The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) is temporarily pausing its Historical Marker Program.
Ongoing supply chain issues, from sourcing raw materials to workforce availability, are impacting all areas of manufacturing, including the production of the iconic, blue-and-gold Pennsylvania Historical Markers.
The company responsible for the fabrication of the markers for Pennsylvania has communicated to PHMC that they are unable to guarantee timely delivery of new markers. This has necessitated rescheduling or cancelling planned marker dedications.
The issues impacting marker fabrication are not limited to Pennsylvania. Across the country, other states are experiencing similar delays affecting their marker programs.
These delays in marker production are exacerbated by the fact that during the pandemic several marker dedications were postponed, resulting in a backlog of approved markers to be fabricated.
Pennsylvanians continue to have great interest in the marker program, and last year the number of marker nominations submitted nearly doubled. PHMC is committed to ensuring that any markers pending review can be manufactured and installed prior to considering new nominations.
With this increase in volume and the uncertainty of the production schedule, PHMC will not be accepting new marker nominations after the current round scheduled for consideration at the December 7, 2022, commission meeting.
Although this is a regrettable situation, PHMC wants to avoid causing a greater backlog until we are certain when production can resume.
During this temporary hiatus, PHMC marker staff will focus on repairing and maintaining damaged markers and will be reviewing the marker program in the interest of continuous improvement.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of the Pennsylvania Historical Marker Program.
We invite you to visit PHMC online or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn for the latest news on this and other PHMC programs.
