Category: Westmoreland (Page 1 of 2)

Line drawing showing a collection of shelters surrounded by a fence. — Drawing of "The Indian Fort Sasquesahanok" in Pennsylvania from Herman Moll's 1720 map of North America.

Highlights of Pennsylvania Archaeology

November 22, 2023 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

November is Native American Heritage Month. The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. One of the ways to learn about Native American heritage in Pennsylvania is through archaeology.

Preservation Happening With Keystone Grants

June 14, 2023 / Karen Arnold / 0 Comments

New preservation projects will be sprouting up across Pennsylvania this summer. PHMC’s preservation partners will start 48 new projects with the assistance of the Keystone Historic Preservation Grant program in the coming months.

Historic Buildings Key to Economic Development Success: Deindustrialized Communities Market Study Final Report

July 25, 2022 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

PA SHPO is pleased to share the final report for the Deindustrialized Communities Market Study (DCMS).

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.

Large stone bank building with five large windows at an intersection. — The First National Bank building on Brighton Avenue in Rochester, a key historic resource analyzed in this study. Built in 1907, the Romanesque Revival style building has a unique shape to conform to its angled corner lot. Photo date:18 March 2022. Source: evolve environment::architecture.

Deindustrialized Communities Market Study: What We Learned

March 30, 2022 / Guest Contributor / 1 Comment

As we wrote about in a recent blog post, the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) has been working on a huge project in our western region, aimed at identifying the challenges and opportunities for historic preservation and economic revitalization in smaller deindustrialized communities, focusing on twelve riverfront municipalities located within two regions of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Row of commercial buildings along a street. — Buildings on Merchant Street in Ambridge, PA. Many of the study area main streets have continuous street frontages where the character of the main street isn’t broken up by vacant parcels. Continuous street frontages allow for a greater density of small businesses that can make main streets more vibrant. Photo date: 15 February 2022. Source: evolve environment::architecture.

Deindustrialized Communities Market Study

March 9, 2022 / Guest Contributor / 3 Comments

The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) has undertaken a project to investigate the economic development and community revitalization prospects in specific southwestern Pennsylvania communities that have experienced significant de-industrialization.

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.

Preservation Planning through Mitigation in Western PA

September 23, 2020 / Bill Callahan / 0 Comments

In spring of 2015, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO), Shell Chemical Appalachia, LLC (applicant) and the Seneca Nation of Indians (SNI) concluded consultation after 18 months of discussions under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act about the construction of a petrochemical complex in Beaver County along the Ohio River.

March Marker Mania 2020

March 25, 2020 / Karen Galle / 2 Comments

Soon there will be some new markers out there for you to brake for!

Earlier this month, PHMC approved twenty-four new historical markers for an amazing range of subjects that highlight even more interesting Pennsylvania facts and figures.

Historical marker for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania along U.S. Route 220 in Bedford County.

2017’s Newly Approved Markers

June 14, 2017 / Karen Galle / 2 Comments

I am happy to announce that the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission recently approved 18 new historical markers!

As you’ll see from the list below, over half of the approved subjects are for markers in Philadelphia County. The Marker Program encourages broad distribution, so we’d love to see more individuals and organizations from Pennsylvania’s other 66 counties research their history and develop nominations for people, places, events, and innovations in their own backyard. Continue reading