The Mennonite Heritage Center is a museum, library and exhibition space in

Harleysville, Pennsylvania Harleysville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located at the junction of Pennsylvania Route 63 and Pennsylvania Route 113, Route 113, it is a suburb of Philadelphia and is approximately 30 ...

, United States, northwest of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, about the

Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

of Eastern Pennsylvania.

Examples of exhibits

From April 2017 through March 2018 the exhibit "Opportunity & Conscience: Mennonite Immigration to Pennsylvania" runs, which includes: *a recreation of an immigrant ship during the late 1600s and early 1700s, in which Mennonites emigrated from Europe * a recreated sitting room in an early immigrant home * interview with or writings by recent immigrants There is a semi-permanent exhibit "Work and Hope: Mennonite Life in Eastern Pennsylvania", which uses images and artifacts to illustrate three centuries of Mennonite life in the region. The center has a gallery of

Fraktur Fraktur () is a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. It is designed such that the beginnings and ends of the individual strokes that make up each letter will be clearly vis ...

. In 2015 the Center celebrated its 40th anniversary with a "hymnal series", that is, groups singing hymns of historical significance to the Mennonite community. ;Gallery File:Quilt at Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, Pennsylvania.jpg, A quilt File:Dishware at Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, Pennsylvania.jpg, Redware pottery File:Bibles and hymnals at Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, Pennsylvania.jpg, Bibles and hymnals File:Historic clothing at Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, Pennsylvania.jpg, Historic clothing File:Model of interior of a house at Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, Pennsylvania.jpg, A model of interior of a house

Events

Annual events include the Apple Butter Frolic autumn festival in October, the "Christmas Feast" show and craft and food sale, and a Used Book Sale.

Other facilities

There is a museum store selling framed

prints, Redware pottery, other

stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...

pottery, textiles, CDs, notecards, cookbooks, genealogies, books and DVDs about Mennonites, local history and culture, etc. Beginning in 2012 the Center renovated a 3,200-square-foot traditional barn, the Paul M. Nyce Barn, which it rents for events such as wedding receptions. The Center maintains a blog on its website with histories of local families descended from Mennonite immigrants.

References

Official website

Mennonite Heritage Center
{{authority control Mennonite museums Museums in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania German-American culture in Pennsylvania Barns in Pennsylvania