Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office

Author: Andrea L. MacDonald (Page 1 of 3)

Andrea L. MacDonald serves as the Director of the PA SHPO and is the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer. Andrea is passionate about Pennsylvania’s food geography and is committed to discovering unique ways to connect Pennsylvanians with their unique history and communities. Andrea is has been with the PA SHPO since 2004.

Volunteer a Few Minutes of Your Time to Advance Baseline Survey Recommendations

There are many ways in which we contribute to our communities, and if you are reading this blog, I have a hunch that you are interested in recognizing, protecting, and celebrating historic places in your community. If I guessed correctly, please read on to learn about one easy task you can do the week of April 20-26, which happens to be National Volunteer Week, to identify historic places in your area.

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Baseline Survey: An Essential Ingredient in Our Preservation Pantry

There are some time-honored recipes in the historic preservation cookbook. The most successful, and dare I say scrumptious, preservation medleys include an essential ingredient – survey. Survey in the historic preservation profession is like the flour in your favorite holiday desserts.

Without survey, many preservation projects are challenged to rise to a superior outcome, just like a cake. My mind just might be overflowing with visions of sugar plums and cookies this holiday season, so I’ll do my best to refrain from too many more baking similes while I share initial Year 1 outcomes from the PA SHPO’s Baseline Survey effort. I think you’ll be as excited about the results as we are!

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Uncovering the Susquehannock Village at Lemoyne

November is Native American Heritage Month. The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people.

One way we can learn about indigenous peoples is through archaeology. Archaeology can help expand the Native American voice beyond what’s written in history textbooks and grow our respect for the people who came before us.

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Preservation Backstory: Emporium’s Sylvania Corporation Marker

The Historical Marker Program is one of the PHMC’s most popular public history programs, and the recently approved nominations prove these aluminum markers dotting our roads and city sidewalks are more than just “history on a stick.” The words cast into markers and the marker topics have deep meaning to many Pennsylvanians.

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