Michael Knecht, site administrator at Old Economy, said the program will run for the rest of 2015.
"It's a program we're calling the Ambridge Borough Resident Pass," Knecht said. "What we're looking at is providing every Ambridge borough resident with a free pass to visit Old Economy throughout the year."
Once they have the pass, residents can come throughout the year to visit Old Economy Village, which was the home of the 19th century Christian communal group, the Harmony Society.
"They will need to present their pass with an ID on each visit," Knecht said. "The pass is good for the adults and children living at each residence."
Knecht said the program is only for Ambridge borough residents and a street map provided by the town to verify borough residency.
"The program is our way of thanking the residents who might be inconvenienced at times when we have larger crowds and events at Old Economy," Knecht said.
"We're really trying to reach out to our borough residents. This is their historic site. We want them to come and visit often to learn about the early history that we have here, that was the foundation of Ambridge."
The program is just part of the changes coming to Old Economy.
Beginning this month, Old Economy is making changes to its days and seasons of operation. In 2015, the Visitors Center and Village Rose store will be open 12 months out of the year, but the Historic Village is going back to being open in a late spring through Dec. 31 period.
Over the last couple of years, the Village has remained open on a 12-month basis, but Knecht said while going through some strategic planning, they found attendance numbers were very low from January through March.
"As you know, winter can be a little tough around here and a little hard to keep sidewalks clean and keep the Village open for tourists."
Hours of operation are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with extended hours to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. On the second Sunday, hours are noon to 5 p.m. and closed all other Sundays, Mondays and major holidays throughout the year.
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