NORTHUMBERLAND — The Joseph Priestley House Museum will reopen on Oct. 3, staffed by volunteers from a local friends group who refused to let the historic site remain shuttered due to state budget cuts.
On Thursday afternoon, officials from the state Historical and Museum Commission and officers of the Friends group inked the agreement at the museum at 472 Priestley Ave.
“We’ll be open Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4,” said Susan Brook, a member of the friends board of directors. “We’re holding a grand reopening on Heritage Day, Nov. 1, with costumed docents in each room and demonstrations in the lab by Ron Blatchley, who portrays Joseph Priestley.”
Stephen Miller, director of the Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums, said the agreement allows the historic home to be reopened by the Friends group.
“This is an arrangement for the Friends to continue operations for public visitations,” Miller said. “The agreement will keep the site open until a longer term contract can be arranged.”
The site was closed in mid-August due to the state budget crisis, and its only paid employee was furloughed.
Michael A. Bertheaud, chief of interpretation and placed properties for the Historical and Museum Commission, said a management agreement with the Friends would allow the group to operate the entire site. Several other sites also were closed.
“It involves different responsibilities and obligations,” he said.
The management agreement is renewable yearly and permits the friends to schedule programs, set fees and be in charge of all the business aspects of running the site.
Miller said similar agreements are being put in place at five other state historic sites that were closed in August. The state will retain ownership of the site and maintain the grounds, while the friends will be responsible for insurance, utilities and programming.
Tom Bresenhan, president of the Friends, signed the agreement for the group.
“This is really good news for the Friends,” he said after the signing.
In addition to Bresenhan and Brook, also attending the signing was Edward “Ted” Lyon, vice president of the Friends and a direct descendant of Priestley.
Bresenhan announced the agreement during the organization’s annual dinner meeting on Thursday night, where Phillip K. Wilson, a professor at Penn State’s medical school in Hershey, spoke about the friendship between Joseph Priestley and Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin.
The Friends of Joseph Priestley House is a nonprofit organization established to promote interest in Priestley and his work and research and to restore the home. The members conduct fundraising events and provide educational programming. The Web site is www.josephpriestleyhouse.org.
Priestley was a British theologian, scientist and political philosopher who settled in Northumberland in 1794 after his beliefs brought him into conflict with the Anglican Church and the British king. He is noted for his Unitarian beliefs, his discoveries of several gases, including carbon dioxide and oxygen, and his political beliefs, which influenced Thomas Jefferson when the latter wrote the Declaration of Independence. Priestley died in Northumberland in 1804 and is buried in Riverview Cemetery.
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Friends group to reopen Priestley House
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