Category: #preservationhappenshere (Page 2 of 7)

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.

Small stone building with large chimney and arched doors. — A recent Keystone Grant helped stabilize and repair the bosh (the smelting chamber within the furnace structure), which was very deteriorated. Photo from PA SHPO files, July 2023.

Celebrating Hay Creek Valley Historical Association

May 31, 2023 / April Frantz / 0 Comments

As we wrap up National Historic Preservation Month, we are highlighting the last of our 2022 Community Initiative Award winners. In this week’s post, we talked with Mark Zerr, Executive Director of the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association (HCVHA), about their successful efforts to protect and interpret Joanna Furnace.

Man talks to group of seated audience. — Township Council member manager John Gillespie speaks about the history of the building and project. Photo courtesy of Ted Goldman.

Celebrating Concord Township and the Spring Valley AME Church

May 24, 2023 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 2 Comments

This week’s 2022 Community Initiative Award winner spotlight is on Concord Township’s preservation of the Spring Valley AME Church in Delaware County.

This project in Delaware County caught the eagle eye of one of my colleagues last year from some press reporting and I’m glad it did. She just happened to be the SHPO’s reviewer for most projects that were undertaken with funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), particularly using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money.

Using CDBG funds for historic preservation – like Concord Township did – is a great way for communities to invest in the older and historic places that matter to them and that tell their full stories.

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 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 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.

Celebrating Preservation Month with the 2022 Community Initiative Award Winners

May 3, 2023 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 1 Comment

What better time of year than National Historic Preservation Month to announce the latest round of PA SHPO’s Community Initiative Award winners! The four recipients and their projects showcase a range of preservation success stories, demonstrating the value of volunteers, creativity, and community engagement.