Bath Crossroads Historic District

Posted by on Jan 14, 2026 in | Comments Off on Bath Crossroads Historic District Nearly 40 years before the United States declared its independence from Great Britain, the quaint village of Bath began to emerge in Northampton County, just 8 miles north of Bethlehem. Thanks to recent local preservation efforts by the Bath Borough’s Historic Architectural Review Board, approximately 34 acres of the original crossroads village is now listed in the National Register of Historic...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Jan 14, 2026 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director At the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, our mission is to help Pennsylvanians discover and use history in ways that are relevant to their lives. We are always looking to engage with new audiences, and we try to reach Pennsylvanians through a variety of channels. In recent months, we have developed several new programs for outreach. In September, we partnered with Indiana...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Aug 25, 2025 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director In recent news reports, many of you have heard about the loss of federal grants for museums and historical organizations. Over the past few months, I have been asked often about the effect this has had on the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. For context, as of this past spring, many museums across the country lost grants that had been competitively awarded by the National...
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Two Hundred Years: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, edited by David R. Brigham

Posted by on Oct 21, 2024 in | Comments Off on Two Hundred Years: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, edited by David R. Brigham Two Hundred Years The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1824–2024 edited by David R. Brigham Historical Society of Pennsylvania, distributed by the University of Pennsylvania Press, 256 pp., hardcover $39.95 In 1824 the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) was founded “to collect and preserve the evidences of Pennsylvania’s own history from the earliest date.” Since then HSP has amassed a...
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Historic County Prisons in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Oct 21, 2024 in | Comments Off on Historic County Prisons in Pennsylvania This 1906 postcard shows the castle-like Montgomery County Prison in Norristown. It has stood guard over the city since it was first built on Airy Street in 1851. The building was designed by notable Philadelphia architect Napoleon LeBrun (1821–1901), who was also responsible for the 1852 Schuylkill County Prison and numerous churches, courthouses and other important public buildings. LeBrun was...
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Community Initiative Awards

Posted by on Sep 18, 2023 in | Comments Off on Community Initiative Awards Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) announced the winners of its Community Initiative Awards acknowledging accomplishments made in 2022. PA SHPO started the awards program in 2016 to recognize the hard work and dedication of outstanding organizations, municipalities, agencies and individuals that advance and expand the definition of historic...
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Victorian Modern vs. Midcentury Modern: West Chester’s Old Main and New Main

Posted by on Sep 18, 2023 in | Comments Off on Victorian Modern vs. Midcentury Modern: West Chester’s Old Main and New Main   The West Chester University campus originated in 1871 as one building situated on 10 acres. This multipurpose building, the sole campus structure for 20 years, housed all the functions of the normal school: boys’ and girls’ dormitories, faculty quarters and home for the principal’s family, classrooms, study rooms, administrative offices, laboratories, library, dining room, infirmary,...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Sep 18, 2023 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter Seventy-five years ago, unbridled industrial enterprise took its toll on the mill town of Donora in southwestern Pennsylvania when a low-lying smog of chemical toxins from the local steel and zinc plants enveloped the community. The Donora Smog of October 1948 claimed the lives of 20 people during the five-day crisis, later about 50 others, and caused long-term respiratory problems for nearly...
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Erie Maritime Museum at 25

Posted by on Mar 17, 2023 in | Comments Off on Erie Maritime Museum at 25 What do Google, Disney’s Mulan, and the Erie Maritime Museum have in common? They all debuted in 1998. June 12, 2023, marks the 25th anniversary of the day that Gov. Tom Ridge formally dedicated the building. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was the culmination of a series of living history demonstrations, lectures and musical performances that began on May 21, welcoming visitors to the first new...
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Community Initiative Awards for 2021

Posted by on Sep 12, 2022 in | Comments Off on Community Initiative Awards for 2021 The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) has announced the winners of its Community Initiative Awards to recognize accomplishments made in 2021. These awards acknowledge the hard work and dedication of outstanding organizations, municipalities, agencies and individuals whose work is advancing and expanding the definition of historic preservation in Pennsylvania. The awards...
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