Forester Gifford Pinchot Becomes Governor, 100 Years Ago

Posted by on Sep 12, 2022 in | Comments Off on 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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Soldiers to Governors: World War II

Posted by on Nov 25, 2020 in | Comments Off on Soldiers to Governors: World War II More than 1 million Pennsylvanians served in the Armed Forces during World War II. Five of these servicemembers would later be elected as Pennsylvania’s governor. Carrying on the great American tradition of citizen-soldiers, these civilians or members of the National Guard left their homes and families to volunteer to fight for their country during a crucial period in history. The Pennsylvania...
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Washington County: From Ice Age to Space Age

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Washington County: From Ice Age to Space Age Southwestern Pennsylvania was for centuries a happy hunt­ing ground for Indians who were living there as long as two thousand years ago. In fact, as the result of archaeological discoveries made at the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter near Avella between 1973 and 1975, University of Pittsburgh anthropologists have proven conclusively that Ice Age people roamed the forests of Washington County even...
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Armstrong County

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Armstrong County Editor’s Note: With this article, this magazine begins a series to highlight historical events and persons within various counties. Focus will also be directed at the counties’ historical societies.   Kittanning, the seat of Armstrong County, is the oldest identified Indian town in Western Pennsylvania. While the state is planning celebrations to commemorate the Revolutionary...
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Centre County

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Centre County Centre County, as its name implies, geographically is Pennsylvania’s central county. The first known residents to inhabit its lands were the Munsee and Shawnee Indians from the Delaware River. Before 1725 these Indians began to move westward, first to the Susquehanna, later to the Ohio. The Iroquois, who claimed the Susquehanna country, assigned one of their chiefs – a man best known...
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The ‘State’ of Allegheny

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The ‘State’ of Allegheny One of the first centers of the organization of the Re­publican party and scene of its first national conven­tion in February, 1856, Allegheny County was strongly for Lincoln in the presidential election of 1860. As the vote count proceeded, one of the leaders kept sending telegrams to Lincoln’s home in Illinois, keeping him up on the news that “Allegheny gives a majority of …...
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A Historical Sketch of Indiana County

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Historical Sketch of Indiana County Indiana County was named for the native Indians. During historic times the two principal tribes were the Delawares and Shawnees. Being reluctant to give up their lands, the Indians struggled desperately to keep out the tide of European settlers. Perhaps the first white settler to enter Indiana County was James LeTort, an Indian trader, about 1726-27. A place called “Letart’s...
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“A New County to Be Called Snyder”

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on “A New County to Be Called Snyder” Snyder is a small rural county covering 327 square miles with a population exceeding thirty thou­sand. Situated near the center of the Commonwealth, it is bounded on the northwest by Jack’s Mountain, on the southeast by the Mahantango Creek and on the en­tire eastern end by the beautiful Susquehanna River. Most of the remaining boundaries are unrelated to natural features. Geologically,...
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Key of the Capitol to Samuel Pennypacker (1907)

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on Key of the Capitol to Samuel Pennypacker (1907) As Pennsylvania’s State Capitol marks its one hundredth anniversary this year, institutions and individuals throughout the Commonwealth are showcasing their treasures associated with the building (see “Through the Halls of History with Ruthann Hubbert-Kemper, Keeper of the Capitol” by Michael J. O’Malley III). Collectors are seeking out early twentieth-century souvenirs...
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