McGinley House

The McGinley House is the oldest field stone house in Monroeville. It was a farm dwelling from 1850 to 1880 and contains interesting antique furniture and personal belongings in the living room, music room, kitchen and bedrooms. Along with rare photographs, the living and music rooms contain a sewing machine that sews from right to left, a piano built in 1847, a functional 1875 organ with intricate wood- working and a reproduction of a Betsy Ross American flag featuring 15 stars and stripes.

An outdoor oven of the type used in the 1800's is also on the McGinley Property. An herb garden with more than 50 different kinds of herbs is behind the house and also available for visitors to walk through.

The kitchen items are the best indication of how primitive the McGinley family's life- style was. There is a beautiful and huge stone fireplace with a swinging arm holder to guide the cast iron kettle over the fire. Wooden washboards, wringer washing machines, carpet beater, butter churns and wooden hamburger grinder illustrate how difficult it was for a homemaker.

Directions
From Route 48 south, turn left onto Haymaker Road. At the first light, make a left onto McGinley Road. Follow McGinley Road past the hospital entrance to the bottom. Bear right at the bottom of the road, and McGinley House and McCully Log House are on the left side. The historical homes on McGinley Road are open for tours from June through August 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. All historical sites are open by appointment only the rest of the year.

For more information, please visit the Monroeville Historical Society website.


By Marilyn K. Wempa