Historic
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Lansdowne at Center of Hunt for Secret Nazi Diary
(This article first appeared in DELCO.Today on April 8, 2016.) Robert Wittman, the head of the FBI’s art-crime team in Philadelphia, has collaborated with Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist David Kinney to write The Devil’s Diary – the story of the pair’s hunt for the missing diary of Alfred Rosenberg, a high-ranking Nazi, and the…
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Before Salem, There Was a Witch Trial for a Delaware County Woman
Nine years before the infamous Salem Witch Trials took place, a Delaware County woman faced her own witch trial in Philadelphia, writes Kenny Cooper for WHYY. It was Pennsylvania’s only witch trial. Known as “The Witch of Ridley Creek“, the “witch” in question was a Swedish settler named Margaret Mattson. She lived with her husband,…
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Folcroft Historical Marker Honors Borough’s First Black Family
Folcroft’s first Black family, the Baker family, is being honored Saturday, Aug. 19 at 1 PM, with the unveiling of a historical marker near their former home on Heather Road, writes Peg DeGrassa for the Daily Times. The marker commemorates the tragic events known as the Folcroft riots and honors the courage of the Baker…
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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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Chester Courthouse: Preserving a Monument to American History
The 1724 Chester Courthouse is the oldest continuously used public building in the country. Now it’s getting a restoration in time for its 300th birthday, and ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026. A $522,872 grant from the National Park Service’s Semiquincentennial Grant Program will fund the work, writes Alex Rose for the Daily…
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Treasure Hunters Take on FBI in Pennsylvania’s Civil War Gold Case
Three treasure hunters believe that a huge batch of lost Civil War-era gold has been found in Pennsylvania and clandestinely taken by the government, writes Kris Maher for The Wall Street Journal. “It’s definitely a major coverup,” said Dennis Parada, who has been chasing the gold for over 40 years. The gold Parada was looking…
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Newtown Square Native Patrick Shank Heads Catholic Archives
Patrick Shank has been passionate about history since growing up in the St. Anastasia Parish in Newtown Square, but it wasn’t until college that he learned how to archive that history, writes Elena Perri for Catholic Philly. Now he’s the new head archivist at the Catholic Historical Research Center of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. “Most…
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Rare Einstein Letter on Creation of the Universe on Sale in Ardmore
The Raab Collection in Ardmore is selling a personal letter written by Albert Einstein where he argues against the biblical version of the creation, writes Richa Karmarka for The Washington Post. The rare letter was written on April 11, 1950, to Martha Munk, the wife of a well-known German rabbi in answer to a question…
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Area Funeral Home: Why People Leave Coins on Headstones
There are several theories on why people leave coins on headstones and one of the local traditions leads all the way back to Benjamin Franklin, writes Lauren McKeithen for the Belief Net. According to the Schumacher and Benner Funeral Home & Crematory in Pottstown, people first started leaving coins on headstones to honor Benjamin Franklin,…
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Wall Street Journal: Questions Arise About Political Correctness of Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum
The Mütter Museum, considered by many to be Philadelphia’s weirdest museum, has housed many medical oddities and arcana for around 160 years, writes Stanley Goldfarb for The Wall Street Journal. Among the available pieces are a malignant tumor removed from President Grover Cleveland, 139 human skulls, and pieces of Albert Einstein’s brain. Numerous people who…
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Pottstown Funeral Home Sheds Light on Why People Leave Coins on Headstones
There are several theories on why people leave coins on headstones and one of the local traditions leads all the way back to Benjamin Franklin, writes Lauren McKeithen for the Belief Net. According to the Schumacher and Benner Funeral Home & Crematory in Pottstown, people first started leaving coins on headstones to honor Benjamin Franklin,…
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Montgomery County Home to One of the State’s 10 Most Historic Abandoned Places
Visiting abandoned places has become a popular activity among tourists across the country. From ghost towns to abandoned historic sites, these places are filled with eerie stories about life in earlier centuries. In Pennsylvania, there are ten sites that Joshua Childu at The Travel considers the most historic abandoned places in the state. Among them…
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Book Recalls Impact of a Marple Neighborhood Unsolved Murder
On Aug. 15, 1975, 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington was walking to Bible school from her Marple Township home, writes Kim Douglas for Main Line Today. She never arrived. Her body was discovered two weeks later. Joanna Falcone Sullivan and Mike Mathis were 9 years old at the time, living in Marple. Now their story is captured…
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Was ‘The Wickedest Man in the World’ Buried Just Outside of Bucks County? Here’s What We Know
According to several sources, one of the most infamous personalities of the last century may have found his resting place just outside of Bucks County. Aleister Crowley, dubbed by many publications as “The Wickedest Man in the World”, was an English author and occultist, who founded the spiritual philosophy/religion of Thelema back in the early…
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This Major Speedway in Langhorne Was Opened Nearly 100 Years Ago
A major speedway once stood in Bucks County, and it saw many famous (and infamous) moments in racing history. The Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation discussed the history of the Langhorne Speedway online. The speedway once stood in the namesake area of Bucks County and was opened in 1926. The one-mile track, designed as round as possible to…
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Havertown Historian Tells the Philly Baseball Story of Us
If you want to know what a Philadelphia sports fan was like 128 years ago, ask Matt Albertson, writes Dave Uram for KYW Newsradio. “What I’ve come up with is they’re no different than the fan today,” Albertson said. “They’re passionate, they enjoy situational hitting, they enjoy power hitting, they enjoy fine defense and they…
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Historic Ferris Wheel Returns to Phoenixville to Become 74-Foot Statue of Americana
Phoenixville Borough Council has formally reserved a location where a Ferris wheel — that was built with Phoenixville steel and served, for almost 100 years, as the signature feature of the boardwalk in Asbury Park, New Jersey — will return to its birthplace to become “74-foot statue of Americana,” writes Jerry Carino for The Asbury…
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Swarthmore College apologizes for digging up a Native American Burial Ground
Back in 1899, Swarthmore College natural history professor Spencer Trotter and student Bird T. Baldwin dug up a Lenape burial site in Chester County and set up an exhibit of human remains and artifacts on the college campus in Swarthmore. The exhibit content, including the remains, was later lost. Now, 124 years later, Swarthmore College…
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