Greencastle’s Allison-Antrim Museum is a sparkling pendant in the Antrim area’s historical necklace. As the organization continuously interprets the town’s original settlers, memorable events, famous citizens, notable businesses and fascinating stories, the museum lends enhanced meaning to the community’s past and its lasting impact on Greencastle’s modern-day culture.
This organization accomplishes its vital mission through a variety of resources. The Allison-Antrim Museum complex boasts a handsome 1860s estate home, a refurbished German bank barn, a world-class collection of artifacts, a tireless devotion to preserving Greencastle’s heritage, and a group of committed people who represent the town’s inherent pride and spirit.
Bonnie Shockey is president of the Allison-Antrim Museum and a respected historical preservationist. “This museum tells the story of Greencastle and Antrim Township families and their dedication to the community,” Shockey said.
The Irwin family owned the Ridge Avenue home they called Walnut Hill during the pre- and post-Civil War period. Alexander Irwin immigrated from Ireland and opened Greencastle’s first hardware store. His family’s 1860 brick home, viewed from the avenue, has an air of dignified architectural splendor. A maze of original boxwoods adds a distinctive touch of greenery to the home’s curb appeal.
The Allison-Antrim Museum bought the property in 1998, which encompassed many acres during the Irwin’s ownership. The museum initially used the house to host rotating exhibits. This former Irwin home is now interpreted as an 1860s household and contains a wealth of period furnishings, artwork and Greencastle memorabilia. The house is a time capsule of Antrim’s past glories and notable accomplishments.
Inside, most of the woodwork and hardware are original to the house. Prominent interior spaces include a dining room, two parlors and a lovely staircase that leads to second-floor bedrooms, some of which now serve as exhibit rooms.
Downstairs, Philip Baer, the founder of Old Home Week and a famous Italian-trained opera singer, is remembered in the parlor. Original copies of his sheet music for “Mary My Love” rest atop his 1870 Steinway and Son grand piano, which accompanied the musician on his ambitious minstrel travels throughout the country. Baer’s concert tuxedo coat, donated by his niece, completes the honorary tribute to one of Greencastle’s most beloved past citizens.
Serving as a connection to Baer’s musical legacy, an early Moller organ also shares the downstairs space, a gorgeous wooden-enclosed instrument made in Greencastle. Sitting in the entry hallway, a Thomas Edison Amberola phonograph still plays early 1900s music on blue wax cylinders. An additional set of art-related pieces are several beautiful paintings by Walter Washington Smith, who excelled in depicting winter landscapes.
The dining room exhibits a corner cupboard filled with donated glassware and ceramic pieces originally purchased at Hostetter’s General Store, once a popular merchant on Greencastle’s square. Lovely china and dinnerware decorate the dining table. Displayed above the fireplace is an original painting by Ron Lesser, commissioned for Franklin County’s 150th anniversary. The artwork shows Greencastle resident Dolly Harris bravely hoisting an American flag while denouncing Confederate Gen. George Pickett’s rebels as they marched through town.
On the second floor, two bedrooms interpret the era with an Empire-style chest of drawers, skillfully crafted by local cabinetmaker Augustus Shirey on the eve of the Civil War. Period dresses, an old rocking chair and beds covered by artistic quilts denote the bedroom styles of bygone days. Other features in the sleeping areas are antique toys, a locally-made cast iron stove, vintage shoes and a doll carriage.
Two other upstairs rooms now serve as exhibit spaces. The Medical Room offers a glimpse into old-time remedies and healthcare practices, which centers on artifacts from Carl’s Drug Store, along with other prominent doctors from Greencastle’s past. Antique cobalt blue medicine bottles warn with their color that the contents were lethal if mishandled by untrained hands.
The Exhibit Room showcases a variety of Greencastle’s iconic sites and past societies, including Martin’s Mill Bridge memorabilia, items from classic local businesses, Old Home Week collectibles and handwritten journals. The collection also includes two of Greencastle’s first telephones installed at Carl’s Drug Store and inside their home. As a visitor’s eye wanders from one interesting item to the next, the effect is a spontaneous trip in a time machine, journeying backward into Antrim’s illustrious past.
One noteworthy Greencastle citizen featured is Henry P. Fletcher, who rode on horseback with Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War. Fletcher later served under six U.S. presidents as a diplomat, working as an ambassador to Italy, Chile, Mexico and Belgium. The museum displays an intricate cast iron lamp from Fletcher’s former Ridge Avenue home, given to him by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
Behind the old Irwin home, the Allison-Antrim Museum undertook an ambitious project in 2003. The organization purchased an 1865-era barn in Chambersburg, disassembled it and during a seven-year span rebuilt it on the Irwin estate site. Each significant timber piece was numbered and cataloged to help recreate the structure in Greencastle.
The finished product is a multi-purpose venue designed for additional museum collections, a welcoming space for meetings and events and an archival storage facility to preserve priceless Antrim treasures. The museum barn has achieved all three of those objectives in a rustic yet sophisticated atmosphere. This architectural addition fits perfectly on the property, appearing as if it’s always been there.
On the barn’s upper level inside Bay 1, rotating exhibits highlight significant subjects from Greencastle’s history. The current exhibit focuses on Carl’s Drug Store, the longest continuously operated pharmacy in America, celebrating its 200th anniversary this year.
In Bay 4, the permanent Civil War Exhibit interprets Greencastle-Antrim’s role in the epic conflict. The museum space displays the military uniform of local Union Lt. Col. Benjamin Winger, period weapons, medical equipment, photographs and other unique Civil War objects. Exhibits that interpret Greencastle civil rights and the Underground Railroad are also shown here, including a rare iron collar once used to control a young enslaved African American named Ben.
The building’s upstairs floor plan also houses a spacious meeting room, a modern kitchen and the Barnes Library. Isabelle Barnes donated this impressive collection of history books. She was a Greencastle native and charter member of the local Civil War Roundtable.
The barn’s lower level houses the museum’s impressive collection of artifacts, which includes ancient ceramics and stone tools found at the nearby Ebbert Spring Archeological Preserve. A few of these pieces date to the Paleo Period more than 11,700 years ago. The two storage bays also house other Greencastle relics, such as clothing, photographs, artwork and even farm equipment. Now with proper indoor climate conditions assured, the Allison-Antrim Museum will safely preserve its collection for future generations.
Many more discoveries and surprises await Allison-Antrim Museum visitors. Bonnie Shockey, who has curated many of the pieces seen in the house and barn, is constantly amazed by the connection that Greencastle’s past citizens have to notable events and extraordinary stories throughout the region and the world. “Just imagine,” Shockey said, “all this history originated here in Greencastle.”
Bonnie and her husband, Ken Shockey, who are lifelong residents of Greencastle-Antrim, have co-authored two history books that chronicle the area’s past through vintage photographs and insightful writing. Within volumes sponsored by Arcadia Publishing in its series, “Images of America,” the Shockeys describe how Greencastle-Antrim developed in the 1700s, thrived in the 1800s and further prospered during the 20th century and beyond. These stories, like the ones shared at the Allison-Antrim Museum, are a gift to the present generation.
Today, curious museum visitors can learn valuable lessons from past Greencastle citizens and events and also appreciate the dedication of local preservationists who keep those memories alive.
