Shoot! A photo shoot, of course! My husband, who is seriously one of the good guys (and pretty darned good-looking, I must add), my wonderful mother, and I recently journeyed over to the little town of Austin, PA to visit the E.O. Austin Home and Historical Society. I had been preparing for weeks to do a photo shoot of 3 of my classroom decor sets in the vintage school room at this museum.
This blog post is mainly going to be about the Historical Society itself, which most people just call the Austin Dam Museum. If you have not visited this place yet, you truly are missing out. It is an amazing recreation of the original home of Edward Orramel Austin, who was the founder of the town of Austin, PA.
Of course, this room was my favorite. So much in education has changed over the past 100 or more years, and yet, I felt a connection to those teachers who loved their students just as I do mine today.Paired with a visit to the Austin Dam Memorial Park, a trip to this museum is well worth the drive. The history of the Austin Dam is quite fascinating. In 1911, the dam broke, and a torrent of water carried logs and debris through the growing town of Austin. At least 78 lives were lost in the devastating tragedy.
Today, a park stands at the site of the dam ruins. While there, guests can visit a welcome center, gift store, historical wall display, interpretive trails, and enjoy a picnic lunch in the large pavilion.
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2 Comments
My grandfather was Edward W Austin,his wife was Grace. My mother was Kittie M Austin She told me that E O Austin was my relative. Can you tell me if this could be true? I was told about this flood from my mother. They lived in Austin. She mentioned how people climbed on top of their roofs to survive. I have her copy of the book Marie Kathern Nusehke wrote. That’s what brought me to this page.
Hi, Judy. It’s possible that is true, but I really do not know too much about the history of Austin. The tragic story of the Austin Dam breaking is quite fascinating; many people fled the flood by climbing to their roofs or running up the nearby hills. I would suggest contacting the E.O. Austin Historical Society with your question. Here is their email: [email protected] Thanks!