The Hobby That Became a Museum: Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, 1925–2025

Posted by on Aug 29, 2025 in | Comments Off on The Hobby That Became a Museum: Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, 1925–2025 Brothers Henry Landis (1865–1955) and George Landis (1867–1954), the founders of Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, were descendants of Germanic Mennonite families who moved to the area that would become Lancaster County in 1717. As young boys, Henry and George were encouraged by their forward-thinking parents and several teachers to pursue their personal interests and begin collecting....
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Feb 21, 2025 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director Historic sites and museums offer an opportunity to connect us to the past, but they also provide ways for us to think about the future. I recently attended the Lancaster County Hemp Circuit at Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, a Pennsylvania Trails of History site where we have several artifacts related to the agricultural and industrial history of hemp in Pennsylvania. Hemp was grown...
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The Early Days of Penn State

Posted by on Sep 18, 2023 in | Comments Off on The Early Days of Penn State   Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) was chartered by the commonwealth in 1855 to serve as the first agricultural college in America. Originally called the Farmers’ High School, it was endorsed by the State Agricultural Society, a group formed in 1851 to promote the economic, political and social interests of Pennsylvania farmers, led by Frederick Watts. The name Farmers’ High...
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Repressing Disease in Cattle: The Career of Pennsylvania Veterinarian Leonard Pearson

Posted by on Sep 12, 2022 in | Comments Off on Repressing Disease in Cattle: The Career of Pennsylvania Veterinarian Leonard Pearson In 1900 there were 224,248 farms and nearly a million dairy cows in Pennsylvania. The livelihood of dairy farmers depended almost entirely on the health of their cows. Dairy cows were vulnerable to a variety of diseases, but the most feared was tuberculosis. In Pennsylvania, bovine tuberculosis killed more cows than any other infectious disease, and it often destroyed entire herds. Bovine...
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The Inventor from Ercildoun: William Chester Ruth

Posted by on Oct 13, 2020 in | Comments Off on The Inventor from Ercildoun: William Chester Ruth It is apt to remember inventor William Chester Ruth (1882–1971) as a pinion in both his community and his machine shop and as a bridge between cultures and eras. The son of a man who had been enslaved until his 13th year and a woman from a distinguished free Black family, “Chester” displayed both confirmation of talent inherited from his parents and his own innovative path to the future. Steeped...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Oct 8, 2020 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter As part of our mission “to introduce readers to Pennsylvania’s rich culture and historic legacy,” we at Pennsylvania Heritage seek to connect the commonwealth’s past with what Pennsylvania is today or what it is anticipated to become in the future. In this effort, we strive to publish stories on a variety of subjects, some of which have been overlooked or underrepresented in history, that relate...
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Women Made the Breadbasket of Democracy

Posted by on Jun 8, 2020 in | Comments Off on Women Made the Breadbasket of Democracy Picturing the Pennsylvania home front during World War II might call to mind images of women working in munitions plants or shipyards. Rosie the Riveter, immortalized in a 1942 war work-incentive poster, was said to be inspired by women employed in the Westinghouse East Pittsburgh Works. Outside the factories, however, women also sustained and transformed agriculture, feeding the war effort....
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Pennsylvania Farming by Sally McMurry

Posted by on Nov 12, 2019 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Farming by Sally McMurry Pennsylvania Farming A History in Landscapes by Sally McMurry University of Pittsburgh Press, 472 pp., cloth $49.95 For generations, most Pennsylvanians were farmers. Today, farmers are only a small percentage of the population, yet the enduring pastoral and historic character of the state’s rural landscape is a source of local pride and fosters tourism in many areas. With engaging prose and an...
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Sowing the Seeds of Victory at Polk

Posted by on Jun 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on Sowing the Seeds of Victory at Polk In 1916, as battles raged across Europe, farmers in Entente countries exchanged sickles for rifles, leaving their ground untended. Poor harvests worldwide and increased U-boat activity in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean exacerbated an already depleted food supply. The need for additional production became increasingly apparent as the United States continued its support for France and Great...
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Powwowing: Ritual Healing in Pennsylvania Dutch Country

Posted by on Dec 13, 2016 in | Comments Off on Powwowing: Ritual Healing in Pennsylvania Dutch Country It was just after dark when the powwow doctor arrived at the elderly woman’s home in Lebanon County. The woman had been suffering from swelling in her legs that made walking difficult. Regular medical treatment had proven to be unsuccessful, so after enduring several months of painful discomfort, she called a powwower on the advice of a friend. Tonight would be the third successive...
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