Historic
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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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The Philadelphia Print Shop in Wayne is a True Treasure Trove of Antique Maps
The Philadelphia Print Shop in Wayne is a true treasure trove of history, writes Melissa Jacobs for the Main Line Tonight. It is run by David Mackey, who started collecting antique maps almost a quarter century ago. Since then, he has spent plenty of time going through other people’s garages, barns, and attics. Even more…
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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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Upper Darby Quaker Thomas Garrett Honored in Undeground Railroad Stamp Series
A new U.S. Postal Service stamp honoring Upper Darby Quaker Thomas Garrett for his work in the Underground Railroad was unveiled at a ceremony March 9 in Church Creek, Maryland that included a speech told from Garret’s perspective presented by his descendant Bob Seeley from Havertown. Garrett helped more than 2,700 people to freedom, including…
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June Robins, a World War II ‘Rosie,’ Is Looking for a Mural
One Delaware County woman, June Robins, knows all about Rosie the Riveter because she was one. June Robins, 97-1/2, is a resident of Wesley Enhanced Living in Media, writes Matt DeLucia for NBC 10 Philadelphia. She’s been a mom, a grandmom, a collector, and, of course, a Rosie. At 17, June Robins joined the World…
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FBI Raids and Cold Feet: Inside the Disrupted 1942 Nazi Plot to Blow up Pennsylvania Railroad’s Horseshoe Curve
A Nazi plot to blow up a Pennsylvania Railroad, namely Altoona’s famous “Horseshoe Curve,” and a cryolite metals plant in Philadelphia, among other targets, failed thanks to one of the eight saboteurs, writes Jason Nark for The Morning Call. The eight Germans who had all previously lived in the United States were dropped off by…
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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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‘This Place Is Death on Pants.’ Brothers From Delaware County Describe 1850 Frontier Life in California
Two brothers writing home to their family in Delaware County back in 1850 provide a sense of daily life on the frontier in the California town of Humboldt Bay, writes Ann Roberts for the Lost Coast Outpost. The two brothers, ages 26 and 19, came to Humboldt Bay on the Laura Virginia, the first ship…
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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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Lost Lincoln Presidential Order Signed 2 Days After Civil War’s End Being Sold in Ardmore
A presidential order signed by Abraham Lincoln four days before he was assassinated has been found in an old writing desk and is now being sold for $45,000 in Ardmore by the Raab Collection, writes Cris Barrish for WHYY. The order, dated April 11, 1865, names anti-slavery proponent Allen M. Gangewere to a federal Treasury…
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Haverford College Project Uncovers Fate of Enslaved African Americans Later Freed
A Haverford College project is working to determine what happened to 413 formerly enslaved African Americans who were contractually freed by Quaker guarantees known as “manumissions” in Philadelphia between 1765 and 1790. The project “Manumitted: The People Enslaved by Quakers” is headed up by Avis Wanda McClinton, a Black community activist and Quaker preservationist, writes…
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Fire Destroyed a Historic Black Church in Concord. It’s Been Rebuilt
A historic Black Concord church is seeing new life again after a fire destroyed it 27 years ago, reports KYW via CNN Newsource. The Spring Valley African Methodist Episcopal Church on Spring Valley Road in Concord Township was once the center of the Black community. “People came from Chester, Media, Kennett Square, Oxford, just to…
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Concordville Inn Demolition Work Underway for New Rehab Hospital
Demolition on the 246-year-old Concordville Inn in Glen Mills has begun with a portion of it down before the Thanksgiving holiday, writes Emma Dooling for Philadelphia Business Journal. The Alabama healthcare company Encompass Health Corp. bought the property on June 15 for $3.5 million with the intent to build an inpatient rehabilitation hospital on the…
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Philadelphia is Home to the Oldest Bridge in the United States — the Frankford Avenue Bridge
As a state that has had a presence in the United States since its earliest days, its largest city — Philadelphia — has its share of historic sites, writes Corbin Lee for The Travel. While lesser known than historical landmarks like Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, or the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of those…
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A Philadelphia Inventor Was Among the First to Demonstrate Moving Images That Became the Precursor to Movies
In 1870, Philadelphia inventor Henry Heyl displayed among the first demonstrations of a projected moving picture, writes Avi Wolfman-Arent for Billy Penn at WHYY. He invented a device he called the “phasmatrope,” and demonstrated it at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia in front of about 1,500 individuals. The device was a disc loaded with…
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Over 300-Years-Old Collingdale Tree Taken Down After Contracting Fungal Infections
A Penn Charter-era red oak that had existed in Collingdale for hundreds of years was taken down Thursday and Friday after it was diagnosed with two fatal fungal diseases, writes Pete Bannon for the Daily Times. The huge oak was six feet across and 228 inches around. It stood at the corner of Clifton and…
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Netflix Looks at CIA Mission Involving Eccentric Billionaire, Chester Shipbuilder and a Soviet Sub
A new Netflix series will include an episode looking at a secret mission that involved a Chester shipbuilding company and the recovery of a sunken Soviet submarine. An episode of a new series, ‘Spy Ops’, tells the story of Project Azorian, writes Kristin Hunt for Philly Voice. The CIA operation was designed to recover K-129,…
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Boarding School Trauma of Native American Youth Brought to Light With Help of 2 Local Colleges
Swarthmore College and Haverford College are helping to create a digitized record showing the trauma Native American youth experienced by being forced to attend nine Quaker-operated boarding schools between 1852 and 1945 in seven states, including Pennsylvania. Children were separated from their families, tribes, and traditions, writes Luis Andres Henao for the Albany Democrat-Herald. The…
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