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On the evenings of May 31 and June 2, 1998, tornadoes swept through Southern Somerset County, shocking local residents with the occurrence of such an unusual more weather event in this region of southwestern Pennsylvania. The tornadoes left significant destruction to the community of Salisbury and surrounding rural areas in their wake. That summer the Springs Historical Society recorded oral histories with six families who resided in or near the paths of the tornadoes. Working in partnership with the historical society, the Meyersdale Public Library digitized these histories, originally recorded on cassette tape, in an effort by both organizations to better preserve and share the stories they hold. less

As part of a larger statewide effort, in 2018 the Meyersdale Public Library undertook a project to document and compile a list of known African American more burials in Somerset County. Staff and volunteers in the library's Pennsylvania Room combed state death certificates, online gravestone memorials, newspaper obituaries/articles, and additional local publications to determine as many African Americans laid to rest within this rural county as possible. The number ultimately reached nearly 350, though library researchers theorize it is substantially higher. In subsequent years the Pennsylvania Room has gained access to over 900 county death records kept from 1893 through 1905. Staff and volunteers plan to also review these records for documentation of additional African American burials. Thus this collection remains a work in progress, with updated information to be made available over time. less

Before the southern Somerset County community of Meyersdale was incorporated as "Meyersdale" on February 19, 1874, it was known as "Dale City." On May 2, 1870, more a petition to incorporate the borough of Dale City - signed by 43 inhabitants of the villages of Meyers Mills, also known as Fairfield; Coaldale, also known as Olinger Survey; and Beuchley's Survey - was presented to the Somerset County Court of Quarter Sessions, which decreed the incorporation on September 20 of that same year. Ensuing disagreements over the town's name eventually led to the 1874 incorporation of the Borough of Meyersdale. In celebrating the town's Sesquicentennial anniversary 150 years later, the Meyersdale Public Library is sharing notable pieces of its history, including a Dale City ledger dating 1870 to 1885 and the Meyersdale Centennial book published for the community's 100th anniversary celebration in 1974. less

In June of 2022 a patron of the Meyersdale Public Library lent to its Pennsylvania Room a copy of a 1939 Garrett High School yearbook and more granted the library permission to digitize the publication, tilted "The Memoir." This was the first time library staff had seen a yearbook from this particular school, which opened for public education in 1908 and served children in the small southern Somerset County community of Garrett and surrounding areas until its closure in 1974. Pennsylvania Room volunteer Linda Marker digitized the yearbook and several other items pertaining to the school's history contained within the library's collections. Library staff are hopeful of acquiring and digitizing other yearbooks and memorabilia from this school in an effort to better represent its nearly seven decades of history. less

With the Pennsylvania Maple Festival Board of Directors' permission, the Meyersdale Public Library digitized nearly 400 35mm slides documenting the Pennsylvania Maple Festival from the late more 1950s through the 1980s as part of its 2018 Scan PA project. The festival is a Somerset County tradition dating back to 1948. Each spring it attracts thousands of visitors from throughout Pennsylvania and surrounding states to the small community of Meyersdale, where they learn about the rich history behind the county's maple production industry. Again working in conjunction with the festival board, the library also digitized additional 35mm slides of past festival activities later discovered by the board. Now totaling nearly 500 digital images, these photographs, captured by amateur volunteer photographers, help tell the story of a community celebration which in 2022 is celebrating its 75th year. less

The Meyersdale Public Library photograph collections contain approximately 2,000 photographs. From the total collection, about 320 will be selected for digitization based on the selection criteria. more The photographs that will be selected for online display are significant because they provide a broad overview of life immediately before, during, and after the Progressive Era in the Allegheny Mountains region (mostly Somerset Co., PA & northern Maryland). The photographs capture families & individuals both in portraits and in natural settings, military men, coal mines, mills, railroads, transportation, education, and African American families. Our photographs have been used in Somerset Magazine and in the book "Allegheny Passage Companion, Guide to History & Heritage Along the Trail" by Bill Metzger. Accessibility to the collection will be enhanced because the images will be searchable online. Currently the photographs are accessioned on paper but are not included in our library catalog. Digitization would allow users easy & free access to historical photographs that would otherwise essentially be hidden in a closet. less

Incorporated in 1871, the Borough of Casselman is today a remnant of its former self. Named in 1864 for its location along the banks of the more Casselman River in Upper Turkeyfoot Township, southern Somerset County, the area was titled "Turkey Bottom" by William Penn's agents in its original land grant. The village grew following the opening of a nearby mine in 1901. Further growth came with the opening of additional mines in the 1920s. At that time Casselman was home to a Baltimore & Ohio Railway station, post office, hotel, two-story schoolhouse, church, rooming house, meat market and two parks. Another school, company house and store stood in neighboring Darbytown. less

Incorporated in 1857, the Borough of Rockwood was significantly boosted by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad line running through the town - most specifically its passenger more service. When that passenger service declined with the advancement of the automobile, so, too, did Rockwood's population and economy. Today people primarily travel through the town along the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage hiking and biking trail which runs between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Cumberland, Maryland. This collection chronicles Rockwood's earliest days and will in time include Rockwood Borough Council Minutes, 1910-1925; Rockwood Justice of the Peace Records, 1900-1904; a Wolfersberger Store (the town's first store) ledger; the Rockwood House hotel guest book; and photos of early businesses, including the B&O Railroad Station. less

These 18 photographs are part of a larger Meyersdale Public Library – Photograph Collection. The photographs selected for display as part of that larger PA Photos more and Documents collection are significant because they provide a broad overview of life immediately before, during and after the Progressive Era in the Allegheny Mountains region (mostly Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and northern Maryland). These 18 photographs in particular - part of a larger glass negative collection housed within the library's archives - portray African American families and individuals in portraits, natural and workplace settings, and also within the town of Meyersdale itself. A significant African American community lived, worked and worshiped in Meyersdale during the late 1800s and through the first several decades of the 20th century. less

The Johnston Bender Family Collection combines photographs, letters, scrapbooks, and business records of two families--the Rev. Elias S. and Anna (Odell) Johnston family of Altoona and more Salisbury and the Fred W. and Malinda (Miller) Bender family of Springs. Johnston served as a Lutheran minister in Cambria, Adams, and Somerset Counties from the 1860s to the 1920s. In Salisbury, son Robert H. worked in stores, as a trolley conductor, and the owner and editor of the "Somerset County Star," Salisbury's newspaper. Robert's wife, Caroline (Smith), wrote letters to her daughter every week on Salisbury society, chores, illnesses, and changing times from 1910s-1940s. Fred W. Bender, a Mennonite (later Church of the Brethren), operated a small country store and post office ten miles away. Despite the pressures of a conservative Mennonite society at the time, his children grew up with progressive attitudes and succeeded in business with Bender Shoe in Somerset and Bender Implements in Meyersdale and Somerset. The Bender daughters attended college, played music, and worked with business and their own. When Louise Johnston and "Hike" Bender married, their combined history created a window into the lives of neighboring towns and families with different backgrounds. less

Gideon D. Miller (1862-1941), a Mennonite minister, shifted from his family's woodworking traditions to metal. He started with his patented steam traction engines shipped across the more US and Mexico for the 20th Century Mfg. Co. With his refusal to let the US Government use his designs for the military and increasing use of gasoline over steam, he shifted to items such as coal cars, animal feeders, and maple sugaring tools and equipment. With his sons Dwight and Myron, G. D. began Miller Machine Works in Springs in 1917. Several collections encompass original blueprints, photographs, advertising, and artifacts. less

William Wagner, a cooper of Salisbury, Somerset County, worked on farms in the 1870s and then bought a farm near West Salisbury (Elk Lick Township) in more 1882. With experience in coopering and a sugar grove on property, the family started a maple sugar business that continued until 2017 with son Joseph and Jennie (Russell) and then with their four daughters. Wagner’s was an integral part of a community of farms and maple producers as the Wagner sisters, Thelma, Leona, Mildred, and Dorothy (married Robert Jeffrey), managed the farm with parents and resident farm helpers. Dorothy's children, Dale and Sue, continued the family legacy on the farm. Their products were featured at festivals, Pittsburgh department stores, and across the country. The collection spans the late 1800s to the 2000s including the Wagner, Jeffrey, and Russell family materials. The collection includes over 2,000 images, photo albums, archives, and over 500 artifacts. less

The Meyersdale Public Library dates back to 1938, when the Meyersdale Woman’s Club, under the direction of Frances Livengood Imler, appointed a committee to plan for more the establishment of a free community library. This small library opened on May 16, 1939, above the Meyersdale Republican newspaper office. A total of 139 35mm slides detail the library's history, along with the 1984 construction and May 11, 1985, dedication of its current building. The Meyersdale Public Library has digitized these slides, in addition to the seven pages of script containing the captions and talking points for their presentation, delivered on May 30, 1985, to raise awareness of its long-standing importance to the community. Today the library continues to grow, providing vital services to children, families, seniors and the area's Amish population. Especially well known for its collections focusing on the region's history and family genealogies, its Pennsylvania Room annually attracts visitors from across the nation as they seek to utilize these resources. less

Born in 1840 in Salisbury, Somerset County, photographer, author and Civil War veteran William Henry Welfley would earn a reputation as "the county's historian." Serving 19 more terms as burgess of Somerset, the county seat, he carried on in this position even after growing deaf. As noted in his Meyersdale Republican newspaper obituary, the scrapbooks Welfley kept over the years were believed to be the most valuable volumes in his extensive library. Upon leaving his uptown Somerset apartment for the final time, he was said to have looked upon these books and quietly remarked, "Farewell old friends; I may never see you again." On the initial page of the first scrapbook contained within this collection, Welfley notes in January of 1895: "The writer of these lines in preserving the cuttings has been impressed with the belief that in years yet to come many of these cuttings will have a value of their own, and that there will be those who may be much pleased that they have been preserved." William H. Welfley passed away in 1920, just16 days shy of his 80th birthday. Holding ten of the notable historian's obituary scrapbooks within its Pennsylvania Room collections, the Meyersdale Public Library has digitized these scrapbooks in the hope today's historians will indeed be much pleased they have not only been preserved, but shared with as many researchers as possible. less