In a given year, PA SHPO consults with federal agencies, applicants, and preservation stakeholders on thousands of federal undertakings in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. For some context, PA SHPO staff reviewed over 5,100 federal and state projects in 2021.
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The Archaeology of a Village Blacksmith Shop
In 1823, a blacksmith named John W. Miller moved into what is now southeastern Blair County with his wife, Mary, and their three-year-old son, James. In their first years there they built their house and a small blacksmith shop along an existing road between Bedford and Rebecca Furnace. They didn’t have neighbors in those early years, but that wouldn’t last long.
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PA SHPO’s Guidelines for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania, and a companion worksheet, Worksheet for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania, are published to the PHMC website and ready for use.
These guidelines replace the PA SHPO’s How to Complete the Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form guidance from November 2014. The Historic Resource Survey Form, or HRSF, was retired in February 2021. Information about older and historic places, including buildings, landscapes, archaeological sites, and bridges, is now submitted to the PA SHPO through PA-SHARE. While PA SHPO no longer uses the HRSF, the same information is collected through PA-SHARE.
You can find the Guidelines and Worksheet in the Above Ground Resources and National Register sections of PHMC’s Forms and Guidance webpage and on the Survey Contact and Guidance page:
- Guidelines for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania: https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Preservation/About/Documents/Guidelines%20for%20Recording%20Buildings%20in%20Pennsylvania.pdf.
- Worksheet for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania: https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Preservation/About/Documents/Worksheet%20for%20Recording%20Buildings%20in%20Pennsylvania.pdf. This is the same worksheet that is included in the Guidelines, just available on its own as a separate fillable PDF for users. Do not submit the worksheet to PA SHPO in place of completing the PA-SHARE online form. The worksheet is intended to be a tool to assist users in the collection of information for buildings and using PA-SHARE. Resources must be submitted through PA-SHARE.
Please note: These guidelines do not include the technical guidance for entering information about above ground buildings in PA-SHARE. For step-by-step instructions on how to access and use PA-SHARE, please refer to PA SHPO’s tutorial, Adding Above Ground Resources to PA-SHARE.
Bridge Preservation and Education: A Site Visit to the Inwood Iron Bridge
In 2019, the historic Inwood Iron Bridge in Union Township, Lebanon County was disassembled for relocation.
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Since the last time I officially welcomed our new SHPO staffers, three new colleagues have joined our team. We are very excited to have Megan McNish and Frank Grumbine as the new Eastern and Central Region Community Preservation Coordinators and Alli Davis as the new Historical Marker Program Coordinator. I’m also happy to announce Casey Hanson’s promotion!
Continue readingThe Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) is seeking a Historic Preservation Specialist to serve as a Review Archaeologist to work between disciplines and advance SHPO priorities. This position is ideal for a detail oriented and flexible preservation professional with a knowledge of state historic preservation programs.
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Pennsylvania’s Reinforced Concrete Thru Girder Bridges
Few people think of history when crossing a bridge. But bridges tell an important story about engineering and technology, especially in Pennsylvania where the early years of iron, steel and concrete came together to produce many early bridges that represent an age of experimentation.
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Introducing the Historic Property Inspection Program
One lesser-known duty of the PA SHPO office is the management of protective preservation covenants on historic properties throughout the commonwealth.
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Reinterpreting the Underground Railroad: The Sherman’s Dale Discharge Former Slaves’ Graves Site
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.
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A drive along Burnt Mill Road in Lurgan Township in Franklin County winds around scenic county farmland crossing the Conodoguinet Creek where a monument to Pennsylvania’s industrial past, the Burnt Mill Road Bridge, has stood for the past 136 years.
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