Henry Mercer was born in 1856 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Brought up in a wealthy family, Mercer went on to pursue an education at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania. During his time at the universities, Mercer fostered an interest in craftsmanship and America's preindustrial past and strongly believed that American society was being destroyed by industrialism. This sudden realization caused him to become interested in collecting American artifacts and preserving objects of historical significance. In 1916, Henry Mercer was endowed with enough money to build the Mercer Museum, and upon its completion the building was stuffed full with historical objects ranging from a 2,000 year old whale oil lamp to Native American tools dating to 6,000-8,000 B.C. Although Henry Mercer passed away in 1930, his collection has expanded since and contains upwards of 40,000 objects, including cider presses, wooden ballot boxes, farm wagons, butter molds and tavern signs. Even though these thousands of objects and tools originate from different historical time periods, they are at the Museum to remind us of our civilization's past, the progress humans have made over the years, and the importance of continuing to look back in time as we move forward into a new age.