From the Executive Director

Posted by on Apr 19, 2016 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director For many of us, spring is the traditional season to think about nature and the great outdoors, but here at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), we think about it all year long. It’s hard to separate Pennsylvania’s history from its natural history; in fact, PHMC is officially charged with “the conservation of Pennsylvania’s historic and natural...
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The Beauty and Bounty of Penn’s Wood

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Beauty and Bounty of Penn’s Wood Pennsylvania’s beauty – the gently sweeping valleys, the broad rivers, the rugged mountains and the rolling hillsides – is the bounty which lured waves of settlers to the New World more than three centuries ago. Founder William Penn, entrepreneur and seventeenth century land promoter, heavily advertised his province as “the land good, the air clean and sweet, the springs...
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A Flowering for the Ages

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Flowering for the Ages Botanists who classify and name plants are called plant taxono­mists, plant systema­tists, or systematic botanists, most of whom work in her­baria, a name first applied by Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), the great Swedish systematist. A herbarium, the plant taxono­mist’s basic reference source, is a collection of preserved plant specimens, mostly pressed and dried (although certain specimens...
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Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve Established in 1934 to preserve the Keystone State’s native flora, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve is an eighty acre sanctuary of woods, glades, meadows, and ponds. The Preserve, located on the ground of Washington Crossing Historic Park, offers visitors more than two dozen trails to explore wild flowers, ferns, trees, shrubs, and vines in their natural settings. Bowman’s...
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Pennsbury Manor, The Philosopher’s Garden

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsbury Manor, The Philosopher’s Garden Pennsbury Manor, William Penn’s reconstructed country estate north of Philadelphia, is a profoundly peaceful place. The Delaware River glides by the manor house’s front door, stately trees shade the site, and sheep dot the pastures. Rescued from an encroaching gravel quarry in the 1930s, the forty-three acre farm is a pastoral remnant of the founder’s original...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf Thomas Eakins edited by John Wilmerding Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994 (212 pages, cloth, $49.95) “Frank,” “brutal,” “raw,” “uncompro­mising,” “diabolically realistic,” and “manly” were terms once used to describe the work of Philadelphian Thomas Eakins (1844-1916), one of the greatest American painters of the...
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Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve at Washington Crossing Historic Park

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve at Washington Crossing Historic Park As gardeners and travelers – as if to ward off winter’s chill – turn their thoughts to spring, they need look no further than Washington Crossing Historic Park in Bucks County. Although most know the saga of the general’s courageous crossing of the icy Delaware River on Christmas Day 1776, few realize that the park also encompasses Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve....
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Sampling a Taste of the Past Along the Pennsylvania Trails of History

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Sampling a Taste of the Past Along the Pennsylvania Trails of History One of the best ways to experience the Keystone State’s history and heritage is to travel the Pennsylvania Trails of History®, a network of two dozen exciting historic sites and museums administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), the Commonwealth’s official history agency. PHMC has organized its popular destinations into four main trails – Military...
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