Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum 50

  Anthracite, the highest rank of coal, is almost pure carbon. It has few impurities and burns hot with little smoke. In the 19th century, anthracite, also known as hard coal, powered America’s industrial revolution in ironmaking, manufacturing and steam production and created the need for its transportation to market by canals and gravity and steam railroads. Anthracite was welcomed by...
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We Are Anthracite and Other Industrial Heritage Trail Highlights

Trails of History sites will be hosting harvest and Halloween-themed events this fall, with holiday programming to follow. Many visitors make these events part of their own seasonal traditions. Do you have a favorite event? For details on all sorts of activities on the Trails of History, be sure to check PHMC’s Events Calendar online at phmc.pa.gov. Of course, events and programs aren’t the only...
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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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2015 Trails

It is time once again to look back at the past year on the Pennsylvania Trails of History. What follows is a scrapbook for 2015, with highlights of events and programs at PHMC’s historic sites and museums.   Milestones and Anniversaries In May, the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum held a much-anticipated ribbon-cutting ceremony for its newly expanded visitor center. The building and community...
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Industrial Heritage Trails

America’s first significant industries date back to the 18th century with the iron plantations in Pennsylvania and the development of the factory system in New England textile mills. Preservation of our industrial heritage, however, is a fairly recent phenomenon, beginning for the most part after World War II. Prior to the war, federal programs and even private initiatives were designated...
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Trails for the Holidays

As summer turns to fall and you start to wonder where the time went, rest assured that the Pennsylvania Trails of History still have much to offer before 2014 winds down. Take some time to explore your favorite site – or make a first visit – and see if the pace doesn’t slow just a bit. Between changing exhibits, special events and our regular offerings, it isn’t difficult to find...
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A Jewel in the Crown of Old King Coal: Eckley Miners’ Village

It survives – somewhat miraculously – as a vestige of Pennsylvania’s coal mining heritage, a link in what was once a chain of little coal communities, or patch towns, that dotted the anthracite region. “Eckley is part of the puzzle, but not a unique part. There were numerous, almost identical, mining patch towns like Eckley,” explains Vance Packard, site...
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Scranton Iron Furnaces

Rising out of a hillside in the City of Scranton, four massive stone blast furnace stacks remind residents and visitors of the importance of the nineteenth-century iron industry. Build between 1841 and 1857, the Scranton Iron Furnaces ranked as the country’s second largest iron producer by the 1880s. The titan Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company rolled the rails of a nation. Focal point of a...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Society Newsletter

Topics in the Winter 2007 Newsletter: Signature Series: Randall Miller Lecture A Successful Capitol Tour Calendar for January – March 2007 Holiday Marketplace Signature Series: David Hackett Fischer Signature Series Tour: Covered Bridges of Lancaster County PHS Annual Appeal   pennsylvania-heritage-society-newsletter-winter-2007...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Society Newsletter

Topics in the Spring 2007 Newsletter: Signature Series: Dr. Carol Reardon Lecture, Pickett’s Charge in History and Memory PHS Bus Tour to the Historic Oley Valley Calendar for April – June 2007 Welcome New PHS Members New Pennsylvania Civil War Trails Publication   pennsylvania-heritage-society-newsletter-spring-2007...
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