Pennsylvania celebrates Charter Day

Charter Day at Ephrata Cloister, 2011

Pennsylvania will celebrate Charter Day across the Commonwealth next Sunday, 13 March. In March 1681, the original charter for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was signed by King Charles II, conveying the tract of land that is now Pennsylvania to William Penn. The land was a repayment of a large debt that the King owed Penn’s father.

Here in Lancaster County, there are three state museums: Ephrata Cloister, Landis Valley Museum, and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. The Ephrata Cloister is located at 632 West Main Street, Ephrata. Landis Valley Museum is a living history Civil War era village. It is located at 2451 Kissel Hill Road, Lancaster. The Railroad Museum explores the affect trains and the train industry has had on America. It is located at 300 Gap Road, Strasburg, across from the Strasburg Railroad.

Many sites throughout the Commonwealth will participate in Charter Day. Those sites are:

• Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum, Scranton
• Conrad Weiser Homestead, Womelsdorf
• Cornwall Iron Furnace, Cornwall
• Daniel Boone Homestead, Birdsboro
• Drake Well Museum, Titusville
• Eckley Miners’ Village, Weatherly
• Ephrata Cloister, Ephrata
• Erie Maritime Museum & Flagship Niagara, Erie
• Fort Pitt Museum, Pittsburgh
• Graeme Park, Horsham
• Hope Lodge, Ft. Washington

• Joseph Priestley House, Northumberland
• Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum, Lancaster

• Pennsylvania Lumber Museum, Ulysses

• Pennsbury Manor, Morrisville

• Pennsylvania Military Museum, Boalsburg
• Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg

• Somerset Historical Center, Somerset

This Sunday, 13 March, State Museums will open their doors for free. Charter Day is generally held the second Sunday of March each year.

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