Clarion County Historical Society

05/22/2026

🔍 Lumber Heritage Quest Spotlight: Sutton Ditz House
We will be highlighting each mission in the Lumber Heritage Quests: Celebrating America.

The Sutton-Ditz House Museum, operated by the Clarion County Historical Society, preserves the story of the county through its exhibits and collections. Built in the mid-1800s, the house reflects the prosperity of Clarion during a period shaped by lumber, iron, oil, and glass industries, which transformed the region and its communities.

📍 Location: Clarion, Clarion County
🪵 Why it matters: Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, the Sutton-Ditz House offers exhibits for visitors to explore; ranging from Victorian-era furnishings and decorative art to archives documenting Clarion County’s role in Pennsylvania’s industrial and cultural development. The museum also highlights the county’s ties to the lumber heritage that defined much of north-central Pennsylvania.

✅ This site is an official stop on the Historian Quest
🗺️ Visit it, log your stop, and keep exploring the Lumber Heritage Region!
👉 Learn more and start the Quest: https://lumberheritage.org/celebrating-america/
📣 Already visited? Tell us your favorite part in the comments!

America250PA Discover Clarion County Clarion County Historical Society

05/11/2026

NOTICE: The Clarion County Historical Society will be closed on Wednesday, May 13th for a private function.
~Regular hours will resume on Thursday, May 14th. Thank you.

05/04/2026

Clarion County's first automobiles! Frank M. and Norma H. Arnold in "His & Hers" Conrad Motor Carriages. Frank Arnold was appointed as the local agent for the maker. Writing on back: Frank M. Arnold Sr., Norma H. Arnold Jr., Steam Conrad about 1900 in front of stable barn west of 8th Ave on alley south of Main St. The first automobiles in Clarion County. ~ Donated to CCHS by Robert Arnold in 1972. From the CCHS Photo Collection. https://www.clarioncountyhistoricalsociety.org/

05/03/2026

Where was the College Grill in Clarion?
"Doughnuts & Coffee" at every meal during breakfast and lunch!
From the CCHS Archives: Menu from the College Grill, dated 1938.
Check out the prices.
https://www.clarioncountyhistoricalsociety.org/

04/08/2026

We have an exhibit honoring Earline Laura Besley at The Clarion County Historical Society's Sutton Ditz Museum in our Military Room. Included are photos, the telegram informing her mother of her daughters death & a signed copy of "Lost in Shangra'La", on the NY Times best seller list in 2011, by Mitchell Zuckoff.

Shippenville native Laura Besley’s service in World War II placed her at the center of a harrowing crash and one of the war’s most daring rescue missions…

03/17/2026

On this day in Clarion Pa...March 17,1916, Passengers on Cunningham's Livery horse drawn sleigh, "The Mayflower", travelling west on Main Street in Clarion PA. In front of the The F L Crooks & Co. Building (since 1905), originally The Wilson Building. Center building, The New Jones House, destroyed by fire in 1941.
~Photo by Liberty Studio. From the CCHS Photo Collection.~
https://www.clarioncountyhistoricalsociety.org/

02/27/2026

Great turn out for Clarion County’s “America 250 Kick Off” at CCHS! Many thanks to all! https://www.clarioncountyhistoricalsociety.org/

02/26/2026

"America250PA Kick-Off " at CCHS! https://www.clarioncountyhistoricalsociety.org/

Local officials and America250 PA representatives gathered Tuesday to unveil plans for historical monuments and community projects celebrating the upcoming U.S. Semiquincentennial…

02/22/2026

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) Camp in Sligo, Clarion County during the Great Depression in 1935. From the depths of the Great Depression, almost three and a half million young men came forward and built parks, improved forests, ended the dust bowl, improved farmland, built trails, laid water lines, strung telephone wires in the country, developed forest fire fighting techniques, preserved historic structures and sites. The Program was started by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and over 2,600 work camps were operating in all 50 states and several U.S. territories. Of the 2,600 work camps, 150 were all-black CCC companies.
(Photo from D. Farnella via https://www.facebook.com/Historic-Sligo-PA-1392052157713527)

02/20/2026

America 250 Kick-Off rescheduled.