Category: Dauphin (Page 2 of 5)

Man standing outside next to a machine removing soil. — The Paleo-Digger. Here, the auger, is being lowered into the test unit. Photograph by Barry Fritz, Quemahoning Cultural Resource Management Services.

Meet the Paleo-Digger

October 5, 2022 / Guest Contributor / 1 Comment

October is Archaeology Month! Today’s post by Guest Contributor PennDOT archaeologist Steve McDougal covers using a non-traditional method for field tests: the Paleo-Digger.

Every archaeological survey poses different conditions and challenges. For PennDOT’s SR 22/322 safety improvement project in Northern Dauphin County, one of the big challenges is the depth of soils involved. Past excavation in the 1990s for this area showed us that the soil column with archaeological potential could extend 3.5 to 4.5 meters (11.5 to 14.75 feet) in depth below current ground surface.

Bishop Boyle High School, Homestead, Allegheny County. Photograph by Sarah Medwig.

Pennsylvania’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit At Work: SFY2021-2022 Update

August 3, 2022 / smassey / 2 Comments

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (PA DCED) recently announced that it has awarded $5 million in Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Tax Credits (PA HPTC) to 25 projects across the commonwealth through the FY 2021-2022 PA HPTC Allocation. The next round will open on October 1.

Two story stone house with front porch and three roof dormer windows. — John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion, May 2022. Photo by PHMC.

PA SHPO’s Inaugural Historic Property Inspection Site Visit

June 1, 2022 / Karen Arnold / 1 Comment

Not long ago, PA SHPO announced a new program, the Historic Property Inspection Program to improve communication with between the property owners of some of Pennsylvania’s most significant historic treasures under preservation covenant with our office.

Celebrating the Friends of Fort Halifax Park

May 11, 2022 / Frank Grumbine / 1 Comment

There are few places that can embody the breadth of Pennsylvania’s narrative like Fort Halifax Park in Dauphin County.

Celebrating Preservation Month with the 2021 Community Initiative Award Winners

May 4, 2022 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

What better time of year than National Historic Preservation Month to announce the latest round of PA SHPO’s Community Initiative Award winners. This year’s projects and recipients showcase a range of preservation success stories, demonstrating the power of perseverance, collaboration and partnership.

View looing across the Susquehanna River showing river and bordering woods. — PARW017 (36DA0283) as seen from a bridge over the Susquehanna River during an October sunrise. Three Mile Island is visible in the background. Photograph by Frederick Mayhew, 2021.

A Look at the PASS Year: The 2021 Annual PASS Report

February 9, 2022 / Taylor Napoleon / 0 Comments

It’s that time of the year again! Time to report and reflect on another successful year of archaeological site recording efforts throughout Pennsylvania. In 2021, over 300 new archaeological sites were recorded by cultural resource management (CRM) projects, independent and university research projects, Society of Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA) members, and long-time avocational archaeologist.

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.

Centre Avenue YMCA, c. 2021, photo credit Angelique Bamberg.

Julius Rosenwald and the African American YMCAs of Pennsylvania

January 19, 2022 / Jenna Solomon / 3 Comments

American philanthropist Julius Rosenwald is best known for his work in the rural South in the early 20^th century building schools for African American children. Before his 1917 fund changed the face of education and race in the country, he helped African American communities from coast-to-coast build YMCAs. Of the two dozen facilities Rosenwald funded in fourteen states, three were in Pennsylvania.

Juniata College Archaeology Crew, Summer 2021.

Finding the Fort: The Juniata College Field School at Fort Halifax Park – Part 2

October 20, 2021 / Guest Contributor / 0 Comments

In last week’s post, we introduced you to this past summer’s Juniata College Field School at Fort Halifax Park in Halifax, Dauphin County. This week, we’ll tell you about the “major discovery” we hinted at last week!

Beginning the investigations on Day 1 of the field school, June 2021.

Finding the Fort: The Juniata College Field School at Fort Halifax Park – Part 1

October 13, 2021 / Guest Contributor / 4 Comments

On our first day at our field school in archaeology, we searched through the soil for mountain peaks: or rather, mountain peak-shaped rocks. That’s the tip we were given for finding flakes -fragments of stone produced by Native American flintknapping.