HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Blair County Genealogical Society’s new 1,200-square-foot addition was packed Thursday night for the first public meeting in the space, which featured an hourlong presentation by Jim Lowe, the Blair County Historical Society’s vice chairman.

Lowe provided an overview of the American Revolution’s first year and shared some photographs detailing a trip he made last year to Massachusetts for the 250-year celebration of the battles of Lexington and Concord.

One of the biggest misconceptions about the Revolution War is that it made everyone a patriot, Lowe said, noting only about one-third of the colonies were patriots. Another third were loyalists who remained faithful to King George III, while the remaining colonists were neutral to the war, he said.

“It was really like a civil war in a sense,” Lowe said. “The loyalists ended up fighting battles against the patriots.”

Throughout his presentation, Lowe discussed events like the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and outlined many laws passed by the British Parliament leading up to the war.

Lowe presented the genealogical society’s last presentation in the society’s old meeting room at the Roller Hojeth Memorial Library and kicked off a new era for the society with his American War presentation Thursday, said Jim Snyder Jr., the society’s president.

Every month for the rest of the year, the society plans to host a new speaker at its meetings to discuss the Revolutionary War in honor of the United States Semiquincentennial, Snyder said.

“We’re looking for suggestions for other types of programs,” he said. “We want this to be a community room.”

Lowe also sold copies of his book, “A Revolutionary War History of Blair County,” with the proceeds benefiting the Blair County America250PA committee and Fort Roberdeau, he said.

“Blair County wasn’t founded until 1846, but there were people here,” Lowe said, noting Blair was part of Bedford County at the time.

The book tells the story of the people who were here, how the area was founded and how Blair County played a role in the Revolutionary War, Lowe said.

“This was the frontier,” Lowe said. “It didn’t get the attention that the big battles do like Yorktown, Saratoga and Bunker Hill. But what happened here was just as important.”

During the society’s meeting, Snyder noted the society put 350 new items on the library’s shelves last year, which was a large part of the reason why the new addition was built, he said.

“We have a growing problem,” Snyder said, adding there were 2,622 patron visits and the society’s volunteers worked 7,189 hours last year.

The society’s next meeting will feature Glenn Nelson, Fort Roberdeau’s director, as its guest speaker, Snyder said. Future meetings will be held at 7 p.m. the third Thursday of every month, he said.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.