The McCain House Museum

Kittanning has such a rich heritage dating from 1734, when the Delaware Indians had a village here of about 100 persons. In 1756, Col. John Armstrong and his frontier troops destroyed that village.

With all of this history in mind, a group of eighteen male citizens formed the Historical Society in 1924. It wasn't until later that women were permitted to join as members. The society has operated since that day with only a three year inactive period from 1964 to 1967.

The McCain House Museum opened on October 31, 1971 after a great deal of renovation. The school district has used this building for a number of years until such time as they sold the building to the Historical Society. The McCain House was built in 1842. The Federal Style building holds historical materials from across Armstrong County.

Museum Hours -- The first Sunday of each month, April through mid-November from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, and Wednesday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 PM

The Mildred Lankerd Thomas Genealogical Library

Adjacent to the McCain House Museum is a Carriage House that contains the Mildred Lankerd Thomas Genealogical Library. The library was founded by Mildred Thomas in 1973 and was originally housed on the second floor of the museum. At present, the library contains the largest collection of genealogical materials in the county. In 1994, Connie Mateer became the librarian, having worked in the library with Mildred Thomas since 1986.

In 1995, Connie Mateer, with the help of Kathy Marcinek and Kathie Young, founded the Genealogy Club. Kathy Marcinek edited the ACGC Quarterly for the first seven years, and in the Spring of 2003, Linda Mockenhaupt became the editor.

Library Hours -- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, April through mid-November from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm