Keystone Today

A new nonprofit museum and education center in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, welcomes visitors with displays of Civil War artillery and more, focusing on American history over the last 200 years.

“We encourage everybody that hasn’t come to see us to do so,” Matthew Hewson, curator and director of the Lomas Center, told ABC 27 News. “We have a great opportunity to learn about American history through its firearms and its material culture, the things that were left behind.”

The Lomas Center history museum, located at 50 Mayor Alley in Gettysburg, has been made possible by the private collection of the late George Lomas, founder of The Regimental Quartermaster, Inc., and a Civil War collector, according to Destination Gettysburg!. Lomas died in 2016.

The George Lomas Center provides “unique access to small arms and artillery, hard-to-find artifacts and research materials in an environment that appreciates collectors and living historians and their contributions to the preservation of American History,” Destination Gettysburg! said.

“The George Lomas Learning Center seeks to deepen the understanding of the American Civil War and the greater story of the United States; support the community in exploration of the past; and facilitate learning and exploration for all ages,” according to the center’s Facebook page.

The center routinely hosts special displays on weekends and plans to offer youth programming on living history and hands-on learning in the upcoming year, according to Destination Gettysburg! The museum is open Thursday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or by appointment.