Historic
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Historic Overhaul Comes to Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge
A sweeping restoration effort is underway at one of Montgomery County’s most recognizable historic sites, writes Melissa Jacobs for Main Line Tonight. Washington Memorial Chapel, the National Historic Landmark bordering Valley Forge National Historical Park, has begun a multi-year, multi-million-dollar renovation aimed at revitalizing its campus. The first phase focuses on Patriot’s Hall, the gathering…
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The Story Behind a Historic Coatesville Photographer’s Intriguing 1920 Postcard
A vintage postcard by Coatesville photographer D.W. Faulk boasts an intriguing history, writes staff for History in the Mail. The postcard, dubbed “Baby Frank At Nine Months,” shows a nine-month-old infant holding a vintage toy. The unique postcard dates back to approximately 1920. Researchers are able to identify the card’s subject and information thanks to…
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Chester County Home to Particularly Large Number of Preserved Underground Railroad Sites
While many areas in different states are home to Underground Railroad locations, Chester County boasts an especially large number of preserved sites with documented history, writes Kimberly Haas for Hidden City Philadelphia. Several stops were in Kennett Square, including the Pines, the home of Bartholomew Fussell, who was one of the original signers of the…
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Exactly 240 Years Later, 10-Acre Farm by Brandywine Battlefield Preserved in Perpetuity
The 10-acre Dilworth Farm at 1370 Birmingham Road near the Brandywine Battlefield has been successfully preserved in perpetuity, 240 years after the battle, writes Bill Rettew for the Daily Local News. Politicians, land conservationists, historic preservationists, and other stakeholders recently joined the public at the site of the Revolutionary War battle to mark its official…
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Before the Revolution Was Fought with Guns, Philadelphia’s Thomas Paine Sparked It with His Pen
Before the Revolution was fought with guns and bayonets, Thomas Paine fought it with words. Words that were sharper, louder, and more dangerous than any weapon on the field. Long before the Continental Army clashed with British troops enforcing British rule, Paine’s pen and Robert Bell’s printing press jolted the American colonies toward a destiny…
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Independence Hall Closing Its Doors For Final Preparations For Nation’s 250th Anniversary
Independence Hall will be closing its doors to visitors until January as preservation work is completed at the site of the Declaration of Independence ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary, writes Tom Dougherty for CBS News Philadelphia. This closure will allow crews to complete their interior work in the building, which the park service says…
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Amish Builders Restore Monument to American History in Chesterbrook
Pennsylvania’s oldest bank barn, located at the DuPortail House in Chesterbrook, has been restored by a team of Amish builders from near ruin to its former glory, writes Ryan Richards for Main Line Media News. The efforts to restore the grand old barn built in 1792 were led by Luigi DiFilippo, president of DuPortail House.…
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The Global Fight for American Freedom: 7 Immigrants Who Aided the Revolution
When we picture the American Revolution, names like George Washington or Benjamin Franklin often dominate the narrative. But the fight for independence depended on global talent foreign-born immigrants-turned-volunteers who crossed oceans and joined a cause that was not yet theirs. According to Claire Barrett of HistoryNet, seven such men played pivotal roles in shaping strategy,…
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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 for The 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…
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Marquis de Lafayette’s Role in American Revolution and Shaped Chester County History
Marquis de Lafayette first became entranced by stories of American freedom fighters at Lexington and Concord in 1775, writes Malcolm Johnstone for County Lines Magazine. Lafayette joined the American Revolution, as his father was killed when he was just two years old by the British. With his inheritance, Lafayette purchased a sailing boat and traveled…
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The Revolutionary War’s Tide Turned in Bucks County. Washington’s Crossing Changed Everything
By the last week of December 1776, a full year before the winter encampment in Valley Forge, the fields and riverbanks of Bucks County felt as cold and uncertain as the fate of the Revolution itself. After defeats in New York City and a desperate retreat across New Jersey, George Washington and the Continental Army…
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How Philadelphia Became the Birthplace of American Independence
Why Philadelphia? When most people picture the American Revolution, they see muskets flashing in Boston, redcoats marching through New York, or Washington’s army crossing the Delaware River on that frozen Christmas night. But the true heart of the struggle, where ideas turned into action and independence took root, was right here in Philadelphia, a city…
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How George Washington’s Favorite Cocktail Was Inspired by a Quaker Social Club in 1732 Andalusia, Bensalem
A social club formed by a group of Quakers in 1732 in the modern-day Andalusia neighborhood of Bensalem inspired George Washington’s favorite cocktail, writes Jen Peng for Tasting Table. On the land leased from the Lenni-Lenape tribe, the group of Quakers established the Colony in Schuylkill, otherwise known as the Fish House. The name spoke…
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Was The Revolutionary War America’s First Civil War? You Decide
When Ken Burns sat down with Joe Rogan last month and called the American Revolution “our first civil war,” it caught a lot of people off-guard. The phrase stopped Rogan cold, and it’s been bouncing around ever since. Was Burns exaggerating for dramatic effect, or was he pointing out something we’ve missed all along about…
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Find Local History and Your Next Cozy Read at Baldwin’s Book Barn
Beloved bookstore Baldwin’s Book Barn is a local literary treasure trove like no other, writes Marilyn Sanders for PhillyBite Magazine. Housed in an 1822 stone barn, the world-renowned shop blends local history with an extensive literature collection. The multi-floor space features books, maps, prints, and more. William and Lilla Baldwin started their business journey in…
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Valley Forge Explained So a Fifth-Grader Could Understand: Cold, Courage, and a Comeback
Most of us have heard of Valley Forge, but not many people really understand what happened there, or why it mattered so much. It wasn’t a battle, and no famous victory was won in the snow. But the winter encampment at Valley Forge was one of the most important turning points of the American Revolution.…
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VISTA Book Review: Five Things You Don’t Know About Valley Forge
From December 1777 to June of 1778, the main body of the Continental Army (approximately 12,000 troops) encamped on the edge of what is now Tredyffrin Township. Washington and his generals choose the Chester County village of Valley Forge because it was a midpoint between the seat of the Second Continental Congress in York, supply…
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Ken Burns’ Delaware Valley Roots: How His Mother’s Battle with Cancer Forged a Passion for Storytelling
Before Ken Burns became the United States’ most admired documentary filmmaker, he was a quiet boy growing up in Newark, Delaware, the son of a University of Delaware professor and a mother whose long struggle with breast cancer defined his childhood. Long before The Civil War, Brooklyn Bridge, Vietnam War, or Mark Twain cemented his…
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