Browse Exhibits (5 total)
Dillsburg Farmer's Fair
The Dillsburg Farmer's Fair has become a huge part of the local community. The area surrouding Dillsburg is filled with farms. Fairs are a big part of smaller communities. They bring people together and also show the culture of the region.
I hope to show through this exhibit the importance of the Dillsburg Farmer's Fair to the locals who have grown to love it.
One Room Schoolhouses in Northern York
Pennsylvania was one of the leading states in establishing public education (1). By 1850 over 10,000 elementary schools were established as a result from the Free School Act of 1834 (2). The opportunity for free education enables fuller participation in the American dream. For the first time children did not come from financially privileged families were also given educational opportunities that could expand their horizons. Children were not the only ones who were gained new opportunities from the new public one room school houses. Becoming teachers at these one room school houses was one of the few employment options for women to work outside of the home (3). One room school houses were essential in rural Pennsylvania, where there were not many private school options. Pennsylvanians have seen the value of free public education since the early 19th century, and through time the state has invested in educational improvements.
This exhibit is home to a handful of documents, objects and photographs that are from one room school houses in York County from the late 19th century thru the early 20th century. Many of the artifacts chosen for this collection were chosen to capture the ordinary everyday life of the people involved with the one room school houses, whether that be the students, teachers or members of boards of education and administration. One can get a better sense of the foundations of public education in Pennsylvania.
Bibliography:
1. Randall M. Miller and William Pencak, Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002. Page 379.
2. Ibid page 176
3. Ibid page 249
Pine Grove Furnace Prisoner of War Camp
During World War Two there was a need for prisoner of war camps (or POW camps) as the allied forces captured German and Japanese soldiers. Some of the POW camps in Pennsylvania included the Carlise POW Camp, Tyson POW Camp, and even Camp Sharp. But there is one that was not as well known that was right in Washington's back yard; that is the Pine Grove Furnace POW Camp.
The reason behind why many do not know of Pine Grove Furnace is because it was intended to be a secret and kept away from the public. The purpose of this camp was, as Patrick Metcalf states in his article "to determine which prisoners were worth sending to Camp Hunt for detailed interrogation"(1). It was located in Pine Grove Furnace because "it was close to the Carlisle Barracks and at the same time only a two-hour drive to Washington, D.C. Perhaps more important was the fact that the site is isolated and could be kept a secret" (2).
Through this exhibit I want to uncover the secret that was Pine Grove Furnace POW Camp so Pennsylvanians can have a better idea of how much their state played in the second world war.
Stouffer Farm
The Stouffer Farm is rich with archaeological evidence from its long history as a farmstead located in York County, Pennsylvania. Yet what conclusion does this evidence yield? Through this exhibit, we will draw apparent conclusions from the archaeological evidence found at the site by organizing the artifacts and textual evidence into sections. In these sections we will attempt to recreate or explain both everyday life on the farm from the late-1800s to the mid-1900s, as well as explain how the artifacts came to be where they were discovered. To better understand this everyday life, we will give background information for the site and connect it to both the greater York county area and over all shifts in American society.
Historical Context of Trindle Spring Lutheran Church
This webpage will function as a digital exhibition for the findings of the 2014 archaeological season at Trindle Spring Lutheran Church along with an analysis of the evidence pertaining to the origins of the church. Starting with William Trindle, early settler in the Cumberland County area, the exhibition will flow from the Trindle family to their relationship with the land. In land tract acquisitions, eventually Trindle Spring Lutheran Church comes to possess a space for a cemetery and a church. After the congregation is established, the church sees various leaders and buildings in its time along with the ultimate foundation of present-day Mechanicsburg.