Wednesday Mar 10th, 2021
I have been on the lookout to buy some “rural” property lately. I don’t want anything fancy or expensive but not quite a hunting camp either, just some quiet place to relax. So, in my efforts to escape the “big” city of Erie, I have been driving around Erie, Crawford and Warren Counties admiring the natural beauty of the region we call home.
Tuesday Mar 9th, 2021
The Nicholsons of Millcreek were among the earliest settlers of Erie County. Irish immigrants John and Isobella Nicholson, so the legend goes, arrived in Erie, on horseback, bundled infant son in tow, in the spring of 1797, and, in true pioneer spirit, cleared a piece of land for themselves on the ridge above the lake (later clearing a road all the way into town), planted crops, operated grain and lumber mills, opened a tavern, and were instrumental in the construction and establishment of more than one of the area’s earliest church.
Monday Mar 8th, 2021
Harrisburg – PA Museums has announced the winners of its 2021 Special Achievement Awards. Since the 1980s, PA Museums has invited nominations from its membership and chosen institutions, projects, and individuals to be recognized.
Friday Mar 5th, 2021
Woman’s History Month is one that should be celebrated year-round, not just once each year. The role played by women throughout history deserves more than a month or a short section at the end of each chapter in a history textbook.
Thursday Mar 4th, 2021
Join Betsy MacKrell for a virtual tour of the graves of strong women who forged paths in the wilderness of the Pennsylvania frontier, then in a growing community where roles for women in general and especially women of color were limited. Each of these women overcame the perception that a woman’s place was (and even should be) limited to unseen and largely unappreciated labor.
Wednesday Mar 3rd, 2021
Are you ready for some mid 19th Century scandal that happened here in Erie? It is all connected to a group of most likely well-meaning folks, debt and a cemetery.
Tuesday Mar 2nd, 2021
After being closed for several months, please plan to join us for the campus-wide Grand Opening of the Hagen History Center scheduled for the weekend of July 16.
Friday Feb 26th, 2021
Samuel Jethroe (1917-2001) was born in Columbus, Mississippi, and grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois. Jethroe, a switch-hitter who threw right-handed, played semi-pro baseball in the St. Louis area after high school and briefly caught for the Indianapolis ABCs in 1938,
Wednesday Feb 24th, 2021
In the early days of settlement, whiskey was the drink of choice for many. Whiskey was consumed at any point in the day, and by children as well as adults. Of course, then, as now, some people had a problem with too much whiskey drinking and the first prohibition society in Erie County began in Wattsburg in 1829. By 1840, every town in the county had a temperance society and by 1896 distilleries no longer existed here.
Friday Feb 19th, 2021
In a time of segregation and Jim Crow, African Americans were often not welcome or barred from many businesses, restaurants and taverns throughout the United States. American GIs serving in the military in World War II recalled being barred from lunch counters and other establishments where even German POWs were being served. Struggling to overcome this “Whites Only” segregation, many black businesses opened nationwide to meet the needs of this part of the population. Erie’s Pope Hotel at 1318 French Street, opened in 1928, was one such place.
