Mercer Museum
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The Mercer Museum is a National Historic Landmark located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, archeologist Henry Chapman Mercer began collecting the pre-industrial hand tools and implements of the past. Mercer believed that the story of human progress and accomplishments was told by the tools and objects that people used, and saw these time-honored crafts slowly disappearing from memory.
Made out of poured-in-place concrete, the Museum was completed in 1916 to house vast collection of early American everyday objects. It contains displays the furnishings of early America, plus a whaleboat, carriages, stove plates, a gallows and antique fire engines. It also houses the Spruance Library on its third floor.
The Museum is one of three poured-in-place concrete structures built by Mercer. The others include Fonthill, which served as his home; and the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, both of which are located approximately one mile away.