Tuscarora Academy Museum

The Tuscarora Academy Museum features local artifacts ranging from the ordinary to the not-so-ordinary. Located in the borough of Mifflin, Pennsylvania, the museum seems unassuming at first blush; however, it’s a hidden gem for history buffs and lovers of the offbeat alike, featuring historical everyday historical items alongside a framed piece of tattooed human skin.

The building also has a story of its own. As its name suggests, it served as a school before it was a museum, drawing students from across the nation. But its original purpose when erected in 1816 was to house the local Presbyterian congregation.

When the Tuscarora Academy opened its doors in 1836 as the first secondary school in Juniata County, it held classes in the church building as well as at a number of other campus buildings near the property. In 1850, the church sold the building to the Academy trustees, leaving it solely under Academy ownership. The Academy built a second floor for student dormitories, and the school thrived for 80 years.

From 1850 until 1875, the campus experienced four big fires, resulting in all the other campus buildings burning down. The original stone building, however, was unscathed, and remains standing to this day.

In 1873, the Academy became coeducational, and classes continued until the Academy shut down in 1912. The space was repurposed as Beale Township High School, which ran until 1916. After it closed its doors for good, Academy alumni and the local community rallied together for the conservation of the building, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that restoration began. Finally, in 1970, it was converted into the Tuscarora Academy Museum.

Beyond the human skin—which is one of several medical artifacts on display—the museum is composed of old-timey objects from farmers, blacksmiths, creameries, schools, churches, hotels, the military, and family life. There are also artifacts from Book’s Indian Mound, a historic Indigenous American burial site in Mifflin.

Two of the dorm rooms on the second floor have even been restored to the state they would have been in when boarding students were living in them, allowing you to step back in time to when the school was in its prime.