Isett Heritage Museum being donated to Juniata College

HUNTINGDON COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Isett Heritage Museum is donating land and a collection of 40,000 historical artifacts to Juniata College. 

Located on Stone Creek Ridge Road in Huntingdon, the museum showcases a collection of 40,000 historical artifacts connected to Huntingdon County and the local community. The late Melvin and Beulah Isett built the collection over their lifetimes. Once under Juniata College’s stewardship, the museum will continue its educational mission for generations.

“The gift to Juniata is a new opportunity for the museum to continue the educational legacy of our parents and further our family’s long history of philanthropy,” said the Isetts’ son, Chet Isett, who manages his family’s charitable trust with his sister, Judy Isett. “My father anticipated that the museum’s ownership would need to transition to ensure the continuation of his work. Juniata College perfectly aligns with my father’s commitment to education.”

While Beulah Isett passed away before the museum opened in 2001, Melvin Isett continued to stay actively engaged in the museum until his passing in 2022 at age 100. Since its founding, the museum has focused on providing families with accessible, educational, hands-on exhibits. It has since grown into one of the region’s largest collections of antiques and memorabilia.

“Melvin and Beulah Isett built a wonderful museum for our community. I am honored the Isett family has entrusted this legacy to Juniata College,” said James A. Troha, president of Juniata College. “We will continue to respect the mission of the museum to preserve history and encourage hands-on learning for all ages.”

Juniata College houses art, history, and science collections, including an array of artifacts, acquired since the college’s founding in 1876. Juniata staff have experience curating these collections through the Juniata College Museum of Art and the Archives and Special Collections Suite in the Statton Learning Commons. Juniata College offers one of the few museum studies programs available at a liberal arts college, and now Juniata students will have the opportunity to engage with the Isett collection as part of their coursework.

“The generosity of the Isett family helps us expand our experiential education opportunities in powerful ways as our students will be able to help catalog, curate, and display the various pieces of the collections. Having the opportunity to have hands-on learning with primary source material provides amazing opportunities for our students and our faculty in many fields of study including history, politics, museum studies, anthropology, among others,” said Lauren Bowen, provost of Juniata College.

During the transition in ownership, the Isett Heritage Museum will remain temporarily closed to allow Juniata College to assess operations and inventory the collection. Juniata College will reopen the museum to the public as soon as possible and offer hours of operation that will incorporate student and community involvement.

Partnerships with local community organizations, such as the Huntingdon County Historical Society and the Huntingdon County Visitors Bureau, have been a cornerstone of the Isett Heritage Museum over its 24 years.

Juniata College will continue to work collaboratively with these and other partners to maintain strong community connections.