by Sarah Collier, Executive Director, National Road Heritage Corridor When I was a junior in high school, I dropped out of AP U.S. History. This is still a surprising sentence for me to write. I was a good student, a member of the National Honor Society, and student council president. Humanities were supposed to be […]
Learn what it means and how your organization can be a consulting party for PennDOT projects that include historic resources, such as buildings, bridges, and archaeological sites. What are Section 106 and Consulting Parties? Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 requires projects using federal funds or needing federal permits to review […]
The 1920 Vesta Mine Robbery In the early hours of July 13, 1920, the mining town of Richeyville, Washington County became the scene of a daring underground heist. Inside the Vesta Mine, three masked men waited in the dark for their moment. When the paymaster and foreman arrived to deliver wages to the miners, the […]
Southwestern Pennsylvania has always been a crossroads of cultures. Nowhere is this more evident than in the holiday season, when old-world customs light up homes, churches, and community halls across Washington and Fayette counties. From Italian Christmas Eve feasts to Orthodox Holy Suppers and Hanukkah celebrations, the region’s holiday season reflects the diversity of its […]
Learn how you can use federal and state historic tax credits to support your historic building rehabilitation project, with Angelique Bamberg. (28mins) What is a historic tax credit? A Historic Tax Credit or (HTC) is a federal or state tax incentive that encourages private investment in the rehabilitation of historic buildings for income-producing use. The federal […]
Malcolm Parcell: The Wizard of Moon Lorn Hidden among the hills near Prosperity, Washington County, Pennsylvania, stands a place that seems touched by enchantment. The cottage is called Moon Lorn, and for over sixty years it was home to Malcolm Parcell (1896–1987), one of western Pennsylvania’s most imaginative and quietly brilliant artists. Moon Lorn wasn’t […]
Pennsylvania’s October Keystone: The Aster As the hills along the National Road fade from green to gold, one small flower continues to hold the landscape together: the aster. From sunlit meadows to roadside edges, native asters (members of the Symphyotrichum family) bloom when nearly everything else has gone to seed. Their violet, pink, and white […]
In the rolling hills of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, a quiet experiment in community, cooperation, and dedication took shape during the depths of the Great Depression. Its name, Penn-Craft, was chosen to honor both William Penn and the land’s former owner, Isaiah Craft. But the name also reflected something deeper: the belief that ordinary people, through […]
The National Pike Trail is a developing multi-use trail that follows the historic route of the National Road through Washington County, Pennsylvania. It is currently about 2 miles long, but as it grows, this scenic corridor will connect communities like Claysville, West Alexander, and eventually the City of Washington, offering walkers, runners, and cyclists a […]
Looking for a vintage spooky read to enjoy this season? Author Helen Hoke (1903-1990) from California, Washington County, PA published horror anthologies that’ll give you the heebie-jeebies. Helen Hoke’s Life & Career Helen was the daughter of H.L. and Mary Lamb. Her father co-owned the California Sentinel newspaper along with his brother Auburn Lamb. As […]