If you have never been to the Hagen History Center, it’s fair to predict that you will be blown away on your first visit. The West Sixth Street campus, just a few blocks west of Perry Square, includes the Watson-Curtze Mansion, Wood-Morrison House, Carriage House Visitor Center and Gift Shop, as well as the New Exhibit Building, which opened to the public in 2021. Researching some local history? There is also the 10,000-square-foot King-Mertens Archive Building, which is home to over 800 unique collections within their research library and a professional staff eager to assist.
If you have passed through the Hagen History Center before, you already know that the permanent exhibits are so well done that they are worth revisiting throughout the year. This includes their Griswold Ironware Exhibit, Weschler Gallery of Military Service, the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit, and, “The Story of Us,” a comprehensive and interactive look at the settling and development of Erie that, for a moment, might make you forget that you’re not in a Smithsonian. Of course, a trip here wouldn’t be complete without a chilling glimpse at the kettle in which Mad Anthony Wayne’s body was boiled to recover his bones.
Plus, there is always something new among their rotating exhibits. Just this past year, these exhibits included “Triggering History: Legacy of Erie Firearms,” “Generations of Impact: 165 Years of the YMCA of Greater Erie,” and a guest exhibit curated by the Fort LeBoeuf Historical Society…