Category: African American history (Page 3 of 7)

A Little Something for Everyone: Pennsylvania’s Newest Markers

January 11, 2023 / allidavis / 0 Comments

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) recently approved 37 new historical markers, making this one of the largest number of new markers in the program’s history.

Peppercorn Market, Bedford Borough, Bedford County.

More Cool PA Places Found in Year 2 of Baseline Survey

December 21, 2022 / Guest Contributor / 5 Comments

The Pennsylvania Baseline Survey Team is excited to share another year of findings! Between January 2022 to October 2022, our five Year 2 Baseline Survey teams surveyed in 18 counties and recorded 6,663 new resources in 396 municipalities. Quite an impressive number!

Retelling the Stories of Existing Resources: Adding New Areas of Significance to National Register Properties

November 23, 2022 / mmcnish / 2 Comments

Researching the history of a building can feel like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle from a thrift store without the box. You might get most of the pieces to fit together so that you can tell the story of that place, but some are still missing, leaving gaps in the narrative.

If you’re anything like me, you might find those gaps frustrating, but they’re also opportunities to learn things you never could have imagined about a place.

Group of people standing outside on a lawn.

SHPO Staff Explore Lackawanna County

November 16, 2022 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

My SHPO colleagues and I, just like the rest of the world, are continuing to emerge from our COVID cocoons. We’ve been getting out and about more each month but still find ourselves wanting to be physically connecting with places in every way we can.

Group of nine people standing in a cemetery. — Meeting at Midland Cemetery, August 2022. From left to right (Dr. Steve Burg (PAHG, Shippensburg University), Erin Emerick (Shippensburg University), Sarah Hoffeditz (Shippensburg University), Ira Beckerman (PAC), Dr. Ben Ford (Indiana University of PA), Barbara Barksdale, Janet Johnson (State Museum), Kim Sebestyen (State Museum), Taylor Napoleon (PA SHPO).

Community Archaeology at Midland Cemetery

October 19, 2022 / Casey Hanson / 2 Comments

Last fall the State Museum of Pennsylvania hosted their annual workshop in archaeology entitled Hidden Stories: Uncovering African American History through Archaeology and Community Engagement. The theme was born out of the acknowledgement that African Americans are vastly underrepresented in the historic record and the representations that are present are typically unfairly biased.

Line drawing with lines connecting circles on a map of Pennsylvania. — This map shows the lines of connections southeastern Pennsylvania, including safe houses, station masters and UGRR conductors. Wilbert Seibert included this map, which is based on Robert Smedley's 1883 book, in his 1898 The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom.

The Underground Railroad in Columbia, Lancaster County

September 14, 2022 / Guest Contributor / 1 Comment

September is International Underground Railroad Month. September was chosen because it is the month that two of the most well-known people associated with the Underground Railroad – Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass – escaped from slavery. Today’s post was written by guest author Dr. Leroy Hopkins and he provides a glimpse into the Underground Railroad in Columbia, Pennsylvania.

Saints Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church, Berwick, Columbia County.

Reflecting on Year One of the Pennsylvania Baseline Survey

June 29, 2022 / Guest Contributor / 11 Comments

In late 2020, PA SHPO launched an ambitious, large-scale architectural survey called the Pennsylvania Baseline Survey, with a goal of adding approximately 27,000 new resources in 52 different counties over three years. In Year One, over 7,000 new records were added to PA-SHARE – just from Baseline Survey! Read on to learn about a few of the interesting finds…

Stone building with slides sloped to top in a wooded and grassy area. — Caledonia Iron Furnace monument at Caledonia State Park. Photo by Angie Jaillet-Wentling.

Exploring African American Heritage in Pennsylvania’s DCNR Parks and Forests

June 15, 2022 / Guest Contributor / 1 Comment

Pennsylvania is rife in human history – if you’re in Pennsylvania, consider yourself surrounded with nearly 20,000 years of it! So, it should come as no great surprise that its 121-state park and over 2 million-acre forest system, administered by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, are steeped in both natural and human history.

What’s New in 2022 with Pennsylvania’s Historical Marker Program

March 2, 2022 / allidavis / 3 Comments

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) invites individuals, public agencies, and private organizations to nominate historic people, properties, events, or innovations with statewide or national significance for PHMC’s State Historical Marker Program. Meet the new coordinator, learn more about some changes to this year’s nomination process, and sign up for our upcoming webinars below.

Low wood shelter over gravestones in wood. — View of monument in 2021, facing north. Photograph by PA SHPO.

Reinterpreting the Underground Railroad: The Sherman’s Dale Discharge Former Slaves’ Graves Site

February 2, 2022 / Casey Hanson / 12 Comments

In my short time as an archaeologist working in southeast Pennsylvania, I’ve learned that every basement, crawl space, and root cellar older than 1860 was at one time, a stop on the Underground Railroad (UGRR). This of course is not true, but the mythologies of the UGRR are born out of the fact that the region played an important role in the network as the first free state north of the Mason-Dixon line.