Featured Image: Visit Emmaus Historical Society’s museum and get a glimpse into this quaint town’s past from its 18th-century Moravian roots to the modern day. Enjoy artifacts, displays, family histories, photographs, and fascinating facts that highlight the lives and times of Emaus/Emmaus. Photo: Harwick’s Appliance (575 Chestnut St.) “School Appliance Tent Sale,” 1963, courtesy of Emmaus Historical Society
PASSPORT TO HISTORY – SPRING WEEKEND
COMING UP ON MARCH 21-23
LEHIGH VALLEY (March 17, 2025) – Our Passport to History Spring Weekend is coming up this Friday, March 21 through Sunday, March 23.
Historic sites in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding counties invite you to step back in time with FREE admission, tours, activities, and programs for visitors of all ages.
Local history is right around the corner! During our spring weekend, explore partner sites in Lehigh, Montgomery, and Northampton Counties. Enjoy hands-on family activities, tours, and programs on Craigs Scotch-Irish Settlement (the oldest in the Lehigh Valley), Helfrich Springs Grist Mill, the 1826 Seipt Family Barn, and Emmaus Historical Society’s museum. Special exhibitions include the history of model trains, pictorial quilts and hooked rugs, and community history and photographs. There will be a kid-friendly scavenger hunt, model train expert, fascinating (and fun!) guided tours, and tales of days gone by.
“As an organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of the four counties of Berks, Bucks, Lehigh, and Montgomery, we’ve found this event to be a great way for people to get to know the history of their community,” notes Beth Twiss Houting, Executive Director of the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center.
WAYS TO ENJOY PASSPORT TO HISTORY WEEKENDS
- Visit old favorites or new-to-you sites in your town or region.
- Venture out of town. Use the maps and list of activities on the Passport to History website to plot a course, and make a day of it.
- Follow your interests: What time periods or events in American history interest you? Do you enjoy touring historic buildings and gardens? What kinds of history do you enjoy (e.g., military history, industrial history, Native American history, fraktur or textiles)? Would you like to see living history or heritage skill demonstrations? Our partner sites appeal to a range of interests.
- Take in a special exhibition at one of our partner museums or historical societies.
- Check out family-friendly activities on the Passport to History website and plan a day out with the kids.
- Try something different. Every site has welcoming staff and volunteers eager to share our community history. Visitors will find fascinating stories and people wherever they go.
March 21-23
- Emmaus Historical Society – Saturday
- Horner’s Cemetery – Sunday – by appointment
- Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center – Friday – Sunday
- Whitehall Historical Preservation Society, Helfrich Springs Grist Mill – Saturday
Click the link below for a map, schedule, and activities for each partner site.
2025 Passport to History
Weekend Events
This year’s events will be held on the fourth weekend of the following months:
Saturday, January 25 & Sunday, January 26
Spring
Friday, March 21, Saturday, March 22, & Sunday, March 23
Summer
Friday, June 27, Saturday, June 28, & Sunday, June 29
Fall
Friday, September 26, Saturday, September 27, & Sunday, September 28
About Passport to History:
Lehigh Valley Passport to History is a partnership of 75 historic sites and resources in and around the Lehigh Valley region, including sites in Northampton, Lehigh, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Monroe, Montgomery, and Warren counties. The group helps to promote local tourism and shares historical activities, events, tours, and exhibitions throughout the Valley, and beyond.
Explore more at lvhistory.org.
Passport to History is supported in part with funding received through the County of Northampton Hotel Tax Program, the County of Bucks Tourism Program, and the County of Lehigh Tourism Development Program.
Information provided to TVL by:
Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society
