Pennsylvania Historic Preservation

Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office

Line drawing with lines connecting circles on a map of Pennsylvania.

September 14, 2022
by Guest Contributor
1 Comment

The Underground Railroad in Columbia, Lancaster County

September is International Underground Railroad Month. September was chosen because it is the month that two of the most well-known people associated with the Underground Railroad –  Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass – escaped from slavery.  Today’s post was written … Continue reading

Low wood shelter over gravestones in wood.

February 2, 2022
by Casey Hanson
12 Comments

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 … Continue reading

October 14, 2020
by Shelby Weaver Splain
1 Comment

Telling a Fuller Story about African American History in Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Earlier this month, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) announced a new pilot project with PHMC, PA DCNR, the states of Maryland and Virginia, and National Park Service Chesapeake Bay to identify, document, and map sites and landscapes in … Continue reading