On the Trail of Frank Furness

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on On the Trail of Frank Furness An historic sites survey is rightfully likened to a trea­sure hunt. A game of discovery, it relies on clues obtained from old maps, diaries, photographs, newspapers and countless other sources to lead to the awaiting bounty. Rather than finding a pot of gold, the historic sites survey, through its identification and documentation of old buildings, is rewarded by the discovery of pattern and...
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John Nicholson and Land as a Lure in the Infant Nation, 1790-1800

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on John Nicholson and Land as a Lure in the Infant Nation, 1790-1800 John Nicholson was an early Pennsylvania land speculator, financier and entrepreneur. He was born in 1757, emigrated from Wales at an early age and died in 1800. While serving as comptroller-general of the state (1782-1794), he was a major factor in helping Pennsylvania achieve financial solvency after the revolutionary war. In this capac­ity, Nicholson created political alliances with those who...
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Styled For Worship: The Country Churches of Northwestern Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Styled For Worship: The Country Churches of Northwestern Pennsylvania In Edinboro and Cam­bridge Springs they have disappeared, but at Harmonsburg, Polk, and Watsons Run they stand yet, as they do in Sugar Grove, Pleasantville, Utica, and elsewhere – country churches built by the Presbyterian congregations of northwestern Pennsylvania. Although neither found on registers of historic properties, nor listed in guidebooks of regional attractions, these houses...
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A Blast from the Past: Cornwall Iron Furnace

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Blast from the Past: Cornwall Iron Furnace Driving on narrow sinuous back roads through lush, verdant forests – just a half dozen miles north of the busy Pennsylvania Turnpike – unsuspecting travelers can’t help being struck by an odd-looking complex of Gothic Revival-style buildings and structures. This place, this curious collection of buildings, both large and small, appears to have been literally plucked from a far...
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St. Gabriel’s Catholic Parish Complex

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on St. Gabriel’s Catholic Parish Complex St. Gabriel’s Catholic Parish Complex in Hazleton, Luzerne County, is more than a collection of imposing ecclesiastical edifices. The complex is significant because it reflects the parish’s status as the city’s first Catholic parish, and is integrally associated with the growth of its Catholic population stimulated by the development of the anthracite industry. Hazleton grew...
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To Forge History for the Future

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on To Forge History for the Future Not infrequently, the history of how an object, artifact, or even building or structure has been preserved for the future is every bit at least as interesting as the reasons for which it was saved. Historical organizations and cultural institutions – from large city museums to county historical societies – brim with compelling “behind-the-scenes” stories that provide...
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Charleroi Historic District

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Charleroi Historic District Charleroi, in eastern Washington County, possesses a formidable concentration of historic and architecturally significant residential and commercial buildings. Nearly seventeen hundred of the borough’s buildings have earned designation as the Charleroi Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 2007. Developed in 1890 by capitalists and real estate...
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