The New Pennsylvania State Archives Building: A Design to Preserve the Commonwealth’s Significant Documents and an Engangered American Hardwood

Posted by on Aug 9, 2024 in | Comments Off on The New Pennsylvania State Archives Building: A Design to Preserve the Commonwealth’s Significant Documents and an Engangered American Hardwood In my 42-year career as an architect, it’s been rare to get the opportunity to manage the design of a major civic building such as the Pennsylvania State Archives. The former State Archives building, completed as part of a complex with The State Museum of Pennsylvania in December 1964, was designed by the central Pennsylvania firm of Lawrie & Green and served its purpose for nearly 60 years....
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Haul of Records—The Pennsylvania State Archives Moves to a New Building: An Interview with State Archivist David Carmicheal

Posted by on Jul 25, 2023 in | Comments Off on Haul of Records—The Pennsylvania State Archives Moves to a New Building: An Interview with State Archivist David Carmicheal Like its national counterpart, the Pennsylvania State Archives has a mission to acquire, preserve and provide access to public documents, focusing on the records of state government, as well as private papers relevant to history. To better fulfill this mission, the State Archives is moving into a new state-of-the-art facility at 1681 North Sixth Street in Harrisburg. In 1903 the Division of...
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The Legacy of George Way

Posted by on Mar 14, 2022 in | Comments Off on The Legacy of George Way On February 2 this year, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter. We’ll know soon whether or not he was correct. But regardless of the weather, this is the time of year that we mark the anniversary of Pennsylvania’s founding. In March 1681 King Charles II of England granted land on the east coast of North America to William Penn as repayment for funds...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Apr 15, 2020 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director People often think of history as events in the distant past, so it’s perhaps natural that visitors to our PHMC sites look for objects from Pennsylvania’s earliest historic periods. Our collections do not disappoint. If you wander through The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, you’ll find fluted projectile points from the Shoop archaeological site in Dauphin County that date to the last...
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A British Lord in the Pennsylvania State Archives / Art of the State 2018

Posted by on Dec 1, 2019 in | Comments Off on A British Lord in the Pennsylvania State Archives / Art of the State 2018 A British Lord in the Pennsylvania State Archives In April 2018 a member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom visited the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, to study documents related to Pennsylvania’s founder and first proprietor William Penn in hopes of learning more about issues of tolerance. Nathanael Ming-Yan “Nat” Wei of Shoreditch was introduced in the House...
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The Last Days of William Penn

Posted by on Nov 11, 2019 in | Comments Off on The Last Days of William Penn “My poor Dearests last breath was fetchd this morning between 2 & 3 a Clock.” So wrote a distraught Hannah Penn to longtime friend and advisor Thomas Story on July 30, 1718. The remains of her husband were taken to Jordans Meeting House in Buckinghamshire and buried there on August 5 beside his first wife Gulielma. Quakers and non-Quakers alike attended the funeral. Jordans is a quiet place,...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Nov 4, 2019 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director As the state’s history agency, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission holds historic objects and documents in trust for the people of Pennsylvania. The breadth of these collections is staggering. Within the Pennsylvania State Archives, we preserve some of the oldest documents in the state, such as William Penn’s 1681 Charter, the 1682 Great Law of Pennsylvania, and 33 deeds starting...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter

Posted by on Dec 2, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter Topics in the Winter 2014 Newsletter: Charter Day 2014 Trails of History Winter Hours and Contact Information Exhibits Collections Advancement Project New Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Members New State Museum Affiliate Members State Museum Planetarium   pennsylvania-heritage-foundation-newsletter-winter-2014...
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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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William Penn’s Constitutional Legacy

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on William Penn’s Constitutional Legacy In his proclamation marking the three hundredth anniversary of the birth of William Penn in 1944, Gov. Edward Martin described him as “one of the truly great men of history … whose tolerance, wisdom, enlightenment and vision as a statesman of the common weal render him an outstanding figure among the builders of states.” The tercentenary celebration of his glorious...
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