SAXONBURG — “Welcome to the inside of the Saxonburg Museum.”

Fred Caesar, president of the Friends of Saxonburg Museum and a board member for the Saxonburg Historical Restoration Commission, takes visitors on tours of the 6,000 square-foot building that contains 12 rooms depicting various aspects of life that would have been seen throughout the area's history.

[naviga:h3]The Roebling Room[/naviga:h3]

The room that typically draws immediate interest is the Roebling Room, dedicated to John A. Roebling, the founder of Saxonburg and inventor of the wire-rope cable used in suspension bridges.

“In this room, we have (photographs of) the main suspension bridges that he first developed, including the Brooklyn Bridge, which was finished in 1883.”

Caesar said the staple of the room is a small piece of wire rope, replicated to John Roebling's original design, within the main display case. He said it gives visitors a closer look at the finished product.

Another notable item in the room is encased and bolted to a desk.

“This is an original deed that was prepared in 1849, and on the back it has John Roebling's signature and his wife's signature, Johanna,” Caesar said.

[naviga:h3]Life around town[/naviga:h3]

Moving in a counterclockwise direction around the museum, visitors first encounter a display with desks and books, emulating a schoolroom. In a case nearby, photographs of residents in their youth can be found.

The next room contains a grid of small wooden boxes, built to show what the Saxonburg Post Office used to look like. There's also a door that allows visitors to see behind the counter where they'll find old money sacks, a safe and a mechanical stamp dispenser.

Caesar said the main focal point is the original window, taken from one of the older versions of the Saxonburg Post Office.

Next is the parlor, containing chairs, desks and other pieces from homes in the historical Saxonburg era. Outside the parlor sits the telephone switchboard once used to connect these homes, along with typewriters and rotary phones.

Smithing was also once important in the area. This room is full of metal tools, like hammers and anvils, and it also has old metal bending tools and furnaces.

[naviga:h3]The Cooper Room[/naviga:h3]

In the next room there is a stripped phone line preserved in a box on the wall.

“Mf'd by JOHN A. ROEBLING'S SONS CORPORATION, Trenton, New Jersey,” it reads.

The Saxonburg Museum has a lot of information about Roebling, but it also pays homage to a former mayor, Reldon Cooper. In the room dedicated to Cooper, visitors will find photographs and memorabilia from Cooper's involvement in the community, including 32 years as mayor and time with the fire department, among others. Even the museum would not exist without him.

“This building is a result of his family's donation to the borough,” Caesar said.

Just outside this room, visitors will find a dark green 1937 Plymouth coupe, donated by Cooper. It cost $500 new in 1937.

[naviga:h3]Trade and industry[/naviga:h3]

Continuing on, visitors will find sports, military and fire department regalia and artifacts, before finding their way to the Cabinetmaking Room, which contains saws and lathes and other tools. Beyond smithing, cabinetmaking was a valuable trade to the area, according to Caesar.

“It is a great collection of what was used by cabinetmakers in this area,” Caesar said.

The Oil and Gas Room is highlighted by heavy equipment and a set of wooden pipes that were used in place of modern metal piping.

The Farm Room is accented with a large manual plow. Above, the room is a model of a barn that still stands today with the photographs to prove it.

<h3>Life at home</h3>The Laundry Room exhibits various methods, including washboard in a metal tub, hand cranked machines and an early electric washing machine with a built-in spin-dryer.On the way to the next room, there are cases containing cameras that vary in style and design. An adjoining display case contains glass-plate negatives, used to print photos. One is particularly nice, according to Caesar.“This glass plate negative was so sharp, we went to a company and had it blown up, and we had this put on the (Department Store Room's exterior) wall to make it look like you're walking into the old Maurhoff store.”Inside the room, boxes, cans and old products sit on shelves. There's also a butcher's block and other trade equipment.“A lot of this stuff came from local stores that were on Main Street at some time,” Caesar said.The final room visitors might see is a modeled bedThe final room visitors might see is a modeled bedroom with old beds with rope supports, wooden wardrobes and quilted blankets.After seeing what the inside of the museum has to offer, there's another historical monument in an adjacent building, a small home.<h3>Roebling Workshop</h3>“We're in a German settler's house, but John Roebling used it as a (place) where he did his drafting and his drawings, and it's where he came up with his ideas for the wire-rope,” Caesar said.The John Roebling Workshop was the first home of John Roebling and his brother, Carl, originally at the corner of Rebecca and Water Streets. before being moved to its current location for preservation.The building consists of two rooms where the staff has lined the walls with framed pictures of Roeblings original designs for machines.The main display case houses a number of Roebling artifacts and documents, including Roebling's patent for the wire rope process, some of his sketches and photographs of some bridges where his wire was used and his obituary from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 1976.Between the Roebling House and an adjacent pavilion, a replica of the Brooklyn Bridge spans the gap.Caesar said the goal is to continue preserve the building while maintaining its unique aged appearance.“It still has some of the original walls and wood,” he said. “We're trying to preserve it and keep it.”<h3>A historic place</h3>Caesar said the museum offers an educational experience, not only about Roebling and his wire-rope, but also of the people who settled the area with deep ties to their German heritage.“After you visit the Saxonburg Museum, as you walk out the door, you have a great understanding of the hard work that people went through to develop the town, to keep the commerce going, to set up a home, to work with some of the equipment you see here,” he said.Caesar said everything the museum holds is from the community, and it creates a personal relationship and a sense of pride with the town's history.“Ninety nine percent of what's here has been donated by the families in the Saxonburg and greater area community,” he said. “We have examples of how people lived because of what people have saved.”Caesar said he hopes that residents not only appreciate the history in the building, but draw on that history for inspiration for the future.“That same spirit is here today, it keeps building,” he said. “It's kind of evolving and evolving as the community evolves, but we still have that same spirit of wanting to make it go, but realize that we have an iconic town and iconic Main Street that people are really proud of.”