WATSONTOWN, Pa. — The Watsontown Area Historical Museum's lobby is filled with people. Volunteers did not know if that would be possible a few months ago. Back in November part of the ceiling fell. No one was hurt, but there was a lot of damage to the museum.
"There was so much we had to do to tear out the ceiling. They put new flooring down and repurposed some of the wood," Gary Huffman said.
The Watsontown Area Historical Museum opened to the public last August but has been closed since the ceiling collapse in November. Since then, volunteers have worked around the clock to get the museum back up and running.
"A lot of people, a lot of man hours," Huffman said.
Jim Williams was the contractor on the project and volunteered a lot of his time.
"The people who run this place, the dedication they have, it means a lot to us. It's more of a community effort than it is an individual," Jim Williams said.
The original plaster ceiling was from the 1860s. Williams incorporated that into the renovation.
"They had some drop ceiling, metal ceiling tile that were original that we were able to salvage, and in turn, we were able to incorporate it back into the history of the building," Williams said.
The Watsontown Area Historical Museum reopens to the public this week.