Welcome to the Press Room of the Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle. This page contains the latest news about the Castles, including press releases, photos and fact sheets. If you are a member of the media and require more information and/or high resolution photography, please contact the Marketing & PR Department at info@mercermuseum.org or call 215-345-0210, ext. 131.
Fact Sheets
Mercer Museum
Mercer Museum Library
Fonthill Castle
Henry Mercer
Bucks County Historical Society
Press Releases
2023
February 13, 2023
Bucks County Historical Society Unveils Conceptual Enhancement Plans for Fonthill Castle Property
The Bucks County Historical Society unveiled conceptual plans for future site improvements to its 69-acre Fonthill Castle property located in the heart of Doylestown, PA at a gathering in Doylestown Borough Hall last Wednesday, February 8, 2023.
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January 6, 2023
Questers Groups Support Fonthill Castle Projects
The Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle, operated by the Bucks County Historical Society, is pleased to announce grants from seven different local Questers chapters to fund three successful textile projects at Doylestown’s Fonthill Castle in 2022. Recently completed and ready for the upcoming visitor season, these projects have contributed significantly to the richness and color of Fonthill Castle’s interiors.
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January 3, 2023
The Berger Family Foundation Awards Grant to Bucks County Historical Society in Support of National History Day Competition
The Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS) is pleased to announce a new educational internship grant awarded by the Berger Family Foundation, to support the coordination of the annual National History Day (NHD) regional competition for Bucks and Montgomery Counties.
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2022
November 11, 2022
Celebrate the Holiday Season at Fonthill Castle
The Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle are pleased to present their 2022 Holiday programming schedule for the holiday season at Fonthill Castle, the home and showplace of Henry Chapman Mercer, located in Doylestown, the heart of Bucks County, PA.
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November 8, 2022
Mercer Museum Awarded Grant from Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Mercer Museum, operated by the Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS), is pleased to announce that it has received a grant to improve the care, management, and cataloging of 500 artifacts installed in its 1916 historic Central Court.
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September 16, 2022
2022 Cocktails at the Castle
The Mercer Museum’s annual fall fundraiser Cocktails at the Castle returns to Doylestown on Saturday, October 15, 2022, from 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., for a night of culinary delights and tasty cocktails, all in support of the Mercer Museum’s education programs, exhibitions, and community initiatives.
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August 26, 2022
Fonthill Castle Site Improvement Plans Funded by State Grant Secured by Senator Santarsiero
Fonthill Castle, with the help of Senator Steve Santarsiero (D-10), has secured a state grant in order to develop a master site plan for site improvements to the historic property and its 60+ acres of woodlands, amplifying Henry Mercer’s longlasting legacy in Bucks County.
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May 2, 2022
Delaware Valley University Jazz Band Outdoor Concert at Mercer Museum
The Mercer Museum in Doylestown is pleased to feature the Delaware Valley University Jazz Band with special guests, The Delaware Valley Saxophone Quartet, for a special springtime afternoon of music celebrating the University’s 125th anniversary on Saturday, May 7, 2022 on the green of the Mercer Museum.
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2021
December 20, 2021
Stolen 18th Century Pistol Returned to the Mercer Museum After Nearly 50 Years
The Mercer Museum, operated by the Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS), attended a repatriation ceremony for stolen artifacts at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia on Friday, December 17, 2021, alongside six museums from the region. Artifacts stolen nearly half a century ago and recovered as part of a 50-year-old cold case cracked by the FBI in 2019 were returned to the Mercer Museum, American Swedish Historical Museum, Hershey Story Museum, Landis Valley Museum, Museum of the American Revolution, and York County History Center. The items being repatriated include historic firearms from the 18th and 19th centuries, including rifles and pistols, and a Native American silver concho belt.
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November 11, 2021
Celebrate the Holiday Season at Fonthill Castle
The Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle are pleased to present their 2021 Holiday programming schedule with community events that will take place throughout the holiday season at Fonthill Castle (525 East Court Street, Doylestown), the home and showplace of Henry Chapman Mercer, located in Doylestown, the heart of Bucks County, PA.
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October 6, 2021
Royal Refugees: The Doan Gang of Bucks County New Program Series from the
Bucks County Historical Society
The Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS) is pleased to announce a new program series exploring the history of the notorious Doan Gang of Bucks County, PA, offered throughout October and November 2021. The series consists of three virtual programs and one in-person program that highlight artifacts and archives related to the gang and their history.
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September 10, 2021
Found, Gifted, Saved! The Mercer Museum Collects Local History Exhibit Opens at the Mercer Museum October 15, 2021
The Mercer Museum, operated by the Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS), is pleased to announce its new major exhibit, open from Friday, October 15, 2021, through Sunday, April 10, 2022, entitled Found, Gifted, Saved! The Mercer Museum Collects Local History, opening in the Martin & Warwick Foundation Galleries at the museum.
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September 9, 2021
2021 Cocktails at the Castle – A New Twist on a Favorite Tradition Continues…
The Mercer Museum’s annual fall fundraiser Cocktails at the Castle returns to Doylestown on Saturday, October 9, 2021, from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., for a night of culinary delights and tasty cocktails, all in support of the Mercer Museum’s education programs, exhibitions, and community initiatives.
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July 27, 2021
Fourth Annual Bucks County Book Festival Returns to Doylestown, PA
The Fourth Annual Bucks County Book Festival returns to Doylestown, PA, in-person and virtually, from Friday, September 24, 2021, through Sunday, September 26, 2021, with new cultural partner, the Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle.
This three-day celebration connects authors and book lovers and features professionally published authors, including New York Times bestseller Christina Baker Kline and Jason Reynolds. This year’s festival offers a new event, “Book Fest on the Green” on the grounds of the Mercer Museum, as well as Book Fest favorite “Writers Workshop”.
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July 23, 2021
2021 Fonthill Castle Beer Fest Fundraiser Returns to Doylestown in August
Fonthill Castle, operated by the Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS), is thrilled once again to host its annual Fonthill Castle Beer Fest fundraising event in-person on Saturday, August 14, 2021, from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m in Doylestown, PA. The Beer Fest kicks off with a VIP reception at 1:00 p.m. and doors opening for all guests at 2:00 p.m.
This fun-filled afternoon welcomes beer enthusiasts over the age of 21 back to the spacious outdoor grounds of Fonthill Castle, providing plenty of room for attendees to mingle outside and enjoy the one-of-a-kind parklike setting while sampling a variety of local craft brews.
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July 7, 2021
Bucks County Historical Society Welcomes New Vice President of Development Gloria Pugliese
The Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS) has named Gloria Pugliese as Vice President of Development, effective Monday, July 12, 2021. The Vice President of Development provides leadership and management for the creation and implementation of short and long-term development plans to support the BCHS’s institutional mission-driven initiatives. This senior leadership position identifies, cultivates, solicits, and stewards gifts from individuals, foundations, corporations, and government sources to support the BCHS’s mission, and achieve the museum’s strategic goals.
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April 8, 2021
Statement of Gratitude
As President and Executive Director of the Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS), I want to express my sincerest gratitude to all who have spoken out in support of our organization’s recommended next steps for the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works.
Given the results of the County Commissioners’ vote to proceed on a different path, BCHS is honored to continue its commitment to preserve not only Henry Mercer’s legacy, but our shared sense of local and regional history for this wonderful community. Our board and staff celebrate the projects we’ve achieved across the Mercer Mile, with the community by our side.
We remain devoted to educate, engage, inspire, and connect audiences through the stories of the past that help us find meanings relevant to our lives—both today and in the future.
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April 8, 2021
Measurement Rules and Magnificent Measures! Two New Exhibits Open at the Mercer Museum on May 23, 2021
The Mercer Museum, operated by the Bucks County Historical Society, is pleased to announce the opening of two new exhibits from Sunday, May 23, 2021, through Monday, September 6, 2021, entitled Measurement Rules and Magnificent Measures! The Hausman-Hill Collection of Calculating Instruments, opening in the Martin & Warwick Foundation Galleries at the museum.
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March 23, 2021
Bucks County Historical Society Statement on The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works
The Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS) understands that the County of Bucks wishes to divest itself of the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works.
BCHS, a Smithsonian Affiliate, successfully operates the Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle, both accredited museums by the American Alliance of Museums. It has created varying revenue streams to ensure the future of these historical buildings, and the nationally-significant collections that they house.
It is our position that the Tile Works would be best served operating under the umbrella of the BCHS, a professionally-staffed organization that is experienced and eminently capable of managing historic sites and museum collections.
There is efficiency in having all three Mercer sites operating under one administration. It would enable better coordination of programming, preservation, public access, communication, marketing and many other activities.
Such an arrangement would also reunite all three of Henry Mercer’s National Landmark buildings for the first time since Mercer’s death in 1930. And, as a result, such an arrangement would best serve the people of Doylestown and Bucks County, who are stakeholders in making these three sites nationally- and internationally-prominent attractions.
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March 12, 2021
Mercer Museum Awarded Grant from Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Mercer Museum, operated by the Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS), is pleased to announce that it has begun efforts on a grant-funded preservation project that will result in a detailed condition survey of all 256 windows, dormers, and skylights located in the original 1916 National Landmark Mercer Museum building in Doylestown, PA.
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March 2, 2021
New Spring 2021 Virtual Programs From Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle
The Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle, operated by the Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS), are pleased to announce a new slate of virtual programs this spring that are designed to bring local history and the legacy of Henry Chapman Mercer and his renowned concrete castles in the heart of Bucks County, PA to audiences in their own homes.
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2020
October 29, 2020
Celebrate the Holiday Season with Festive Programming at Fonthill Castle
The Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle are pleased to present their 2020 Holiday programming schedule with community events that will take place throughout the holiday season at Fonthill Castle (525 East Court Street, Doylestown), the home and showplace of Henry Chapman Mercer, located in the heart of Bucks County, PA.
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October 22, 2020
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Awards $230,000to the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA for “Plus Ultra: Awakening the Mercer Museum Core” Project
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage announced that it will provide a $230,000 grant, over a period of two and a half years, to the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA to support a major initiative, entitled “Plus Ultra: Awakening the Mercer Museum Core.” This project will allow the museum to prototype and reinvent two empty rooms located in the original historic core of the castle into community-centric, intimate spaces designed for meaningful and active learning through the power of objects.
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September 21, 2020
Cocktails by the Castle: A New Twist on a Favorite Tradition
The Mercer Museum’s annual fall fundraiser is back with a twist, Cocktails by the Castle. The event will be held on Saturday, October 11 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m, and will benefit the museum’s education programs & community initiatives, while also supporting local restaurants and catering partners.
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July 1, 2020
Michener Art Museum and Mercer Museum to Welcome Visitors Back July 23, 2020
With Bucks County making its transition to the “green” phase, the Michener Art Museum and Mercer Museum are delighted to announce that they will jointly re-open their doors and welcome back visitors beginning MONDAY, July 20, 2020 with three special Member-Only Preview Days on July 20, 21, and 22. Both institutions will officially open to the public on THURSDAY, July 23.
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May 19, 2020
Staff Member Celebrating Half-Century of Service at Bucks County Historical Society
The saying goes that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life, and no one knows this to be true more than Terry McNealy, who is celebrating a half-century of service as a staff member at the Bucks County Historical Society.
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March 13, 2020
Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle Coronavirus Response
As we, at the Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle, monitor the daily developments of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle continue to follow best practices according to official guidelines and announce the measures we are taking in order to safeguard our guests, volunteers and staff.
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March 9, 2020
Friends of the Bucks County Historical Society Presentation: “Alice Paul – The Quaker Fights for Equality”
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in America, historic interpreter Patricia Troilo presents the story of Alice Paul, one of the leading suffragettes of the 20th century. Troilo has a long career as an historic guide of over 20 years with organizations such as Historic Philadelphia, Once Upon a Nation, and American Historical Theatre, and she recounts how Alice Paul’s formation of the National Women’s Party (a break-off group of the National American Woman Suffrage Association) led the charge for the passing the 19th Amendment in 1920.
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February 19, 2020
New Major Exhibit “200 Years of Bucks County Art” Opens at the Mercer Museum on March 20
The Mercer Museum is proud to announce it’s new major exhibit highlighting local portraiture and landscape painting by noted American artists and important regional painters, as well as numerous companion pieces such as historical artifacts, documents and images from the Bucks County Historical Society collection that relate to the artists or their subjects.
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2019
October 25, 2019
Football-Themed Fall Exhibit Opens at the Mercer Museum on November 15
Just in time for football season, the Mercer Museum is showcasing a selection of Charles M. Schulz’s famous football-themed comic strips in an exhibit entitled Pigskin Peanuts. Organized and toured by the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, Santa Rosa, California, Pigskin Peanuts showcases fifty daily and Sunday Peanuts comic strips featuring the sport of football and the popular characters Charlie Brown, Woodstock, Snoopy and more.
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October 22, 2019
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Awards $230,000 to the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA for “Plus Ultra: Awakening the Mercer Museum Core” Project
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage announced that it will provide a $230,000 grant, over a period of two and a half years, to the Mercer Museum to support a major initiative, entitled “Plus Ultra: Awakening the Mercer Museum Core.” This project will allow the museum to prototype and reinvent two empty rooms located in the original historic core of the castle into community-centric, intimate spaces designed for meaningful and active learning through the power of objects.
Download PDF
September 17, 2019
Cocktails at the Castle: A Delectable Journey through Bucks County’s Best in Food and Drink
Foodies and history lovers will join again to celebrate the Mercer Museum’s major annual fundraiser. Cocktails at the Castle. This legendary evening in a one-of-a-kind castle is renowned for its extraordinary focus on crafted cocktails and scrumptious offerings from some of the area’s most celebrated restaurants, caterers, and bakeries, all in support of the Mercer Museum’s year-round exhibitions, youth education programs and community initiatives.
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August 28, 2019
New Fall Exhibit Opens at the Mercer Museum Forging a Link: Metalsmiths Respond to the Mercer Collection
Experience the Mercer Museum’s historic artifacts in a new light this fall in the new contemporary exhibit opening entitled Forging a Link: Metalsmiths Respond to the Mercer Collection. It provides a new way for guests to experience the Mercer Museum’s historic artifacts through contemporary art directly inspired by the museum’s collections.
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July 8, 2019
What’s Brewing at Fonthill Castle Beer Fest
Fonthill Castle is pleased to host its annual Fonthill Castle Beer Fest. Event attendees will spend a summer afternoon in a one-of-kind castle setting as they sample high-quality drafts from regional breweries, all in support of Fonthill Castle’s preservation and community program initiatives.
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April 15, 2019
34th Annual Mercer Legacy Sweepstakes & Drawing Party
The Bucks County Historical Society is pleased to announce the 34th Annual Mercer Legacy Sweepstakes and Legacy Drawing Party, all in support of school field trip programs at the Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle.
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April 15, 2019
From Here to There and Making Astronauts: Bucks County to the Moon exhibits open at the Mercer Museum
The Mercer Museum is pleased to announce two concurrent exhibits opening in the Martin & Warwick Foundation Galleries from Friday, May 31, 2019 – September 8, 2019, From Here to There and Making Astronauts: Bucks County to the Moon.
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February 26, 2019
Bucks County Film Premiere: Invisible Warriors Documentary Screening
The Mercer Museum is pleased to announce the Bucks County premiere film screening of Invisible Warriors: African American Women in World War II on Saturday, March 9, 2019 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
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February 1, 2019
Manufacturing Victory: The Arsenal of Democracy Programs at the Mercer Museum
The Mercer Museum is pleased to announce the calendar of events for community programming that will accompany the new exhibit, Manufacturing Victory: The Arsenal of Democracy, which opens Saturday, February 2, 2019 and highlights stories from the Home Front of WWII.
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January 17, 2019
Mercer Museum to Host 2019 National History Day Regional Competition at Delaware Valley University
The 2019 National History Day regional competition for Bucks and Montgomery counties will be held on Saturday, March 30 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. First-place winners who are seniors will have a chance to qualify for DelVal scholarships worth up to $25,000 annually.
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January 1, 2019
Manufacturing Victory: The Arsenal of Democracy Opens at the Mercer Museum
The Mercer Museum is pleased to announce the February 2, 2019 opening of a new exhibit, Manufacturing Victory: The Arsenal of Democracy, highlighting contributions made on the American Home Front during World War II.
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