Mt. Lebanon Historic District

Posted by on Oct 25, 2019 in | Comments Off on Mt. Lebanon Historic District Although Henry Ford had introduced the Model T in 1908, making the automobile affordable for the average American, it was not until the 1920s that automobile ownership really began to rise. In 1910 there were 500,000 cars in use. By 1920 the number rose to 9.5 million. By 1930 it sprang to 27 million. With so many cars, people who worked in cities were no longer tied to railroads or streetcar...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Oct 21, 2019 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director I am thrilled to call myself a Pennsylvanian. I have lived in states up and down the East Coast, in the Midwest and overseas, but here in Pennsylvania I really feel like I am home. A resident for just over a decade . . . how can that be? Pennsylvania is an easy place to belong. It reflects the complete American experience, from Native American settlement to the tech boom of today. The state’s...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Jun 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director For almost six years it has been my privilege and honor to serve as the executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC). This July I will complete my 50th year of public service as an educator, historian, museum director and preservationist. I can think of no better way to spend a life than in promoting and protecting America’s history and culture. It is very...
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Jackie Ormes, African American Woman Cartoonist

Posted by on Jun 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on Jackie Ormes, African American Woman Cartoonist Born Zelda Mavin Jackson in Pittsburgh in 1911 and raised in Monongahela, Washington County, Jackie Ormes was the first African American woman cartoonist. At the height of her career, her cartoons and comics reached more than a million readers across the nation through the black press. When the Jim Crow era was in full swing and racial stereotypes were prevalent, Ormes broke down barriers of...
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The Oshnock Archaeology Collection

Posted by on Jun 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on The Oshnock Archaeology Collection Archaeologists at The State Museum of Pennsylvania plan to spend this summer entering thousands of Native American artifacts collected from western Pennsylvania into a database that will organize the objects according to specific sites and locations. It’s a lot of work, but not nearly as much as curators typically tackle when inventorying similar collections, thanks to the brothers...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Summer 2017

Posted by on Jun 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Summer 2017 Topics in the Summer 2017 Newsletter: Third Annual Giving Circle Dinner The Giving Circle PHF-Held Endowment Funds Whiskey Still for Fort Pitt Museum Collection PHF Welcomes New Board Member PHF Receives Grant in Partnership with Eckley Miners’ Village Join the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation   pennsylvania-heritage-foundation-newsletter-summer-2017...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Mar 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter This issue of Pennsylvania Heritage marks the 100th anniversary of America’s entry into the First World War in April 1917. The focus comes as part of PHMC’s Pennsylvania at War initiative, a multiyear commemoration of the centennial of World War I and the 75th anniversary of World War II. The Keystone State contributed significantly to the Allied effort in World War I, with more than...
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Craft Brewing: Another Revolution in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Dec 13, 2016 in | Comments Off on Craft Brewing: Another Revolution in Pennsylvania The history of brewing beer in Pennsylvania has seen heights of success and pits of disaster. The commonwealth grew from colonial home-brewing roots to become a recognized industrial center, home to some of the most notable brewers in America before the disaster of Prohibition. After bouncing back with Repeal, Pennsylvania clung to its established favorites longer than any other state, savoring...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Winter 2016

Posted by on Apr 19, 2016 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Winter 2016 Topics in the Winter 2016 Newsletter: PHF Hosts the 50th Anniversary Gala for The State Museum and Archives Complex The Giving Circle Pennsylvania Turnpike Exhibit Opens Pennsylvania Turnpike Exhibit Sponsors PA Modern Exhibit Opens Join the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation   pennsylvania-heritage-foundation-newsletter-winter-2016...
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The Pennsylvania Turnpike, From Tollbooths to Tunnels: Rediscovering America’s First Superhighway at 75

Posted by on Apr 12, 2016 in | Comments Off on The Pennsylvania Turnpike, From Tollbooths to Tunnels: Rediscovering America’s First Superhighway at 75 Few Pennsylvania-born celebrities have made the kind of splash that the Pennsylvania Turnpike did when it first arrived on the scene in October 1940. Its 160 miles of limited-access, four-lane paved highway across the Alleghenies were hailed as America’s answer to the Autobahn, Germany’s highly regarded network of high-speed “super roads.” After the war, as the United States’ population expanded...
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