Greene County Historical Society Museum opens for the season Saturday
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (KDKA) -- The Greene County Historical Society Museum is set to open back up for the season this coming Saturday. And if you haven't been to this fascinating place yet, you may want to take some time and check it out.
The museum has over 35,000 square feet and over 50 rooms full of the county's history.
"This is sort of a blend between a gigantic, big historical site and a county historical society," said Matt Cumberledge, the executive director of the Greene County Historical Society. "There is a little bit of something here that will interest everybody."
For railroad buffs, there is a portion of the museum dedicated to preserving the history of the Waynesburg and Washington Railroad and there is even a functional locomotive in one of their barns that they run on a closed track in nice weather.
And the museum building itself is full of history as well. It was actually an almshouse for over 100 years that saw mentally ill people locked away within its walls and shockingly, some were even chained in their basement dungeon.
"Unfortunately, back then, they didn't have the understanding of mental disorders and mental conditions like we do today," said Cumberledge. "So if they couldn't manage you, the simple answer was bring you to a place like this and chain you up to the wall."
With this all in mind, it may not come as a shock to learn that the museum is allegedly haunted and most weekends, the museum is usually rented by paranormal investigators all hoping for a story like Cumberledge's.
"I remember my first month here, I'd be in my office, in the building by myself," said Cumberledge. "And you could clearly hear people walking around upstairs. I would search the place -- I have a background in security, so I am accustomed to searching -- and I would go upstairs, and nobody was here."
So it may be safe to say that history just might come alive or even come back from the dead, but you won't know for yourself unless you stop by and check it out place in person.
You can learn more about Greene County Historical Museum, click here.
