Renfrew Mansion

History & Nature in Franklin County

     Just 24 miles from Gettysburg via Route 116 and Route 16 lies the Renfrew Museum and Park in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. For history buffs looking for a place that has been preserved for 200 years, the museum tour offers a glimpse into farm life in the early 19th century. For those who are nature enthusiasts, there is a park of over 100 acres with Antietam Creek flowing through the fields and forests. For those interested in American artistry, there is the Bell collection of pottery. This beautiful historical property is just off of Route 16, along which Lee's forces traveled as they retreated from Gettysburg.

  Oddly enough, the name Renfrew does not commemorate the early and later owners of the property whose houses and barns are on the tour. Instead, the name is based on the story of two little girls who lived on the property in the 1700's and were slain  in a raid during the French and Indian War in the 1700's. When she gave the house and surrounding land to the town of Waynesboro, Emma Geiser Nicodemus, the last private owner specified that she wanted the name to honor those little sisters who were killed so long ago. The property includes two houses, barns, and outbuildings that have been preserved and restored. In the Museum House, is the collection of antiques that belonged to Mrs. Nicodemus. Touring the museum house requires a fee which you may pay at the visitor center. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday, noon - 4 pm and weekends from 1 - 4 pm from April to mid-October. The grounds are open year round and are free.

    
 
      The Royer barn which was rebuilt in the early 1900's on the site of the  barn dating back to the late 1700's houses a visitor center and gift shop. In the visitor center is a collection of Bell's pottery. The Bell family were well-known potters who lived and worked in Waynesboro. John Bell, the elder, had two brothers who also became famous as potters, working in Virginia. The younger John Bell ran the Waynesboro pottery after the death of his father. Their work is both rare and sought after; the chance to see the collection is a rare glimpse into these American treasures.You can find out more about the Bell family of potters here:
http://antiquesandthearts.com/2008-10-07__10-22-23.html&page=2
 Privately owned Bell work, when it comes up for auction, brings prices in the thousands to tens of thousands range, with one unique style selling for over $59,000. 
The weather vane that once adorned the pottery now is in the visitor center at the Renfrew Museum. Also in the barn is the gift shop, which is open the same hours as the museum.

      Pictured above is the Royer smokehouse, built in the 1815. Like the museum house, it is constructed of limestone, quarried locally. This two story smokehouse was used for butchering and curing meat and is constructed like a bank barn, with two floors. In the visitor center you can view a collection of old farming implements as well as tools used at the Royer tannery which once stood across the creek from the house.

      The rolling fields invite exploration. Nature trails are in the back of the museum house and offer hikers several different possibilities along and above the creek. In the picture above is the Fahnestock barn which is an easy walk from the museum house. The barn has been the site of various activities including Halloween storytelling sessions. Also on the property is the Edmajoda Trail, adjacent to the parking lot off Welty Road.There are no fees for use of the trails. However, ONLY pets that have been registered with the museum are allowed on the grounds. Those pets must be leashed at all times when at the park. The information about becoming a ParkPal is posted near the Welty Road parking lot.
Next weekend, August 11 to August 12, a Civil War encampment will be held on the museum grounds. The event is free and open to the public. You can discover more information about the museum here:

 http://www.renfrewmuseum.org/index.html