Our Story

The Historical Society is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to acquiring and managing resources related to the history of Westmoreland County, and using these resources to encourage a diverse audience to make connections to the past, develop an understanding of the present and provide direction for the future. We offer a number of services to fulfill this mission, and you can learn more about them as you navigate our web site.

As the administrator for Historic Hanna's Town, we continue to discover more about the town, its people and their role in shaping early Westmoreland County. And we have developed a number of programs to share and enrich the lives of those interested in learning more about Westmoreland County's original seat of government.

Did you know that Westmoreland County, erected on February 26, 1773, was the eleventh and last county established under the Penn proprietary government during the final years of British rule prior to the American Revolution? To learn more about Westmoreland County's history click here.

'Star of the West' has significance to Westmoreland County's past. Click on the top left image of this or any page on our site to learn why we chose this domain name.