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Historical records that include, programs, letters, newspaper articles, booklets, papers and photos. Community representing African Americans.

This digitized volume contains the meeting minutes of the Liberty Cornet Band dating from 1920-1932 and 1937, and includes the names of appointed officers and members more of the band. The Liberty Cornet Band was an African-American musical group established in 1867 in West Chester, Pa. The band enjoyed a lofty profile in Chester County and the surrounding counties where they headlined concerts, performed at parades and sporting events, serenaded residents in surrounding communities, and played at Republican Party rallies and other political gatherings. Three prominent restaurateurs, Moses Hepburn, 1832-1897 (Magnolia House), Charles Burns, 1855/56-1917 (Burns’ Great Oyster House), and James Spence, 1843?-1925 (Spence’s Restaurant), were early band leaders. At its high point in January 1912, the band counted 50 members. In addition, the band performed farther afield, including Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, and the Mid-Atlantic states. In 1897, the band was invited to take part in William McKinley’s presidential inauguration ceremony, and in 1901, it played at Theodore Roosevelt’s inauguration. The band also gave benefit concerts, such as one in 1880 for the widow Abbey Smith of Media, Pa. In 1901, showing its patriotism, the band played at two events celebrating the return of American soldiers, including three African-Americans, from the Philippines and Cuba following the Spanish-American War. Not unexpectedly, the band enjoyed a banner reputation among West Chester’s African-American community. In an 1888 newspaper article, a reporter wrote, “West Chester yesterday belonged to the colored people, it being the date of the Liberty Band’s picnic.” The Liberty Cornet Band was active from its founding in 1867 to at least 1931. As with many organizations, the band had its ups and downs, adding members in good years and losing members in challenging times. For example, in August 1889, a significant number of members left to follow a religious revival; the band subsequently had to reorganize. In the 1920s, membership dropped from fifty to number in the thirties. The organization’s records reveal that there were no concerts or other activities, except practice sessions, after 1931. Undoubtedly, the depression of the 1930s contributed to the band’s collapse, as one member noted in 1931 that “we need to do something worthwhile immediately because of the critical condition of the band.” By 1937, the band in all likelihood folded. In February of that year, due to lack of funds, its officers authorized the disposal of its property at West Chester’s Masonic Hall. In addition to documenting specific motions and actions taken by band members, the volume records paid membership dues/fees, voting results, plans for future performances, mention of committee reports, personnel issues (i.e. fines to band members), administrative costs, performance venues, and concert ticket sales/costs. An index to the band’s cash accounts is listed on the verso of the front cover, and these cash account inventories include the band’s monthly receipts and expenses. Noted band members in this volume include the following three Presidents: Alfred Bowman (1923), Jacob Milby (1924-1930), and Herman Ray (1930-1932). William H. Burton, a teacher at West Chester’s Gay Street School and later a professor at Cheney University, served as the band’s Secretary from 1927 to 1932. less

The collection includes various annual reports, programs, letters, financial information, newspaper clippings, and ephemera documenting the history of the African American community in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood more and vicinity, from circa 1868-1939, and the roles of women in the following organizations. Includes materials associated with the Union Mission for Colored People, the Industrial School for Colored Women, and the Colored Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans Home. less

This collection contains photographs relating to African American history in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Included are topics such as: Abolition Hall, Camp William Penn, Woodmont, individuals, and more cemeteries. One of the photographs is a close up of an oil portrait of the county's first African American doctor, Dr. Daniel A. Wilson. The portrait and all of the photographs are maintained at the Historical Society of Montgomery County, PA. less

As part of a larger statewide effort, in 2018 the Meyersdale Public Library undertook a project to document and compile a list of known African American more burials in Somerset County. Staff and volunteers in the library's Pennsylvania Room combed state death certificates, online gravestone memorials, newspaper obituaries/articles, and additional local publications to determine as many African Americans laid to rest within this rural county as possible. The number ultimately reached nearly 350, though library researchers theorize it is substantially higher. In subsequent years the Pennsylvania Room has gained access to over 900 county death records kept from 1893 through 1905. Staff and volunteers plan to also review these records for documentation of additional African American burials. Thus this collection remains a work in progress, with updated information to be made available over time. less

These 18 photographs are part of a larger Meyersdale Public Library – Photograph Collection. The photographs selected for display as part of that larger PA Photos more and Documents collection are significant because they provide a broad overview of life immediately before, during and after the Progressive Era in the Allegheny Mountains region (mostly Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and northern Maryland). These 18 photographs in particular - part of a larger glass negative collection housed within the library's archives - portray African American families and individuals in portraits, natural and workplace settings, and also within the town of Meyersdale itself. A significant African American community lived, worked and worshiped in Meyersdale during the late 1800s and through the first several decades of the 20th century. less

This collection focuses on the heritage of African Americans in the Johnstown region.

This collection is a digitized copy of the book Architecture—Practical and Theoretical by the Beezer Brothers (1894). The Beezer brothers (Louis and Michael J.) were famous more architects who originally set up their firm in Altoona, PA where they built many homes, but then moved on to Pittsburgh and eventually Seattle, WA. less

This collection contains postcards from the early 20th century of Johnstown, Pennsylvania area landmarks.

The Builder is an architectural publication that was published in Pittsburgh from 1901 to 1919. Its subtitle is: "Devoted to Architecture". The Builder is a highly more unique resource that provides an in-depth look at the design and construction of residential and commercial spaces in Pittsburgh during the era that Pittsburgh's industrial, commercial and civic life thrived. The contents in the Builder includes both the artistic & architectural overview of individual buildings and neighborhood developments, as well as the artisan and skilled trade resources used by designers, architects and builders during this period. ​Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh gratefully acknowledges the loan of several volumes of The Builder for this project by the University of Notre Dame. less

Compositions on abstract concepts created by a young Mary E. D. Wilson of Bellefonte, PA and written while attending the Lawrenceville Female Seminary in New Jersey more circa 1851 and 1852. Concepts include: twilight, intemperance, ignorance, falsehood, liberty, peace, sad and dreary, friendship, sunset, evening, childhood, night, love, the importance of a well-spent youth, the life of man, sadness and mirth, and home. Also includes daguerreotype and B&W photographs of Mary E. D. Wilson and several of her report cards from the school. less

History of the Miles-Potter-Humes House in Bellefonte, PA from 1815 to the present and of its owners through photographs, other images, and documents.

This collection was created by Alexander W. Scott (1926-1999) a Cheltenham principal and resident for many years. The 771 images (originally slides) show the people, homes, more and neighborhoods of the Cheltenham communities in Montgomery County. The photographs are categorized around multiple themes and the descriptions were written by Mr. Scott and are copied verbatim from his Index. less

The digitized reminiscences recorded by John Hill Brinton consist of five volumes (three original and two typed transcripts) and date from 1856 to 1868. Found within more the collection are descriptions of early Chester County people, places, and historical events dating back to the late 1600s. John Hill Brinton (1811-1893) was born in Thornbury, Pennsylvania on June 2, 1811, the son of Thomas Hill and Catharine Odenheimer Brinton. He attended Strode’s Academy, West Chester, Pennsylvania and Germantown Academy in Philadelphia. Brinton then studied law for three years with William H. Dillingham and was admitted to the Chester County bar on October 6, 1832. He practiced law in West Chester, and was the oldest member of the county bar at the time of his death. Active in politics and a self-identified Jacksonian Democrat, Brinton was a compelling speaker. Though he was never elected to office, he was appointed Deputy Attorney General—the equivalent of District Attorney—for Chester County, serving from April 1847 until July 1848. Brinton was also a local historian interested in his family genealogy, as well as early Chester County history. In 1873, he traveled to Europe in part to learn about his family’s origins. Additionally, beginning in the 1840s, he interviewed Chester County residents about their families and recorded their memories about the county’s past. Brinton died, aged 81, unmarried and childless, after a brief illness on February 5, 1893. The collection consists of three handwritten volumes and two volumes of transcriptions that document the history of Chester County, Pennsylvania from the late 1600s to the mid-1800s through the reminiscences of residents interviewed by Brinton. After Brinton’s death, the original manuscript was held by the Ogier family for many years before being returned to the Brinton family at which point handwritten indexes were added. In 1915, Francis D. Brinton underwrote the manuscript’s typed transcription and the two volumes of transcripts were bound by Fahr and Johnson of Philadelphia in 1950. The only typed index is in the first transcribed volume, leaving readers to refer to the original manuscript volumes for handwritten indexes to Book 2 and Book 3. Book 1 is described by Brinton as “Conversations held with old people respecting former times—some of them relatives, some of them friends, some acquaintances—and residing generally in Chester and Delaware Counties and Birmingham and Thornbury Township.” The volume begins with a 23 page index followed by 240 pages of Brinton’s handwritten synopses. These recollections include many members of the Carr, Darlington, Dilworth, Downing, Hickman, Hoopes, Mendenhall, Sharpless, and Taylor families. Brinton notes that these conversations were recorded as soon as they took place, though in cases of multiple conversations with single individuals, manuscript notations were consolidated into a single record. Topics discussed include the Revolutionary War and the Battle of Brandywine, the growth and development of Chester County, the changing appearance of the county’s land and trees, house and road construction, Quaker meetings, family genealogies, local mills, property ownership, politics, legal precedents, and etc. In addition, Brinton family members and the building, renovation, and general appearance of the 1704 Brinton House are discussed at length. Book 2 begins with a 32 page index followed by 231 pages of handwritten recollections, which cover topics similar to those in Book 1. In addition, Brinton records his visit to Europe, which he undertook in part to trace his family’s history and origins. Book 3 begins with a 14 page index followed by 174 pages of notes. The first section, “Notes of Conversations held by me with old inhabitants about the early settlement in Penn’s Colony,” covers events relating to Chester County’s earliest European inhabitants. The second section, “Some account of William Brinton one of the early settlers in Penn’s Colony of Pennsylvania and of His Descendants,” is an essay on the life of William Brinton, who settled in America in the 1600s. less

The Church of the Brethren Photograph Collection consists of more than 500 mostly black and white photographs of meeting houses and churches in eastern Pennsylvania, historic more sites, gravestones, portraits and nursing homes associated with the Church. The photographs date from the 1890's to the present. A subset of the collection includes images from 200 glass-plate negatives dating from 1890 to 1915. These photographs were taken by J.G. Francis, a leader in the founding of Elizabethtown College and a minister of the Church of the Brethren in eastern Pennsylvania. less

The Harmonists, a Christian Communal society, founded Old Economy Village in 1824. They were known for their piety, as well as for their economic successes in more textile manufacturing, including silk production, and later in the oil and railroad industries. Old Economy Village in Ambridge, PA is the home of a great deal of information about the Harmony Society and life in general in the nineteenth century. Major topics covered by the archives and library include music, architecture, religion, business, photographs, and more. less

In the Johnstown neighborhood of Cambria City are located five historical, ethnic churches. In 2009, the Altoona/Johnstown Diocese closed four of the churches and renamed the more fifth church. Each of these churches has celebrated a centennial and one has celebrated a quasquicentennial. Before the churches were de-sanctified, each one was photo-documented and a description developed to explain the location and history of realia contained in the church. In addition, print materials were digitized related to each church (e.g. church newsletters, event flyers, bulletins.) The ethnicities of the churches were German, Slovak, Irish, Polish/Hungarian, and Croatian. less

This collection is comprised of images created sometime between 1928 and 1950 by Philadelphia photographer, Ida W. Pritchett. A 1914 graduate of Bryn Mawr College, Pritchett more received her doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, and held an appointment at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York where her work focused on pathology and bacteriology. She left the Rockefeller Institute in 1930 to pursue a professional life in photography. In 1928, Pritchett's photograph titled the "Luminous Globe" was included in the Royal Photographic Society's Annual Exhibition. Following on, she exhibited her work in the 1930 International Photographic Exhibition, Tokyo, and the Philadelphia International Salon of Photography sponsored by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As a working photographer, Pritchett provided photographic illustrations for various publications, for example, "A Viking Drinking Cup--Birch Knob" for inclusion in Sir Wilfred Grenfell's The Romance of Labrador. With her friend, Marjorie LaMonte Thompson, she co-published a book of photographs documenting the buildings, interior spaces and grounds of Bryn Mawr College. Pritchett retired in the early 1950s and she and Thompson divided their time between their homes in Haverford and Sandwich, New Hampshire until her death in 1965. This digital project is supported in part by a 2022 National Endowment for the Humanities Sustaining the Humanities Through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) grant. less

James Lawrence Dillon (1859-1942) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Irish immigrants James and Annie Eleanor Dillon. His mother died when he was 4, and his more father when he was 11. In 1886, James married Mary Beck Fisher. They had two children, Florence Hazel Dillon Jacoby (1887-1986) and Theodore Fisher “Jack” Dillon (1890-1979). James Dillon was proprietor of a successful photography business in Philadelphia, James L. Dillon & Co., Inc, Photographers, located at 1017 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Among other subjects, Dillon’s photography company documented many architectural projects in and around Philadelphia including churches, private residences, banks, government buildings, cultural institutions, commercial enterprises, factories, and area hospitals. The business continued after his death (April 6, 1942) at least into the 1960s. This lantern slide collection of approximately 277 images, mostly executed in the 1920s, captures another, more artistic side of Dillon’s photography. Images in this collection include many plant portraits, fruit and flower studies, garden images, friends and family in gardens, and Philadelphia views such as Logan Square, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Fairmount Park and the Wissahickon. The collection also contains views of the William Hinckle Smith garden in Bryn Mawr, the Widener estate Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park, and Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Views of national parks in the United States and Canada and images of the Bermuda Islands are also represented. Many of the lantern slides were produced using the Autochrome Lumière color photography process, giving the carefully composed images a luminous beauty and dream-like quality. The lantern slide collection was given to PHS McLean Library & Archives by Dillon family descendant Ginger Hankins in 2021. This digital project is supported in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities Sustaining the Humanities Through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) grant. less

The Joseph Ascenzi Collection consists of 64 color and black-and-white glass lantern slides, most were produced by the J. Horace McFarland Company, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Williams, more Brown & Earle Inc. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between approximately 1920-1940. Many of the Williams, Brown & Earle slides focus primarily on trees in-situ and include images of Sycamores, Poplars, and Oaks among others. In addition, the William, Brown, & Earle slides contain images from three series titled “Spring’s Awakening” featuring woodland plants, “Botany,” and “A Summer’s Ramble.” The J. Horace McFarland slides in the collection typically center on foundation plantings around entryways and corner plantings around suburban houses. The collector, Joseph M. Ascenzi, is the horticulturist and president of Laurel Hill Gardens (Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia). This digital project is supported in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities Sustaining the Humanities Through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) grant. less

This collection consists of documentation related to the Philadelphia Flower Show from 1829 to the present including tickets, advertisements, posters and high-quality photographs to exhibits and more promotional events. Some of the images include buildings that no longer exist, such as Philadelphia's Commercial Museum and Civic Center. less

This is a collection of posters of varying size, color and medium pertaining to the U.S. and Pennsylvania from before the start of the Civil War more Period to the present. Subjects include business advertising, public announcements, broadsides, political cartoons, campaign posters, World War II, world travel, and civic duties. Manufactured for many different businesses, institutions, and government agencies, the artwork is by famous, obscure, and unknown commercial illustrators. less

This collection is of World War I era posters of varying size, color and medium pertaining to the U.S. and Pennsylvania. The posters are manufactured for more many different businesses, institutions, and government agencies, and the artwork is by famous, obscure and unknown commercial illustrators. Those printed by various federal agencies were intended to generate patriotic fervor in Americans. less

This collection contains miscellany from various exhibitions and expositions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Pennsylvania.

This collection contains images of limited edition, hand-printed linocut holiday cards that were made by folk artist Mary Hamilton who lived and worked throughout her career more in Clarion County, was well-known in the area, and made many contributions to the culture in Western Pennsylvania. She made these holiday cards annually for over 20 years and sent them to close personal friends. Dr. Charles Marlin, a friend of the artist and recipient of the cards, donated the original cards that show the evolution of Mary Hamilton's work. less

The Nazareth Band and Drum Corps performed on August 6, 1939 at the New York World's Fair in Flushing, Queens. Nazareth town residents were invited along more at discounted train and fair entry ticket prices. This collection consists of the original correspondences between the Nazareth Merchants Association and the Special Events coordinator of the 1939 New York World's Fair. It also includes fair memorabilia, such as souvenir stickers and Greyhound transportation brochures, fair advertisements and pamphlets, and train tickets to and from the fair. This collection highlights a small community's involvement in one of the biggest events of the twentieth century. less

With the Pennsylvania Maple Festival Board of Directors' permission, the Meyersdale Public Library digitized nearly 400 35mm slides documenting the Pennsylvania Maple Festival from the late more 1950s through the 1980s as part of its 2018 Scan PA project. The festival is a Somerset County tradition dating back to 1948. Each spring it attracts thousands of visitors from throughout Pennsylvania and surrounding states to the small community of Meyersdale, where they learn about the rich history behind the county's maple production industry. Again working in conjunction with the festival board, the library also digitized additional 35mm slides of past festival activities later discovered by the board. Now totaling nearly 500 digital images, these photographs, captured by amateur volunteer photographers, help tell the story of a community celebration which in 2022 is celebrating its 75th year. less

A selection of photographs and video clips from the New Castle Public Library's 100th Anniversary celebration, October 21, 2010.

Photographs of various occasions celebrated by New Cumberland, including the 1906 Old Home Week and Geary Celebration, World War I Homecoming, and the dedication of the more John Geary White state historical marker. less

In 2009 Gene Giancini was cleaning out a building on the West Side of Scranton. His family had operated a business in the building for 60 more years, and he was in the process of selling it. He found, stacked in the corner, old photos of Christmas window displays from Household Outfitting Company, 306-314 Lackawanna Ave. less

The Pamphlet Box Collection/ Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf consists of nine annual reports, from 1883, and one for each year from 1917-1924 inclusive. It also more includes five copies of the student newsletter, Mount Airy World, with two copies from 1912, one from 1913, one from 1917, and the last, from 1921. Together, these annual reports and newsletters document the statewide importance of the Institution; both faculty and students came from all over Pennsylvania to work and study there. The collection also documents the increased importance of women at the Institution, in their roles as faculty and staff members, and as committee members working in association with the Institution's Board of Directors. less

The Welfare History Collection documents the roles and importance of several welfare organizations formerly located in and/ or associated with the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia spanning more the years circa 1881-1921. The records include annual reports, charters, and by-laws of the Americanization Committee of Germantown, the Pauline Temporary Home, the Germantown Door of Hope, the Florence Crittenton Home, and the Philadelphia Home for Incurables. The materials document the roles that women had in these organizations, and by extension, in the larger community. less

This collection contains items related to Pennsylvania School for the Deaf's main campus located in the Mount Airy section of Northwest Philadelphia from 1892-1984. This campus more was a spacious, 33 acre location that served deaf and hard-of-hearing students from all over Pennsylvania. less

Regionally significant history of the Borough of Edgewood, Pennsylvania. This collection includes bound book, personal recollections and a multitude of photographs.

Photo album put together by John Blair Linn (1831 – 1899) consisting of 72 black and white images of his immediate family, his extended family, and more his friends from his days in Lewisburg, PA, and Bellefonte, PA. less

This collections represents all extant records of the Chester County Board of Relief from 1861 through 1865. The Chester County Board of Relief was set up more by the Act of May 15, 1861 P.L. 749, entitled "An Act to Create a Loan and to Provide for Arming the State" to aid local families of Civil War soldiers. Funded by state appropriations, its members included the County Commissioners and Court of Common Pleas Associate Judges. Township boards of relief were set up individually without legal precedent when townships felt the County Board did not meet the need for aid. Townships could petition the Board to assist their families although the Board did not always agree to help and the township boards assisted families without assistance from the county. The materials in this collection document the actives of the Board of Relief and provides detailed information on the families who sought its assistance. This collection is divided into four record series: account books, applications, correspondence, and administrative records. A full index to the account books, applications, and correspondence can be found here: https://www.chesco.org/1702/Board-of-Relief-1861-1865. less

The digitized account book of Ennion Cook consists of 256 scanned pages and dates from 1798 to 1836. Found within this volume are Cook’s financial records more as a school teacher, including student boarding fees, firewood purchases, and guardianship accounts. The back of the book also includes account records for the Birmingham Society of Friends’ burying grounds. Ennion Cook (1773-1841) was born to Stephen and Margaret Williams Cook in London Grove Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. A teacher by profession, Cook moved to Birmingham Township, Chester County in 1798 and was a prominent member of the Quaker community. Cook married Agnes Garrett in 1800, and, in 1802, began teaching in the four-sided school house located next to the Birmingham Meeting House. He later taught in the Octagonal Schoolhouse (known as Harmony Hall), a building recognized on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. In 1808, Cook was appointed Librarian of the Birmingham Library, which operated out of his residence, and within the year, also began serving as the sexton of the Birmingham graveyard. Cook’s account book includes an index of 89 names followed by detailed account records that list individual items purchased and amounts paid. Typical charges to account holders include school supplies, boarding fees, clothing, shoes, firewood, tuition, and tutoring fees. A listing of Agnes Cook’s boarders from 1798-1822 is provided on pages 111-112, and a record of eight personal bond purchases is listed on page 123. In the back of the book, Cook kept separate entries relating to his role as sexton of the Birmingham graveyard from 1809 to 1834, and these entries include account records for individual plot purchases and the amounts paid. The entirety of the Ennion Cook Account Book Collection is housed and available for research use at the Chester County History Center. less

This digitized volume is a copy of John Churchman’s survey work of the Nottingham Lots. The location of the original is unknown. Gilbert Cope, a Chester more County, Pa. historian and genealogist, obtained access to Churchman’s personal papers and copied the volume from 1868 to 1873. John Churchman (1753-1805), a native of East Nottingham Township, Chester County, Pa., was a noted 18th-century surveyor and cartographer. Together with other members of his family, he is credited with compiling this volume recording information about the Nottingham Lots. For many years, Churchman held the official post of surveyor for Chester, Delaware, and parts of Berks and Lancaster Counties, Pa. In addition, he was a self-taught scientist, investigated magnetic phenomena in determining seafaring longitude, and was a member of the Society of Friends. Because Churchman eventually deviated from the Quaker “path of simplicity” and became involved in such assorted business activities as real estate investments and mining, he was dismissed from the Nottingham Monthly Meeting. Churchman’s publications include Variation Chart or Magnetic Atlas and a map of the Delmarva Peninsula (1778), which he dedicated to the American Philosophical Society. Churchman corresponded internationally; visited Copenhagen, Denmark, London, England, and St. Petersburg, Russia; and was elected to membership in the Royal Society of Arts (U.K.) and the Imperial Russian Academy. Churchman died at sea as he sailed home to America, having earlier suffered illness in London. The Nottingham Lots, consisting of 18,000 acres, were originally located in Southeastern Pennsylvania. They were created in 1701 by William Penn, who wanted both lands he could control and a settlement along the border separating Pennsylvania and Catholic-friendly Maryland. Penn's original tract was divided into 37 lots, each approximately 500 acres. It is believed that prospective owners made their selections by drawing lots; hence, the use of that descriptive word. Eventually, property ownership was disputed by Penn and his descendants and by Maryland’s Lord Baltimore and his descendants, chiefly over the location of the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northern border of Maryland. Much of this volume of 306 pages records handwritten text and precisely drawn maps relating to ownership of the Nottingham Lots, including owner’s names, lot locations, surveying data, and information dating from 1681 to 1875. Additionally, there are six other informative sections in the volume: - List of Nottingham Warrants (owners by surname) (pp. 128-149) - Contributors to Lancaster Meeting House (1759) (pp. 218-219) - Newlin Township (deeds, surveys, landowners, etc.) (pp. 242-248) - East Bradford Township (landowners) (pp. 251-254) - 4th Battalion, Chester County (1776) – militia list, etc. (pp. 292-299) - Chester County landowners (pp. 300-306) This volume was once part of the Gilbert Cope Historical and Genealogical Collection at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. In November 1952, it was deaccessioned and transferred to the Chester County History Center. Evidence suggests that prior to 1921, the volume was in the possession of two West Chester residents, William B. McCullough and Slater Russell. In addition to Churchman’s surveys, the digitized material includes a 16 page index of landowner names and locations mentioned in the surveys. Related records on the Nottingham Lots can be found at the Chester County Archives. less

The digitized reminiscences recorded by John Hill Brinton consist of five volumes (three original and two typed transcripts) and date from 1856 to 1868. Found within more the collection are descriptions of early Chester County people, places, and historical events dating back to the late 1600s. John Hill Brinton (1811-1893) was born in Thornbury, Pennsylvania on June 2, 1811, the son of Thomas Hill and Catharine Odenheimer Brinton. He attended Strode’s Academy, West Chester, Pennsylvania and Germantown Academy in Philadelphia. Brinton then studied law for three years with William H. Dillingham and was admitted to the Chester County bar on October 6, 1832. He practiced law in West Chester, and was the oldest member of the county bar at the time of his death. Active in politics and a self-identified Jacksonian Democrat, Brinton was a compelling speaker. Though he was never elected to office, he was appointed Deputy Attorney General—the equivalent of District Attorney—for Chester County, serving from April 1847 until July 1848. Brinton was also a local historian interested in his family genealogy, as well as early Chester County history. In 1873, he traveled to Europe in part to learn about his family’s origins. Additionally, beginning in the 1840s, he interviewed Chester County residents about their families and recorded their memories about the county’s past. Brinton died, aged 81, unmarried and childless, after a brief illness on February 5, 1893. The collection consists of three handwritten volumes and two volumes of transcriptions that document the history of Chester County, Pennsylvania from the late 1600s to the mid-1800s through the reminiscences of residents interviewed by Brinton. After Brinton’s death, the original manuscript was held by the Ogier family for many years before being returned to the Brinton family at which point handwritten indexes were added. In 1915, Francis D. Brinton underwrote the manuscript’s typed transcription and the two volumes of transcripts were bound by Fahr and Johnson of Philadelphia in 1950. The only typed index is in the first transcribed volume, leaving readers to refer to the original manuscript volumes for handwritten indexes to Book 2 and Book 3. Book 1 is described by Brinton as “Conversations held with old people respecting former times—some of them relatives, some of them friends, some acquaintances—and residing generally in Chester and Delaware Counties and Birmingham and Thornbury Township.” The volume begins with a 23 page index followed by 240 pages of Brinton’s handwritten synopses. These recollections include many members of the Carr, Darlington, Dilworth, Downing, Hickman, Hoopes, Mendenhall, Sharpless, and Taylor families. Brinton notes that these conversations were recorded as soon as they took place, though in cases of multiple conversations with single individuals, manuscript notations were consolidated into a single record. Topics discussed include the Revolutionary War and the Battle of Brandywine, the growth and development of Chester County, the changing appearance of the county’s land and trees, house and road construction, Quaker meetings, family genealogies, local mills, property ownership, politics, legal precedents, and etc. In addition, Brinton family members and the building, renovation, and general appearance of the 1704 Brinton House are discussed at length. Book 2 begins with a 32 page index followed by 231 pages of handwritten recollections, which cover topics similar to those in Book 1. In addition, Brinton records his visit to Europe, which he undertook in part to trace his family’s history and origins. Book 3 begins with a 14 page index followed by 174 pages of notes. The first section, “Notes of Conversations held by me with old inhabitants about the early settlement in Penn’s Colony,” covers events relating to Chester County’s earliest European inhabitants. The second section, “Some account of William Brinton one of the early settlers in Penn’s Colony of Pennsylvania and of His Descendants,” is an essay on the life of William Brinton, who settled in America in the 1600s. less

The Agentur Records Collection consists of 72 volumes of handwritten ledgers, indexes, logs, reports, and letter books spanning the years 1847 to 1947, recording the efforts more of the German Society of Pennsylvania’s Agency to help needy German immigrants and Philadelphia residents of German origin. The collection contains valuable biographical information for local history, social history, labor history, immigration research, and genealogy. less

The digitization of the eight index volumes of the George Liebegott Genealogy Collection is the first stage of indexing the entire 247 volumes of the collections. more The eight volume index was compiled by Dr. Paul G. Holsinger and Dr. Helen Holsinger between 1976 and 1989. The index was willed to the Martinsburg Community Library in 1990. The eight index volumes to the Liebegott Collection contains 4,251 pages arranged alphabetically by family name and first name of family members, married names, and grandchildren. The collection is primarily a genealogical resource for the area and for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but is often used by researchers outside Pennsylvania. The Liebegott Collection is represented in 247 three ring volumes and accessed by approximately 300 patrons annually. Blair County native, George Liebegott began collecting local family histories from the area as early as the 1930s and continued his work into the late 1950s. Mr. Liebegott method of data collection was to send out pre-designed forms to families asking them to record their family history. Residents of the area completed the forms and mailed them back to Mr. Liebegott. In 1959/60, Mr. Liebegott donated (willed) his collection research to the Martinsburg Community Library. His collection of family histories collected during the 30-year period is housed in 247 volumes. As funding becomes available, the next of the project will be to digitize the 247 volumes. The form contains the following categories: Name, date of birth, date of death, name of parents, vocation, religious affiliation, date of marriage, name of spouse, date of birth, name of parents, vocation, religious affiliation, address, names of children, birth dates, date of death, and married to and children. less

As part of a larger statewide effort, in 2018 the Meyersdale Public Library undertook a project to document and compile a list of known African American more burials in Somerset County. Staff and volunteers in the library's Pennsylvania Room combed state death certificates, online gravestone memorials, newspaper obituaries/articles, and additional local publications to determine as many African Americans laid to rest within this rural county as possible. The number ultimately reached nearly 350, though library researchers theorize it is substantially higher. In subsequent years the Pennsylvania Room has gained access to over 900 county death records kept from 1893 through 1905. Staff and volunteers plan to also review these records for documentation of additional African American burials. Thus this collection remains a work in progress, with updated information to be made available over time. less

Born in 1840 in Salisbury, Somerset County, photographer, author and Civil War veteran William Henry Welfley would earn a reputation as "the county's historian." Serving 19 more terms as burgess of Somerset, the county seat, he carried on in this position even after growing deaf. As noted in his Meyersdale Republican newspaper obituary, the scrapbooks Welfley kept over the years were believed to be the most valuable volumes in his extensive library. Upon leaving his uptown Somerset apartment for the final time, he was said to have looked upon these books and quietly remarked, "Farewell old friends; I may never see you again." On the initial page of the first scrapbook contained within this collection, Welfley notes in January of 1895: "The writer of these lines in preserving the cuttings has been impressed with the belief that in years yet to come many of these cuttings will have a value of their own, and that there will be those who may be much pleased that they have been preserved." William H. Welfley passed away in 1920, just16 days shy of his 80th birthday. Holding ten of the notable historian's obituary scrapbooks within its Pennsylvania Room collections, the Meyersdale Public Library has digitized these scrapbooks in the hope today's historians will indeed be much pleased they have not only been preserved, but shared with as many researchers as possible. less

This collection includes photographs and letters left by the Benjamin estate, primarily from the early 1900s. Mr. Benjamin grew up in northern Pennsylvania and moved to more the Harrisburg area in the 1930s to head the PA Farm Bureau. He and his wife Muriel left their home to the borough of New Cumberland to be used as the town's library. The materials provided here provide a snapshot of rural American life in the early 20th century. less

This collection focuses on the heritage of African Americans in the Johnstown region.

This collection includes scans of immigration declarations registered in Cambria County from 1835-1991. Information includes name, place of departure, country of origin, and age.

The manuscript diary was recorded by the Germantown printer and Church of the Brethren pastor, Christopher Sauer, Jr. (1721-1784). Written in German script, the diary, although more small, contains a wealth of genealogical information on the early Church of the Brethren in Pennsylvania, as well as important personal information about Sauer, Jr., including accounts concerning his printing business and a short entry regarding his being brought to a provisional continental court on suspicion of being a spy for England during the American Revolution. In the words of the late Brethren scholar, Dr. Donald Durnbaugh of Juniata College: “in his [Sauer’s] diary are included brief sketches of his life history and that of his family. Though terse, they are informative.” less

Welcome to the State Library of Pennsylvania's Pennsylvania Genealogy Collection, a part of the POWER Library: PA Photos and Documents. Includes the Harrisburg Newspaper Index containing marriages more and deaths from four newspapers from 1799 to 1827; the Necrology Scrapbook with obituaries clipped from Pennsylvania newspapers from October 1891 to March 1904, including many Civil War veterans; and Courts & Lawyers of Pennsylvania, a History, 1623-1923, as well as a number of other family history related books and pamphlets. less

Selected Pennsylvania Regimental Histories in the Civil War, with histories of Pennsylvania units from other wars to be added.

This collection contains the grave registrations forms of veterans of the Civil War buried in Lehigh County, PA. Upon burial these forms were filed with the more local Veterans Affairs. Most records are for Lehigh County, some Berks and Northampton County records exist in this data. A few Confederate veterans are also represented. less

Paper on the ‘Life of Col. Samuel Miles’ in his own handwriting covering his life from 1739 – 1802. Colonel Samuel Miles (soldier, business entrepreneur, and more public servant) made his mark in Pennsylvania history serving the province and state and the city of Philadelphia, creating the iron industry in Centre County, PA, and founding the town of Milesburg, PA named for his family. He died in 1805. less

This collections represents all extant records of the Chester County Board of Relief from 1861 through 1865. The Chester County Board of Relief was set up more by the Act of May 15, 1861 P.L. 749, entitled "An Act to Create a Loan and to Provide for Arming the State" to aid local families of Civil War soldiers. Funded by state appropriations, its members included the County Commissioners and Court of Common Pleas Associate Judges. Township boards of relief were set up individually without legal precedent when townships felt the County Board did not meet the need for aid. Townships could petition the Board to assist their families although the Board did not always agree to help and the township boards assisted families without assistance from the county. The materials in this collection document the actives of the Board of Relief and provides detailed information on the families who sought its assistance. This collection is divided into four record series: account books, applications, correspondence, and administrative records. A full index to the account books, applications, and correspondence can be found here: https://www.chesco.org/1702/Board-of-Relief-1861-1865. less

The digitized reminiscences recorded by John Hill Brinton consist of five volumes (three original and two typed transcripts) and date from 1856 to 1868. Found within more the collection are descriptions of early Chester County people, places, and historical events dating back to the late 1600s. John Hill Brinton (1811-1893) was born in Thornbury, Pennsylvania on June 2, 1811, the son of Thomas Hill and Catharine Odenheimer Brinton. He attended Strode’s Academy, West Chester, Pennsylvania and Germantown Academy in Philadelphia. Brinton then studied law for three years with William H. Dillingham and was admitted to the Chester County bar on October 6, 1832. He practiced law in West Chester, and was the oldest member of the county bar at the time of his death. Active in politics and a self-identified Jacksonian Democrat, Brinton was a compelling speaker. Though he was never elected to office, he was appointed Deputy Attorney General—the equivalent of District Attorney—for Chester County, serving from April 1847 until July 1848. Brinton was also a local historian interested in his family genealogy, as well as early Chester County history. In 1873, he traveled to Europe in part to learn about his family’s origins. Additionally, beginning in the 1840s, he interviewed Chester County residents about their families and recorded their memories about the county’s past. Brinton died, aged 81, unmarried and childless, after a brief illness on February 5, 1893. The collection consists of three handwritten volumes and two volumes of transcriptions that document the history of Chester County, Pennsylvania from the late 1600s to the mid-1800s through the reminiscences of residents interviewed by Brinton. After Brinton’s death, the original manuscript was held by the Ogier family for many years before being returned to the Brinton family at which point handwritten indexes were added. In 1915, Francis D. Brinton underwrote the manuscript’s typed transcription and the two volumes of transcripts were bound by Fahr and Johnson of Philadelphia in 1950. The only typed index is in the first transcribed volume, leaving readers to refer to the original manuscript volumes for handwritten indexes to Book 2 and Book 3. Book 1 is described by Brinton as “Conversations held with old people respecting former times—some of them relatives, some of them friends, some acquaintances—and residing generally in Chester and Delaware Counties and Birmingham and Thornbury Township.” The volume begins with a 23 page index followed by 240 pages of Brinton’s handwritten synopses. These recollections include many members of the Carr, Darlington, Dilworth, Downing, Hickman, Hoopes, Mendenhall, Sharpless, and Taylor families. Brinton notes that these conversations were recorded as soon as they took place, though in cases of multiple conversations with single individuals, manuscript notations were consolidated into a single record. Topics discussed include the Revolutionary War and the Battle of Brandywine, the growth and development of Chester County, the changing appearance of the county’s land and trees, house and road construction, Quaker meetings, family genealogies, local mills, property ownership, politics, legal precedents, and etc. In addition, Brinton family members and the building, renovation, and general appearance of the 1704 Brinton House are discussed at length. Book 2 begins with a 32 page index followed by 231 pages of handwritten recollections, which cover topics similar to those in Book 1. In addition, Brinton records his visit to Europe, which he undertook in part to trace his family’s history and origins. Book 3 begins with a 14 page index followed by 174 pages of notes. The first section, “Notes of Conversations held by me with old inhabitants about the early settlement in Penn’s Colony,” covers events relating to Chester County’s earliest European inhabitants. The second section, “Some account of William Brinton one of the early settlers in Penn’s Colony of Pennsylvania and of His Descendants,” is an essay on the life of William Brinton, who settled in America in the 1600s. less

Before the southern Somerset County community of Meyersdale was incorporated as "Meyersdale" on February 19, 1874, it was known as "Dale City." On May 2, 1870, more a petition to incorporate the borough of Dale City - signed by 43 inhabitants of the villages of Meyers Mills, also known as Fairfield; Coaldale, also known as Olinger Survey; and Beuchley's Survey - was presented to the Somerset County Court of Quarter Sessions, which decreed the incorporation on September 20 of that same year. Ensuing disagreements over the town's name eventually led to the 1874 incorporation of the Borough of Meyersdale. In celebrating the town's Sesquicentennial anniversary 150 years later, the Meyersdale Public Library is sharing notable pieces of its history, including a Dale City ledger dating 1870 to 1885 and the Meyersdale Centennial book published for the community's 100th anniversary celebration in 1974. less

Born in 1840 in Salisbury, Somerset County, photographer, author and Civil War veteran William Henry Welfley would earn a reputation as "the county's historian." Serving 19 more terms as burgess of Somerset, the county seat, he carried on in this position even after growing deaf. As noted in his Meyersdale Republican newspaper obituary, the scrapbooks Welfley kept over the years were believed to be the most valuable volumes in his extensive library. Upon leaving his uptown Somerset apartment for the final time, he was said to have looked upon these books and quietly remarked, "Farewell old friends; I may never see you again." On the initial page of the first scrapbook contained within this collection, Welfley notes in January of 1895: "The writer of these lines in preserving the cuttings has been impressed with the belief that in years yet to come many of these cuttings will have a value of their own, and that there will be those who may be much pleased that they have been preserved." William H. Welfley passed away in 1920, just16 days shy of his 80th birthday. Holding ten of the notable historian's obituary scrapbooks within its Pennsylvania Room collections, the Meyersdale Public Library has digitized these scrapbooks in the hope today's historians will indeed be much pleased they have not only been preserved, but shared with as many researchers as possible. less

This collection contains scanned images of scrapbooks from individuals and organizations related to New Cumberland. Themes vary from book to book. One scrapbook more contains statistics and news articles about the New Cumberland baseball team that participated in the Twilight League during the 1940s. Another is a series of photographs from the Disciplinary Barracks at the New Cumberland Army Depot from the mid 1950s. Future additions will include scrapbooks from the Women's Civic and Junior Civic clubs, among others.

The digitized reminiscences recorded by John Hill Brinton consist of five volumes (three original and two typed transcripts) and date from 1856 to 1868. Found within more the collection are descriptions of early Chester County people, places, and historical events dating back to the late 1600s. John Hill Brinton (1811-1893) was born in Thornbury, Pennsylvania on June 2, 1811, the son of Thomas Hill and Catharine Odenheimer Brinton. He attended Strode’s Academy, West Chester, Pennsylvania and Germantown Academy in Philadelphia. Brinton then studied law for three years with William H. Dillingham and was admitted to the Chester County bar on October 6, 1832. He practiced law in West Chester, and was the oldest member of the county bar at the time of his death. Active in politics and a self-identified Jacksonian Democrat, Brinton was a compelling speaker. Though he was never elected to office, he was appointed Deputy Attorney General—the equivalent of District Attorney—for Chester County, serving from April 1847 until July 1848. Brinton was also a local historian interested in his family genealogy, as well as early Chester County history. In 1873, he traveled to Europe in part to learn about his family’s origins. Additionally, beginning in the 1840s, he interviewed Chester County residents about their families and recorded their memories about the county’s past. Brinton died, aged 81, unmarried and childless, after a brief illness on February 5, 1893. The collection consists of three handwritten volumes and two volumes of transcriptions that document the history of Chester County, Pennsylvania from the late 1600s to the mid-1800s through the reminiscences of residents interviewed by Brinton. After Brinton’s death, the original manuscript was held by the Ogier family for many years before being returned to the Brinton family at which point handwritten indexes were added. In 1915, Francis D. Brinton underwrote the manuscript’s typed transcription and the two volumes of transcripts were bound by Fahr and Johnson of Philadelphia in 1950. The only typed index is in the first transcribed volume, leaving readers to refer to the original manuscript volumes for handwritten indexes to Book 2 and Book 3. Book 1 is described by Brinton as “Conversations held with old people respecting former times—some of them relatives, some of them friends, some acquaintances—and residing generally in Chester and Delaware Counties and Birmingham and Thornbury Township.” The volume begins with a 23 page index followed by 240 pages of Brinton’s handwritten synopses. These recollections include many members of the Carr, Darlington, Dilworth, Downing, Hickman, Hoopes, Mendenhall, Sharpless, and Taylor families. Brinton notes that these conversations were recorded as soon as they took place, though in cases of multiple conversations with single individuals, manuscript notations were consolidated into a single record. Topics discussed include the Revolutionary War and the Battle of Brandywine, the growth and development of Chester County, the changing appearance of the county’s land and trees, house and road construction, Quaker meetings, family genealogies, local mills, property ownership, politics, legal precedents, and etc. In addition, Brinton family members and the building, renovation, and general appearance of the 1704 Brinton House are discussed at length. Book 2 begins with a 32 page index followed by 231 pages of handwritten recollections, which cover topics similar to those in Book 1. In addition, Brinton records his visit to Europe, which he undertook in part to trace his family’s history and origins. Book 3 begins with a 14 page index followed by 174 pages of notes. The first section, “Notes of Conversations held by me with old inhabitants about the early settlement in Penn’s Colony,” covers events relating to Chester County’s earliest European inhabitants. The second section, “Some account of William Brinton one of the early settlers in Penn’s Colony of Pennsylvania and of His Descendants,” is an essay on the life of William Brinton, who settled in America in the 1600s. less

The Agentur Records Collection consists of 72 volumes of handwritten ledgers, indexes, logs, reports, and letter books spanning the years 1847 to 1947, recording the efforts more of the German Society of Pennsylvania’s Agency to help needy German immigrants and Philadelphia residents of German origin. The collection contains valuable biographical information for local history, social history, labor history, immigration research, and genealogy. less

Miscellaneous papers of Lutheran clergyman Henry Melchior Muhlenberg from his later years, including two versions of a memorandum in his hand concerning St. Peter's Lutheran Church more in Barren Hill, Pa. (1774-1783), three letters addressed to him (1782-1786), and a copy of a marriage certificate signed by him (1771). less

This collection consists of the daily German language newspaper "Der Demokrat". Variant titles are: Philadelphia Demokrat, Philadelphia Demokrat und Anzeiger der Deutschen, and Philadelphier Demokrat. It more merged with the Morgen Gazette to form the Gazette-Demokrat. This collection includes issues for 1838-1876 with some missing years and issues. The years 1877-1907 were digitized separately and can be viewed at: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102409452/Home less

This newspaper was edited & published by Hermann Burckhardt & Georg Rottenstein, May 1838-?, then by Georg Rottenstein alone. Not to be confused with Der Demokrat, more 1839-1918. less

This collection contains items from the German Society of Pennsylvania's archival holdings related to Philadelphia-based German-American singing societies of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Items more include: souvenir programs, recordings, correspondence and sheet music. less

Since its founding in 1764, the German Society provided charitable assistance to German-speaking immigrants in the community. The Women’s Auxiliary of the German Society of Pennsylvania more was founded in 1900 to serve as an additional charitable arm of the Society, with particular emphasis on charity for families in distress in the Philadelphia area. The collection includes annual reports, meeting minutes, correspondence, photographs and ephemera. less

In the Johnstown neighborhood of Cambria City are located five historical, ethnic churches. In 2009, the Altoona/Johnstown Diocese closed four of the churches and renamed the more fifth church. Each of these churches has celebrated a centennial and one has celebrated a quasquicentennial. Before the churches were de-sanctified, each one was photo-documented and a description developed to explain the location and history of realia contained in the church. In addition, print materials were digitized related to each church (e.g. church newsletters, event flyers, bulletins.) The ethnicities of the churches were German, Slovak, Irish, Polish/Hungarian, and Croatian. less

This collection includes scans of immigration declarations registered in Cambria County from 1835-1991. Information includes name, place of departure, country of origin, and age.

This collection features items collected from the public that focus on the immigrant and ethnic heritage of Cambria County.

The manuscript diary was recorded by the Germantown printer and Church of the Brethren pastor, Christopher Sauer, Jr. (1721-1784). Written in German script, the diary, although more small, contains a wealth of genealogical information on the early Church of the Brethren in Pennsylvania, as well as important personal information about Sauer, Jr., including accounts concerning his printing business and a short entry regarding his being brought to a provisional continental court on suspicion of being a spy for England during the American Revolution. In the words of the late Brethren scholar, Dr. Donald Durnbaugh of Juniata College: “in his [Sauer’s] diary are included brief sketches of his life history and that of his family. Though terse, they are informative.” less

Selections from the State Library of Pennsylvania’s vast collection of works in the German language and about the Pennsylvania German communities of the state of Pennsylvania. more less

Items include a report on the 1907 Dar Mine Disaster relief efforts; the Twin Shaft mining disaster investigation, 1986, Early Indian history along the Susquehanna River, more Problem of the Irish in America speech, 1886, American Freeman, 1867. less

The Charles McCollester Collection contains both physical times and textual items spanning from 1877 to 2018 with an emphasis on the 1980's into the 2000's. The more collection's subjects vary from Pittsburgh steel and union history, the founding of the Battle of Homestead Foundation, Monsignor Rice, and Pennsylvania historical markers. Though the collection focuses primarily on the state of Pennsylvania, much of the collection has national significance as well. less

The Mark Fallon Collection is a labor related collection held by the Battle of Homestead Foundation Archives. The collection focuses primarily on the Mon Valley area more with specific interest in local history. The collection includes photograph slides, newspapers, research material, projectors, and photographs. The collection is primarily made up of photographs and slides. less

The Mike Stout collection spans from 1937 to 2020. The collection contains a variety of materials from political marching banners, to local union newspapers, to clothing, more to paper material, to CDs, and more. The bulk of the collection covers labor history, with a particular interest in union activities in Homestead, Pennsylvania and around the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region. Much of the material has to do with the steel industry in the region as well. The collection also contains a good sampling of music in relation to unionism and big business. The collection was donated by Mike Stout in 2020 and digitized in 2023. less

Complementing the original Iron & Steel Collection, the Iron & Steel Photographic Collection features individual images of places and personalities intrinsic to Pittsburgh's development as the more world's leading producer of iron and steel.  Photos include Titans of Industry such as Charles Schwab and Andrew Carnegie as well as mill workers, trainmen, secretaries, and Iron Puddlers. The collection also includes mill fronts, railroads and the factory floor. less

Pittsburgh’s heritage is strongly rooted in iron, steel, mining and related industries. The Pittsburgh Iron & Steel Heritage Collection is a digital compilation of books, journals, more photographs, trade catalogs, and related literature. Through this collection, we strive to preserve the culture, heritage and knowledge of our region's industrial past, while enhancing the public's understanding of what made Pittsburgh the "Workshop of the World." less

The Builder is an architectural publication that was published in Pittsburgh from 1901 to 1919. Its subtitle is: "Devoted to Architecture". The Builder is a highly more unique resource that provides an in-depth look at the design and construction of residential and commercial spaces in Pittsburgh during the era that Pittsburgh's industrial, commercial and civic life thrived. The contents in the Builder includes both the artistic & architectural overview of individual buildings and neighborhood developments, as well as the artisan and skilled trade resources used by designers, architects and builders during this period. ​Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh gratefully acknowledges the loan of several volumes of The Builder for this project by the University of Notre Dame. less

This collection consists of Lancaster City and County residential and commercial directories, 1843-1900. These directories provide valuable information regarding the population of Lancaster City and County, more as well as the growth and development of the community and the evolution of Lancaster commerce and industry. less

Welcome to the Lancasterhistory.org's Lancaster County City Directories 1901 - 1914 Collection, a part of the POWER Library: PA Photos and Documents. This collection consists of more Lancaster City and County residential and commercial directories, 1901-1914. These directories provide valuable information regarding the population of Lancaster City and County, as well as the growth and development of the community and the evolution of Lancaster commerce and industry. less

Welcome to the Lancasterhistory.org's Lancaster County City Directories 1901 - 1914 Collection, a part of the POWER Library: PA Photos and Documents. This collection is the more third and final piece of our project to digitize Lancaster City and County directories. The first two pieces are already on AccessPA. These nine directories include directories from the small towns of Lititz and Columbia. These directories are useful to those researching family history and the development of communities over time. Advertisements in these directories are also valuable. less

With the Pennsylvania Maple Festival Board of Directors' permission, the Meyersdale Public Library digitized nearly 400 35mm slides documenting the Pennsylvania Maple Festival from the late more 1950s through the 1980s as part of its 2018 Scan PA project. The festival is a Somerset County tradition dating back to 1948. Each spring it attracts thousands of visitors from throughout Pennsylvania and surrounding states to the small community of Meyersdale, where they learn about the rich history behind the county's maple production industry. Again working in conjunction with the festival board, the library also digitized additional 35mm slides of past festival activities later discovered by the board. Now totaling nearly 500 digital images, these photographs, captured by amateur volunteer photographers, help tell the story of a community celebration which in 2022 is celebrating its 75th year. less

The Meyersdale Public Library photograph collections contain approximately 2,000 photographs. From the total collection, about 320 will be selected for digitization based on the selection criteria. more The photographs that will be selected for online display are significant because they provide a broad overview of life immediately before, during, and after the Progressive Era in the Allegheny Mountains region (mostly Somerset Co., PA & northern Maryland). The photographs capture families & individuals both in portraits and in natural settings, military men, coal mines, mills, railroads, transportation, education, and African American families. Our photographs have been used in Somerset Magazine and in the book "Allegheny Passage Companion, Guide to History & Heritage Along the Trail" by Bill Metzger. Accessibility to the collection will be enhanced because the images will be searchable online. Currently the photographs are accessioned on paper but are not included in our library catalog. Digitization would allow users easy & free access to historical photographs that would otherwise essentially be hidden in a closet. less

Welcome to the Montgomery County Community College's Betzwood Collection, a part of the POWER Library: PA Photos and Documents. In the first decades of the motion picture more industry Montgomery County was home to one of the largest film studios in the country. Siegmund Lubin owned and operated the Betzwood Studios along the banks of the Schuylkill River, a three hundred acre site complete with filming, production, and distribution centers. As on of the earliest film moguls, Siegmund Lubin has both regional and national significance. He was a technical innovator whose many contributions to the industry helped propel film to its position atop the entertainment industry. The collection contains film stills, publicity, correspondence, trade journals, slides, and glass plate negatives among other items. Using CONTENTdm in tandem with Worpress Blog site, the college seeks to tell the history of this important but forgotten player in film history. less

This collection contains a selection of various directories from 1872-1899 (not exhaustive), covering the Mahoning, Shenango, and Beaver valleys, as well as Lawrence County and the more City of New Castle. less

This collection contains City of New Castle directories covering all years, 1900-1910.

This collection contains City of New Castle directories covering all years, 1911-1918 (not exhaustive).

This collection contains City of New Castle directories covering all years, 1921-1928.

Photographs and postcards depicting various organizations, such as the town band and women's clubs, and employee groups, like the Buttorff and Kline carpet factory workers.

The Harmonists, a Christian Communal society, founded Old Economy Village in 1824. They were known for their piety, as well as for their economic successes in more textile manufacturing, including silk production, and later in the oil and railroad industries. Old Economy Village in Ambridge, PA is the home of a great deal of information about the Harmony Society and life in general in the nineteenth century. Major topics covered by the archives and library include music, architecture, religion, business, photographs, and more. less

This collection houses the various types of business licenses (taverns, eating houses, etc.) issued by the Cambria County Government in the 19th and 20th centuries.

This collection contains items relating to the iron, coal, and steel industry in Johnstown.

From Lace Makers to Coal Miners contains photos, books, church records, and brochures of what life was like in the Lackawanna Valley from 1866-1920.  The photos more show prominent men of the time. These were bankers, rail owners, coal company owners, and members of the clergy.  There are programs from symphony orchestras, and books about coal mining and lace making. less

Funded by a grant from the Willary Foundation, this collection contains letters, books, paintings, photographs, and other artifacts from the era when the Lackawanna Valley emerged more from its agrarian beginnings to become an industrial center that powered the torn nation's war effort. Contributing agencies include the Scranton Public Library, the Lackawanna Historical Society, the Steamtown National Historic Site, and the Anthracite Heritage Museum. This collection relates to Scranton's early history and its importance in politics and history of the United States. less

This collection houses the various types of business licenses (taverns, eating houses, etc.) issued by the Cambria County Government in the 19th and 20th centuries.

This collection contains police photographs taken at the time of police booking for the Scranton Police Department from 1903-1909. Contains information about their arrest and the more arresting officer(s). less

Contains reports of Pennsylvania State Agencies such as the Annual Reports of the Eastern and Western State Penitentiaries from the 1800's - early 1900's; Reports of more the State Quarantine Board 1896, 1899; Reports from the Bureau of Mines, Reports of the Committee on Lunacy, late 1800's; Proceedings of the Pennsylvania History Society annual meetings, 1906-1908; and more. less

A collection of selected newspaper clippings concerning B.F. Jones Memorial Library and the surrounding area.

This is a small collection of photographs of Benjamin Franklin Jones Memorial library and the surrounding area.

The diary of Chester County travels undertaken by Thomas L. Montgomery (the “Dragon”), John Thomson (“St. George”), Edward J. Nolan (“General Wheeler”), and Clarence Kates (the more “Cherub”) consists of 79 scanned pages and dates from July 8-15, 1899.   In the journal, the men refer to themselves by the nicknames indicated in the parentheses above. Thomas Lynch Montgomery (1862-1929) was a librarian.  He was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his parents were Catherine Gertrude Lynch and Oswald Montgomery.  He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1884 and worked as librarian at the Wagner Free Institute of Science prior to his 1903 appointment as State Librarian.  After retiring from that position, he became the librarian and corresponding secretary of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.  He also served as a trustee of the Free Library of Philadelphia.  His first wife was Brinca Gilpin; after her death he married Susan Kelm Savage, the widow of William Lyttleton Savage.  He was a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, and in 1899, the Montgomery family either owned or rented a farm in Green Hill, Chester County. John Thomson (1835-1916) was also a librarian.  He was born in England in 1835 and married Mary Ann Faulkner, a poet and hymn writer.  They had a number of children and immigrated to the United States around 1881.  He was the private librarian for Jay Gould (railroad magnate and financier in New York City) and for Clarence H. Clark (banker and property developer in Philadelphia), and he produced printed bibliographies of the libraries of both these men.  Thomson then became head librarian of the Free Library of Philadelphia and oversaw the opening of its first branch at the Wagner Free Institute, where Thomas L. Montgomery also worked. Edward James Nolan (1846-1921) was a physician and librarian.  His parents were from Ireland, and he was born in either Ireland or New York, as indicated in different census records.  In 1862, he became library assistant at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, but then studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.  In 1867, he returned to the Academy as librarian and remained there until his death in 1921.  In 1909, his history of the Academy was published and the diaries of his European travels were reported to be held by the American Catholic Historical Society. Clarence Sears Kates (1870-1922) was born in Philadelphia, the son of Julia May Smith and Horace Nicklen Kates.  After graduating from Episcopal Academy and the University of Pennsylvania (1889), Kates married Mary Avil, and they had two sons.  Kates had an interest in farming/agricultural enterprises and forestry, and he was a friend of forester Gifford Pinchot.  He was a member of a number of organizations, including the Pennsylvania State Grange, the Rural Progress Association of Pennsylvania, Chester County Farmers Club, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the Corn Exchange National Bank, the University Club, the Undine Barge Club (one of Philadelphia’s rowing clubs), and the Philobiblian Club (a group of book lovers). In the early 1900s, Clarence Kates purchased the old Coxe farm in Glen Loch, West Whiteland Township, Chester County, and there worked to establish a model farm.  He named the property Swedesford Manor and remodeled the old house to resemble Haddon Hall, a distinguished house in England.  He joined the local St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.  After the Reverend Charles Wesley Shreiner established the Church Farm School for boys on an abandoned farm in Glen Loch, Kates, a trustee of the school, worked with the students to clear the land.   After Kates’ death in 1922, his farm was rented by the school. The travel diary begins with the men meeting at Dr. Montgomery’s Glenwood Farm, in Green Hill, north of West Chester.  Along the way, some observations are made about landscape and plants, and places where they ate or lodged.   However, much of the diary is used to record snippets of their discussions.  They also document fantastical tales about some of the people they meet.  For example, a beautiful waitress in Parkesburg is said to be the daughter of Aida and Rhadamas (characters in the opera Aida).  In another tale, two workers (with Irish names and accents) at the Falls of French Creek are supposedly the twin sons of a German prince. They spend their first night in Downingtown, where they attend a baseball game.  On July 9, they travel through Loag’s Corner, over Welch [sic, i.e. Welsh] Mountains, to Springfield [i.e. Elverson], through St. Mary’s and Knauertown, and lodge that night at the Falls of French Creek [now St. Peters Village].  After visiting the granite quarry there, they drive to Honey Brook.  On July 11, they travel through Parkesburg, Cochransville, and Russellville, and spend the night in Oxford. Their travels on July 12 take them through Lewisville, Landenberg, Avondale, Toughkenamon, and Kennett Square.  They view Cedarcroft, the home of Bayard Taylor, but not liking the hotel in Kennett, they return to Toughkenamon for the night.  On July 13, they travel to Chadds Ford, but find that students from Drexel Institute have taken all the rooms, so they proceed to Wilmington, Delaware, for the night.  While there, they take a trolley to Brandywine Springs Park, a nearby amusement park. On the 14th, they eat lunch in Chadds Ford, where they see artists drawing costumed models.  These are students of Howard Pyle, although he is not mentioned by name.  After lunch, they pass the Birmingham school and the new county alms house, and spend the night in Coatesville.  Their journey ends on July 15 with their return to Glenwood Farm. Several typed transcriptions of the original diary were commissioned by Mrs. Thomas L. Montgomery in 1930.  A few passages from the original, however, were not included.  The locations of the original diary and the other typed copies are not known.  The entirety of this transcript, which also includes photographs of the four men, is housed and available for research use at the Chester County History Center. less

These booklets are the annual and biannual reports for the Erie Public Library. They date back to 1899 when the library opened to the public. Some more include reports for the Erie Public Museum which, for a period of time, was located in the Erie Public Library building. less

This collection contains historic documents about the James V. Brown Library of Williamsport, PA, including Annual Reports and minutes from Board of Trustee meetings.

The Meyersdale Public Library dates back to 1938, when the Meyersdale Woman’s Club, under the direction of Frances Livengood Imler, appointed a committee to plan for more the establishment of a free community library. This small library opened on May 16, 1939, above the Meyersdale Republican newspaper office. A total of 139 35mm slides detail the library's history, along with the 1984 construction and May 11, 1985, dedication of its current building. The Meyersdale Public Library has digitized these slides, in addition to the seven pages of script containing the captions and talking points for their presentation, delivered on May 30, 1985, to raise awareness of its long-standing importance to the community. Today the library continues to grow, providing vital services to children, families, seniors and the area's Amish population. Especially well known for its collections focusing on the region's history and family genealogies, its Pennsylvania Room annually attracts visitors from across the nation as they seek to utilize these resources. less

A selection of photographs and video clips from the New Castle Public Library's 100th Anniversary celebration, October 21, 2010.

Photographs of the New Cumberland Public Library and library functions, as well as some flyers and documents from library programs, primarily from 1975 on.

This collection contains photographs, military records, and items connected to the Beaverdale Public Library.

This collection contains photographs, postcards, scrapbooks, connected to boroughs and townships in Northern Cambria County and Northern Cambria Public Library.

A collection of very early photographs of the library from 1893. There are also documents of the history of one of our buildings, the Silkman House. more less

The Wissahickon Valley Public Library: Ambler Gazette Collection is a joint effort with the Fort Washington Historical Society to preserve the society's collection of the Ambler more Gazette. This collection is the only extant print copy of the paper, which is a weekly newspaper that reports news from multiple communities in Montgomery County. The local news reported in the paper is, in many cases, the only record of the development of the southern half of Montgomery County. This collection contains issues from 1894-1944. less

The Bellwood Bulletin weekly newspaper provides a unique glimpse into the cultural, economic, political, religious and social activities of Bellwood and the surrounding areas from 1889-1946. more The format of newspaper did not vary much of the years. Each paper would normally have the following columns: Religious services and notes, Business news, Marriages and birthdays, Obituaries, People visiting and traveling to other places, Animal columns, and The Five-Minute Sermon and sporting events – especially fishing news. There was usually one page containing national and international news and local real estate transactions. The paper has advertisements for local stores and services with pictures and prices of food, clothing and banking services. Through these advertisements one can follow the introduction of technology into the community. There are advertising for washing machines, tires, typewriters, and airplane tickets. less

A collection of selected newspaper clippings concerning B.F. Jones Memorial Library and the surrounding area.

The Conshohocken Recorder, April 1, 1882 - September 9, 1954.

This collection of newsletters and newspapers includes activities, events, meetings, and news for Erie's LGBTQ community from 1992-present. This publication included titles such as: Erie Gay more Community Newsletter, Erie Gay Community News,  Erie Gay News, and Womynspace/Womanspace Newsletter. less

One of the Erie area's earliest, substantial newspapers, The Erie Gazette was printed and published by Joseph M. Sterrett. It was printed weekly and had a more republican slant. less

This collection consists of the daily German language newspaper "Der Demokrat". Variant titles are: Philadelphia Demokrat, Philadelphia Demokrat und Anzeiger der Deutschen, and Philadelphier Demokrat. It more merged with the Morgen Gazette to form the Gazette-Demokrat. This collection includes issues for 1838-1876 with some missing years and issues. The years 1877-1907 were digitized separately and can be viewed at: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102409452/Home less

This newspaper was edited & published by Hermann Burckhardt & Georg Rottenstein, May 1838-?, then by Georg Rottenstein alone. Not to be confused with Der Demokrat, more 1839-1918. less

This digital collection contains the archive of the Huntingdon Gazette and the Huntingdon Journal. The Huntingdon Gazette is the first successful newspaper on the town of more Huntingdon and covers late 1806 through early 1839. The Huntingdon Journal continues the coverage beginning in the mid 1830s and running through the middle of the nineteenth century. less

Lancaster's Examiner and Herald was published weekly in Lancaster, Pa., during the middle years of the nineteenth century. By digitizing the years 1834 - 1872, patrons more are provided with a view of politics and events of this tumultuous period from a liberal political slant, providing balance to the more conservative perspective of the Intelligencer-Journal, which was recently digitized by Penn State. less

Lancaster's Examiner and Herald was published weekly in Lancaster, Pa., during the middle years of the nineteenth century. By digitizing the years 1834 - 1872, patrons more are provided with a view of politics and events of this tumultuous period from a liberal political slant, providing balance to the more conservative perspective of the Intelligencer-Journal, which was recently digitized by Penn State. less

This collection contains issues from 1877 to 1936 of the Lititz Record and from 1937-2001 of its successor, the Lititz Record Express.

The New Holland Clarion was published weekly in New Holland, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania from 1873-1984. The newspaper provided the local news, world and regional news, information more on social events and businesses, and historical sketches of New Holland. The New Holland Clarion is segmented into 3 collections: The New Holland Clarion 1873-1890 Collection, The New Holland Clarion 1891-1910 Collection and The New Holland Clarion 1911-1950 Collection. less

The New Holland Clarion was published weekly in New Holland, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania from 1873-1984. The newspaper provided the local news, world and regional news, information more on social events and businesses, and historical sketches of New Holland. The New Holland Clarion is segmented into 3 collections: The New Holland Clarion 1873-1890 Collection, The New Holland Clarion 1891-1910 Collection and The New Holland Clarion 1911-1950 Collection. less

The New Holland Clarion was published weekly in New Holland, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania from 1873-1984. The newspaper provided the local news, world and regional news, information more on social events and businesses, and historical sketches of New Holland. The New Holland Clarion is segmented into 3 collections: The New Holland Clarion 1873-1890 Collection, The New Holland Clarion 1891-1910 Collection and The New Holland Clarion 1911-1950 Collection. less

Microfilm collection of early Ambridge, PA, newspapers beginning in 1904.

An independent family newspaper devoted to literature, local and general intelligence. Published 1891-1975.

Welcome to the Mengle Memorial Library's Punxsutawney Spirit Collection, a part of the POWER Library: PA Photos and Documents. The Punxsutawney Spirit represents a significant regional newspaper more in central western Pennsylvania. As newspapers have become brittle over time, digitized microfilm will preserve this rare information that provides a glimpse into the culture surrounding Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The Punxsutawney Spirit dates from 1885 to the mid-20th century, and it includes information about the towns citizens, events, and perspectives on larger world events. The digitization of this microfilm collection at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Special Collections and University Archives will greatly enhance public accessibility.Contains copies of the Red Man and the Indian Craftsman, published by the United States Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Also individual issues of the Catholic Herald, the Episcopal Record, and more. Pennsylvania newspapers will continue to be added. less

"Hotel Hershey Highlights" was a weekly newsletter distributed from May 5, 1934 through April 28, 1951. "Highlights" covers a time period during which no local newspapers more were published, shedding light on fascinating portions of Hershey, PA history such as the Great Depression and World War II. less

Hershey News, published from 1953 until 1964, reported news and events throughout the Township of Derry, Pennsylvania (informally known as Hershey). A small town newspaper, there more were many local citizens featured in not only news stories, but also in recognition of special occasions. When a request is made for information about the events and activities of The Hershey Company, Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company, Hersheypark, Hershey Trust Company, Milton Hershey School, Derry Township School District highlights and events, and the reactions of local citizens to community events during this period, Hershey News is the first resource consulted. No other resource fully documents the spirit and atmosphere of this community. In addition, this business and recreational community, established by Milton S. Hershey, is of specific interest to sociological, business, and political science researchers, as well as residents and their descendants. less

"The Hershey Press (alternatively published as ”Hershey’s Weekly” or “Hershey’s The Progressive Weekly”) was the first local newspaper, published from 1909 until 1926, covering news and more events throughout the Township of Derry, Hershey, and surrounding Pennsylvania communities. A small town newspaper, there were many local citizens featured in not only news stories, but also in recognition of special occasions. When a request is made for information about the events and activities of The Hershey Company, Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company, Hersheypark, Hershey Trust Company, Milton Hershey School, Derry Township School District highlights and events, and the reaction of local citizens to community events during this period, The Hershey Press is the first resource consulted. No other resource fully documents the spirit and atmosphere of this community. In addition, this business and recreational community, established by Milton S. Hershey, is of specific interest to sociological, business, and political science researchers, as well as residents and their descendants. less

This collection includes a series of black and white photographs of buildings and streets throughout New Cumberland, advertisements from businesses circa 1900, and several issues of more Town Topics, a newsletter published in early 1900. less

Several issues of Town Topics newspaper published in New Cumberland (1905 and 1907). Clippings and photocopies of clippings from 1881-1889, featuring New Cumberland residents and businesses more in local newspapers, probably The Morning Call and The Observer. Clippings are from a scrapbook. less

This collection contains the archive of the "Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent" newspaper from 1913 through 1958. This newspaper is historically significant to the region, state and nation more in many ways since this area became the center of the anthracite industry and contains a vast amount of information on the coal mining industry, including mining accidents. less

Peters Township News was a weekly newspaper published by the Peters Township Chamber of Commerce. This collection includes an incomplete run of issues dating from February more 1958 to April 1959. less

Peters Township News Progress was a weekly newspaper covering Peters Township and nearby communities. For a time, it served as the official newspaper for Peters Township more and the Peters Township school district. This collection includes an incomplete run of issues from 1959 to 1970. less

The Commerce News was a monthly newspaper published by the Peters Township Chamber of Commerce from approximately 1955 to 1958. Run is missing issues. The Commerce more News was succeeded by Peters Township News starting in February 1958. less

The collection is the digitized microfilm archive of the Sewickley Herald from 1902-2012. The Sewickley Herald is a local, weekly newspaper that is significant in documenting more the history of the local community. This collection is made possible by generous contributions in honor of Mrs. Diane Marx, avid newspaper user and friend of the library. A special thanks to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review for permission to digitize and display this collection. less

The daily newspaper covering events in St. Marys, PA, located in Elk County. The newspaper begins in 1911 and is still currently printing.

This collection includes incomplete runs of the Ambler Gazette from 1897 to 1919, that are held in the State Library of Pennsylvania. This is a weekly more newspaper that reports news from multiple communities in Montgomery County. The local news reported in the paper is, in many cases, the only record of the development of the southern half of Montgomery County. less

A weekly newspaper from the small community of Elizabethville, Pa. Began in 1893; ceased Jan. 7, 1972. Merged with: Williamstown times, and: Millersburg sentinel, to form: more Upper Dauphin sentinel. Run may have issues missing. less

A weekly newspaper from the small community of St. Mary's, Pa. Ceased in 1915. Run may have issues missing.

A Whig newspaper from Harrisburg, which merged with the Telegraph in 1853, temporarily forming the Pennsylvania telegraph and Whig State journal.

Photographs and historical documents from the 350 year history of the State Library of Pennsylvania.

A weekly newspaper from the small community of Waynesboro, Pa. Each issue includes section: Blue Ridge Zephyr. Run may have issues missing.

The major Lancaster paper of the time period.  After merger with the Lancaster Journal, it was known as the Intelligencer and Journal from October 08, 1839-December more 21, 1847, before resuming its original title.  Scattered issues from 1833-1852. less

A weekly newspaper from the small community of Lebanon, Pa. Ceased in 1901. Merged with: Star (Lebanon, Pa.), to form: Star-advertiser (Lebanon, Pa.). Run may have more issues missing. less

The major Lewistown, Mifflin County paper of the time period. In 1843 it changes to this name from the Lewistown Republican, and Mifflin County workingmens' advocate, more then to the Republican. Issues from 1840-1844, though not all issues are present. less

A weekly newspaper from the small community of Mapleton Depot, Pa. Published every Saturday. Run may have issues missing.

A weekly newspaper from the small community of Mapleton Depot, Pa. Published every Wednesday. Ceased in 1920? Run may have issues missing.

A paper from the small community of Marietta, Pa., which was famous for religious tolerance and abolition advocacy. Issues from September, 1833-January 22, 1835, though not more all issues are present. Running title is the Marietta advocate, though some issues are also headed Advocate. less

A paper from the small community of Marietta, Pa., which was famous for religious tolerance and abolition advocacy.  Issues from Feb. 27, 1827-Jan. 08, 1830.  Paper more was known as the Pioneer and Country Advertiser from 1826 to Sept. 22, 1827(?), as the Marietta Pioneer from Sept. 29, 1827-Sept.26, 1828, and as the Pioneer from Oct. 3, 1828 to its apparent cease in 1834.  Run may have issues missing. less

A paper from the small community of Marietta, Pa., which was famous for religious tolerance and abolition advocacy.  Issues from January 06, 1883-December 27, 1890.  Run more may have a few issues missing. less

A paper from the small community of Marietta, Pa., which was famous for religious tolerance and abolition advocacy. Issues from May 15, 1858-May 05, 1860. Run more may have a few issues missing. less

A weekly newspaper from the small community of Mercer, Pa. Began in 1865. Ceased in Jan. 1887. Continues: Whig and dispatch. Merged with: Mercer Republican (Mercer, more Pa.), to form: Dispatch and Republican. Run may have issues missing. less

The Mt. Pleasant Journal began publication in 1873 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

Items related to the care, management and supervision of natural resources in order to preserve and protect them through prudent management. General and specific topical texts more in the natural and industrial sciences, such as paleontology and engineering. less

The Christian Observer was a Presbyterian paper from Philadelphia, Pa., which was both anti-Catholic and against Tractarianism, also known as Puseyism, a movement started in Oxford more which attempted to bring the Presbyterian faith closer to the Roman Catholic. Issues from May 14, 1840- Dec.28, 1850, though not all issues are present. less

The Daily Chronicle newspaper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reported on a mix of political, criminal and religious proceedings, as well as local news.  The title began in more 1841, continuing the Daily chronicle and general advertiser, and is thought to have ceased in 1847, according to American newspapers, 1821-1936 : a union list of files available in the United States and Canada, edited by Winifred Gregory. less

A Philadelphia paper from the 1840s. Also known as the Philadelphia Sun or the Daily Sun. Some issues from around the time of the Nativist Riots. more Thought to have ceased in 1857. less

A newspaper published by the American Sunday-School Union, and organization rooted in the First Day Society. Both organizations were missionary in nature, with the First Day more Society formed to found and promote Sunday Schools in churches. The American Sunday-School Union was also a missionary organization. Reports on the founding and running of Sunday Schools, and contains advice on the studying of scripture. Reports from missions around the world are common. These issues are from the Civil War years, and include battlefield and battlefield hospital and missionary reports. Issues from January 4, 1862 to December 2, 1868, though not all issues are present. less

The major newspaper from Coudersport, Potter County, Pa. Published every Thursday. Ceased in 1969.

A paper from the Northumberland County town of Milton. Covers political events, local, state, national and foreign, along with local news. The State Library of Pennsylvania more holds March 02, 1826-Feb.12, 1829 and Sept.08, 1831. less

A newspaper of the Pennsylvania and New York Colonization societies, covering immigrant issues, African American affairs, religious tracts and tract societies, and various other issues, such more as the Apprentices’ Library company of Philadelphia.  Contains advice and informational columns on household affairs and farming.  Also reports on the Back to Africa movement and African affairs in other countries, such as Haiti.  Published fortnightly at first, then weekly, in 1838, then published monthly in at least January-June 1839, beginning with the New Series, which restarted numbering.  Issues from March 14, 1838 to December 26, 1838. less

A weekly newspaper from the small community of Titusville, Pa. Began in 1898; ceased in 1912. Titusville herald (Titusville, Pa. : 1900 : Weekly), and: Titusville more evening courier, daily, interchanged circulation and "good will", selling exclusive rights for weekly circulation to Titusville courier, and for daily to Titusville herald, August 1911. Run may have issues missing. less

A newspaper from the small community of Titusville, Pa. It was issued semiweekly from September 4, 1900 to September 1904. Then it was issued weekly from more September 9, 1904 to August 31, 1911. Titusville herald (Titusville, Pa. : 1900 : Weekly), and Titusville evening courier, daily, interchanged circulation and "good will," selling exclusive rights for weekly circulation to Titusville courier, and for daily circulation to Titusville herald, August 1911. Run may have issues missing. less

A newspaper from the city of Wilkes-Barre, Pa. It was issued daily except Sundays. Began June 6, 1872. Ceased in 1873? A weekly edition was also more published called the Luzerne union. In 1873 publisher began a new numbering. less

This collection includes some of Swarthmore's earliest newspapers, including the Swarthmore News followed by its still current paper, The Swarthmorean.

The Baldwin School Hourglass Newspaper Collection includes selections from the Hourglass newspaper of The Baldwin School, which was first printed in 1945.

The two digitized diaries of William Riley Blakeslee consist of 538 scanned pages and date from January 1862 to December 1863.  Found within the diaries are more accounts of his service in the Civil War, including personal accounting records, daily events, travels between camps, and visits to Coatesville. William Riley Blakeslee (1822-1909) was born to Benjamin and Sophia Lane Blakeslee in Springville Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.  After receiving his medical degree, Blakeslee moved to Coatesville, Pennsylvania where he practiced medicine as a surgeon and general physician.  Blakeslee was married three times and left seven children.  As a well-known figure in his community, Blakeslee was known for his house and gardens, and for opening one of the first drug stores in Coatesville. During the Civil War, Blakeslee served as a surgeon with the 115th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers from October 1861 until his discharge in March 1863, and returned to service from July to August 1863 in the wake of Gettysburg.  After the war, he continued practicing medicine in Coatesville and was employed as a surgeon for the Pennsylvania Railroad for over fifty years. The first diary notes Blakeslee’s arrival at Camp Constitution in Camden, New Jersey in May 1962, and documents the regiment’s travels to various locations in Virginia, including Fort Monroe, Harrison’s Landing, Centerville, northern Virginia, and Fredericksburg from June to December of 1862. Entries in the second diary describe marches near Falmouth, Virginia in January, and activities at Camp Muhlenberg and Camp Cook from July to August of 1863.  Blakeslee’s entries for 1863 provide greater description and details regarding fellow officers, daily news, events, and visits back to his home in Coatesville.  In addition, entries dating from September 9 onward include recollections and notes of daily activities from the previous year. less

This collection provides access to two rare dispensatories and receptures that illuminate the therapeutic practices and medical orientation of two dispensing physicians in the multilingual colonial more medical market of rural Pennsylvania. The overall objective is the preserve in their entirety and to make accessible to scholarly and lay audiences a body of writings that offer insight into some of the medical resources available to the North American colonial population: A bilingual (German and English) formulary, the Medicina Pennsylvania of George de Benneville, a French Huguenot physician and the record of the practice and of the receptures - entitled Remediorum Specimina aliquot ex praxi A. W[agner] - of a Schwenckfelder practitioner from Silesia. These manuscripts can be dated roughly to the period 1740 to 1780. Both drew on numerous 18th century continental European and English sources, explicitly in the case of the Wagner manuscript and unacknowledged but obvious in the Medicina Pennsylvania. Both offer copious highly technical receptures for the armentarium of chemiatric and botanical substances that were in general use at the end of the early modern period. Similar to other physician manuals of the period, they lay out medicinals and related procedures for treatment of major diseases and conditions, including female complaints and pre- and perinatal advise. A strong but eclectic orientation to chemiatric preparations is evident, matched by reliance on the traditional botanical and animal reservoir. less

This collection of audio-only interviews show the impact that COVID-19 had on businesses, local government, the healthcare sector, educational intuitions, non-profits, and houses of worship. Community more leaders were invited to the library and asked to give their perspectives on the early days of the pandemic, their emergency response, the strengths and weaknesses of the Erie Community, and the lessons learned. less

William D. Bailey, from Dillsburg, Pa., served as a surgeon with the 78th Pennsylvania Volunteers, under Colonel Sirwell. He enlisted March 14, 1863, was promoted from more Assistant Surgeon, July 26, 1864; he was discharged November 4, 1864 due to the expiration of his term. This diary covers the period of March 27 to October 3, 1863. Later pages include some home remedy recipes, accounts, and miscellany. less

In 1900, there were 34 sanatoriums in the United States. By 1925 there were 536. The Cresson Sanatorium was one of the earlier sanatoriums and provides more a record of life at an institution at a time of heightened health concerns and spread of tuberculosis. The Cresson Sanatorium was located in the mountain near the present-day town of Cresson in Cambria County. The "San" as it was known, was in existence from 1913 and 1964 and treated people diagnosed with tuberculosis. Some patients stayed or years, while others who died there were never reclaimed by their families and are interred in a nearby hillside. The items in this collection have been gathered from persons who were patients at the San or who had relatives who were patients there. Most materials were gathered at part of a centennial commemoration of the Cresson Sanatorium. less

The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy holds a special place in the history of North America, having been founded in 1821 as the first college of pharmacy more in the region. Over the years, the institution has stayed true to its mission of providing high-quality education to students seeking to make a difference in the sciences, health professions, and related fields. Alumni include John Wyeth, Joseph P. Remington, William Procter, Josiah K. and Eli Lilly, all of whom have left a lasting impact on pharmacy practice and related industries to this day. It is worth noting that Susan Hayhurst, class of 1883, was the first woman to graduate from the College, paving the way for generations of future female graduates. The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy's rich history is reflected in this collection of artifacts that showcase its involvement and engagement in the ever-evolving field of pharmacy. These objects include early certificates and diplomas, portraits of significant figures, and other PCP memorabilia. Additionally, there are academically related items like PCP formulas, botanies, chemicals, and prescriptions made and used by PCP members for their research, training, and professional advancements. Finally, the collection boasts student-life-related items such as College flags, fraternity and club objects, and commemorative photographs. Overall, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy's collection stands as a testament to the school's legacy and continued commitment to shaping the future of pharmacy. less

An extensive midwifery manuscript (Hebamme Büchlein) in the archive of the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center, penned between the years 1770-1819, is attributed to Rosina Heydrich, more a midwife and member of the Schwenkfelder community in the Upper Perkiomen Valley. This unique manuscript served as both a birth register and a compendium of specific remedies, treatments, and recommendations for women’s health. The largest and most significant portion of the text is devoted to listing the dates and names associated with 1,739 births to which she dutifully attended, detailing the breadth of five decades of service to the community as an experienced lay practitioner of obstetric medicine. less

This collection contains 11 volumes of writings and additional manuscripts, ca. 1793-1818, composed or transcribed by Halliday Jackson. These manuscripts primarily relate to his observations on more Seneca Native American life, some of which were later published in Civilization of the Indian Natives or, a Brief View of the Friendly Conduct of William Penn Towards Them in the Early Settlement of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: Marcus T. C. Gould; New York: Isaac T. Hopper, 1830). Of Irish heritage, Halliday Jackson (August 31, 1771 - February 9, 1835) was a member of the Society of Friends who lived in New Garden, Pennsylvania and later moved to Darby, Pennsylvania. As a missionary, Jackson instructed on various pursuits. From 1798 to 1800 and at other times, he took part in Quaker missions to the Seneca Native Americans, which were organized by the Indian Committee of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. More specifically, between September 1 and October 4, 1806, Jackson traveled to Seneca settlements in western New York to inspect farms, fields, and mills that he and his fellow Quakers had earlier helped the Native Americans establish. In addition, while residing in Darby the 1820s, Jackson, a temperance advocate, served as secretary of the Darby Association for Discouraging the Unnecessary Use of Ardent Spirits. On March 18, 1801, Jackson married Jane Hough (May 23, 1775 - December 28, 1830) and together they had 12 children, including a son also named Halliday, who was a published author and poet. Following Jane’s death on June 13, 1833, Jackson married Ann P. Paschall (1792 - 1874), a Quaker minister born to Samuel and Mary Price Gibson of Darby. Halliday Jackson and his first wife are buried at Darby Friends Cemetery. The Chester County History Center also has two volumes of diaries kept by Halliday Jackson, 1793-1794 and 1810-1834. Other Halliday Jackson papers are at Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College (See: https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/5182haja) and Haverford College Quaker and Special Collections (See: https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/hcmc-950-101). less

The digitized diaries of Walter Finney consist of three volumes with accompanying typed transcripts and date from 1778 to 1786. The diaries document Walter Finney’s observations more and notes during his service in the Revolutionary War, and as a witness to negotiations with Native American tribes after the War. A typed transcription of each diary, which adheres to Finney’s grammar and spelling, has been scanned and is included at the end of each volume in the collection. For ease of use, the order of scanned pages from the original diaries follows the same order presented in the typed transcripts. Walter Finney was born in New London, Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1748, the son of William (1701-1751) and Jean Stephenson Finney (1706-1751). Except for his military service during the Revolutionary War and immediately afterward, he resided on and cultivated his family farm in New London. According to Chester County and its People, by Wilmer W. Thomson, Finney was active in pre-Revolutionary War activities, including a meeting at the Chester County courthouse on December 20, 1774 “for the purpose of choosing a committee to carry into execution the association of the Continental Congress.” The following month he was appointed to a provincial convention in Philadelphia that recommended both the making of salt peter, a component of gunpowder, and the insuring of a proper supply. Eventually, Finney himself learned how to make salt peter and taught others how to do so. Walter Finney enlisted in the American revolutionary army as a Lieutenant, then rose to Captain and Major. As his diaries record, he spent his wartime service in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and several southern states. He suffered a head wound and was captured by the British and served his incarceration on a New York prison ship. After the war, Finney joined the State Society of the Cincinnati, a fraternal and hereditary organization founded in 1783 to commemorate the Revolutionary War. Following the Revolution, Finney seems to have taken part in treaty negotiations with Native Americans who had sided with the British. Once home in New London, Finney was a ruling elder of his Presbyterian Church, was named a director of the New London Library Company, and pursuant to the Pennsylvania constitution of 1790, Gov. Thomas Mifflin appointed him an associate justice of the Chester County Court on which he served until his death. Finney married Mary O’Hara, and together they had two sons, Walter Jr. and William. Finney died on September 17, 1820 and is buried at Thunder Hill Cemetery, also known as the Finney Family Burial Ground, in New London. Joseph Lee Boyle, a military historian who worked at Valley Forge Historical Park for more than a dozen years, transcribed the first two volumes of Finney’s diaries and published them with commentary in New Jersey History, vol. 121, nos. 1-4, 2003, pp. 23-81 and South Carolina Historical Magazine, vol. 98, no. 2, 1997, pp. 126-152. less

Welcome to the Mengle Memorial Library's Punxsutawney Spirit Collection, a part of the POWER Library: PA Photos and Documents. The Punxsutawney Spirit represents a significant regional newspaper more in central western Pennsylvania. As newspapers have become brittle over time, digitized microfilm will preserve this rare information that provides a glimpse into the culture surrounding Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The Punxsutawney Spirit dates from 1885 to the mid-20th century, and it includes information about the towns citizens, events, and perspectives on larger world events. The digitization of this microfilm collection at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Special Collections and University Archives will greatly enhance public accessibility.Contains copies of the Red Man and the Indian Craftsman, published by the United States Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Also individual issues of the Catholic Herald, the Episcopal Record, and more. Pennsylvania newspapers will continue to be added. less

Items include a report on the 1907 Dar Mine Disaster relief efforts; the Twin Shaft mining disaster investigation, 1986, Early Indian history along the Susquehanna River, more Problem of the Irish in America speech, 1886, American Freeman, 1867. less

This collection contains periodicals, both newspaper and magazine in format, from the United States Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, as well as Pennsylvania State documents and more other digital versions of works on the Native American populations of Pennsylvania. less

This collection consists of a digitized copy of the 1977 pamphlet titled, The Great Flood of 1977: A Story of Catastrophe in the Conemaugh Valley.

Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was originally formed as a town in 1800. The city has experienced three major floods throughout its history and later became the site of more the Cambria Iron Company. In the 1860s, the Cambria Iron Company was the leading steel and iron producer in the United States outproducing larger steel and iron companies in bigger cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland. This collection contains a corpus of books that highlight the historical significance of Johnstown. less

On the evenings of May 31 and June 2, 1998, tornadoes swept through Southern Somerset County, shocking local residents with the occurrence of such an unusual more weather event in this region of southwestern Pennsylvania. The tornadoes left significant destruction to the community of Salisbury and surrounding rural areas in their wake. That summer the Springs Historical Society recorded oral histories with six families who resided in or near the paths of the tornadoes. Working in partnership with the historical society, the Meyersdale Public Library digitized these histories, originally recorded on cassette tape, in an effort by both organizations to better preserve and share the stories they hold. less

Photographs of New Cumberland during the Flood of 1936 which occurred March 18-20, 1936 when warmer weather caused the winter's heavy accumulation of snow and ice more to melt. Situated along the banks of the Susquehanna River and bordered by the Yellow Breeches Creek, New Cumberland experienced extensive flooding from the east and the south. less

This collection includes photographs from the Hurricane Agnes flood of 1972 that completely destroyed Survey offices, lab equipment, and the library.

This collection features the logbooks and other records of the Johnstown Area Fire Departments.

On May 31, 1889, the breaking of the South Fork Dam caused the single greatest natural disaster in the history of the United States: the Great more Johnstown Flood. It is the personal accounts and rare photographs of the survivors which are the focus of this project. Published in 1889, many of the selected texts are no longer in print or available for public access. less

An archive of papers examining historical flood control and new proposals under construction during the 1930's and 40's.

The digitized papers of Charles J. Pennock consist of a small number of letters, most by or addressed to Charles J. Pennock; two bird log books; more a manuscript copy of a bird book by Charles L. Bonaparte; and a notebook of geology notes. Materials date from 1791 to 1927, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1860 to 1927. Charles John Pennock was an ornithologist who lived most of his life in Kennett Square, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Pennock was born to a Quaker family in 1857, the son of Deborah Yerkes and Samuel Pennock. He was married twice, and had two sons and two daughters. He was a tax collector, magistrate, and businessman in Kennett Square, but his chief love was for birds. Pennock collected specimens and took notes on the birds he spotted around Chester County. He was a member of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, serving as president 1901-1903; the American Ornithologists’ Union (A.O.U.); and the West Chester Bird Club. He also studied birds in Delaware and was named its state ornithologist. He amassed a significant collection of books about North American birds, and his collection of birds and eggs was given to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. After attending an ornithological meeting in Philadelphia on May 15, 1913, Pennock did not return home. Police were alerted and a search for him was instigated, but he was not located. However, in 1919, Dr. Witmer Stone, curator of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, believed that notes various ornithologists were receiving from a John Williams in St. Marks, Florida were similar to notes Pennock had written. Stone’s suspicions were enough aroused that he alerted one of Pennock’s relatives, Dr. Richard J. Phillips. Phillips journeyed to St. Marks to investigate and discovered that John Williams was indeed Pennock. With his identity discovered, Pennock returned to his wife in Kennett Square and died there in 1935. less

The two digitized diaries of Lewis White Williams consist of 102 scanned pages and date from July to August of 1857. Found within the diaries are more descriptions of geologic formations, plants, animals, rivers, and minerals sighted during a wagon road survey of the southwest commissioned by the U.S. Government and under the command of Lt. Edward Beale. Lewis White Williams (1804-1873) was born to Richard and Martha Good Williams in East Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. A teacher by profession, Williams was also a well-regarded expert in local geology and mineralogy, and was one of the earliest members of the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Sciences. In amassing mineral samples for his personal collection, Williams traveled widely at home and abroad, arranging personal expeditions to all fifty states and territories, as well as China and Japan. In addition, Williams is credited with discovering corundum deposits near Unionville in Newlin Township, Chester County. A variety of Serpentine gemstone, named Williamsite, is also named for him. In 1857, Williams was appointed by President Buchanan’s administration to join a survey expedition organized by Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale to reconnoiter a wagon trail from New Mexico to California. As the Assistant Geologist and Naturalist for the “Camel Expedition,” White was tasked with noting the geologic formations encountered during the expedition, which used 77 camels to carry gear to Fort Tejon, California. Upon the successful completion of the survey, the Beale Road was used by the U.S. Army and settlers traveling west, and portions of the route’s corridor have been incorporated into Route 66 and Interstate 40. The first diary notes the expedition’s departure from the Gulf city of Indianola, Texas on June 6, and covers the group’s first 35 days of northwest travel to Leon Springs, Texas, just north of San Antonio. Entries in the second diary cover the expedition from July 15 to August 12 as the surveyors continued towards Las Cruces, New Mexico, and ends on Day 63 when the party passes through Albuquerque, New Mexico. In both volumes, Williams notes the daily activities of the camp, miles traveled per day, and the distinct geologic and botanical features of the rivers and valleys the group travels through. In addition, he includes notes on fossil and native plant specimens, local news, Native Americans, and individuals the party encounters during the journey, including rangers and local townspeople. The entirety of the Lewis White Williams Diary Collection is housed and available for research use at the Chester County History Center. less

The digitized copybook of William Darlington consists of 170 scanned pages and dates from 1845 to 1851. Found within the bound volume are handwritten ink-on-paper transcriptions more of Darlington’s outbound correspondence to family, friends, acquaintances, institutions, and businesses. William Darlington (1782-1863) was born to a Quaker family near Dilworthtown, Chester County and spent his childhood on his family’s farm. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a medical degree, Darlington served as a surgeon on a merchant ship for several years before returning to Chester County to practice medicine. A prominent member of the community, Darlington served as a major in the War of 1812, was the president of the Bank of West Chester for thirty-three years, and served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms (1815-1817 and 1819-1823). After studying medical botany under Professor Benjamin Smith Barton at the University of Pennsylvania, Darlington continued to nurture a lifelong interest in botanical studies. In 1826, he published Florula Cestrica, a catalog of the plants native to West Chester, and that same year, was one of ten original members to establish the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Sciences. In 1837, he published an expanded volume of his catalog, Flora Cestrica, which contained a complete classification for every known plant in Chester County. Other works of note include Agricultural Botany (1847) and Memorials to John Bartram and Humphry Marshall (1849). The copybook covers Darlington’s outbound correspondence from 1845 to 1851. Correspondents include his sister, Jane Hough, and friends in the community, including the Batchelder and Jeffrey families. With these correspondents, Darlington shares thoughts on his family, women’s interest in science, and appreciation for condolence letters received upon the death of his son. A significant portion of correspondence relates to Darlington’s interest in botany, including detailed descriptions of plant specimens and their classification, and the exchange of printed publications with other botanists, plant collectors, and naturalists. Frequent correspondents include Dr. F. Boott, Anna Maria Collinson, Asa Gray, and H.W. Richardson. Additional correspondence to institutions and businesses relate to personal accounts, invitations to speak, society memberships, and other academic topics. The William Darlington Letterpress Copybook is housed and available for research use at the Chester County History Center. less

This collection contains maps of Erie County, PA. which have been scanned from the collection at the Erie County Public Library's Heritage Room. We have selected more maps that are not readily available elsewhere online through places like The Library of Congress or the National Archives. less

Cascade Park is a former amusement park which now serves as a recreational nature park; it is located 2 ½ miles from downtown New Castle in more Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. This collection contains materials in various formats related to Cascade Park and the Old Timer’s Picnic – an event that has taken place annually at the park since 1907. Included in this collection are the following items: - Cascade Park souvenir booklet circa 1915 containing photos of the park. - Photos and postcards of Cascade Park circa 1915. - An invitation card to a ladies event at the park from 1912. - Old Timer’s Picnic souvenir books from 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, and 1915 which include photos of notable citizens of New Castle, Cascade Park, and the city of New Castle. - A button/pin from the 1910 Old Timer’s Picnic with a photo of the Shenango Bridge. - An invitation card for the 51st Old Timer’s Picnic in 1958. The location of the park was originally part of Donation Lands set aside for veterans of the Revolutionary War. Two hundred acres were given to Robert McWilliams who, circa 1816, constructed a gristmill and dam in what was then known as Big Run Falls. Col. Brinton purchased over 70 acres of the land from McWilliams in 1891. He re-named the area Brinton Park and added a dance platform and amusements, including a steam-powered merry-go-round, to attract residents to the already beautiful environment which features natural waterfalls. The spot was a popular place for fishing, swimming, picnics, dancing, and other recreations of the time. In 1897, the New Castle Traction Company (later Penn Power) purchased the park, installed streetcar tracks for accessibility and renamed the area Cascade Park in reference to the natural waterfalls. Due to declining attendance and the resulting financial loss, Penn Power transferred the title to Cascade Park in perpetuity to the city of New Castle in the early 1930s. Since its opening, Cascade Park has been home to a number of amusements including: rides, midway games, baseball fields, restaurants, horseshoe and bocce courts, outdoor theater productions, swimming pools, a lake for boating, fishing, swimming and ice skating, picnic areas, zoological gardens, and a bathhouse. It also boasted the largest dance pavilion in Pennsylvania, built in 1898, which still stands today. By the early 2000s, the swimming pool had closed, the lake had dried up, and the amusements had been removed. From the 1970s to today, various local non-profit organizations from around the city have been integral in repairing and maintaining the site and assisting in its transition back to a natural park. Cascade Park remains a popular nature recreation area and offers picnic areas, playground areas, food stands, hiking trails, a dog park, and is the host to a number of community events which occur throughout the year. less

This collection is comprised of images created sometime between 1928 and 1950 by Philadelphia photographer, Ida W. Pritchett. A 1914 graduate of Bryn Mawr College, Pritchett more received her doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, and held an appointment at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York where her work focused on pathology and bacteriology. She left the Rockefeller Institute in 1930 to pursue a professional life in photography. In 1928, Pritchett's photograph titled the "Luminous Globe" was included in the Royal Photographic Society's Annual Exhibition. Following on, she exhibited her work in the 1930 International Photographic Exhibition, Tokyo, and the Philadelphia International Salon of Photography sponsored by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As a working photographer, Pritchett provided photographic illustrations for various publications, for example, "A Viking Drinking Cup--Birch Knob" for inclusion in Sir Wilfred Grenfell's The Romance of Labrador. With her friend, Marjorie LaMonte Thompson, she co-published a book of photographs documenting the buildings, interior spaces and grounds of Bryn Mawr College. Pritchett retired in the early 1950s and she and Thompson divided their time between their homes in Haverford and Sandwich, New Hampshire until her death in 1965. This digital project is supported in part by a 2022 National Endowment for the Humanities Sustaining the Humanities Through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) grant. less

James Lawrence Dillon (1859-1942) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Irish immigrants James and Annie Eleanor Dillon. His mother died when he was 4, and his more father when he was 11. In 1886, James married Mary Beck Fisher. They had two children, Florence Hazel Dillon Jacoby (1887-1986) and Theodore Fisher “Jack” Dillon (1890-1979). James Dillon was proprietor of a successful photography business in Philadelphia, James L. Dillon & Co., Inc, Photographers, located at 1017 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Among other subjects, Dillon’s photography company documented many architectural projects in and around Philadelphia including churches, private residences, banks, government buildings, cultural institutions, commercial enterprises, factories, and area hospitals. The business continued after his death (April 6, 1942) at least into the 1960s. This lantern slide collection of approximately 277 images, mostly executed in the 1920s, captures another, more artistic side of Dillon’s photography. Images in this collection include many plant portraits, fruit and flower studies, garden images, friends and family in gardens, and Philadelphia views such as Logan Square, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Fairmount Park and the Wissahickon. The collection also contains views of the William Hinckle Smith garden in Bryn Mawr, the Widener estate Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park, and Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Views of national parks in the United States and Canada and images of the Bermuda Islands are also represented. Many of the lantern slides were produced using the Autochrome Lumière color photography process, giving the carefully composed images a luminous beauty and dream-like quality. The lantern slide collection was given to PHS McLean Library & Archives by Dillon family descendant Ginger Hankins in 2021. This digital project is supported in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities Sustaining the Humanities Through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) grant. less

Jay Veeder Hare (1878 -1953) was born in Schodack, New York. He attended the Peirce School in Philadelphia and graduated from Temple University Law School. He more began his long career with the Reading Company in 1897 as a junior clerk who rose through the ranks, retiring from the railroad in 1945 as secretary and treasurer of the Reading Company, parent company of the Reading Railway System. He wrote the first in-depth history of the Reading Company. He was an avid gardener and a founder of the Trevose Horticultural Society in Trevose, Pennsylvania, where he lived at Hareacres with his wife Jean (Weber) Hare and daughters Jean and Nancy. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s executive council from 1929 to 1949. Mr. Hare gave many illustrated lectures on plants and gardens based on his extensive world travels. He obtained lantern slides from commercial photography houses such as Williams, Brown & Earle and the William H. Rau Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; T.Takagi Photo Company in Kobe, Japan and T. Ikeda in Tokyo, Japan; Lévy et Neurdein Réunis in Paris, France; and Arxiu Mas in Barcelona, Spain. His lectures were supplemented by his own photography. The collection is strong in images from Japan, Italy, Spain, the United States and Switzerland, with representation from Bermuda, England, Ireland, France, Monaco, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa. The images, many of which are hand-colored, depict typical or famous gardens, well-known city parks, tourist views of areas of spectacular natural beauty such as waterfalls and picturesque coastlines, as well as individual plant portraits. Many of the gardens and much of the landscape have changed significantly in the past 100 years or have disappeared entirely. For example, the views of Japan include chrysanthemum festivals, Japanese gardens, flower arranging for tea ceremonies, tea gardens, farmers picking tea leaves, and men, women and children in traditional Japanese dress – all evoke a time that no longer exists. In addition to an avid interest in gardens and plants, Jay V. Hare was also a birder and member of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club. The lantern slide collection was given to PHS McLean Library & Archives by daughter Nancy Veeder Koltes in 2008.This digital project is supported in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities Sustaining the Humanities Through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) grant. less

The Joseph Ascenzi Collection consists of 64 color and black-and-white glass lantern slides, most were produced by the J. Horace McFarland Company, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Williams, more Brown & Earle Inc. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between approximately 1920-1940. Many of the Williams, Brown & Earle slides focus primarily on trees in-situ and include images of Sycamores, Poplars, and Oaks among others. In addition, the William, Brown, & Earle slides contain images from three series titled “Spring’s Awakening” featuring woodland plants, “Botany,” and “A Summer’s Ramble.” The J. Horace McFarland slides in the collection typically center on foundation plantings around entryways and corner plantings around suburban houses. The collector, Joseph M. Ascenzi, is the horticulturist and president of Laurel Hill Gardens (Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia). This digital project is supported in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities Sustaining the Humanities Through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) grant. less

This collection documents the history of the Neighborhood Garden Association of Philadelphia founded in 1953 by noted horticulturist, activist, author and educator Louise Bush-Brown. The images more depict the earliest collaborative efforts of the Association, neighbors, garden clubs, and settlement houses who worked together to green and beautify neighborhoods and vacant lots throughout the City beginning with the first garden block on Mercy Street sponsored by St. Martha’s Settlement in Southeast Philadelphia and the now lost Ken-Watt Court a collaboration with the storied United Neighbors Association in 1953 to its partnership with the Penn State Extension to establish the first demonstration garden in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia in 1965. Louise Carter, born in 1897, graduated from the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women in 1916. After a variety of jobs, Carter came back to the school in 1924 as their director. In 1925, she married James Bush-Brown, the school’s landscape design instructor. Louise Bush-Brown went on to direct the school for 28 years, retiring in 1952. She was an integral part of the school’s success. She also authored and co-authored several books with her husband, most notably America’s Garden Book written in 1939. In 1953, she founded the Neighborhood Garden Association of Philadelphia, and won the National Recreation Award for the Neighborhood Garden Project in 1959. Later, in 1967, she was invited to the White House to speak at the Natural Beauty and Citizen Participation Conference about her work. She died in 1974. The formal perennial gardens at the Ambler Arboretum are named in her honor. This digital project is supported in part through a 2020 NEH Cares Grant, National Endowment for the Humanities. less

This collection consists of documentation related to the Philadelphia Flower Show from 1829 to the present including tickets, advertisements, posters and high-quality photographs to exhibits and more promotional events. Some of the images include buildings that no longer exist, such as Philadelphia's Commercial Museum and Civic Center. less

The Garden Club of Philadelphia was established in 1904 by Mrs. J. Willis Martin and Miss Ernestine Goodman to promote an interest in gardens, their design, more and management. The garden club held meetings, conducted horticultural research, attended lectures, and participated in civic endeavors. In 1913, several members of the Garden Club of Philadelphia joined with several women from other local gardening associations to form the larger Garden Club of America. This collection, comprised of more than 300 views on glass, most hand-tinted, focuses on individual private gardens in and around Philadelphia, eastern Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The images provide unique documentation of gardens that are either “lost” or have been significantly altered during the last half of the 20th-century and include multiple views of the estate gardens of Andalusia, Stenton, Highlands, and Ludington among many others. This digital project is supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. less

The noted scholar, horticulturist, and landscape architect John Caspar Wister (1887-1982) focused on eastern Pennsylvanian climate and ecology through his work as first director of both more the Tyler Arboretum (Media, Pennsylvania) and the Scott Arboretum (Swarthmore College). This collection, comprised of more 400 views on glass, most hand-tinted, illustrated Wister's popular lectures, which he delivered to garden club members, college and university audiences, and horticultural societies in Philadelphia and throughout the United States from 1920s through the 1930s. The slides depict approximately 100 sites--primarily Philadelphia public and private gardens, parks and landscapes, and individual views of plant specimens. Geographically, the slides feature the American East and West, with Europe represented by Switzerland, Germany, France and England, and includes an unattributed subset devoted to China, Japan and Hawaii. This digital project is supported in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. less

This collection is comprised of photographic images documenting designed landscapes both private and public in and around Philadelphia. Digitized materials include early-twentieth century views of private, more public, and corporate gardens documented in the collection of the Society of Little Gardens of Philadelphia. In addition, the PHS Collection Portfolios document the activities the Rittenhouse Square Flower Market as well as materials connected to the School Gardens Movement in Philadelphia through the Perla A. Matthews photograph collection. Included are photographs taken by noted Canadian photographer Clara Sipprell (1885-1975) and Philadelphia photographer, Ida W. Pritchett of the Alba B. Johnson estate “Castana,” in Rosemont, Pennsylvania.  In addition, are the images of Edge Hill, the estate of Samuel W. Morris that depict the gardens designed by landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman (1869-1950) and photographed by "Mrs. Gillingham" [Mrs. C. Stratton Howe Gillingham] and Mattie Edwards Hewitt (1869-1956). This digital project is supported in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. less

This collection documents activities and projects undertaken by or in partnership with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society from its inception in 1827 to the 21st Century (apart more from Philadelphia Flower Show documentation, which is in a separate collection). The bulk of the material is from originals dating from 1940 - 2010. Consisting of scanned documents and photographic images, born-digital images, and digitized video and audio clips, this collection documents Philadelphia-area horticultural activity including:  WWII Victory Garden Harvest Shows; PHS’s work from 1970s forward on urban greening projects created in concert with community leaders and activists; major projects on public landscape revitalization; and vacant land stabilization. This collection traces the trajectory of PHS’s urban greening initiatives starting in the 1970s as its Philadelphia Green program, which, over time, helped Philadelphians create hundreds of community gardens, plant thousands of trees to beautify and cool the city’s streets, to revitalize Philadelphia’s neighborhood parks and to bring new life to iconic public landscapes. Additionally, the collection includes digital images of Meadowbrook Farm a 25-acre property in Abington, Pennsylvania, bequeathed to PHS in 2003 and material related to PHS’s first Pop Up Garden in 2011.  The collection is supported in part through a 2020 NEH Cares Grant, National Endowment for the Humanities. less

This collection is a digitized copy of the book Architecture—Practical and Theoretical by the Beezer Brothers (1894). The Beezer brothers (Louis and Michael J.) were famous more architects who originally set up their firm in Altoona, PA where they built many homes, but then moved on to Pittsburgh and eventually Seattle, WA. less

This collection contains historic reports and surveys from the Blair County area.

This collection contains oral histories of the Blair County region of Pennsylvania. The interviews pertain to events that happened in Blair County or stories of Blair more County residents. less

This collection contains photos documenting the history of Central Pennsylvania and the surrounding region.

This collection consists of a digitized copy of the 1977 pamphlet titled, The Great Flood of 1977: A Story of Catastrophe in the Conemaugh Valley.

Winona Garbrick was one of the most prolific teachers in Bedford High School history. Her legacy includes National Bestselling Author Dean Koontz, who wrote a personalized more letter about Ms. Garbrick for the Winona Garbrick Reading Room in the Bedford Public Library. This collection contains materials donated by her family including family photos, location photos from the early 1900s in Bedford County, letters and drawings from various correspondences throughout her life, and documentation from the time she was in the Army during World War II through her teaching career. less

This is a small collection of photographs of Benjamin Franklin Jones Memorial library and the surrounding area.

Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was originally formed as a town in 1800. The city has experienced three major floods throughout its history and later became the site of more the Cambria Iron Company. In the 1860s, the Cambria Iron Company was the leading steel and iron producer in the United States outproducing larger steel and iron companies in bigger cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland. This collection contains a corpus of books that highlight the historical significance of Johnstown. less

This collection contains postcards from the early 20th century of Johnstown, Pennsylvania area landmarks.

American Marketplace chronicles the development of the industrial expansion of the United States following the Civil War, and the parallel emergence of the consumer products reflecting more the prosperity that came with 19th and 20th Century manufacturing.  The 669 titles reflect many well-known companies in industries such as agriculture,shipping, the railroads, and the early automotive and aviation trades.  Along with the manufacturer’s catalogs are period consumer products as illustrated in mail-order, retail and merchandise catalogs. less

Pittsburgh’s heritage is strongly rooted in iron, steel, mining and related industries. This section of the Pittsburgh Iron & Steel Heritage Collection is a compilation of more almost two dozen 19th and 20th Century journals about mining, manufacturing, and the state-of-the-art technical developments of their day used by our region's businesses and industrial researchers. Through this collection, we strive to preserve the culture, heritage and knowledge of our region's industrial past, while enhancing the public's understanding of what made Pittsburgh the "Workshop of the World." less

Complementing the original Iron & Steel Collection, the Iron & Steel Photographic Collection features individual images of places and personalities intrinsic to Pittsburgh's development as the more world's leading producer of iron and steel.  Photos include Titans of Industry such as Charles Schwab and Andrew Carnegie as well as mill workers, trainmen, secretaries, and Iron Puddlers. The collection also includes mill fronts, railroads and the factory floor. less

Pittsburgh’s heritage is strongly rooted in iron, steel, mining and related industries. The Pittsburgh Iron & Steel Heritage Collection is a digital compilation of books, journals, more photographs, trade catalogs, and related literature. Through this collection, we strive to preserve the culture, heritage and knowledge of our region's industrial past, while enhancing the public's understanding of what made Pittsburgh the "Workshop of the World." less

The Builder is an architectural publication that was published in Pittsburgh from 1901 to 1919. Its subtitle is: "Devoted to Architecture". The Builder is a highly more unique resource that provides an in-depth look at the design and construction of residential and commercial spaces in Pittsburgh during the era that Pittsburgh's industrial, commercial and civic life thrived. The contents in the Builder includes both the artistic & architectural overview of individual buildings and neighborhood developments, as well as the artisan and skilled trade resources used by designers, architects and builders during this period. ​Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh gratefully acknowledges the loan of several volumes of The Builder for this project by the University of Notre Dame. less

This collection contains primary resources about Carnegie's bequests along with supporting explanatory text, that teachers will be able to use a part of their curriculum.

Bellefonte has been home to seven governors, five of whom were Governors of Pennsylvania. This collection features correspondence, documents, and manuscripts of their authorship as well more as other artifacts connected to their respective terms of office. The collection is held by Centre County Library & Historical Museum. less

The digitized copybook of William Darlington consists of 170 scanned pages and dates from 1845 to 1851. Found within the bound volume are handwritten ink-on-paper transcriptions more of Darlington’s outbound correspondence to family, friends, acquaintances, institutions, and businesses. William Darlington (1782-1863) was born to a Quaker family near Dilworthtown, Chester County and spent his childhood on his family’s farm. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a medical degree, Darlington served as a surgeon on a merchant ship for several years before returning to Chester County to practice medicine. A prominent member of the community, Darlington served as a major in the War of 1812, was the president of the Bank of West Chester for thirty-three years, and served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms (1815-1817 and 1819-1823). After studying medical botany under Professor Benjamin Smith Barton at the University of Pennsylvania, Darlington continued to nurture a lifelong interest in botanical studies. In 1826, he published Florula Cestrica, a catalog of the plants native to West Chester, and that same year, was one of ten original members to establish the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Sciences. In 1837, he published an expanded volume of his catalog, Flora Cestrica, which contained a complete classification for every known plant in Chester County. Other works of note include Agricultural Botany (1847) and Memorials to John Bartram and Humphry Marshall (1849). The copybook covers Darlington’s outbound correspondence from 1845 to 1851. Correspondents include his sister, Jane Hough, and friends in the community, including the Batchelder and Jeffrey families. With these correspondents, Darlington shares thoughts on his family, women’s interest in science, and appreciation for condolence letters received upon the death of his son. A significant portion of correspondence relates to Darlington’s interest in botany, including detailed descriptions of plant specimens and their classification, and the exchange of printed publications with other botanists, plant collectors, and naturalists. Frequent correspondents include Dr. F. Boott, Anna Maria Collinson, Asa Gray, and H.W. Richardson. Additional correspondence to institutions and businesses relate to personal accounts, invitations to speak, society memberships, and other academic topics. The William Darlington Letterpress Copybook is housed and available for research use at the Chester County History Center. less

This collection contains photographs of Northern Chester County in the first decades of the 1900's.

This collection contains images of photographs, letters, and other memorabilia and resources contributed by the community documenting the impact of World https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Apclfl-wwiWar I on Clarion County, more Pennsylvania. less

This collection provides access to two rare dispensatories and receptures that illuminate the therapeutic practices and medical orientation of two dispensing physicians in the multilingual colonial more medical market of rural Pennsylvania. The overall objective is the preserve in their entirety and to make accessible to scholarly and lay audiences a body of writings that offer insight into some of the medical resources available to the North American colonial population: A bilingual (German and English) formulary, the Medicina Pennsylvania of George de Benneville, a French Huguenot physician and the record of the practice and of the receptures - entitled Remediorum Specimina aliquot ex praxi A. W[agner] - of a Schwenckfelder practitioner from Silesia. These manuscripts can be dated roughly to the period 1740 to 1780. Both drew on numerous 18th century continental European and English sources, explicitly in the case of the Wagner manuscript and unacknowledged but obvious in the Medicina Pennsylvania. Both offer copious highly technical receptures for the armentarium of chemiatric and botanical substances that were in general use at the end of the early modern period. Similar to other physician manuals of the period, they lay out medicinals and related procedures for treatment of major diseases and conditions, including female complaints and pre- and perinatal advise. A strong but eclectic orientation to chemiatric preparations is evident, matched by reliance on the traditional botanical and animal reservoir. less

Minutes of the Town Council of the Borough of Conshohocken, Volume 1, July 1850 - March 1874 Collection.

The Meadville Local History Collection is a condensed sketch of the early history of Meadville, Pennsylvania which covers the city's natural resources and a portrayal of more leading industries educational, financial, and commercial interests. less

This collection includes early photographs showing student life, faculty, buildings, and grounds of Friends' Central School, a co-ed Quaker School founded by three Quaker meetings in more 1845. The school has had three locations; 4th and Cherry St, 15th and Race St. in Philadelphia and City Line Ave in Wynnewood, PA. The current location is the former estate of the Wistar Morris family and was landscaped by Frederick Olmstead. The collection gives an overview of the history of Quaker education and includes photographs of early Quaker educators important in the history of Quaker meetings in the Philadelphia area. Quaker curriculum was unique for its time. The school included both Quaker and non-Quaker children from both Hicksite and Orthodox Quaker Meetings. Science and Latin were taught to both boys and girls and both genders participated in physical education. Holidays were not observed. An early instructor was Benjamin Eakins, who taught penmanship and the headmaster who was present during the relocation to City Ave, was Barclay Jones, cousin of Rufus Jones. Photographs from the 1920s included in the collection highlight the beauty of the Wistar Morris estate whose mansion is still used as the main campus building and features an original Tiffany window. less

The Pamphlet Box Collection/ Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf consists of nine annual reports, from 1883, and one for each year from 1917-1924 inclusive. It also more includes five copies of the student newsletter, Mount Airy World, with two copies from 1912, one from 1913, one from 1917, and the last, from 1921. Together, these annual reports and newsletters document the statewide importance of the Institution; both faculty and students came from all over Pennsylvania to work and study there. The collection also documents the increased importance of women at the Institution, in their roles as faculty and staff members, and as committee members working in association with the Institution's Board of Directors. less

The collection includes various annual reports, programs, letters, financial information, newspaper clippings, and ephemera documenting the history of the African American community in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood more and vicinity, from circa 1868-1939, and the roles of women in the following organizations. Includes materials associated with the Union Mission for Colored People, the Industrial School for Colored Women, and the Colored Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans Home. less

The Welfare History Collection documents the roles and importance of several welfare organizations formerly located in and/ or associated with the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia spanning more the years circa 1881-1921. The records include annual reports, charters, and by-laws of the Americanization Committee of Germantown, the Pauline Temporary Home, the Germantown Door of Hope, the Florence Crittenton Home, and the Philadelphia Home for Incurables. The materials document the roles that women had in these organizations, and by extension, in the larger community. less

This collection consists of historic photographs of Norristown, Pa., from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

This collection contains historic documents about the James V. Brown Library of Williamsport, PA, including Annual Reports and minutes from Board of Trustee meetings.

Over two thousand (2,000) local historical photographs, drawings and images of old Lycoming County, PA. can be found here. Images are shown in a small version more for browsing or as a full size image for detail. less

Welcome to the Keystone College Local History Collection, a part of the POWER Library: PA Photos and Documents. This collection a large number of photos and more documents from and about the local communities and personalities present in Factoryville, PA; Nicholson, PA; Dalton, PA; and other smaller communities dating from 1868 to the present. less

Photographs of Knoxville, Pennsylvania, including adjacent Deerfield Township.

This collection consists of Lancaster City and County residential and commercial directories, 1843-1900. These directories provide valuable information regarding the population of Lancaster City and County, more as well as the growth and development of the community and the evolution of Lancaster commerce and industry. less

Welcome to the Lancasterhistory.org's Lancaster County City Directories 1901 - 1914 Collection, a part of the POWER Library: PA Photos and Documents. This collection consists of more Lancaster City and County residential and commercial directories, 1901-1914. These directories provide valuable information regarding the population of Lancaster City and County, as well as the growth and development of the community and the evolution of Lancaster commerce and industry. less

Welcome to the Lancasterhistory.org's Lancaster County City Directories 1901 - 1914 Collection, a part of the POWER Library: PA Photos and Documents. This collection is the more third and final piece of our project to digitize Lancaster City and County directories. The first two pieces are already on AccessPA. These nine directories include directories from the small towns of Lititz and Columbia. These directories are useful to those researching family history and the development of communities over time. Advertisements in these directories are also valuable. less

This is a collection of documents, photographs, and monographs relating to the history of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Williamsport Women: Voices, Images, Actions Source material related to the history of women in Lycoming County from Lycoming College, the Lycoming County Historical Society, and the J.V. more Brown Library.  Documents selected highlight the history of local women in volunteer and reform organizations, education, the arts, the workplace, and private lives. The first part of the collection will cover the time period 1875-1925. "This material will have national, perhaps international, significance as it relates to women's history and studies during a time period when there is a scarcity of materials about women's contributions to local communities. All three cooperating facilities are very limited in staffing and available hours, so the materials will reach users who either cannot physically come to the collections or did not previously know of their existence. This collaborative project is funded through an LSTA grant. less

Founded in 1761 by Frederick Stump, Fredericksburg (formerly Stumpstown) is situated in northern Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Formerly a predominantly rural, farming community with a substantial German more heritage, the town has become increasingly diverse and suburban due to its proximity to Fort Indiantown Gap and New York City. Historically the home of up to seven churches, numerous main street businesses, and Schuylkill Seminary/College (1886-1902), Bell & Evans, the poultry raising and processing giant headquartered in Fredericksburg, is now the town's main employer as it continues expansion of its operations. This collection contains vintage postcards and photographs depicting various local street scenes and local organizations, including local businesses and the local baseball team. Images chronicle Fredericksburg localities, businesses, and citizens ranging from the late-nineteenth century to mid-twentieth century. less

Hershey News, published from 1953 until 1964, reported news and events throughout the Township of Derry, Pennsylvania (informally known as Hershey). A small town newspaper, there more were many local citizens featured in not only news stories, but also in recognition of special occasions. When a request is made for information about the events and activities of The Hershey Company, Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company, Hersheypark, Hershey Trust Company, Milton Hershey School, Derry Township School District highlights and events, and the reactions of local citizens to community events during this period, Hershey News is the first resource consulted. No other resource fully documents the spirit and atmosphere of this community. In addition, this business and recreational community, established by Milton S. Hershey, is of specific interest to sociological, business, and political science researchers, as well as residents and their descendants. less

Cascade Park is a former amusement park which now serves as a recreational nature park; it is located 2 ½ miles from downtown New Castle in more Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. This collection contains materials in various formats related to Cascade Park and the Old Timer’s Picnic – an event that has taken place annually at the park since 1907. Included in this collection are the following items: - Cascade Park souvenir booklet circa 1915 containing photos of the park. - Photos and postcards of Cascade Park circa 1915. - An invitation card to a ladies event at the park from 1912. - Old Timer’s Picnic souvenir books from 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, and 1915 which include photos of notable citizens of New Castle, Cascade Park, and the city of New Castle. - A button/pin from the 1910 Old Timer’s Picnic with a photo of the Shenango Bridge. - An invitation card for the 51st Old Timer’s Picnic in 1958. The location of the park was originally part of Donation Lands set aside for veterans of the Revolutionary War. Two hundred acres were given to Robert McWilliams who, circa 1816, constructed a gristmill and dam in what was then known as Big Run Falls. Col. Brinton purchased over 70 acres of the land from McWilliams in 1891. He re-named the area Brinton Park and added a dance platform and amusements, including a steam-powered merry-go-round, to attract residents to the already beautiful environment which features natural waterfalls. The spot was a popular place for fishing, swimming, picnics, dancing, and other recreations of the time. In 1897, the New Castle Traction Company (later Penn Power) purchased the park, installed streetcar tracks for accessibility and renamed the area Cascade Park in reference to the natural waterfalls. Due to declining attendance and the resulting financial loss, Penn Power transferred the title to Cascade Park in perpetuity to the city of New Castle in the early 1930s. Since its opening, Cascade Park has been home to a number of amusements including: rides, midway games, baseball fields, restaurants, horseshoe and bocce courts, outdoor theater productions, swimming pools, a lake for boating, fishing, swimming and ice skating, picnic areas, zoological gardens, and a bathhouse. It also boasted the largest dance pavilion in Pennsylvania, built in 1898, which still stands today. By the early 2000s, the swimming pool had closed, the lake had dried up, and the amusements had been removed. From the 1970s to today, various local non-profit organizations from around the city have been integral in repairing and maintaining the site and assisting in its transition back to a natural park. Cascade Park remains a popular nature recreation area and offers picnic areas, playground areas, food stands, hiking trails, a dog park, and is the host to a number of community events which occur throughout the year. less

Publications of historical significance about New Castle and the surrounding Lawrence County area.

This collection contains a selection of various directories from 1872-1899 (not exhaustive), covering the Mahoning, Shenango, and Beaver valleys, as well as Lawrence County and the more City of New Castle. less

This collection contains City of New Castle directories covering all years, 1900-1910.

This collection contains City of New Castle directories covering all years, 1911-1918 (not exhaustive).

This collection contains City of New Castle directories covering all years, 1921-1928.

A selection of photographs and video clips from the New Castle Public Library's 100th Anniversary celebration, October 21, 2010.

This collection includes a series of black and white photographs of buildings and streets throughout New Cumberland, advertisements from businesses circa 1900, and several issues of more Town Topics, a newsletter published in early 1900. less

Photographs and postcards depicting various organizations, such as the town band and women's clubs, and employee groups, like the Buttorff and Kline carpet factory workers.

Photographs of New Cumberland during the Flood of 1936 which occurred March 18-20, 1936 when warmer weather caused the winter's heavy accumulation of snow and ice more to melt. Situated along the banks of the Susquehanna River and bordered by the Yellow Breeches Creek, New Cumberland experienced extensive flooding from the east and the south. less