BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Sixty-two acres of donated land in Bethlehem will become the future home of the Industrial Archives & Library, the institution said in a release Friday.
Essential to the continuing growth and longtime viability of the IAL, the organization plans to construct an archival processing and preservation facility on the site that will be the headquarters of its daily operations, the release said.
The property, donated to IAL by S. H. Cumings, is on the north slope of Camel’s Hump along Santee Mill Road.
It consists of eight structures, most notable of which are a 1927 Tudor-style main house, a 1775 farmhouse, two barns, stables and several other buildings.
"The property with its multiple buildings presents an extraordinary opportunity to further the mission of IAL."IAL Chief Executive Officer Stephen G. Donches
The vast majority of the site is composed of wooded forest land and greenspace that, in accordance with deed covenants, will essentially remain in its natural state and undisturbed in perpetuity.
The IAL now is housed at 18 W. Fourth St.
Established in 2015, IAL is a 501(c)(3), private operating foundation. It was organized as an independent institution to collect, organize, conserve and preserve industrial records and to make them available for education and research to historians, scholars and the public.
'An extraordinary opportunity'
The vision of IAL is to gradually relocate all of its archival operations at the Santee Mill Road facility.
The existing structures on the property will have modified interiors to accommodate the specialized archival needs, the release said.
IAL Chief Executive Officer Stephen G. Donches affirmed its commitment to its non-profit mission to preserve for education and research a broad collection of historical industrial records.
The proposed new layout will provide a complete archival program that otherwise would not be possible under existing facilities limitations.Industrial Archives & Library release
"We are carefully planning to adapt our strategic mission as an archive for the best use of the property in harmony with its surrounding environment," Donches said.
"The property with its multiple buildings presents an extraordinary opportunity to further the mission of IAL.
"It will also preserve the history of the site that was owned by Archibald Johnston, the first mayor of Bethlehem and the one-time president of Bethlehem Steel Company under founder, Charles M. Schwab.”
Designed and built to match the existing barn structure and color of the large Pennsylvania German-style bank barn on the site, the new headquarters would house archival activities that would be in harmony with the existing property, IAL said.
The proposed new layout will provide a complete archival program that otherwise would not be possible under existing facilities limitations, it said.
Current IAL holdings include records relating to banking, slate quarrying, coal mining, silk and textiles, steel, shipbuilding, transportation, railroads and steam technologies.
IAL also houses an oral history program and offers repository services for corporate and industrial records.
In March 2024, truckloads of documents, artifacts and personal items from the now defunct Glen Alden Coal Co. in Luzerne County that helped Pennsylvania fuel the Industrial Revolution were donated to the IAL.
