Franklin County Visitors Bureau (FCVB) sets April 2018 as Spring Into History Month, expanding the day-long ramble into a month-long opportunity to take in Native American artifacts, frontier forts, stops on the Underground Railroad, and sites of Civil War invasions. It also offers a chance to explore genealogy and the Franklin County Military Trail of History. With 70 Pennsylvania designated history sites and nationally designated historic districts in the downtowns of Chambersburg, Greencastle and Mercersburg, Franklin County has plenty of history to fill the month.
For Spring Into History Month, Franklin County history partners are planning:
• April 6-8, and April 20-22 – The Old Jail in Chambersburg is hosting an escape room in the 1880 cell block.
• April 7, 10 AM – 4 PM – Monterey Pass Battlefield Museum Opening Day in Waynesboro
• April 12, 7 PM – Gloria Swift, retired curator of the Ford’s Theater Museum, presents “Secrets Revealed! Museum Objects Tell All!” at Allison Antrim Museum in Greencastle
• April 14, 4 PM – 9 PM – Opening Day at Renfrew Museum in Waynesboro
• April 14, 9 AM – 2 PM – Preserving Our Heritage Archives & Museum in South Mountain Open House with special discounts on local history books.
• April 20 & April 27, 1 PM – 3 PM – Intro to Genealogy at the Old Jail in Chambersburg
With a full-month to search out and discover history, FCVB is adding a Spring Into History Scavenger Hunt as a fun way to encourage visitors and residents to explore Franklin County history. Not too difficult, the hunt requires only 20 correct answers from a list of 60 clues to win a Spring Into History keepsake, campfire mug. Also new is History Rocks, #historyrocksfcvb. Local libraries of Franklin County will be hosting rock-painting sessions where young and young-at-heart can paint a Franklin County history rock. FCVB will host a rock hiding and finding event on April 21.
Flat Ben, Franklin County’s version of Flat Stanley, is returning to ExploreFranklinCountyPA.com for 2018. Download him, color him, and photograph him at favorite Franklin County sites. Share his pix with #FlatBen