Catching Up

Please be sure to check out the April program listings to see what's happening on the Trails of History.

This just in! On Monday, April 6, the PA House of Representatives passed a resolution (introduced by Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Forest) honoring Col. Edwin Drake on the occasion of his 196th birthday. The folks at Drake Well Museum also celebrated the occasion on March 28 with a special program of family activities.

Many thanks to all of you who followed along or tweeted with us during #MuseumWeek (March 23-29). Bushy Run Battlefield, Ephrata Cloister, Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, Pennsbury Manor, Washington Crossing Historic Park, PHMC, and I (plus lots of followers and program partners) spent the week sharing behind-the-scenes photos and much, much more. Sean Adkins, PHMC's information specialist, pulled together a bunch of the tweets on Storify, if you want to see a selection. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Exhibit installation at PA Lumber Museum (photo by Lauren Jaeger)

The Pennsylvania Lumber Museum reopened for the season on April 1 with a shiny new building, and work continues on the installation of the new core exhibit, "Challenges and Choices in Pennsylvania's Forests." The work of many people over a long period of time, this exhibit tells many stories about how people have shaped the forests of this state and about how the forests have shaped the people--from the history of the lumber industry to the birth of conservation and professional forestry, to current best practices and management for sustainable mixed use. The official opening for the exhibit is scheduled for May 15-16.

More exhibit installation at PA Lumber Museum (photo by Rachel Yerger)

You may have seen or heard that a frozen water main had wreaked havoc at Eckley Miners' Village, causing them to remain closed to the public for about a month (including Charter Day). The pipes have been cleared and the site is back in business. They plan to try to reschedule the March 22 "meet the authors" event, and we'll keep you posted. On May 15, they will dedicate a new state historical marker for the patch town, which celebrated its 160th anniversary last year.

It's just barely started to feel like spring, but it's not too early to think about summer camp. Registration is open at a number of Trails of History sites, and at least one week of the Barons and Builders camp at the Railroad Museum of PA is already filled. History camps are on the schedule at Anthracite Heritage Museum, Brandywine Battlefield, Daniel Boone Homestead, Drake Well Museum, Joseph Priestley House, Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum (for grown-ups as well as kids), Pennsbury Manor, Pennsylvania Military Museum, Railroad Museum of PA, Somerset Historical Center, and Washington Crossing Historic Park.

Balustrade from the Cadwell House hotel, Lancaster (photo by AKF)

Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum's new changing exhibit has opened. "1865: Lancaster County at the Close of the Civil War" chronicles life in the region in the year the Civil War ended and one of the museum's founders, Henry Landis, was born. Included in the exhibit is a balustrade from Lancaster's Cadwell House hotel that was touched by James Buchanan, Horace Greeley, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt; you can touch it too. The exhibit will be on view through December.