Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office

Category: Counties (Page 2 of 48)

A Glimpse into the PASS: The 2025 Annual PASS Report

The Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey (PASS) is the Commonwealth’s inventory of recorded archaeological sites. The program officially started in the late 1970s—when site files held by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History were combined with those kept by the State Museum of Pennsylvania—but it was built on a foundation of nearly 100 years of site recording by numerous institutions and individuals across the state. Since that time, the PASS files have been kept in a centralized repository at the SHPO, where they are now submitted, archived digitally, and made available to qualified archaeologists and researchers through PA-SHARE.

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Archaeological excavations in Lehigh Gorge State Park

During the week of June 15. 2009, archaeologists from the State Museum of Pennsylvania and Temple University tested a pre-contact Native American site along the Lehigh River in Lehigh Gorge State Park, Carbon County. The site (designated 36CR0142 in the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey files) was brought to our attention by local amateur archaeologists who were alarmed that it was being looted and valuable archaeological information was being lost.

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A Delaware County Landmark Reopens!

I fondly remember my evening outings to my downtown movie theater as a child, especially waiting in a long queue at the Eric Pacific to secure coveted tickets to see the Empire Strikes Back in 1980.  While the theaters opened in Lancaster City in the 1980s were modern replacements of the landmark movie houses of the early twentieth century, the excitement of a day out at the movies was always a special memory.

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Marking the Journey, Part 1: We the People

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!

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