Blog

Millcreek Flood Postcard

Millcreek Flood of September 14, 1878

Theresa Gamble

Tuesday Sep 14th, 2021

Many of us learned what we know about the Millcreek Flood when riding on the Erie Zoo Train, which passes over a bridge where the creek itself is still visible, before it disappears into the Millcreek Tube. Enthusiastic train engineers describe how the tube has prevented future devastation like the flood that took place on August 3, 1915.

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313th Machine Gun Division

Amanda Rockwood

Monday Sep 13th, 2021

Today’s blog came to me while working one day. My office, also known as the mezzanine, is within the Archive building where I am surrounded by objects. Most of these objects have been catalogued into our system and properly put away for storage. Although there are still a small number that have not yet been looked at.

With a recent attempt to finish putting objects away, I stumbled upon a group of military pieces.

Oliver Hazard Perry

"We Have Met the Enemy…” Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie-September 10, 1813

Jeff Sherry

Friday Sep 10th, 2021

On a beautiful September Friday in 1813, Oliver Hazard Perry’s nine-ship squadron of hastily built ships and converted merchant vessels defeated a six-ship British squadron off Put-in-Bay at the western end of Lake Erie. It was the first time in United States naval history that an entire enemy fleet was captured.  This meant American control of the lake.

Kraus Department Store

Happiness & Long Life for All its Residents #66

Becky Weiser

Wednesday Sep 8th, 2021

The title of this blog is a perfect description for this Erie store because it has brought much happiness to generations of Erie residents.  It has been in business for 135 years and still serves the community with a smile.  Its tag line is “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it”.  Can you guess which store I am writing about?

William Morrison

Captain William L. Morrison

Jeff Sherry

Friday Sep 3rd, 2021

William Leverett Morrison was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, on June 15, 1869. The son of Leverett and Missouri Bliss Morrison, young Morrison would choose a naval career and become one of Erie’s most influential and experienced citizens.

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Long Life & Happiness for All its Residents #65

Becky Weiser

Wednesday Sep 1st, 2021

Sometimes when we really take a close look at an object, just to be with it in the present without our minds wandering, we see things differently.  I have had that very opportunity lately.

Taylor home

Long Life & Happiness for All its Residents #64

Becky Weiser

Wednesday Aug 25th, 2021

Many of you have commented to us here at the History Center about the wonderful work being done on so many of the old homes surrounding our campus.  Led by Mr. Tom Hagen, these old mansions are being beautifully restored and given new life as either apartments or businesses.  The Erie community is thrilled and so are we who work on this wonderful street. 

hotal iron

National Waffle Day

Becky Weiser

Tuesday Aug 24th, 2021

We are celebrating National Waffle Day here at the Hagen History Center with one of our favorite collections – Griswold!  Thanks to the generosity of donor Alan Stone, we have 221 different waffle irons, and several can be seen on exhibit in the Watson-Curtze mansion kitchen. 

WJET Erie City  Dir 1962 p82

National Radio Day

KayAnn Warner

Friday Aug 20th, 2021

Who hasn’t talked about the radio? Modern music still refers to the radio in songs, R.E.M. wrote about it in Radio Free Europe in the grungy 1990s, and Queen wrote the smashin’ hit Radio Ga Ga in 1984.

Sewing Machine 1842

The Sewing Machine and Synthetic Dyes

Elena Kubat – Waynesburg University

Wednesday Aug 18th, 2021

Our clothes today come in so many different styles and colors which was unimaginable to people back in the 1800s when clothes were sewn by hand and dyes had to come from natural sources. So, how did we get to the point where we could buy colorful clothing cheaply off the rack?