Pennsylvania Historic Preservation

Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office

Category: Counties (Page 6 of 42)

Group of seven people sitting or standing behind a table.
BVUGRR and Levity Brewing Co. team at the release of the first Freedom Seeker beer series.

Celebrating the Blairsville Area Underground Railroad

May 17, 2023 / / 0 Comments

This week’s 2022 Community Initiative Award winner spotlight is on the Blairsville Underground Railroad organization in Blairsville, Indiana County.

Blairsville was laid out in the early 19th century along the Conemaugh River at the southern end of Indiana County, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh along the planned route of the Huntingdon, Cambria, and Indiana Turnpike. Blairsville’s history and growth is closely tied to its transportation corridors – the river, the stagecoach in 1818, the canal in 1829, and the rail in 1851 – and natural deposits of salt, coal, and iron, which together supported a thriving and flourishing community.

What many may not know about Blairsville is its African American history, particularly related to abolition and the Underground Railroad (UGRR). The borough had one of the larger Black communities in Indiana County and the county’s first African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church was organized there in 1844. Indiana County was an important and active Underground Railroad stop in Pennsylvania as freedom seekers escaped from their enslavers in search of freedom.

I asked Denise Doyle from the Blairsville Underground Railroad organization to share their story with us.

Continue reading

Group of people standing on a metal bridge over water.
June 2020 Friends' event commemorating their Cumberland County Historical Society History Pops! grant and the unveiling of their Save Our Bridge banner. Photo courtesy of WSHS.

Celebrating the Friends of Sheepford Road Bridge

May 10, 2023 / / 1 Comment

Each week in May, to celebrate National Historic Preservation Month, we will highlight one of the 2022 Community Initiative Award winners. In this week’s post, I asked Janice Lynx, Executive Director of the West Short Historical Society, about their successful efforts to save Sheepford Road Bridge.

Sheepford Road Bridge is one of the first bridges to receive funds from PennDOT’s Historic Metal Truss Capital Rehabilitation Program, a new program created to promote the rehabilitation of historic metal truss bridges. I’ll take this opportunity to let our readers know that we also publish a biannual newsletter in partnership with PennDOT dedicated to the preservation and reuse of metal truss bridges. You can sign up here!

Continue reading

Metal bridge with wood railings on concrete abutments over water.
Messerall Road Bridge in its new location over Linesville Creek along the Pymatuning State Park Spillway Trail in Linesville, Crawford County. Photograph by Daniel Bickel, 2022.

Messerall Road Bridge: The Next Chapter

April 26, 2023 / / 3 Comments

The main character of our story, the Messerall Road Bridge, began its life over Pine Creek near East Titusville in 1876, carrying traffic associated with the local oil and lumber industries. The bridge served as a crossing over Pine Creek nearly 140 years before it was closed to vehicular traffic in 1987.

Continue reading

Logo

Mitigation Spotlight: Section 106 Agreements, July 2022 – December 2022

February 8, 2023 / / 0 Comments

This is part of a biannual blog series highlighting the agreement documents executed by PA SHPO in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations.

Between July 1 and December 31 of 2022, PA SHPO has been a signatory to approximately nine (9) Section 106 agreement documents with four different federal agencies as part of consultation for the resolution of adverse effects to historic properties. 

Below illustrates a selection of the agreement documents executed within the past six months.

Continue reading
Side of house showing front porch and Palladian window in the side gable. Photo by DCNR.

Call this Piece of Pennsylvania History “Home!”

January 25, 2023 / / 3 Comments

In an effort to preserve one of Pennsylvania’s historic homes, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is marketing for sale, removal, and preservation a two-and-a-half-story, 3 bedroom, one bath, Shingle-Style house with many beautiful original features including wooden floors, trim work, railings, plastered walls, windows, doors, fixtures, and wood shingle detailing on the exterior.

Interested?

Continue reading
« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑

Wordpress Social Share Plugin powered by Ultimatelysocial