The Tri-County Heritage Library (TCHL), 4979 Twin Valley Road, Elverson. will host its annual community open house on Friday, May 5, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Visitors will be able to view the library's newest acquisitions and key library collections. Admission is free, and light refreshments will be served.

On display at the library will be the one-of-a-kind Morgantown quilt that was created by volunteers from the former Morgantown-Caernarvon Historical Society, which later became the Tri-County Heritage Society (TCHS). When TCHS disbanded, its collections were taken over by the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association (HCVHA). HCVHA also owns a special collection of items housed at the Caernarvon Township Building in Morgantown.

"We acquired the library in 2021," said Mark Zerr, HCVHA executive director. "We have basically reorganized the library. We have been working on preserving and conserving the collection that we have. For instance, everything was in boxes and folders, and we are in the process of transferring everything over into archival safe containers."

The Morgantown quilt was completed in 1974 and features 32 embroidered patches depicting local historic buildings in Caernarvon Township, Berks County. To complement the quilt, there will be a display of artifacts and photographs of the many sites depicted on the homemade quilt. "The quilt has been in storage, and we wanted to show it off," said Zerr.

Also featured will be a vast collection from the estate of Florence "Flo" Williams of West Chester, who passed away in 2014. According to Zerr, Williams was an educator and Civil War re-enactor. She also accumulated more than 40 spinning wheels of various types during her life and demonstrated the early American craft of spinning and dyeing wool. Her demonstrations included donning period dress and teaching others about spinning and its role in Colonial America. At the library open house, visitors will see her "walking wheel" on display, period re-enacting garb and her personal artifacts.

Also on display will be items from the Grace Mines collection. The former Bethlehem Steel Grace Mine was located along Route 10 outside of Morgantown. The mine produced iron ore from 1958 until it closed in 1977.

"In 2022, the library was able to secure additional photographs of the mines and the properties that it owned," Zerr noted. "As a fundraiser the library will also have a special Grace Mines T-shirt for sale."

The TCHL, which consists of records from Berks, Chester and Lancaster counties, is open on Tuesdays from noon to 5 p.m. Visitors may search through various history books, magazines, journals, maps and photographs of local historical interest. These records include church, cemetery and tax records and published genealogies.

"We are also looking to collect family genealogies or copies of family histories that were written in family Bibles," Zerr said, adding, "We are also looking for local community cookbooks to put in our collection."

For further information about the library, email info@haycreek.org or call 610-286-7477.