The Old Stone Arch Bridge over Jack’s Creek

Posted by on Dec 11, 2019 in | Comments Off on The Old Stone Arch Bridge over Jack’s Creek The Old Stone Arch Bridge over Jack’s Creek in Derry Township, Mifflin County, captured in this c.1937 postcard, has been enhancing travelers’ journeys ever since 1813, when it was built as part of the first turnpike to connect Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Construction of this segment of the road began in Lewistown and was completed to Harrisburg in 1825. The single-span, semielliptical stone...
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Worthy of Preservation? Considering the Future of Architecture in Historic Preservation

Posted by on Aug 22, 2017 in | 0 comments The roots of historic preservation run deep in this country, especially in Pennsylvania. Taking hold in the 19th century as a response to unchecked modern development, the field has grown into a multidisciplinary profession, but what galvanizes concerned citizens to oppose the demolition of historic properties for new construction remains much the same today as two centuries ago. After the U.S....
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Baking Pennsylvania Dutch Style

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on Baking Pennsylvania Dutch Style Regional American cuisine is fast becoming the hottest trend on the food scene today, and while we still hear a great deal about Cajun or the Southwest, one of the richest areas for culinary diversity is Pennsylvania. The Keystone Center for the Study of Regional Foods and Food Tourism, a nonprofit that has taken the lead in exploring the foods of our state, has identified five distinct culinary...
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Mifflin County: The Crossroads of the Commonwealth

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Mifflin County: The Crossroads of the Commonwealth Mifflin County will celebrate its two hundredth birth­day on September 19, during a customarily beau­tiful month when glowing foliage sweeps over four hun­dred and thirty-one square miles of farms, small towns and wooded mountains. Ex­tending from Bear Gap to Kistler Borough through rug­ged and scenic valleys to the banks of the Juniata River, it’s just fifteen miles from the Seven...
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Centre County

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Centre County Centre County, as its name implies, geographically is Pennsylvania’s central county. The first known residents to inhabit its lands were the Munsee and Shawnee Indians from the Delaware River. Before 1725 these Indians began to move westward, first to the Susquehanna, later to the Ohio. The Iroquois, who claimed the Susquehanna country, assigned one of their chiefs – a man best known...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf The Venango County Historical Society is republishing in its original size the 700-page History of Venango County. The book was originally published by Caldwell in 1879. If ordered prior to December 31 [1975], the price is $32.50. The after-publication price will be $37.50. Checks or money orders can be sent to Venango County Historical Society, Box 101, Franklin 16323.   The George Dallas...
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One Should Not Overlook Union County

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on One Should Not Overlook Union County Union County on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River is one of Pennsylvania’s smaller counties, encompassing a bare 258 square miles, with a population of 30,000, including 3000 college stu­dents and 1900 inmates of two federal prisons. Few of its residents have held high political office and fewer of its names have appeared in Who’s Who in America. Yet the historical...
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Three Farmhouse Styles of Lawrence County

Posted by on Nov 28, 2013 in | Comments Off on Three Farmhouse Styles of Lawrence County During the spring of 1975, I interviewed fifteen people who had grown up in farmhouses in Lawrence County. The dwellings described by the informants had been built between 1835 and 1900; most were or are located within present-day Hickory Township in the north-central part of the county. Three typical structures will serve as examples of the influence of various architectural styles, tracing the...
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Pennsylvania Volunteers in the War with Mexico

Posted by on Nov 28, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Volunteers in the War with Mexico The war with Mexico, declared on May 13, 1846, was not generally popular throughout the United States. Many in the northern states perceived it as an effort to expand the territory suitable for slavery, there­by increasing the economic and political influence of the South. Many Pennsylvanians, however, did not share what has since been characterized as the typical northern attitude. Either from...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf Canoeing on the Juniata, 1888 by Henry K. Landis Pennsylvania Histori­cal and Museum Commission and Landis Valley Associates, 1993 (68 pages, cloth, $15.95) Elizabeth F. Johnson, who wrote the introduction to Canoeing on the Juniata, 1888, describes Henry K. Landis (1865-1955) as “a collector, recorder, keeper, and lover of history.” Throughout his long life, he sustained a keen...
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