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Celebrating the Slate Hill Cemetery

May 22, 2024 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 2 Comments

This week’s 2023 Community Initiative Award winner spotlight is on the Slate Hill Cemetery in Lower Makefield Township, Bucks County.

Lower Makefield’s Slate Hill Cemetery is an intact Colonial-era graveyard that was established in 1690 as a Quaker burial ground and was later expanded to include the township’s first public cemetery. It contains about 580 burials, including veterans of the U.S. Colored Troops who served in the Civil War. The earliest known burial dates to 1698 and the last known burial was in 1918.

Recently, the Township – which is one of Pennsylvania’s Certified Local Governments (CLG) – began an ambitious project to document, preserve, and promote the history of the cemetery. I asked some of the folks from the Historical Commission, which is spearheading the effort, to share the story with us.

Celebrating the Titusville Iron Works

May 15, 2024 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

This week’s 2023 Community Initiative Award winner spotlight is on the Titusville Iron Works in Titusville.

The Titusville Iron Works traces its roots to the Titusville Manufacturing Co., the first foundry and machine shop exclusively serving the oil industry, founded in 1860. Local businessmen purchased the company in 1895, renamed it the Titusville Iron Works, diversified its product line, and expanded it with new buildings and acreage.

Over the first few decades of the 20th century, the iron works evolved as owners consolidated other companies and business interests in the facility. In the early 1940s the federal government invested in new machinery and buildings for the iron works to support the war effort. By 1964 the plant was closed and the property and buildings subdivided.

Fast forward to today, and the site of this 19th century foundry is a busy event venue and preservation success story. I asked owner Bob Joyce to share the story with us.

People standing on deck of long wood building and in adjacent parking lot.

Celebrating the Nicholson Train Station

May 8, 2024 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 3 Comments

Each week in May, to celebrate National Historic Preservation Month, we will highlight one of the 2023 Community Initiative Award winners. In this week’s post, I asked Josh Stull with the Nicholson Heritage Association about their work preserving the Nicholson Train Station.

Celebrating Preservation Month with the 2023 Community Initiative Award Winners

May 1, 2024 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 1 Comment

For the past few years, PA SHPO has kicked off National Historic Preservation Month by announcing the newest Community Initiative Award winners. The four 2023 recipients and their projects showcase a variety of preservation success stories, demonstrating the importance of preserving those places at the heart of Pennsylvania’s communities that embody its past and present stories.

Metal bridge over a creek with grass on one side and wooded area on other.

Expanding the Program: More Metal Truss Bridge Rehabilitations on the Way

April 24, 2024 / Guest Contributor / 2 Comments

Last year, we announced PennDOT’s new funding source for historic metal truss bridges and highlighted two rehabilitation projects that were selected for the new program. With those projects well on their way, the Historic Metal Truss Bridge Capital Rehabilitation Program has since added four additional bridge projects across the Commonwealth.

Man looking at large pagoda with many tiled roofs, stone foundation, and wood railing.

The Historic Property Inspection Program (HPIP): A Walkthrough

April 17, 2024 / Alex O'Gorman / 0 Comments

A few years ago, we announced a new PA SHPO program, the Historic Property Inspection Program (HPIP). We’ve talked about what HPIP is and shared our first site visit under this new program.

Side by side images of two large buildings.

‘Take me out to the ball game!’: Pennsylvania’s Historic Baseball Stadiums

April 10, 2024 / mmcnish / 1 Comment

With a new season of baseball upon us and what I regard as the real start of spring, it’s an opportune time to look back at Pennsylvania’s rich baseball history.

Spring into Surveyor Updates!

April 3, 2024 / Elizabeth Shultz / 0 Comments

Spring is around the corner, and long-requested updates to Surveyor Manager functionality are the among the first new blooms of the season!

One woman stands on a ladder against a brick wall while another woman holds the ladder.

How Women Shaped Preservation in Pennsylvania

March 27, 2024 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 3 Comments

Several years ago, my colleagues and I at the PA SHPO compiled a history of preservation achievements in Pennsylvania. This interesting trek through the preservation timeline was published in the Winter 2016 issue of Pennsylvania Heritage magazine and was added as a chapter in the current statewide historic preservation plan, #PreservationHappensHere. This week in honor of Women’s History Month, I’m taking a deeper dive into the role of women in Pennsylvania’s preservation accomplishments.