Boal Mansion Museum Announces New Director, Will Reopen in May

The doors have been closed at the Boal Mansion Museum for months, but that’s about to change.

The Boalsburg landmark is now under new leadership, and there are big plans for the museum’s future. After the museum reopens on May 1, new director Robert Cameron wants to work to improve the grounds, host more community events and living history exhibits, and maybe even expand the museum’s season.

“I have a passion for history, and when I look at what’s here, it’s really such an incredible treasure,” says Cameron about the museum’s collection of artifacts from American history and the life and voyages of Christopher Columbus.

Cindy Shaler, president of the museum board of directors, says the past few months have been “a difficult time” for the museum

Former museum director Christopher Lee was arrested in October on felony child pornography and sexual molestation charges. He is being held in federal custody while awaiting trial, which has recently been delayed a third time.

“Look at what we in Happy Valley have gone through over the past several years, with Sandusky and now the allegations around Lee” Cameron says. “That certainly presents challenges, but I hope people realize that it’s separate from the museum and that we can move in a direction that the community can support.”

Shaler says the Lee allegations didn’t seem to impact the board members’ search for a new director. They ended up interviewing seven candidates hailing everywhere from Boalsburg to New York, each of whom Shaler says was “very well qualified” for the job. 

But Cameron, an adjunct Penn State professor in landscape architecture and sustainable technology, ultimately struck the board as the right person for the job. Shaler says it was his energy, enthusiasm and history of restoring historical buildings that won the board over.

According to a museum news release, Cameron has previously served as CEO of Olde Cloverleaf Village in Danville, where he restored over 20 historic buildings and was honored by the governor of Pennsylvania for his efforts. He’s also previously run a research division of Tenneco, Inc. in Chicago and founded his own sustainable construction and renovation company in Texas.

Cameron says he wants the museum to take a more active role in the community, with “events literally every week throughout the season.” One idea is to use the museum’s large outdoor hearth to host a celebration of local foods, which could be tied into a larger fall festival.

He also wants to revamp the museum grounds to include educational gardens that tie into the museum’s Columbus Chapel. Honeybees, he points out as an example, where brought to the New World from Europe – and many foods were unavailable in Europe until they were brought back from North America. A garden could explore these oft-forgotten facts in a fun and beautiful way, he says.

“We’ve gotten a lot of community support. Everyone agrees this place is a treasure,” Camerson says. “I’m excited to help keep it going in the right direction.”

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