The Skills That Built a New Nation Are Building the Next Generation: The InHarmony Initiative at Old Economy Village

  A student runs a hand along the smooth edge of a wooden board, carefully checking for splinters before lifting it onto a workbench in the woodshop at Old Economy Village, a preserved 19th-century Harmonist settlement and National Historic Landmark in Ambridge. For many students, it is the first time they have created something tangible, something that began not on a screen but in their...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Winter 2026

Topics in the Winter 2026 Newsletter: Winter Events of the Trails of History Forthcoming U.S. 250th Events on the Trails of History Winter-2026-newsletter...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Winter 2025

Topics in the Winter 2025 Newsletter: Winter Events on the Pennsylvania Trails of History PHF Welcomes Art of the State Winter-2025-PHF-Newsletter...
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Founding Economy

“It will be but two years since the forest was first felled upon which Economy is built; the roots still remaining in the streets are evidences of the short time that has elapsed. It is astonishing what united and regulated human effort has accomplished in so short a time!” – Bernhard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar Eisenach, 1826   Two hundred years ago, on June 6, 1824, the Harmony Society landed at...
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Trailheads

In a normal year, this column would be devoted to a preview of summer events on the Pennsylvania Trails of History. This is not a normal year. As my deadline approaches, sites remain closed to the public, with events and activities canceled. We had to forego the Keystone Summer Internship program and postpone our annual Volunteer of the Year recognition event (although we did manage a virtual...
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Trailheads

With more than 20 sites and museums on PHMC’s Pennsylvania Trails of History, each year is full of events, tours, programs and visits. Historical milestones are commemorated — such as the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings during World War II or the centennial of Pennsylvania’s ratification of the 19th Amendment — and “everyday” history is remembered in artifact exhibits, cooking...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Spring 2019

Topics in the Spring 2019 newsletter: PHF Partners with The State Museum for Art of the State Weddings Make History at PHMC Sites PHF at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Mary M. Hull Appointed Manager of PHF   pennsylvania-heritage-foundation-newsletter-spring-2019...
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Trailheads

Autumn is a wonderful time on the Pennsylvania Trails of History. Many travelers combine a visit to one of PHMC’s historic sites and museums with a leisurely drive along Pennsylvania’s scenic highways to view the beautiful fall foliage. The days grow shorter, but there are still plenty of activities at our sites and museums as summer gives way to fall and early winter.   Celebrating the...
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Trailheads

History never truly sleeps on the Pennsylvania Trails of History, but winter is generally a slower season with reduced schedules and fewer programs and events. Charter Day, the celebration of Pennsylvania’s founding (the second Sunday in March), is the traditional start to our spring season. As the weather warms, activity increases at the sites and museums. The landscape loses its dull winter...
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Looking Back at 2018

This past year marked the centennials of the end of World War I and the start of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Of special significance to Pennsylvania was the 300th anniversary of the death of founder William Penn. What follows is a brief glimpse of 2018 on the Pennsylvania Trails of History, a few highlights among many.   William Penn’s Legacy To commemorate the 300th anniversary of...
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