Overview

The Vaccine Farm, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is establishing a national museum and resource center addressing the history of vaccines. The Vaccine Farm will serve a wide, general audience of those seeking historical and educational resources to broaden their understanding of the field of vaccines. Major subsets of this group will include K-12 education (locally with site visits; nationally with curriculum materials and nationally with web-based resources); interested professionals; and those interested in the history of Marietta. The museum will be located in Marietta, PA. Nestled in a corner of beautiful Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on the banks of the Susquehanna River, the borough of Marietta quietly carries on a long tradition: the manufacture and distribution of vaccines. This work has gone on continuously since 1882, when Dr. H.M. Alexander first established a vaccine farm to produce small pox vaccine. Over the years, major advancements in vaccines for small pox, rabies, polio, influenza and diphtheria all have root in some manner in Marietta. The story of this small river town quickly expands to the story of man’s attempts to conquer infectious disease, and reflects all the social, economic and political issues that came with it. The Vaccine Farm is envisioned as a new museum and policy center that enhances understanding of this past in order to support even greater understanding in the future.