Milesburg Museum & Historical Society

06/08/2026

Screen free activity at the museum. We are making Kepi's. June 10 and June 17 at 10 AM- 2PM no lunch provided. July 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 at same time. This is mostly hand stitching, only two seams are machine stitched. We have a few smaller projects also Civil War Ration Bags and Housewife sewing kits.

All are invited to join the fun, come check it out.

06/04/2026

06/03/2026

MILES' Pennsylvania Riflemen
This is a print that has been hanging at the Milesburg Museum for years. It is a depiction of the Revolutionary War Riflemen from the area. We are frequently reminded in records that they were sharpshooters and riflemen from this area. In 1776 one side of Bald Eagle Creek was Cumberland County/Carlisle and the other was Northumberland County/Sunbury. Both areas became Centre County with a brief time as Mifflin County for a few townships, Bald Eagle was one of those townships.

05/29/2026

I had a little break and this is the last of the Revolutionary War Veterans buried at Milesburg Cemetery will take a scroll or two to read; Joseph White about 1750 to about 1840. This one was particularly hard because somehow, he was mapped onto a man from Chester County which is not him.

Joseph White Centre County first appears on the 1810 census in Howard, Centre County, PA. The census places his birth between 1750-1760. His son also Joseph White appears on the same census in his own household. Our Joseph White was living in Centre County when the other Joseph White was living in Chester County, PA.

Joseph White has a military stone which says he is a soldier from the Revolutionary War. While there is another mythtake placing him as a Dragoon, that service belongs to the man in Chester County, PA not Centre County, PA.

Our Centre County Joseph White 1750-1840 was paid 6% interest for back pay. The payment was made by Major Thomas Bartholomew Bowen (1742-1805) in October 1784. Bowen is Irish born and served as adjutant to Samuel Miles in the Rifle Regiment. Joseph White served as a private and is another of our locals who served as Miles Riflemen, who were for a time assigned to Daniel Morgan’s Sharpshooters.

05/24/2026

The Milesburg Museum cordially invites our community members, neighbors, and friends to a special evening of local history.
Please join us as we gather to share stories of our region’s past with two unique presentations.

1. The debut of a recently donated antique Magic Lantern, thanks to the Dave & Barb Bagley Family.
2. “David Lewis: The Real Story Behind Pennsylvania’s Legendary Outlaw.” Journeys with Local Historia on WPSU

Date: Saturday, May 30th
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: The Milesburg Museum

We hope to see you there.

05/19/2026

Jacob Shedacre and Thomas Van Doren died in service July 24, 1778, near this spot in Centre Hall, PA. They were in the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment according to Linn and Egle in Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution Battalions and Lines 1775-1783 edited by John Blair Linn and William H Egle Volume 1; 1880 Harrisburg. Jacob Shedacre page 663 and Thomas Van Doren page 664. They were selected sharpshooters who were detached from the unit and fought at Saratoga serving under Morgan in the newly formed provisional rifle corps.

https://archive.org/details/pennsylvaniainwa01linniala

05/18/2026

Joseph Shirk buried Milesburg Cemetery is a Revolutionary War Veteran according to Local Lore. Find a Grave gives an inscription as son of John and Barbara Shirk who are from Lancaster County. His dates are 1767-1825 but there is no stone to confirm. 1767 is pretty young for Revolutionary War. The military record for Joseph Shirk is from Cumberland County. Centre County was Cumberland County and Northumberland County.

There is no stone located in 2026, and his stone could be one of the ones which was under a tree but there is no picture of it to date. He is the grandfather of Constanc Curtin Shirk a Civil War Veteran.

05/07/2026

Marcy and Bob Sprankle’s gardens are thriving thanks to their granddaughters Alexa and Kira!