What's New?

SLATE BELT HERITAGE CENTER GRAND OPENING MAY 19, 1-4 PM

The Slate Belt Heritage Center will hold its 2013 GRAND OPENING on Sunday, May 19, 2013 between the hours of 1pm-4pm. The SBHC has undergone a complete facelift and will be presenting brand new exhibits, room displays and several new surprises. The history, traditions and artifacts of the Slate Belt have not changed, but the presentation is new and exciting.

A furnace accident forced the Heritage Center to close its season early in 2012. Volunteers from the community helped dismantle every display, clean every artifact, and reinstall each exhibit. “No one wanted the puff-back to happen,” said Cathy Heard, SBHC volunteer, “but it gives the Center an opportunity to refresh exhibits and tell more Slate Belt stories.”

Since its founding in 1999, the Slate Belt community has donated treasured artifacts, rare photographs, family genealogies, and oral histories, and the Heritage Center published six books about ethnic groups in the Slate Belt. The new installation will include more of this material as well as hands-on displays, like a working model of a gristmill.

Admission is free and open to the public; light refreshments will be served. Due to the opening, the Heritage Center will not hold an additional program in May. Please join us for the start of our 2013 season at 30 N. First Street in Bangor on May 19.

Monthly Lecture Series

Summer lectures are the 2nd Thursday of the month from April to November at 7:00 pm.

Winter lectures are the 2nd Sunday of the month at 2:00 pm.

Check the schedule often as lectures may change.

Current Collections

Our collections are constantly changing. The next collections include:

See Photo Gallery of Past Exhibits

Attractions

Hours of Operation

Saturday 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
April - October

30 North First Street
Bangor, PA 18013
610.588.8615
Email us

Ethnic Book Series In April of 2007 we launched the first book in our original series of histories on the various ethnic groups that settled the Slate Belt. Our aim is to record an original history of each group: the Lenape, Jewish, Pennsylvania German, Welsh, Cornish, Italian, African American, and others. The books are limited to 400 editions and can be purchased from these locations (prices vary): Merchants Bank (Bangor, Wind Gap, and Mt. Bethel locations) The Slate Belt Heritage Center Make checks payable to: Slate Belt Heritage Center.
Our sixth book was published in April, 2012. Famiglia, Fede, e Communità (Family, Faith, and Community): The Italian Experience in Pennsylvania's Slate Belt, written by Angela J. Herrlinger, describes the history of the Italian people in the Slate Belt of Northampton County. Price $25.00. The book will be available for sale at the Heritage Center and Merchants Bank.
	Our fifth book will be published April 3rd, 2011. Pennsylvania Slate Beckons the Cornish Quarryman "to North Americay", written by Carolyn Bray, Harry Bray, and Brad Landon, describes the history of the Cornish people in the Slate Belt of Northampton County. Price $25.00.
Our forth book was published April 11th, 2010. From the Slate (O'r Llechen): The Welsh and the Folk Art of Pennsylvania's Slate Belt, written by John Reinhart, describes the history of the Welsh people in the Slate Belt of Northampton County and the Slate Folk art created by all groups. Price $25.00.
	Our third book was published April 4th, 2009. At the Blue Hills Above the Forks: Pennsylvania Dutch Culture in Northampton County’s Slate Belt, written by Melissa E. Hough, describes the history of the Pennsylvania German people in the Slate Belt of Northampton County. Price $18.00.
Our second book was published April 6th, 2008. A Great Miracle Happened Here: The Jews of Pennsylvania's Slate Belt, written by Marc Blau, Anna Maria Caldara, Deanna McCaa, and Judith Share Yaphe, is the story of one of the smallest organized Jewish communities in the United States. Price $10.00.
	Our first book, published April 15th, 2007, is titled, Of Forest and River: the Lenape of the Slate Belt, which was written by authors Elinor Fehr and Donald Repsher. Price $10.00.