Past Exhibits
Pressing Matters: The History of Ironing,
June through October 2019
Ligonier Valley Historical Society is home to a rich, diverse collection of historic artifacts, documents and photographs telling the story of the exploration, settlement, development, and general history of the Ligonier Valley area.
This small exhibit, located in the changing exhibit gallery at Compass Inn Museum, tells the cultural, social, and technological story of ironing during the 18th and 19th centuries. It features such irons as flatirons, sad irons, gasoline powered irons, and early electric irons to mention a few. You will be able to lift a #24 taylor ion and compare its weight to a modern electric iron.
Ligonier Valley Historical Society & Compass Inn Museum extend a sincere thank you to all those who helped make this exhibit possible:
Truffles Antiquities Laughlintown, PA
Elliot Chimelewski
Michelle Gay
Theresa Gay Rohall
Jim McConnell
Amanda Seim
Kathy Wood
Riding Aside: A Delightful Habit , June through October 2018
Once again, Ligonier Valley Historical Society will highlight its rich and diverse collection by displaying the various sidesaddles in its collection while telling the story of how women evolved from riding bareback to riding astride horses. The exhibit will also feature riding habits of the Victorian era and display modern day saddles for comparison to the vintage sidesaddles. For the men, there will be a McClellan Saddle from the Civil War and one from World War I, the last war that this type of saddle was used in combat.
Ligonier Valley Historical Society & Compass Inn Museum extend a sincere thank you to all those who helped make this exhibit possible:
Michelle Gay
Theresa Gay Rohall
Ashley Gay-Vocco
DJ Vocco
Cabinet of Curiosities: A Unique Collection of Relics and Antiquities, June Through October 2017
In the quaint and historic little town of Laughlin, in the Ligonier Valley, there is one of the most unique, and probably the best, collection of relics of local antiquity to be found in the state of Pennsylvania. So far is as known there is not another of similar character in the country.”
“Mute Reminders of Long Gone-By Dates: Domestic and Public History of the Ligonier Valley Embodied in Unique Private Museum” January 29, 1905 The Pittsburgh Leader.
Charles Logan, known as Charlie to family and friends, was the grandson of Robert and Rachel Armor, the couple who came to Laughlintown in 1814 and transformed the small drover’s inn into what we now know as Compass Inn.
One of seven children and a life-long bachelor, Charlie frequently travelled all over the state to visit family and friends. By the late 1880s, Charlie settled into his childhood home and he and his brother Frank began collecting “relics of local antiquity”, turning home into what became known as the “Armor Museum”. Thousands of objects were tucked away in the barns, cookhouse and former inn.
It appears that the majority of Charlie and Frank’s collection came from local estate sales. Charlie would attend a sale, purchase a vast quantity of items and then return the next day with a friend or neighbor’s wagon to take the goods home. Purchases ranged from the small (lanterns, candle molds, etc.) to the large (tables, beds, spinning wheels, etc.) to the personal (family portraits).
Once home, countless hours were spent cleaning and rearranging his treasures. By the early 1900s Charlie and Frank’s collection was widely known and saw visitors from across the country. The collection even garnered the attention of Ridpath, a famous historian.
This exhibit showcases some of what remains of Charlie and Frank’s collection, giving a glimpse into size and scope of what was once considered “one of the most unique, and probably the best, collection” of artifacts and antiques in Pennsylvania.
Ligonier Valley Historical Society extends a heartfelt thank you to Malroi Stevenson for all her work on making this exhibit a reality.
“Unmentionables in the Valley: An Intimate Display”,
June Through October 2016
Have you ever given thought to what lies beneath the various clothing of women of yesteryears? Undergarments or underpinnings are both a necessity and an indulgence. Even while having a functional role, it tells much about social mores and shifting views of the body. For many centuries in history, underpinnings aided women in shaping their bodies for the fashions of the day. It was not until the 1930s that women were allowed to pick underwear that fit them, as opposed to making their bodies confirm to the underwear.
“Unmentionables in the Valley: An Intimate Display” features corded petticoats, chemises, drawers, hoops, corsets, and more. “Unmentionables” will feature items from three different time periods, the Regency Era (1790-1820), the Romantic Era (1820-1860), and the Victorian Era (1850-1869). “Since Compass Inn was in operation as a resting place for travelers from 1799 through 1862, we think it is fitting that we feature undergarments from all three eras. It gives an interesting perspective on how society changed during the 19th Century and how fashion was strongly influenced by its social and economic context,” said Theresa Gay Rohall, Executive Director of the Ligonier Valley Historical Society.
The Exhibition was on display from June 14 to October 16, 2016. It will be included in the regular tour of the Museum. The Historical Society will open this unique exhibition with a preview during its Annual Membership Meeting at Compass Inn Museum, Sunday, June 12, 2016.
The Ligonier Valley Historical Society & Compass Inn Museum extend a sincere thank you to all those who helped make this vision a reality:
Bruce Henderson
Angela Kessler
Mary Lou Mitchell
Gloria Nelson
Pat Slack
Michelle Gay
Cathy Cummings
Malori Stevenson
Theresa Gay Rohall
Lisa Rauscher & seamstress Becky Kruger
Diana Thompson & the Kerr Memorial Museum
