Editor’s Letter

As Pennsylvania Heritage moves into its 49th year of publication with this issue, we present three features about Keystone State phenomena that are marked by longevity and progression through the years. One of the highlights of the first wave of the movement for women’s rights in Pennsylvania was the 1897 founding of the Plastic Club for women artists in Philadelphia. At the time, most women who...
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From the Executive Director

When people think of Pennsylvania, its coastline is usually not the first thing that comes to mind — but Pennsylvania has a rich maritime history. The commonwealth is home to six ports: Philadelphia, Chester, Eddystone, Marcus Hook, Pittsburgh and Erie. During most of the 18th century and early 19th century, the Port of Philadelphia on the Delaware River was the largest port in the United...
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Forester Gifford Pinchot Becomes Governor, 100 Years Ago

Gifford Pinchot (1865–1946) was elected twice to the highest executive office in Pennsylvania. He served two nonconsecutive terms as governor, 1923–27 and 1931– 35. This photograph was taken at his first inauguration on January 16, 1923, by the Philadelphia Public Ledger, a daily newspaper published from 1836 to 1942. The image shows Pinchot taking his oath of office on a temporary raised dais...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter

Topics in the Fall 2022 Newsletter: PHF Expands Committee Work to Support PHMC Programs PHF Announces New Board Member Curators Highlights Documents in Collections John Fielding  on Eckley Scrapbooks   PHF-newsletter...
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Other Recent Releases

Abandoned Eastern Pennsylvania Remnants of History by Cindy Vasko America Through Time, 96 pp., paperback $23.99 Vasko adds Eastern Pennsylvania to her growing series of books featuring her stunning photography of abandoned buildings and places throughout the Northeastern U.S. (her Abandoned Western Pennsylvania was published in 2019). In addition to well-known locations such as Eastern State...
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Philadelphia Stories by C. Dallett Hemphill

Philadelphia Stories People and Their Places in Early America by C. Dallett Hemphill; edited by Rodney Hessinger and Daniel K. Richter University of Pennsylvania Press, 349 pp., hardcover $35 This original and captivating book was a labor of love, both for its author, the late C. Dallett Hemphill, and the 13 scholars who came together to finish the almost complete manuscript Hemphill had left...
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Community Initiative Awards for 2021

The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) has announced the winners of its Community Initiative Awards to recognize accomplishments made in 2021. These awards acknowledge the hard work and dedication of outstanding organizations, municipalities, agencies and individuals whose work is advancing and expanding the definition of historic preservation in Pennsylvania. The awards...
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Lenape Homecoming at Pennsbury Manor

Over the course of four days this past April, the remains of approximately 180 Lenape ancestors were reinterred at Pennsbury Manor, the reconstructed home of William Penn near Morrisville in Bucks County. The ceremony brought together leaders of all five federally recognized tribes of the Lenape diaspora: the Delaware Nation of Oklahoma, the Delaware Tribe of Indians (Oklahoma), the...
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Allegheny Observatory

The mysteries of space and time itself have been explored at the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh, ever since it was built to satisfy the celestial curiosity of the Allegheny Telescope Association, a group of amateur astronomy enthusiasts. In 1859 the group selected a site on the hills of North Side (at that time part of Allegheny City), an area free of city lights, providing a perfect spot...
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Western Pennsylvania’s Earliest Chinese Communities

Most Pennsylvanians recognize Philadelphia’s popular Chinatown, yet far fewer know of the significant presence of Chinese immigrants in western Pennsylvania. On April 16, 2022, the Pittsburgh branch of the Organization of Chinese Americans dedicated a Pennsylvania Historical Marker for Pittsburgh Chinatown in front of the Chinatown Inn at 520 Third Avenue in the city. Six months prior, a marker...
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