By spring of this year, the Boal Mansion and Museum will have an exciting new feature to share with scholars, historians and anyone else interested in artifacts of antiquity. More than 100,000 pages of ancient documents will appear in digital form, thanks to the efforts of two pairs of dedicated technicians and a crew of volunteers.

This project takes a prominent position in Centre County history because the documents include personal letters, manuscripts, journals, shipping manifests, receipts and other hand-written memorabilia originating directly from the family of Christopher Columbus. The Boal family, whose history in the area begins in the mid 18th century, has a connection to the Columbus family.