The origins of the Adams County Historical Society date to 1888, when a group of prominent citizens, including attorney David Wills and U.S. Congressman Edward McPherson, formed an organization to promote the preservation of our community’s remarkable history.

In 1940, the successors of this early group secured a charter of incorporation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the newly minted Adams County Historical Society began to collect historic items in the basement of the Adams County Courthouse. Over the next 19 years, this space was converted into a small museum, library, and archives. In 1961, the Society moved its headquarters to Schmucker Hall on the campus of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, which had been slated for demolition. Here, for more than 50 years, ACHS preserved the building and maintained a research center and local history museum.

In 2011, ACHS was forced to leave Schmucker Hall and established a temporary headquarters at the Edmund J. Wolf House on the southern edge of the seminary campus. This move put the Society’s priceless collection in jeopardy for more than a decade. However, in 2020, ACHS launched a $12 million capital campaign that resulted in the debt-free construction of a brand new museum and history center just north of Gettysburg at 625 Biglerville Road.

On April 15, 2023, ACHS opened to the public at its new headquarters. Here, we showcase for the community and millions of visitors an immersive museum experience, Gettysburg Beyond the Battle, a research room and archives, a classroom, and a spacious event venue. Our collection, numbering in the millions, is now properly maintained for the first time in its history.