Museum Docents

The Historic Parish House and Museum is open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and by appointment. The main floor is a period-based historic home (early 1900s) and the basement has other museum exhibits focused on Johnstown's history.

We are seeking Docents/Collections volunteers for each day we're open. Volunteers can sign-up for as many or as few days as they want to. We sometimes dress up in early 1900s attire for special group tours, although it is not required. Our trained museum docents work with the Museum Director and other docents. They ensure the house is ready on open days by turning on the lights in all rooms on both floors, posting the "open" sign outside, and ensuring that the house is in order. When a guest(s) arrives, a docent will greet them, have them sign the guestbook, and then begin the tour. There is some flexibility in the tour narrative, and each docent determines how much or how little to share, depending on visitor interest and their available time. If there are no tours on an open day, our docents work with the Collections crew and keep busy on projects of their choice - Collections care, accessioning donations, or performing administrative tasks of their choosing - we have plenty!

Before leaving for the day, the open sign is placed back inside the front porch, lights are turned off, and any running fans are turned off during the summer. The house is then locked and the alarm is set.