Plenty to See Here

Programs scheduled for this weekend on the Trails of History include Landis Valley’s Civil War Days, July 28-29; The Last Cruise car event and Hands-on History at Pennsylvania Military Museum, July 28 (see more info below on that); Blacksmithing demos at Drake Well Museum, July 28; and Animals at Pennsbury Manor, July 29.

PHMC/Pennsbury Manor via Facebook

Eckley Miners’ Village has posted a bunch of great photos from their annual Patch Town Days program here. Eckley's next living history event is scheduled for August 18-19.

There is now a 360 degree virtual tour of several structures at the Daniel Boone Homestead. Click here and scroll down to find the virtual tour. Clicking on the words “Full Screen” in the upper right lets you toggle back and forth between full screen and, um, not-full-screen—I heartily recommend the full screen view because it’s much smoother motion as the camera pans around the spaces (not-full-screen made me a little queasy). Be sure to click on the little bluish targets that appear here and there. They give you a sense of how the various buildings relate to one another on the site. In a couple of buildings you can click to see images of side rooms as well. (It took me until my second or third visit to figure that out, so I’m shortening your learning curve. You’re welcome.)

Some recent Pennsylvania Military Museum programs were covered in the Centre County Gazette. A July 4th hands-on program is featured here and was so successful that it will be repeated tomorrow in conjunction with the Last Cruise car show on the grounds. A new program on the history of the 28th Division Shrine is outlined here; it will be offered Sunday evenings through August 19. Visit the museum’s website for details.

Cornwall Furnace staff and volunteers with candidate Mitt Romney

Congratulations to Cornwall Iron Furnace, which was named second most favorite Historic Attraction in the 2012 Best of the Lebanon Valley awards run by the Lebanon Daily News. (They were rated most favorite Lebanon Valley Historic Attraction among Republican Presidential candidates, after Gov. Mitt Romney’s rally there on June 16.) A new fundraising event, the “Cornwall Blast,” (as in blast furnace, but you knew that) is scheduled for Friday evening, August 3, featuring tastings of local wine and beer, plus music by the Wayne Fox Trio. Cost is $25 for adults 21 and over, $10 for ages 11-20 (there will be root beer and other refreshments), and free for ages 10 and younger. Tickets are available by visiting the site in person or by calling 717/272-9711 to purchase with a credit card. Numbers are limited, so reserve your spot now.

PHMC, in its role as the State Historic Preservation Office, has released “Building Better Communities: The Preservation of Place in Pennsylvania.” This is the official statewide historic preservation plan for 2012-2017; it defines the role that historic preservation plays in revitalizing Pennsylvania communities. More information about the planning process and key elements of the plan can be found here. You can download a copy of the full document here.

And finally, I’ll leave you with a bit of humor (and if you’re not inclined to find history funny, just skip it). The bicentennial of the War of 1812 is getting lots of attention in Erie, where the Erie Maritime Museum and Flagship Niagara help to tell the story of one of our least understood historical eras. CollegeHumor.com produced the video below that illustrates what most of us don’t know and what the folks in Erie are working so hard to remedy. (See a nice editorial here about why this is important.)