The Tamaqua area takes pride in its history and culture.

And the Tamaqua Historical Society recognizes that and strives to reflect the rich tradition of the region. Led by President Dale Freudenberger, the organization has been around for decades and is a true staple of Tamaqua.

The past calendar year has been a busy one for the group, as many renovations are underway in both the museum and the museum annex.

“In 2019 we created a plan of what we’d like to do next door (in the annex),” Freudenberger said. “It started with creating a connector doorway between the museum and the museum annex, so that it would be easier to have visitors come in one door and just go through the connector doorway to the other building without using the two outside doors. It also makes it easier on volunteer staff just to have one staff person here, instead of needing staff on both sides of the building.”

A local contractor prepared for the beautiful new doorway, which now connects the two buildings, by cutting through a 22-inch thick marble and brick wall.

“One thing led to another in 2019. We ended up getting multiple estimates from different contractors,” Freudenberger said. “Our ideas grew, as we investigated problem areas as to what to do with the flooring and problem areas of the wall, the ideas kind of changed and got bigger and bigger.”

On the annex side, the society decided to get rid of all of the old flooring, which is composed of several layers of carpet, tile flooring and hardwood. After tossing the idea around of refinishing the original flooring, it made more sense financially, among other reasons, to put an entire brand-new floor in. The annex will sport a three-quarter-inch, red-oak hardwood floor. Freudenberger also noted that the room needed plaster repairs and scraping. More space was also created by demolishing the old bathrooms and kitchenette on the annex side — as the museum side has brand-new bathrooms and a kitchen. Additionally, new baseboard heat will be installed, as well as new lighting in the annex and gallery.

“We’re excited to be able to grow the museum to have new space for new exhibits and artwork,” Freudenberger said. “It’s part of Tamaqua Historical Society’s commitment to preserving, telling the story and educating area citizens on the rich history of the greater Tamaqua area.”

The society was able to do major renovations four years ago on the museum side with the help of community partners and through grants, Freudenberger said. The museum is the original First National Bank of Tamaqua, built in 1905, and was completely restored by the society.

“The renovations going on currently in the gallery are strictly funded by the historical society,” he said. “There are no grants or outside funding. We are asking the public if anyone could help us with a tax-deductible donation toward our project, which is now between $25,000-$30,000 until it’s all said and done next door.”

Last week, the Tamaqua Lions Club made a donation of $1,000 to the society.

“The Tamaqua Lions are committed to making Tamaqua a visible place,” said Brian Keich, Tamaqua Lions Club president. “We believe investing in our heritage is a good way to show what Tamaqua has to offer and we look forward to the future.”

Freudenberger said the organization has received about $3,650 in donations for the annex renovations.

“We are appreciative of that, but it would be nice to get more donations toward the project, so it’s not such a strain on our existing finances of the historical society,” he said. “We are self-supported, we have no outside funding. We have to raise money or seek donations to do everything that we do.”

The goal remains to reopen the museum and annex to the public in March.

“I was once young when I started here, I was 14 years old,” Freudenberger said. “We didn’t have a museum, but we had a historical society. I’ve been with the society for 46 years as a volunteer. We do this all for the community and the greater Tamaqua area. We try to preserve our area’s history and culture and all of the great things that make the Tamaqua area a great place to live.”