@PHMC

The PA Historical & Museum Commission is the official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

 Harrisburg, Pa
phmc.pa.gov
Joined April 2008
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Do you know the history of this architecturally significant creek crossing, known today as the English Center Bridge in Lycoming County? Research done by a #PennDOT project team, it is believed this specific type of engineering hybrid structure is the only type of its kind in the nation.➡️ bit.ly/4z4ZxAN
A structural gem sits nestled in a valley amongst the mountains of Lycoming County Pennsylvania. Known today as the English Center Bridge and mostly traversed by locals and the wanderers who wish to visit nearby Little Pine Creek State Park, this architecturally significant creek crossing provides a visual aesthetic to the surrounding landscape that the surrounding community rallied to have preserved.

ALT A structural gem sits nestled in a valley amongst the mountains of Lycoming County Pennsylvania. Known today as the English Center Bridge and mostly traversed by locals and the wanderers who wish to visit nearby Little Pine Creek State Park, this architecturally significant creek crossing provides a visual aesthetic to the surrounding landscape that the surrounding community rallied to have preserved.

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It's #NationalChemistryWeek 🧪 ! Joseph Priestley, a scientist-clergyman-teacher, is best known as the man to isolate oxygen. Go #BehindTheScenes of the Joseph Priestley House Museum.➡️ joseph-priestley-house.org/
Joseph Priestley House Museum

ALT Joseph Priestley House Museum

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#ArcheaologyMonth continues this Friday with your host, Ben Ford, Chair of the #Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. ➡️ bit.ly/4zMOGLX This talk draws on decades of archaeological investigations by volunteers, professionals & students. #RegisterNow
Ben Ford

ALT Ben Ford

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#ICYMI ➡ Earlier this month, @DCNRnews reached a milestone at the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum with 1 billion board feet of timber sustainably harvested from state forest lands. #forest, #lumber, #wood, #nature, #Pennsylvania
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Next month, join us for two webinars that will cover everything you need to know about the Keystone Historic Preservation Grant Program. The grant application portal will open on Dec. 1, 2026, and applications are due March 1, 2027. ➡️ bit.ly/4kf4jXQ
Morgan Log House

ALT Morgan Log House

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Learning about Pennsylvania folklore and legends is the best way to spend my lunch hour! ➡️ bit.ly/4yZVcz2 At 12 p.m. noon tomorrow, Clash of the Collections returns as Zachary Long of Landis Valley Museum takes on PHMC regional curator, Rachel Yerger. Long will reveal the lore behind the Melchoir Fordney Long Rifle, while Yerger dives deep into the origins of the Daniel Boone Wilderness Scout action figure. Each museum will have 10 minutes to present their artifact & persuade the audience why their object should win. #RegisterNow
the live audience will cast their votes to decide who wins ultimate museum bragging rights and takes home the crown!

ALT the live audience will cast their votes to decide who wins ultimate museum bragging rights and takes home the crown!

the live audience will cast their votes to decide who wins ultimate museum bragging rights and takes home the crown!

ALT the live audience will cast their votes to decide who wins ultimate museum bragging rights and takes home the crown!

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Preservation Education, Training & Opportunities: October 2026 - mailchi.mp/pahistoricpreserv…
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#RegisterNow for "Clash of the Collections: Pennsylvania Folklore and Legends." After the history is revealed, the live audience will cast their votes to decide who wins ultimate museum bragging rights and takes home the crown! ⬇️ bit.ly/4yZVcz2

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Clash of the Collections: Pennsylvania Folklore and...

Two museums. One theme. One winner! Welcome to Clash of the Collections, a lively virtual showdown where PHMC museums across the Commonwealth go head-to-head to present an artifact from their...

us02web.zoom.us
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This image has become one of the most shared photos preserved by the Pennsylvania State #Archives. On Oct.18, 1767, Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon wrapped up their survey of the boundary separating Pennsylvania from Maryland and Delaware. This photo shows one of the Mason-Dixon markers, along the line between Pennsylvania & Maryland. #OnThisDay - pastatearchives.com
On Oct.18, 1767, Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon wrapped up their survey of the boundary separating Pennsylvania from Maryland and Delaware. This photo shows one of the Mason-Dixon markers, along the line between Pennsylvania & Maryland. #OnThisDay See less

ALT On Oct.18, 1767, Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon wrapped up their survey of the boundary separating Pennsylvania from Maryland and Delaware. This photo shows one of the Mason-Dixon markers, along the line between Pennsylvania & Maryland. #OnThisDay See less

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If you would have guessed that PA is home to 28,000 recorded archaeological sites...well...you would have been correct! This reflects nearly 100 years of Pennsylvanian’s recording information on the archaeological evidence of past populations. ➡️ bit.ly/3VDT0i1
PA SPPM Regions (From Harper et al. 2025)

ALT PA SPPM Regions (From Harper et al. 2025)

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The State #Archives is having a bit of fun reviewing the Gov. Milton Shapp & Gov. Dick Thornburgh photo files in the Department of Transportation collection. In this photo, Gov. Shapp rides the horse, Mr. Rhythm, in the Capitol Building during Pennsylvania National Horse Show Week on Oct. 16, 1978. Check out other #Archvies collections. ➡️ pastatearchives.com
In this photo, Gov. Shapp rides the horse, Mr. Rhythm, in the Capitol Building during Pennsylvania National Horse Show Week on Oct. 16, 1978.

ALT In this photo, Gov. Shapp rides the horse, Mr. Rhythm, in the Capitol Building during Pennsylvania National Horse Show Week on Oct. 16, 1978.

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#NFL player, coach and Hall of Famer Mike Ditka, a Pennsylvania native, was a star on his Aliquippa High School football 🏈 team. In 1955, playing as tight end and defensive end, he helped the Quips achieve their come-from-behind victory over Mt. Lebanon, clinching their second WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Association League Class AA) championship. After the game, the team cut down this section of a goal post, painted it, and kept it in their locker room to commemorate the win. Aliquippa’s longtime coach, Michael Zmijanac, later donated the piece to @StateMuseumPA. @ChicagoBears, @dallascowboys, #NFL, @ProFootballHOF
NFL player, coach and Hall of Famer Mike Ditka, a Pennsylvania native, was a star on his Aliquippa High School football team. In 1955, playing as tight end and defensive end, he helped the Quips achieve their come-from-behind victory over Mt. Lebanon, clinching their second WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Association League Class AA) championship. After the game, the team cut down this section of a goal post, painted it, and kept it in their locker room to commemorate the win. Aliquippa’s longtime coach, Michael Zmijanac, later donated the piece to The State Museum.

ALT NFL player, coach and Hall of Famer Mike Ditka, a Pennsylvania native, was a star on his Aliquippa High School football team. In 1955, playing as tight end and defensive end, he helped the Quips achieve their come-from-behind victory over Mt. Lebanon, clinching their second WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Association League Class AA) championship. After the game, the team cut down this section of a goal post, painted it, and kept it in their locker room to commemorate the win. Aliquippa’s longtime coach, Michael Zmijanac, later donated the piece to The State Museum.

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#DidYouKnow? Pennsylvania is home to many places that celebrate the LGBTQ community’s rich history ➡️In Philadelphia, step into Giovanni’s Room, one of the oldest LGBTQ bookstores in the nation. ➡️Harrisburg's Pennsylvania State Capitol building displays a PHMC historic marker recognizing Gov. Milton Shapp as the 1st governor to prohibit discrimination toward LGBTQ state employees. Here are a few more places that hold an “unofficial” connection to the community. ➡️ bit.ly/4im5tiY #LGBTHistoryMonth
Duke Ellington (right), Alfredo Gustar (left), and Billy Strayhorn (center) inside the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ca. 1943–43.

ALT Duke Ellington (right), Alfredo Gustar (left), and Billy Strayhorn (center) inside the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ca. 1943–43.

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In response to the depletion of Pennsylvania’s forests, efforts were undertaken to integrate better forest management and conservation efforts. This includes reforestation efforts in the early 20th Century. An example of this is shown in this April 1910 image of State Forest Academy students planting trees at the Mont Alto State Forest in Franklin County. #AskAnArchivist, #ArchivesMonth
In response to the depletion of Pennsylvania’s forests, efforts were undertaken to integrate better forest management and conservation efforts. This includes reforestation efforts in the early 20th Century. An example of this is shown in this April 1910 image of State Forest Academy students planting trees at the Mont Alto State Forest in Franklin County.

ALT In response to the depletion of Pennsylvania’s forests, efforts were undertaken to integrate better forest management and conservation efforts. This includes reforestation efforts in the early 20th Century. An example of this is shown in this April 1910 image of State Forest Academy students planting trees at the Mont Alto State Forest in Franklin County.

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#AskAnArchivist ➡️ Deforestation became a major problem for Pennsylvania by the beginning of the 1900s. This collection includes many images depicting the results of heavy timbering in the commonwealth. Here is a 1918 image of a desolated forest near Slate Run. #ArchivesMonth
Here is a 1918 image of a desolated forest near Slate Run.

ALT Here is a 1918 image of a desolated forest near Slate Run.

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#AskAnArchivist ➡️The collection dates primarily from the late 19th Century to the mid-20th Century. Using this collection gives people a chance to see a pictorial history of forestry in Pennsylvania during this period. This includes many photographs related to the lumber industry in Pennsylvania, such as this undated image of bark peelers. #ArchivesMonth
The collection dates primarily from the late 19th Century to the mid-20th Century. Using this collection gives people a chance to see a pictorial history of forestry in Pennsylvania during this period. This includes many photographs related to the lumber industry in Pennsylvania, such as this undated image of bark peelers.

ALT The collection dates primarily from the late 19th Century to the mid-20th Century. Using this collection gives people a chance to see a pictorial history of forestry in Pennsylvania during this period. This includes many photographs related to the lumber industry in Pennsylvania, such as this undated image of bark peelers.

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This is Wes Decker from the PA State #Archives! For #AskAnArchivist, I want to showcase images from one of our more robust and popular image collections. This collection, titled RG-006-20, Photographs, Negatives, Films, and Slides, features roughly 8,000 photographic prints and over 2,700 matching negatives created by the staff of the Department of Forests and Waters for the purpose of education and publicity. The photographic prints are typically mounted on cards with a negative number and information pertaining to the image. The image below is of an Arbor Day tree planting near Slippery Rock from April 1925. #ArchivesMonth
The image below is of an Arbor Day tree planting near Slippery Rock from April 1925.

ALT The image below is of an Arbor Day tree planting near Slippery Rock from April 1925.

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#AskAnArchivst ➡️ Additionally, this photo collection has images related to #conservation work performed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in PA. We have had requests from patrons for CCC images in this collection. This image, dated Aug. 17, 1933, is of a boxing bout held at Camp 141 in Indiantown Gap, Lebanon County. #ArchivesMonth
This image, dated Aug. 17, 1933, is of a boxing bout held at Camp 141 in Indiantown Gap, Lebanon County.

ALT This image, dated Aug. 17, 1933, is of a boxing bout held at Camp 141 in Indiantown Gap, Lebanon County.

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