Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter Forgotten human history exists beneath us in Pennsylvania, from as far back as 20,000 years ago to as recently as the previous century. In the last 50 years, many lost worlds have been recovered as a result of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA). A provision in NHPA, popularly known by its number in the document, Section 106, calls for the heads of federal agencies to “take...
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Digging Deep: 50 Years of Preservation Archaeology in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on Digging Deep: 50 Years of Preservation Archaeology in Pennsylvania On a lovely morning in early autumn, I arrive at an old farm along the Susquehanna River to find Dr. Frank Vento in his natural element. That is to say, he is squatting down at the bottom of a backhoe trench some 8 feet deep, carefully examining the many layers of flood-deposited sediment left behind by the great river. Frank, recently retired from the faculty at Clarion University, is a...
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Calver Island

Posted by on Jun 6, 2016 in | Comments Off on Calver Island With the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act 50 years ago, the federal government asserted that “the historical and cultural foundations of the nation should be preserved as a living part of our community life and development in order to give a sense of orientation to the American people.” These foundations exist not only aboveground but also belowground – the realm of...
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Preserving Bartram’s Garden: Recent Restoration of the House, Garden and Riverfront

Posted by on Apr 19, 2016 in | Comments Off on Preserving Bartram’s Garden: Recent Restoration of the House, Garden and Riverfront Sitting on 45 acres of pastoral landscape, the Colonial-era house at Bartram’s Garden has long been recognized as a Philadelphia architectural landmark and one of the first historic buildings preserved as a public park in Pennsylvania. John Bartram (1699-1777), the first American-born botanist, began construction shortly after he purchased the farm of 102 acres in the fall of 1728 in what...
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Piney Island Face Rock

Posted by on Apr 12, 2016 in | Comments Off on Piney Island Face Rock Is this face carved into a 5-inch-diameter river cobble a sort of ancient emoticon? Perhaps. It is more likely a ceremonial figure used by a shaman during tribal rituals. But it may be a purely decorative object. Archaeologists are not quite sure. What is known is that the artifact, called “Face Rock,” is the earliest of its kind found in Pennsylvania. Face Rock was unearthed on Piney Island,...
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Art of the State 2015 / First Pennsylvanians

Posted by on Apr 12, 2016 in | Comments Off on Art of the State 2015 / First Pennsylvanians Art of the State 2015 Twenty-one artists received awards for their work at The State Museum of Pennsylvania on June 28 at the opening for this year’s Art of the State. The annual juried exhibition, now in its 48th year, is cosponsored by the museum and Jump Street, a nonprofit organization in Harrisburg. Judges honored exhibitors in five categories: craft, painting, photography, sculpture and...
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Pithole City

Posted by on Apr 12, 2016 in | Comments Off on Pithole City At first sight, there is not much to Pithole City 150 years after it was established. There are cellar holes, a grass-covered but visible street grid, a 1972 visitor center and interpretive guideposts. The property today looks much the same as when it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 1973, for its significance to industrial history. It is amazing to think that...
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Lewistown Narrows

Posted by on Jun 19, 2015 in | Comments Off on Lewistown Narrows   The contrasting relief of Shade and Blue mountains with the Juniata River Valley creates a magnificent landscape near the border of Juniata and Mifflin counties. That splendor belies the obstacles that the topography has presented for engineers throughout the centuries. Archaeological excavations of the Lewistown Narrows within Juniata County have revealed artifacts dating back nearly...
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Executive Director’s Letter

Posted by on Dec 2, 2013 in | Comments Off on Executive Director’s Letter To this day I can distinctly remember the palpable excitement I felt as a child going up to the attic with my grandmother to explore all the wonderful old treasures secreted there. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) and The State Museum of Pennsylvania have recently initiated a project to rediscover and examine the Commonwealth’s hidden gems that have long been stored away....
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White Glove Service at The State Museum: It’s Not What You Might Think

Posted by on Dec 2, 2013 in | Comments Off on White Glove Service at The State Museum: It’s Not What You Might Think Sometimes hands-on history projects require gloves. White cotton gloves, to be precise. In June 2012 three curators at The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, donned gloves and began the first of an orderly series of planned inventories of the museum’s collections known as the Collections Advancement Project (CAP). By the end of summer three more curators joined the team and the...
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