African-American Museum Of Bucks Co. Nears Completion

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The keys have been turned over.

After years of planning and building, the African American Museum of Bucks County is planning to open at Boone Farm in Core Creek Park in Middletown Township sometime early this year.

During a ceremony earlier this month, museum officials were handed the keys to the building by Bucks County officials. Black History Month is February.

Museum officials told Patch recently that workers are still inside the building, but should be finished sometime during the spring. Next, all the exhibits would be installed before the museum opens.

"We are not open yet, but we finally can get in and start setting up. It is no longer controlled by the county so things should start moving quickly," Katherine Manning, the museum's event coordinator, told Patch.

The farm at 867 Newtown-Langhorne Road will soon serve as the permanent home for the African American Museum of Bucks County.

Patricia Mervine is the author of "Boone Farm: Its People and Place in Middletown History." The historic farm dates back at least 300 years, with links to the Great Migration of the 20th century.

Ground was broken for the museum in 2022.

When Bucks County Commissioners offered the property to AAMBC in 2020, it had been vacant for nearly 40 years, Mervine told Patch.

The AAMBC plans to have different exhibits and programs throughout the year once it opens.

Established in 2014, the museum has existed solely as a “mobile museum,” displaying exhibits and artifacts at schools, libraries, senior centers, and other locations throughout Bucks County.

The stone farmhouse dates back to 1716, making it one of the oldest surviving homes in Bucks County, said Mervine, who wrote a book about Boone Farm.

Two floors of the farmhouse are being converted to permanent and changing exhibit spaces, a classroom with state-of-the-art technology, and a research library, made accessible to all by an elevator that is currently under construction on the back of the building.

Mervine said that many of the building’s historic features, including fireplaces and stone walls, will be retained, complemented by new oak floors, banisters, and moldings.

The exterior will have new porches, and the grounds will be landscaped to provide a picnic area for visitors along the banks of Core Creek.

The museum has a $1 lease annually with the county for 30 years, Mervine said.