Apr 22, 2025 By Brad Hundt 2 min read

JEFFERSON – The Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village outside Avella is the oldest known site of human habitation in North America, but something much newer was unveiled at the National Historic Landmark Monday morning.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the unveiling of the Robert Barensfeld Center at Meadowcroft. A $5 million project that’s been in the works for several years, the center has an exhibit gallery, gift shop, library, dining area, meeting spaces and more.

David Scofield, Meadowcroft’s director, said the new center would result in a “better experience” for the roughly 16,000 visitors who stop at the site outside Avella every year.

“It’s a big leap forward for us,” Scofield said.

It will open to the public on Saturday, May 3, the first day of Meadowcroft’s 2025 season. The facility is named for the late Robert Barensfeld, a longtime trustee of the Senator John Heinz History Center. A Beaver County businessman who died in 2021 when he was 96, Barensfeld played an important role in bringing Meadowcroft under the umbrella of the Heinz History Center 25 years ago. His son, David Barensfeld, described Meadowcroft as “a hidden gem” and “one of our region’s most important cultural attractions.”

“It’s wonderful that the visitor experience will be enhanced by this beautiful building,” Barensfeld said.

The center will be hosting its first exhibit later in May. “Meadowcroft: The Site that Rocked the World” will offer a primer on the Rockshelter and offer a look at the Miller Point, a 14,000-year-old arrowhead that was discovered during an excavation in 1976 and was a key piece of evidence in determining that the Rockshelter was a campsite for prehistoric hunters and gatherers.