(photo courtesy of wikipedia)
For 4 years we have lived in Danville, and I drive past this place usually once a day if not more. It is 1 Bloom Rd. here in town. The first house settled in Danville. William Montgomery owned it, and it was owned by many family members after him. It is now a museum, open on Sundays from 2-4pm. I guess you can see why it's taken this long to be able to spend some time in there. It's usually nap time and Andrew works many weekends. After Mother's Day I told him that one thing I wanted to do in the next month was visit this house. So I finally did. It was well worth it. Being the old-stuff lover that I am, as well as very interested in history, it was a well spent 2 hours. I was greeted by a nice lady named Sue and given a very detailed tour of the home and all that is in it. Here is a link to more information on the home and Mr. Montgomery himself if you're interested.
http://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Montour_County/Danville_Borough/General_William_Montgomery_House.html
This is a link to the history of Danville itself and some of the others that put it on the map.
http://www.danvillepa.com/history/
Nurse headwear during WWI.
Confederate Currency and Notes from the Civil War time.
Many of the lovely decorations that were in the home originally.
There were weapons used in every war by men from Danville in the back room.
I took 2 war history classes and to see the actual weapons some of these men used was very
interesting.
The jail, it is still in Danville, used to use these giant keys and shackles.
These are pictures of Abigail and George Geisinger. She is the founder of the hospital where
my husband works.
There is a tiny one room schoolhouse on the way to Lewisburg on 642 with a sign next to it
explaining that the inventor of the typewriter lived in that little town. These are some of the original designs.
Arrowheads dug up and found around this area.
Aviator hat worn in WWII.
This is Abigail Geisinger's bed. As well as her settee, some outfits and a few sewing projects she made.
The bed was donated years ago and they made a small room of some of her things.
These are just wonderful.
More war memorabilia, outfits and awards worn and earned by men from Danville.
The bed owned by the Montgomery's.
A small toy room houses carriages from the early 1800's.
Gowns of all kinds worn by the women of the house and others in the area.
They have an extensive historical library.
An old stove outside the kitchen.
Inside the kitchen, gadgets, signs and pictures from 100's of years.
This is what our downtown street looked like in 1860. Like something from an
old western movie. The home I was in is at the end of the road facing the street.
Map of the original buildings of the town.
Danville is known for it's iron t-rails. These are some of the different kinds that were made.
An original signed letter from Benjamin Franklin to William Montgomery. They were
friends and apparently there are many more letters written back and forth between the two of them.
The casing of a drum used in the Civil War. This drum was played by a 10 year old boy from Danville. His brothers were going to war and he insisted he go also as the drummer boy. He made it back alive and here is his drum. I cannot imagine as a mother sending any child, but especially a 10 year old off to war.
Well, I could have taken many more pictures, but hopefully if you're from here, you'll go see for yourself, and if you're ever in the area, check it out. I have enjoyed this town since we got here and after touring something so fascinating, it made me glad we've had the chance to live here even more. I saw on a map from 1890, our house. That is just neat.
