Uniontown’s Prince of the Gilded Age

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Uniontown’s Prince of the Gilded Age Nothing captures the attention of the press more than a good scandal. In Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in January 1915, it had one. The financial collapse of coal baron Josiah V. Thompson, and the ruin of his bank, summoned a reporter from the New York Tribune to the Fayette County seat. Stepping off at the Pennsyl­vania Railroad station, the unidentified reporter hurried to Thompson’s office...
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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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The Pennsylvania Archives and Research Opportunities in the Era of the American Revolution

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Pennsylvania Archives and Research Opportunities in the Era of the American Revolution Over the years the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has amassed a rich treasure of source materials for re­search and writing on Pennsylvania history.* The archival, manuscript, and microfilm holdings of the Pennsylvania State Archives are certainly significant as they relate to doing research on the era of the American Revolution, 1763 to 1790. It is unfortunate that these research re­sources...
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Homeward Bound: An Interview with David McCullough

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Homeward Bound: An Interview with David McCullough David McCullough is a familiar name – and face. Known to millions as the author of bestselling books, including The Great Bridge, The Path Between the Seas, Truman, Mornings on Horseback, and Brave Companions, and as host of the popular PBS television series “Smithsonian World” and “The American Experience,” he is noted for his remarkable gift of writing richly...
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Currents

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Currents Hello, History! The former Chautauqua Lake Ice Company warehouse in Pittsburgh’s historic Strip District will come to life on Sunday, April 28 [1996], when it officially opens to the public as the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center. Renovated by the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, which has been protecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of the...
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Executive Director’s Message

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Executive Director’s Message Travel Notes – April 1996, Pittsburgh A series of conferences, meetings, and special events brings me to Pittsburgh for eight days this month and reconfirms the rich historical legacy of this city and region. Despite the enormous changes that have occurred in recent decades, there remains an abundance of physical reminders of the past. I begin my visit, as I always do, at the Forks of the...
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Lead Glass Tumblers by Stourbridge Flint Glass Works (1835)

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Lead Glass Tumblers by Stourbridge Flint Glass Works (1835) Research for a landmark exhibit re­cently opened at the John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, “Glass: Shattering Notions,” has uncov­ered new information about an early nineteenth-century pair of colorless lead glass tumblers. In the collections of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania (which administers the center) since the 1970s, the tumblers, with finely cut and...
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Currents

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Currents Setting Sail One of Pennsylvania’s most exciting museums-and certainly its newest-will open its doors during the Memorial Day weekend (see “Executive Director’s Message” in the spring 1998 edition). The Erie Maritime Museum, with the U.S. Brig Niagara as its centerpiece, will join more than two dozen historic sites and museums along the well-traveled Pennsylvania Trail of...
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Shorts

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Shorts On Thursday, October 17 [2002], Robert Pow­ell, president of the Historical Society of Carbondale, will present a talk entitled “The Delaware and Hudson Canal Com­pany’s Gravity Railroad” at the National Canal Museum in Easton. His lecture explores the construction, operation, and development of one of the country’s pioneer railroads – a major artery for the...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Society Newsletter

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Society Newsletter Topics in the Summer 2006 Newsletter: State Capitol Centennial Tour and Reception NEH Grant for Civil War Sesquicentennial Planning Calendar for July – September 2006 Penn Ambassadors 2006 New Pennsylvania Heritage Society Members Meet Kelly VanSickle, Membership Coordinator New PHS Rates  ...
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