Founded in 1973 to preserve Mount Joy's history, the Mount Joy Area Historical Society continues to protect and share the area's heritage. The nonprofit is in the midst of a three-year capital campaign to raise $425,000 for renovations and an addition to its building at 120 Fairview St. With help from private donors, the society is close to its goal but still needs assistance reaching it.

"We need the general public to come in and close the gap," shared Susan Schlosser Hostetter, president of the historical society. "We need a little over $75,000."

The building itself has deep roots. Once home to Macedonia A.M.E. Church, it served a small congregation until the 1960s. The historical society purchased the property in 1977, preserving original features like the lights, pulpit, and altar when it dedicated the space in 1982.

By 2011, the museum had outgrown its home, and the nonprofit acquired the one-room schoolhouse adjacent to the property. Its monthly meetings, which run from March through November, are held in this space, which features the original schoolhouse chalkboards. The original building houses the museum's collection, and it's bursting at the seams, said Linda Eberly, vice president of the historical society and co-chair of the capital campaign with Dave Reist.

"The new building will help us expand our display area," she shared. "We have so many things in boxes that we'd love to put out, but we're completely out of room."

The three-floor addition will be connected to the museum via an archway originally used as a pulpit by the church.

"On the first level, the ground floor, we're going to have our new research library area," Eberly shared, noting that the space will include computers for public use. "The second level will not have public access, but it will be climate controlled for storage. Right now, we have a bunch of stuff stored out in our shed, and it's not climate controlled."

The basement of the new building will hold the archiving area.

"Our archive area is currently an 8-foot folding table set up in our schoolhouse," Eberly said. "We really need a dedicated archiving area."

She noted that the new building will also feature retractable shelving in the basement to allow more room for storage and to make it easier for volunteers to find items and set up rotating displays.

"We can't do rotating displays now, because we just don't have room," she said. "If we could change out our displays, it would be more enticing and interesting for people to come back again and again."

Over the years, the society has collected countless items related to Mount Joy. One display showcases shoes made by the Gerberich-Payne Shoe Company, the official shoemaker for the Boy Scouts of America.

"We have military history, sports history, tools, information on doctors, fire companies, business and industry," Hostetter said. "We keep getting people who want to give us things, and we want to treasure them, but we have to say, 'No we can't accept that because we don't have the space.'"

Hostetter said people should consider supporting the historical society because local history is something we all have in common.

"We unite our community. We have a shared history," she said. "I don't care if you've only lived here for two weeks and you're with someone who's lived here for 50 years, you have a shared history now."

Added Eberly, "If we are not preserving this history for future generations, then our community is lost."

Support for the historical society can come in many forms, Hostetter said. Direct donations can be made to the capital campaign, or people can donate in honor or memory of a loved one, which she did in honor of her father-in-law, who collected Mount Joy postcards.

"We're also looking for people who might want to remember the historical society in their estate," Eberly said. The society also sells a variety of books to benefit its efforts and has a 2026 calendar for sale, featuring images of military and community parades. Calendars can be purchased at the society, as well as at Sloan's Pharmacy, Time After Time and the Mount Joy Area Chamber of Commerce.

Beyond financial contributions, people can support the society by volunteering. The museum is currently only open on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. but the hope is to expand to Saturday hours if more volunteers step up. Volunteers can serve as docents, help to digitize items, clean the museum or help with grounds maintenance, among other jobs.

Upwards of 50 people attend the society's public programs, and both women are confident even more people will enjoy the new space once it's built.

"Part of our capital campaign is also to create an endowment so the society will continue into the future," Eberly said. "When people give to our capital campaign, they are giving to preserve the past and ensure the future."

To learn more or contribute to the capital campaign, visit http://www.mountjoyhistory.com.