The original front portion of the Stoy Museum was built in 1773 as a home for Dr. William Henry Stoy, a local minister and prominent Revolutionary War doctor. The upstairs rooms were used as Lebanon County's first courthouse when the county was established in 1813. James Buchanan, fifteenth President of the United States, practiced law there as a young attorney. John Andrew Shulze was the new county's first prothonotary and later became the sixth Governor of Pennsylvania.

Throughout the museum, visitors will find fine examples of Pennsylvania German craftsmanship in such items as furniture, quilting and weaving, fraktur, and redware. A guided tour of the museum begins with a stroll through several early shops and offices. Young and old enjoy browsing in the one-room schoolhouse and the toy shop before experiencing a turn-of-the century general store, stocked with everything from cookie cutters to kerosene lamps.