General Info

Renfrew became a public museum and park in 1975 through the generosity of its last private owner, Emma Geiser Nicodemus, and her sister, Hazel Geiser. In her will Emma Nicodemus specified that her house and the surrounding 107-acres, willed to the Borough of Waynesboro, be made into a museum and parkland. Mrs. Nicodemus wanted the facility to be called Renfrew in remembrance of two young sisters by that name. According to local legend, the girls met their demise in 1764 on what is now Park property. More than a quarter of a century after its creation, Renfrew has grown by leaps and bounds. Research and restoration have expanded the scope of the site to include a Visitors Center in the Victorian period barn, several restored outbuildings which include the smokehouse, milkhouse, and the Fahnestock farmstead with its barn and house. We have designated all the important Royer farmstead sites with bronze markers set in field stone.Renfrew became a public museum and park in 1975 through the generosity of its last private owner, Emma Geiser Nicodemus, and her sister, Hazel Geiser. In her will Emma Nicodemus specified that her house and the surrounding 107-acres, willed to the Borough of Waynesboro, be made into a museum and parkland. Mrs. Nicodemus wanted the facility to be called Renfrew in remembrance of two young sisters by that name. According to local legend, the girls met their demise in 1764 on what is now Park property. More than a quarter of a century after its creation, Renfrew has grown by leaps and bounds. Research and restoration have expanded the scope of the site to include a Visitors Center in the Victorian period barn, several restored outbuildings which include the smokehouse, milkhouse, and the Fahnestock farmstead with its barn and house. We have designated all the important Royer farmstead sites with bronze markers set in field stone.