Historic
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Nearly 300-Year-Old Cemetery in West Caln is Bursting with History, Making it a Chester County ‘Hidden Gem’
St. John’s Episcopal Church in West Caln has a historic cemetery, making it a hidden gem in Chester County, writes Bill Rettew forThe Daily Local News. The church was founded in 1729, along the main road from Philadelphia to Lancaster. There are over 3,500 tombstones in the graveyard, with one of the earliest stones belonging…
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Pottstown Native Spearheads Colebrookdale Railroad’s Rebirth
The rebirth of the Colebrookdale Railroad as a successful tourist railroad was sparked by Pottstown native Nathaniel Guest and a supportive community, writes Dale W. Woodland for Trains.com. The Colebrookdale Railroad revitalized a former Reading Company branch in southeastern Pennsylvania. The rebirth process began once Guest learned that the railroad was slated to be officially…
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Gravestone Conservator Honors History of Har Hasetim Cemetery in Gladwyne
Gravestone conservator Joe Ferrannini has been helping preserve the Har Hasetim, a historic Jewish cemetery in Gladwyne, for the past seven years, writes Josh Sanders for CBS News Philadelphia. The Har Hasetim was founded in the 1890s by several Jewish burial societies. It had its last burial in 1945. “I view Har Hasetim as a…
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Six Decades Ago, Cheltenham High School Welcomed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as Speaker
On April 15, 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech at Cheltenham High School to a sold-out audience as part of the Cheltenham Township Adult School’s 5-Star Forum series, writes Kenny Cooper for the WHYY. The now-defunct series brought many important speakers to lecture before an audience over the years, including Maya Angelou,…
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Secrets of Quakertown: Inside the Hidden Rosicrucian Pyramids
Believe it or not— there are pyramids in Bucks County, but not for public viewing. Known as the Rosicrucian pyramids, these structures sit in a meditation garden in Quakertown on private property, according to a report from Atlas Obscura. The Fraternita Rosae Crucis, a secret society found by a doctor and occultist in 1858,…
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Ardmore Company Lists Letter Proving Benjamin Franklin’s Influence in the American Revolution
The Raab Collection, an Ardmore-based company that buys and sells historical documents, recently listed a letter written by Benjamin Franklin, writes Tori Latham for the Robb Report. The letter, written by the Founding Father in 1777, will be displayed in the firm’s Philadelphia office before being put up for sale on April 11 for $120,000.…
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Abandoned McNeal Mansion Awaits Rediscovery in Burlington, New Jersey
The 10,000 square-foot abandoned McNeal Mansion dates back to 1890, writes Erin McDowell for the Business Insider. Sitting across the river from Bristol in Burlington, New Jersey, the crumbling home is barely standing. The city purchased the building for $1.49 in 2016 with initial plans to convert part of the property into a…
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Rare Dimes in Bucks County Could Be Worth up to $1,000
Coins missing a vital mintmark are not a dime a dozen. But these rare dimes circulating Bucks County could actually be worth $1,000, writes Greg Vellner for The Reporter. Sellersville collector Michael Leven says that “quite a few people in the area have come across them.” Leven said that a fellow coin dealer found…
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The Guy Who Blew Up Vet’s Stadium Grew Up in Broomall
Twenty years ago on March 21, 2004, Broomall native Nick Peetros, working for the L.F. Driscoll Co., imploded Veteran’s Stadium to clear the way so they could build Citizen’s Bank Park, writes Josh Tolentino for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Peetros was the guy who controlled the detonator button that imploded the stadium back in 2004, though…
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The Oldest Town in Pennsylvania Happens to Be in Delaware County
Pennsylvania, as one of the original 13 colonies where independence was born, has many historic towns that have stood the test of time. But to find the oldest, you need only look in Delaware County’s backyard, writes Andre DeBonis for EnergyPortal.eu. Chester was the earliest settlement in Pennsylvania, founded in 1682 by William Penn, who…
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Two Philadelphia Sites Are Among America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places
The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently unveiled its 2023 list of America’s Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places, and two Philadelphia sites have found their spot among them, writes Ron Bernthal for Global Traveler. A North Philadelphia rowhouse on West Diamond Street in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood, built in 1871, was home to Henry Ossawa Tanner,…
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100-year-old Willow Grove Veteran to Receive France’s Legion of Honor
Benjamin Berry, who grew up in Willow Grove, will receive France’s highest honor for his participation in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II when he helped liberate Dachau, writes Kristin Hunt for PhillyVoice. The 100-year-old will step inside the Navy Yard’s chapel on March 18, where he will be presented with the…
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Century-Old UPenn Research Lab in Levittown Demolished by School Districts
Multiple school districts split the cost to tear down the century-old University of Pennsylvania research lab in Levittown, writes Carl LaVO for the Bucks County Courier Times. The complex, built in the 1920s was formerly known as The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology on Red Cedar Hill. A decade later, biologists bred what is…
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Historic Cox House in Kennett Square Which Was Once Part of Underground Railroad Relocated
Longwood Gardens has successfully moved the Cox House, a historic home that once served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Longwood made the decision to preserve the Cox House by moving it 100 feet from its prior location in response to a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation project to widen Route 1. The process…
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Philadelphia Community Comes Together To Help Restore Mother Bethel AME Church After Vandalism
Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church was recently hit by a vandal who left its age-old stained glass windows shattered, but the situation has served as a way to bring the community together, writes BNN Correspondents for BNN. In response to the vandalism, CADO Market and Legacy Reclaimed 7th Ward Tribute has led and orchestrated…
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Efforts Are Underway to Preserve Historic Philadelphia Documents
There are mountains of historic documents — such as legal wills and marriage licenses — decaying in the attic of Philadelphia City Hall, some of them dating back four centuries. While the haphazard storage of these local treasures is the worst nightmare of any historian, there is a glimmer of hope for a better future,…
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The Preservation of the King of Prussia Inn Is a Testament to the Importance of History
So much of our connection to the past can be lost with the rush for development and modernization. The survival story of theKing of Prussia Inn, however, is a true testament to a community’s need for ties to the past, according to the National Park Service and the King of Prussia Historical Society. The King…
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Holocaust Survivor Tells Wyncote Students Her Story of When She First Tried to Escape Nazi Germany
Renate Breslow, a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor, recently recounted her experience as a child in Nazi Germany at Cedarbrook Middle School in Wyncote, writes Hadas Kuznits and The Associated Press, KYW Newsradio. Breslow was just 8 years old when she and her mother boarded the SS St. Louis in 1939 to escape Nazi Germany. No port,…
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