Slifer House
Slifer House Receives $46,000 in Grants
April 19 , 2007
Gary Parks, Slifer House Museum Director, recently announced the receipt of $46,000 in grant monies. The monies will be utilized for specific projects which are integral to the Museum’s mission which is committed “to preserving the architectural heritage and history of the central Pennsylvania home of Eli Slifer and his family; and to discover, collect, preserve and interpret the social and material culture of the Victorian Era.”
The Woodcock Foundation for the Appreciation of the Arts granted the museum $10,000 for an expansion of the museum’s virtual reality tour into a week-long summer camp for children. During the days of the camp, children will perform chores, play 19th century games, be instructed in Victorian crafts and proper etiquette, read 19th century literature, and drill and march as a Civil War soldiers. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the Foundation’s Mission Statement reads, “So long as there are little children to be introduced to the creative arts and harried adults who missed exposure to great art and literature and timeless music to be shared across all age groups, there will be a need for efforts to encourage the appreciation of the arts.”
The museum has also received two grants from the Union County Commissioners’ Tourism Fund which is administered by the Susquehanna Valley Visitors’ Bureau. A grant for $3,000 will defray the costs of producing a dynamic lecture series focusing on Murder, Mayhem and Medicine. The lecture series is accompanied by a small exhibit. Future speakers will include Brandyn Charlton; Native American vs. White Settler Conflicts prior to the Revolutionary War; Kathy Fisher; Murder in Snyder County: The Harvey Willow Murder; Alan Irvine; Rogues and Rascals of Pennsylvania; Clarissa Dillon, Ph.D.; Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral: Medicinal Cures in the Colonial Period; and Barbara Floyd, Quackery in 19th Century Medicine.
An additional grant for $8,000 will facilitate the publication of a booklet highlighting the ecclesiastical architecture and decorative arts of the Susquehanna Valley. This booklet will provide a survey of noteworthy architecture, stained glass, cemeteries and tombstones, and related artifacts within the Valley. It will be edited by the Museum Director, Gary Parks.
The museum has also received an appropriation from the state for $25,000. This will be utilized to diminish the remainder of the bill for installation of an upgraded heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, which was installed in 2006. Cost of the humidity and temperature-controlled system was $95,000. Approximately half of the cost was generously provided by a grant for $45,000 from the Edna Sheary for Charity Trust.
The Slifer House Museum is a grand Victorian mansion built by Eli Slifer as a ‘country estate’ for he and his family. With initial success as a manufacturer, Eli Slifer later achieved prominence as a politician, ultimately serving as the Secretary of Pennsylvania during the Civil War. Designed by Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan in 1860, the house cost $8,000 to complete. When finished, it was featured in the October 1862 edition of Godey’s Lady’s Book. The house later served as the Evangelical Home for the Aged, providing the historical cornerstone for Evangelical Community Hospital and RiverWoods.
The museum is open for tours Tuesdays through Sundays 1-4 p.m. or by appointment and is owned and operated by Albright Care Services. For further information, please call (570) 524-2245.
To learn more about the Slifer House, contact us by e-mail or call (570) 524-2245.
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