T
he Depreciation Lands Museum
in Hampton Township may very
well be one of Pittsburgh’s best-kept
historical secrets. Celebrating 45 years of
living history this year, the museum invites
guests to live and learn about a day in the
life of area residents in colonial times.
The Depreciation Lands Museum is
an all-volunteer Living History Museum
at 4743 South Pioneer Road in Allison
Park. Created by Hampton Township
in 1973, the museum seeks to preserve
and interpret the early years of European
settlement in the Depreciation Lands and
the development of the township.
In 1783, the state of Pennsylvania set
aside roughly 134,800 acres of land in
western Pennsylvania to compensate
its Revolutionary War soldiers for their
services, since Pennsylvania notes and
Continental script had depreciated
drastically during the war. Known as The
Depreciation Lands, the area included
all of the North Hills and north to a line
4½ miles north of the city of Butler,
extending over to the Ohio line, thereby
encompassing parts of Butler, Beaver,
Lawrence and Armstrong counties.
The museum's peaceful wooded grounds
transport the visitor into an earlier time,
with 18th century dressed volunteers
interpreting local history every Sunday
afternoon during the season, over the
months of April through November. The
site includes the Pine Creek Covenanter
Church built in 1837, and the associated
cemetery, the Armstrong log house built in
1803, an herb garden, a replica school circa
1885, a working blacksmith shop, The
Deacon Tavern and a wagon house, which
houses a Conestoga wagon and displays a
replica 18th century mercantile. In 1805,
the area was named Talley Cavey after a
village in Northern Ireland meaning “hill
over the borough" in Gaelic.
The museum’s dedicated volunteers
offer a variety of family-oriented activities
throughout the year. “Be sure to check our
weekly hours and the calendar of special
events,” says living historian Jonathan
Klemens. “There are also special group
activities for school, scout and adult groups.”
He adds that the museum attracts
visitors and volunteers from North
Hills communities and Allegheny,
Butler, Beaver, Armstrong, Lawrence,
Westmoreland and Washington counties.
Admission costs are as follows: Adults
$5, Children (under 12) $3, museum
members free. Individual and family
memberships are available.
The Depreciation Lands Museum
is open every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.,
May through October each year. “Every
Sunday friendly interpreters are waiting
to bring our village to life just for you!”
says Klemens. “We are always adding new
exhibits, lectures, programs and events,
and always seeking new volunteers.” ■
For more information,
email DLMuseum@gmail.
com, call 412.486.0563 or visit
depreciationlandsmuseum.org/
about.shtml.
UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE DEPRECIATION LANDS MUSEUM
The Hydref – A Fall Festival & Market Faire
Saturday, Oct. 6 | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Famous Lantern Tours
Saturdays, Oct. 20 & 27 | 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
For more information, email [email protected],
call 412.486.0563, or visit depreciationlandsmuseum.org/about.shtml.
Photos by Primetime Shots
HAMPTON
❘
FALL 2018
13