The National Apple Museum
Opened in 1990, the museum is housed in a restored pre-Civil War bank barn and is owned and operated by the Biglerville Historical and Preservation Society. The museum mission is to preserve and exhibit the history and attendant artifacts pertaining to the Apple and Tree Fruit Industry’s history and contributions to the development and growth of Adams County.
Exhibits include early picking, packing, and shipping of fruit, pest management, commercial fruit processing equipment, early orchard photographs and a recreated 1880’s farm kitchen and a General Store. The museum also features collections of farming implements, apple peelers and fruit labels and much more apple memorabilia. The museum also has a Gift Store, with most items having an agricultural or orchard related theme.
Call 717-677-4556 or email biglervillehps@gmail.com
The Biglerville Historical and Preservation Society was formed in 1981. Its goals were to create a museum facility to honor, archive, promote and display material, memorabilia, and equipment of the Apple and Fruit Industry in Adams County. A local business man and farmer, Mr. Clair Ditzler, a founding member of the society, subsequently donated to the society a number of acres of his farm as well as his barn to house the future museum. Later, he headed the effort to upgrade and modernize the barn to house the museum. The National Apple Museum subsequently was opened to the public in 1990.
Group tours may be scheduled by appointment during the week and on weekends. The museum also has a first floor meeting room with audio/visual equipment, kitchen, lavatories, and a separate outside enclosed pavilion with electrical outlets. Both can be rented for a reasonable fee for reunions, group meetings, etc. The museum and the pavilion are accessible for the handicapped. Groups often rent the pavilion for cookouts, and some have their meals catered for their events. The museum also has a Gift Store, with most items having an agricultural or orchard related theme.
Exhibits & Collections
Just a few of the many items featured at The National Apple Museum
- Fiberglass horse & farmer used in Levi Strauss commercials
- Widow-maker ladders
- Sprayer
- Portable forge
- Quality control display
- Peelers
- Cider presses
- Vinegar generator
- 1880’s Kitchen, complete with dough tray, dry sink, woodstove, table and chairs, and farm family
- Prize-winning Quilt
- Handmade Museum Replica
- Local Scenes Diorama
- Honey Bee Display
- Early orchard photos
- Reference and Research Library
- Early deeds and warrants on sheepskin
- Plot plans of early settlers
- Family Histories by Surname
- Oral History CD Collection
- Antique Apple-Related Sheet Music
- Antique Apple-Related Postcards
- Apple Queen Photo Collection