, intended only for rear area duty, found themselves once again called to combat, wielding skills they had learned in places such as Antietam, Gettysburg, and Spotsylvania. In its most notable such moment VRC men held off Confederate General Jubal Early’s corps during its July 1864 attack on Washington, DC, buying time for Grant to reinforce and save the nation’s capital.

Although the VRC’s many contributions have been largely lost to American history, now you can learn the full story of how these invalid veterans rose to continue serving their nation by making “the penultimate sacrifice.” Join historian and author David A. Welker who will be discussing his new book “Now I’m with the Invalids:” The Union’s Veteran Reserve Corps in America’s Civil War.

David A. Welker’s previous works include The Cornfield: Antietam’s Bloody Turning Point, Tempest at Ox Hill: The Battle of Chantilly and A Keystone Rebel: The Civil War Diary of Joseph Garey, as well as numerous academic journal and commercial magazine and newspaper articles about diverse aspects of the Civil War. A professional historian and military analyst for the Federal Government with 40 years’ experience, he holds a master’s degree in International Affairs from American University and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History from Westminster College.
