Trailheads

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that resulted in airliner crashes into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Anyone old enough to remember 9/11 can recall the wall-to-wall news coverage and vivid sense of national grief about the destruction and lives lost. The...
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Somerset Historical Center: Portraying the Pioneer Spirit of Southwestern Pennsylvania

While there are many similar stories to be told on the subject of historical and social evolution in all regions of Pennsylvania, there are also many tales unique to every city, town, or county. Southwestern Pennsylvania has its share of unique stories, and no museum interprets the saga of this region so succinctly as the Somerset Historical Center. Adding to the effectiveness of docuĀ­menting...
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Gnagey Blanket Chest at Somerset Historical Center

Among the most famous makers in the history of southwestern Pennsylvania furniture is Jacob Gnagey (1796-1883), a farmer and cabinetmaker who lived in Summit Township, Somerset County. In 1862,he made a blanket chest for Israel Folam, possibly as a wedding present on his marriage to Lydia Vought, township residents. With its distinctive hand-forged hinges, finely dovetailed joints, red...
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