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We want YOU for the PA Historic Preservation Board!

April 1, 2022 / Elizabeth Rairigh / 0 Comments

Are you a preservation-minded Pennsylvanian interested in sharing your time and talent? Do you know someone looking for an opportunity to be a leader and make a difference? Then we want to hear from you!

The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) is seeking letters of interest and resumes from potential Board candidates.

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.

Group of people standing on dirt road looking at a metal bridge. — A group of PA SHPO staff enjoying a historic metal truss bridge in Lebanon County, PA. The PA SHPO is interested in pictures that show field work and collaboration! If you have any images that you would like to submit to the SHPO for potential inclusion in reporting or other blog posts, please send them to Elizabeth Shultz at elishultz@pa.gov or Shelby Splain at ssplain@pa.gov. Image September 2021, Courtesy of Elizabeth Shultz.

Pennsylvania Above Ground Survey (PAGS) Program’s First Annual Report Summary

March 23, 2022 / Elizabeth Shultz / 1 Comment

As we jump into another new spring season, it’s time to take a look back at above ground survey in Pennsylvania in 2021!

Concrete bridge over stream. — Centreville Road bridge, Upper Leacock Township, Lancaster County.

Pennsylvania’s Reinforced Concrete Thru Girder Bridges

March 16, 2022 / Tyra Guyton / 0 Comments

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.

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.

What’s New in 2022 with Pennsylvania’s Historical Marker Program

March 2, 2022 / allidavis / 3 Comments

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) invites individuals, public agencies, and private organizations to nominate historic people, properties, events, or innovations with statewide or national significance for PHMC’s State Historical Marker Program. Meet the new coordinator, learn more about some changes to this year’s nomination process, and sign up for our upcoming webinars below.

Tredyffrin Township and its Neighbors go to CAMP

February 23, 2022 / Guest Contributor / 0 Comments

Although there were no campfires or smores, the Tredyffrin Township Historical Commission (TTHC) and friends had a lot of fun in summer CAMP.

Large stone building with green copper dome on roof. — Albright Center (former First Evangelical Church), Sunbury, Northumberland County (PA-SHARE Resource # 1983RE03041). PHMC Photo from Site Visit.

Introducing the Historic Property Inspection Program

February 16, 2022 / Karen Arnold / 0 Comments

One lesser-known duty of the PA SHPO office is the management of protective preservation covenants on historic properties throughout the commonwealth.

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.

Low wood shelter over gravestones in wood. — View of monument in 2021, facing north. Photograph by PA SHPO.

Reinterpreting the Underground Railroad: The Sherman’s Dale Discharge Former Slaves’ Graves Site

February 2, 2022 / Casey Hanson / 12 Comments

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.