The Chesaning Area Historical Society organized in 1984, when Friends of the Chesaning Library volunteer Nancy Krause realized that flooding in the area had put many documents in danger of being lost.  At the time, the Chesaning Public Library had a large collection of old newspapers, photographs, family papers and oral history tapes.  But libraries aren’t designed to handle antiques.

A meeting was called to form a society to preserve the history of Chesaning.  Elizabeth Lea and Nancy Stewart, who were involved in the formation of Montrose’s historical society, met with Chesaning volunteers to help them get started.

In Fall of 1985, the Chesaning Area Historical Society purchased a building at 703 W. Brady St. for $10,000. It needed a lot of renovations and was dedicated in 1988. The building eventually became too small and it was not equipped for the safe preservation of documents and other artifacts. Sometime in the mid-1990s, the historical society held fundraisers to purchase a new building. The former St. John’s Episcopal Church, 602 W. Broad St. was dedicated in 1999.