Museum & Archives
The HSG Museum & Archives contains thousands of objects, photographs, documents and ephemera related to the development of Methodism in America and to local Methodist churches in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the UMC.
The Museum & Archives are open to the public for tours and research. Click the links below to learn more.
Through objects, paintings and documents, you will be transported to the start of the united Methodist denomination. See Captain Webb flourishing his sword to gather the faithful; imagine packing your belongings in a saddlebag and traveling 265,000 miles on horseback like Francis Asbury; read the words of Joseph Pilmore in his personal journal. These adventures and more are waiting for you!
Museum at HSG
Admission
Large and small groups need to book an appointment for tours, as the office is not staffed every day. Masks optional when touring St. George’s. Admission is free for individuals visiting during the week, but donations are greatly appreciated.
Saturday and/or Group Tours
$5.00 per person
$75.00 maximum
By appointment only, call or email us to confirm.
Hours
Spring/Summer
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday:
9:00 - 3:00
Monday & Friday:
By appointment only.
Fall/Winter
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
10:00 - 2:00
Monday & Friday:
Hours vary, please make an appointment.
Archives at HSG
St. George's holds the archives for the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. You can submit a research request or make an appointment to visit the archives.
Use the button above to make an appointment to visit the archives.
Fees
Archival visit: $10/day or $35/year
Copy of baptism or wedding record: $25
Research Requests:
$25 for the first hour
$15 per hour for additional research
Submit a research request to get started. Include as much information as you can about the people or events you are interested in.
We cannot guarantee that we will have the information you are seeking.
Museum Programs
Time Traveler
Join us for an exploration of Methodist heritage in a unique education program perfect for confirmation classes, young adults, new members, or history lovers.
Philadelphia Methodist Walking Tour
This 90-minute, self-guided walking tour of Philadelphia Methodism will give you insight into this city, the nation, and the world as early Methodists would have seen it in the 1700s and 1800s. Most of the sites are within the bounds of the National Historic Park in Old City.
Click here to interact with our 3D timeline to learn more about American Methodist history.
This timeline was created by Nicole Rivelli through Temple University's Cultural Fieldwork Initiative collaboration.
Explore Your Methodist History
From left to right: Absalom Jones, Harry Hosier, Richard Allen
Jones left HSG to become an Episcopalian priest and founder of the The Historic African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas - AECST after early HSG members’ poor treatment of African American congregants. Hosier led a class at HSG that eventually became Mother African Zoar UMC. Allen became the founder of the African Methodist denomination, with Mother Bethel AME Church being its first church.
Anna M Jarvis (1864-1948) attended St. George’s and taught Sunday School here when she succeeded in having President Woodrow Wilson sign the bill that made Mother’s Day an official observance in 1914. Visit the museum to learn more.
In our archives, there is a letter from Frederick Douglass written in 1858. Visit our museum to learn about important highlights of our denomination's ongoing efforts to understand and combat the scars of racism.
A special object in our collection includes a quilt with hand stitched signatures of early congregants.
Are you a Philadelphia area teen interested in arts, history and/or museums?
Join the new Museum
Youth Advisory Council!
Open to anyone ages 12-18
Experience the inner workings of a local history museum and learn skills including archival work, museum management and more
Plan and assist with teen events and programs at the museum
Develop the museum’s youth voice & be a museum advocate
Sacred Harmony
Thanks to the Charles Wesley Society and the General Commission on Archives & History for funding the electronic scanning of Sacred Harmony, John Wesley's own copy of the first Methodist Hymnal.
We have made the book available on the Internet Archive.
That copy is searchable by text.
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Historical Society
The Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference is among the oldest in the United Methodist Church. Founded in the 1860s, the Society is entirely voluntary and open to all, and works in partnership with the appointed members of the EPA Commission on Archives and History.
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Preservation Society
The Historic St. George’s Preservation Society was established in 2013 to preserve, restore, and maintain Historic St. George’s United Methodist Church’s buildings, collections, and grounds and to perpetuate the interpretation of its unique place in American history.
