From the Executive Director

Rachel Carson, here at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, studied the migration of raptors to draw conclusions about the adverse effects of pesticides in the environment, which she articulated in her best-selling book Silent Spring.
Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives, Connecticut College

PHMC plays a large role in preserving and sharing Pennsylvania history, but of course, this is not work we do alone. Pennsylvanians rely on a host of local organizations to help keep the history they care about alive.

As part of its budget each year, PHMC receives $2 million for its Cultural and Historical Support Grants. This somewhat bureaucratic-sounding line item translates into meaningful operational support for museums and official county historical societies across the commonwealth. This year we are able to support 154 institutions across 56 counties with awards ranging from $4,000 to $40,000. Grantees include large organizations like the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Allegheny County), Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site (Philadelphia), and Fallingwater (Fayette County) as well as smaller ones like Greene-Dreher Historical Society (Wayne County), the Moravian Historical Society (Lehigh County), and the Holocaust Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh (Allegheny County).

I have been visiting with a number of these organizations to hear about the good work they are doing and to learn how we can partner to share and promote Pennsylvania’s rich heritage. One site I recently visited is Hawk Mountain Sanctuary (Berks County), which today is an internationally known leader in raptor conservation, speaking to broad themes in Pennsylvania history, including environmental history, women’s history, and the effect of Pennsylvanians on national policy.

The site has a fascinating story. In 1929 the Pennsylvania Game Commission considered goshawks pests and placed a bounty on them. Hundreds of goshawks were killed, and in 1932 photographs of the carcasses made the papers. Rosalie Edge (1877–1962), a conservation activist from New York, came to Hawk Mountain. Shocked at what she witnessed, she leased 1,400 acres to create a bird sanctuary in 1934.

Several decades later, Hawk Mountain would play a role in shaping national environmental policy. In 1945 environmentalist Rachel Carson (1907–64) first visited Hawk Mountain to observe migrating hawks. Apex predators are indicators that speak to the health of the environment, and at Hawk Mountain, Carson witnessed dwindling numbers of juvenile hawks; in 1962 she would use longitudinal bald eagle migration data from Hawk Mountain in Silent Spring to illustrate the need to restrict the use of hazardous chemicals like DDT.

Hawk Mountain continues to be a leader in raptor conservation today, both nationally and internationally. It shows that history is not confined to the past but that it helps chart a course for the future.

PHMC is honored to have the opportunity to support all our partners in this work. We hope you will visit not only PHMC’s sites but also those of our partners to learn more about the state’s rich history.

Andrea Lowery
Executive Director, PHMC