Civil War 150: Update

During this first summer of the 150th anniversary commemoration of the American Civil War, the Trails of History have been buzzing with activity. And speaking of buzzing—you can now buy coffee, along with other CW150 merchandise, at ShopPAHeritage.com (clearly, my product placement strategy for Trailheads isn’t very sophisticated, yet). Anyway, the end of summer (metaphorically, if not officially) seems like a good time to reflect on recent activities.




The Civil War Road Show’s stop at Somerset Historical Center August 26-28 was a big success. Some 2,400 people visited the grounds of the Historical Center over the course of 3 days that included an encampment, a lecture, door prize drawings, and a members-only opening. People waited in line to tour the Road Show exhibit, once again proving that history is not dead. There are lots of photos on the Historical Center’s Facebook page, and The (Somerset) Daily American also posted photos. The video is from the Tribune-Democrat in nearby Johnstown.

PHMC/Eckley Miners' Village

The previous weekend (Aug. 20-21) Eckley Miners’ Village offered a living history program that brought the Civil War to a coal patch town. In addition to Union and Confederate reenactors encamped and offering demonstrations of military drills, Eckley’s living history troupe staged a funeral for a Union soldier killed in the war (as well as a wedding to lighten things up). Read an article from The (Wilkes-Barre) Times Leader here and find some wonderful photos on Eckley’s FB page.