Back in July, we announced the Historical Marker Program’s plans to recognize Pennsylvania’s role in U.S. history during the Semiquincentennial with a series of marker trails. These trails highlight both familiar and lesser-known stories, encouraging visitors to build a deeper and more meaningful connection to the past. Now, the first installment of Marking the Journey is live and ready to explore!
Category: African American history (Page 1 of 8)
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) recently approved 47 new historical markers, one of the largest groups in the program’s history. This year, the nomination process was simplified, making it easier for individuals and organizations to apply. Marker staff offered support earlier in the process, helping more submissions move forward.
September is International Underground Railroad Month and this week’s post features the story of Robert Purvis and Byberry Hall.
In 1844, Robert Purvis, a prominent Black abolitionist and leading figure in the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia, moved with his wife Harriet and their children to Byberry, a rural village in the far northern part of Philadelphia County.
For the next 27 years, they helped make Byberry a center of abolition and Underground Railroad activity. In 1847, Robert and two others built Byberry Hall as a meeting place for discussion of anti-slavery and other social issues. The building is now a key site on the Poquessing Trail of History.
Long time blog readers may recall back in June of 2023, the PA SHPO announced the Certified Local Government (CLG) Grant recipients of our FY23 funding. These grants are intended to advance local historic preservation activities.
Partnership is often a key ingredient for a preservation outcome. The value of partnership and collaboration, the importance of preservation networks, and leveraging resources are all central ideas of Pennsylvania’s statewide historic preservation plan, Historic Preservation: The Keystone of Community. Continue reading
This edition of Just Listed! includes a variety of Pennsylvania places from across the Commonwealth listed in the National Register of Historic Places in the first half of 2025. These twenty-two properties include places associated with transportation, architecture, industry, commerce, healthcare, neighborhoods, and religion.
Two Black men, Edenborough Smith and John Harshberger appear in the 1850 census on tracts of land now situated in Laurel Ridge State Park overlooking Johnstown’s West End. From at least the 1820s, and possibly as early as the turn of the 19th century, Smith, Harshberger and their families lived in a community of Black, White, and Indigenous people that has been referred to as the Laurel Hill Settlement, Brown Farm and “the Mountain.” Eight generations lived on the Mountain until the property was claimed by the state in 1967.
Is it even the end of a year if you don’t see at least a dozen “year in review” lists?
(… Or is it?)
As 2024 winds down and all the social media platforms and streaming services summarize and wrap-up the year, the Pennsylvania Above Ground Survey (PAGS) program has the opportunity publish its BASELINE WRAPPED for 2020-2024.
Baseline Wrapped is going to summarize the changes in technology, highlight certain municipalities, provide some numbers, and even hint at what’s to come next..!
Archaeology at York’s Lebanon Cemetery
Two years ago, the Pennsylvania Archaeological Council (PAC) teamed up with Pennsylvania Hallowed Grounds (PAHG) to record Midland Cemtery in Swatara, PA . The goal of this pilot project was to document a cemetery using PAC’s membership and archaeological methods that could then be applied to other cemeteries with similar needs.
Recent Comments