A new Lithuanian museum has opened in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania – a region known as Little Lithuania in the United States. The museum holds 150 years of history tracing back to the first wave of Lithuanian immigration to America and was founded by Anne Chaikowsky La Voie Skirmantas, an American of Lithuanian descent.
“One of the nicest things anyone has said to me is that my parents and grandparents would be proud of what my husband Peter and I have achieved,” Anne told LRT.lt.
Family ties with Lithuania
All four of Anne’s grandparents were Lithuanian. Three were born in Lithuania – in Trakai, Marijampolė and near Kaunas – while one, Agnes, was born in the United States. She was the only grandparent Anne knew well. Her husband, Peter Skirmantas, who was born in Cleveland, also has Lithuanian roots on his father’s side. Both of his grandparents were born in Lithuania and emigrated to America during the first wave.
Anne points out that Shenandoah and Pennsylvania more broadly were at the heart of early Lithuanian immigration. The town was home to St George’s Church – the first Lithuanian Catholic parish in America.
“Our region hosted the first Lithuanian-American communities, schools, newspapers and banks. Shenandoah is often called Little Lithuania. The state of Pennsylvania even honoured us with a historical marker in the town centre,” says Anne.
Her family belonged to various Lithuanian organisations and clubs, and Anne herself was familiar with Lithuanian traditions and cuisine. Over the years, she also became involved in cultural activities connected to Lithuania, taking part in Lithuanian Days festivals.
A new home for 150 years of Lithuanian-American stories
Anne has now deepened her connection to Lithuania by opening the Lithuanian Heritage Museum in Shenandoah, which welcomed its first visitors on September 7. The museum continues the legacy of an earlier Lithuanian museum in Frackville, Pennsylvania, founded in 1982 by the Lithuanian-American organisation Knights of Lithuania (Lietuvos riteriai).
“Most of the artefacts were collected from the first wave of Lithuanian immigrants or their descendants. A few years ago, the Allentown Diocese, which owned the original museum building, prohibited renovations. The Knights moved all the artefacts and books into storage for safekeeping.
“When they later had to decide on a new home for the collection, I offered them a building that once belonged to my parents and grandparents,” Anne explains.
The museum now stands in the former funeral home once owned by Anne’s family.
The project was made possible through support from the Lithuanian Foundation (Lietuvos Fondas) and generous donors. Thanks to them, Anne says, they can continue to share the stories of the first generation of Lithuanian immigrants.
“Thank God for my husband – his support and hard work made this possible. While I organised the exhibitions, he worked on archiving the books, publications and recordings from the old museum,” she says.
From coal miners to stained glass windows
When large numbers of Lithuanians left their homeland in the 19th century, around 100,000 settled in Pennsylvania’s coal region.
The museum exhibits include clothing, household items, photographs and religious artefacts brought by immigrants from Lithuania. Visitors can explore stories of Lithuanian coal miners, early community groups and schools that flourished in the area.
The museum also features wood carvings, straw ornaments, woven tapestries and decorated Easter eggs, along with a large collection of historical and cultural books in both English and Lithuanian.
Among the most unique artefacts are stained-glass windows from the churches of Our Lady of Šiluva in Maizeville and St George’s in Shenandoah – the latter being the first Lithuanian Catholic church in the United States, built by coal miners and closed by the local diocese in 2010.
A striking model of the Hill of Crosses is also on display, and the exhibits are arranged by 20-year intervals.
Visitors, Anne says, have responded warmly: “One of the most touching comments I’ve heard is that my parents and grandparents would be proud of what Peter and I have built.”
Feeling at home in Lithuania
Anne has visited Lithuania several times. Her first trip took place in 2007 with a travel group visiting her family’s ancestral homeland. What struck her most was how similar the landscape was to Pennsylvania – the same flowers, the same trees – and how familiar the food felt, just like her mother and grandmother’s cooking.
“Of course, Lithuania’s history is centuries older than that of the United States, so it opened a window to a past I knew little about,” she says. “In 2010 I returned with my first husband for two weeks, this time travelling beyond the tourist spots. We were able to understand the history more deeply and admire the nation’s spirit and resilience. It’s no wonder my parents’ favourite saying was ‘don’t give up’.”
After her first husband’s passing, Anne spent nearly a year in Lithuania teaching English.
“Every day I was there, I wrote a short email to friends, sharing my photos and discoveries – food, flowers, architecture. The beauty everywhere,” she recalls.
“Before that trip, most of the photos I had seen of Lithuania were from the Soviet era. Seeing Lithuania in bloom was extraordinary. A friend of mine from the US, also of Lithuanian descent, said, ‘Until now, I only knew Lithuania in black and white.’”
Living in her ancestors’ homeland, visiting their churches and walking where they might once have walked helped Anne better understand not only her family but also herself.
Now, in her newly opened museum in Shenandoah, she preserves not only her own family’s history but also the stories of countless other Lithuanian families who made their home in America.
Next year, she and her husband plan to focus on expanding the museum’s archive and digitising its collection of publications and recordings.
“We have periodicals and books in both Lithuanian and English, as well as recordings, and we hope to digitise the collection so that people can study it,” Anne notes.
The Lithuanian museum in Shenandoah can be visited by prior arrangement with its curators.
