Lancaster County: Diversity of People, Ideas and Economy

Posted by John Loose on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Lancaster County: Diversity of People, Ideas and Economy When Lancaster County was established on May 10, 1729, it became the proto­type for the sixty-three counties to follow. The original three counties­Philadelphia, Bucks and Chester – were created as copies of typical English shires. The frontier conditions of Ches­ter County’s backwoods, from which Lancaster was formed, presented knot­ty problems to the civilized English­men....
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Restless Soul: A Portrait of Bayard Taylor

Posted by George Straley on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Restless Soul: A Portrait of Bayard Taylor A century ago the name of Bayard Taylor was familiar in most American households and in many homes in other parts of the world. Every cultured person in the United States at that time had read Bayard Taylor’s writings, or had heard him lecture. Old and young alike were enthralled by the tales he told, and no wonder, for Bayard Taylor had been everywhere and had done everything. When he...
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Preserving Pieces of Pennsylvania’s Past: An Inside Look at the Building of the Commonwealth’s Collections

Posted by Cathryn McElroy on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Preserving Pieces of Pennsylvania’s Past: An Inside Look at the Building of the Commonwealth’s Collections Associations between butterflies and buttons, Conestoga wagons and cannon, sculpture and arrowheads, or fossils and founder William Penn’s original Charter may seem tenuous, even obscure and, perhaps, nonsensical. But a relationship does exist: they are among the one and a half million objects and thirty thousand cubic feet of manuscripts, records, maps and photographs in the custody and...
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Behind the Battle of Gettysburg: American Nursing Is Born

Posted by Ruth Davis on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Behind the Battle of Gettysburg: American Nursing Is Born The battle of Gettys­burg cannot only be characterized as the turning point of the Civil War, for it was so much more. During the war, with casualties high and the need undeniable, women entered hospitals to care for the wounded, but – shockingly­ – were made to feel unwelcome. These resolute women, though, stood fast, and pro­ceeded to establish a new profession. When the war...
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One Should Not Overlook Union County

Posted by Charles Snyder 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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That Was the Week That Was: The First Battle of Harrisburg

Posted by John Trussell on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on That Was the Week That Was: The First Battle of Harrisburg It is widely conceded that the major military event of summer 1861 was the First Battle of Bull Run on Sun­day, July 21. The battle lasted only one day, but it caused great humiliation and forced important changes in the North’s subsequent approach to conducting the war. The creation of the Military District of the Potomac under Gen. George B. McClellan several days later signaled a reform...
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Paradise Lost: A Poet in the Political Labyrinth

Posted by Paul Wermuth on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Paradise Lost: A Poet in the Political Labyrinth During the nineteenth century, it was not unusual for promi­nent literary figures – authors, playwrights and, of course, poet laureates­ – to be awarded diplomatic posts as honors. Perhaps these appointments lent prestige to administrations or helped lessen suggestions of rank patronage. Writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was one of the best examples; he held several custom house...
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Pottsville Fishing Party China

Posted by PA Heritage Staff on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pottsville Fishing Party China Instituted on August 21, 1853, the Pottsville Fishing Party held only one meeting each year-during the last week of August. Ironically, members of the Schuylkill County organization did not fish. According to the memoirs of member Richard Henry Koch, published in 1938, “we ate, drank fish-house punch, old rye and champagne, told stories, made speeches, played cards, chatted, and sang from...
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Shorts

Posted by PA Heritage Staff on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Shorts Original works of art by Charles Demuth (1883-1935) will be on view at the Demuth Foundation in Lancaster from Sunday, February 1, through Sunday, March 22, 1998. In addition to selections drawn from the foundation’s permanent collection, the exhibit will feature paintings and memorabilia lent by private collectors. For more informa­tion, write: Demuth Foundation, 114 East King St.,...
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Old Johnny’s Vision For An Industrial Society

Posted by Louis Waddell on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Old Johnny’s Vision For An Industrial Society Although Colonel John Frederick Hartranft (1830-1889) was only in his thirties during the Civil War, the rank and file of his 51st Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment fondly called him “Old Johnny.” His soldiers especially respected his ability to make the right decisions in combat and his altogether impartial and basically humane discipline. With a mind and eye trained as a civil...
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