From the Executive Director

Over the past 40 years, technology has transformed how people connect — with one another and with information. At the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC), we’ve seen remarkable progress in using digital tools to enhance engagement with the history we steward: the documents, maps and photographs preserved in the Pennsylvania State Archives; information about historical properties across the commonwealth; and the many artifacts in our museum collections. We continue to digitize records and create virtual programs that share Pennsylvania’s stories with audiences everywhere.

These digital initiatives are powerful resources, yet they can never replace something singular that we offer — the opportunity to experience the real thing. There is an irreplaceable power in encountering authentic, tangible pieces of the past. Walking through the halls of Hope Lodge, a PHMC historic house in Fort Washington, one can almost envision its owner, Patriot William West, in 1777, as Washington’s encampment stood nearby and the future of the Continental Army and the new nation hung in uncertainty. At the State Archives, Revolutionary War records bring that moment to life through lists of officers and soldiers, accounts of operations, and pension files that reveal the personal sacrifices of those who served.

Artifacts provide windows into history that words alone cannot match. The State Museum of Pennsylvania’s exhibit Revolutionary Things features a section devoted to “relics” of the Revolutionary era — treasures that testify to Pennsylvania’s essential role in the fight for independence. Among them is the Thompson Flag, a battle-worn banner carried by the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment. Few such flags survived the Revolution; only about 30 remain today. Other artifacts, including a soldier’s coat, a Committee of Safety musket, and two locks of George Washington’s hair, each speak to a different facet of the Revolutionary story — the courage of individual Patriots, the ingenuity of Pennsylvania’s craftsmen, and the nation’s enduring reverence for its first president and wartime leader.

Later sections of the exhibit explore how the Revolution has been remembered across generations — at the Centennial in 1876 and the Bicentennial in 1976. These commemorations reflected not only how Americans remembered their nation’s birth, but also who they were at the time: a nation of innovators at the 100th anniversary, and, at the 200th, a nation seeking unity and renewal after Vietnam.

Now, as we approach the 250th anniversary, Revolutionary Things invites visitors not only to reflect on the past, but also to consider what the Revolution means for the present — and the future. In an increasingly digital world, authentic artifacts continue to ground us in the reality of our shared history, reminding us that the story of our nation is both deeply material and profoundly human.

Revolutionary Things: Objects from the Collection is on exhibit at The State Museum of Pennsylvania through August 2, 2026.

Andrea Lowery
Executive Director, PHMC