Historic
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Ambler’s Lindenwold Castle Auction Starts at a Modest $1.5 Million
Ambler’s Lindenwold Castle, inspired by Windsor Castle, is up for auction with a reserve price of $1.5 million, reports Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal. The 134-year-old castle is approved for residential units and office spaces. It does, however, retain the potential to sell as a large single-family home. The sealed-bid auction, conducted by…
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The Philadelphia Editor Who Made Thanksgiving a National Tradition
Did you know one woman’s determination turned Thanksgiving into a beloved national holiday? Sarah Josepha Hale, a trailblazing editor in 19th-century Philadelphia, convinced Abraham Lincoln to unite the nation with an annual day of gratitude. Here is the story of how Hale’s visionary campaign shaped the Thanksgiving tradition we cherish today as shared by Rund…
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Take a Visit to Pennsylvania’s Oldest House in Delaware County
Pennsylvania’s oldest house is over 300 years old, built around 1640. It’s also in Delaware County, on Creek Road in Drexel Hill, writes Ava Peluso for AZ Animals. Swedish immigrants built the Lower Swedish Cabin near the Upper Darby River, close to the Great Minquas Trail, a trade route and a way for farmers to…
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Delaware County Mystery Histories Found in Old Postcards
Delaware County historian Keith Lockhart offers a view of Davis Road in the Llanerch section of Haverford Township, as reported in the Daily Times. The photo was apparently taken in a time before electrification when there was far less traffic on the road. Here’s a previous Keith Lockhart photo that ran in the Daily Times.…
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Hidden in Plain Sight: Ivyland Borough Boasts 150-Plus Years of Victorian Charm and History
Neatly tucked in the borders of Warminster and Northampton townships is the small community of Ivyland Borough, almost hiding in plain sight as commuters on Jacksonville and Bristol roads zoom by on their daily excursions. Even people who have lived in central Bucks County for years are surprised to find this quaint neighborhood of Victorian…
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Bucks County’s Historical Markers Shine Light on Lesser-Known Figures and Events
Bucks County is home to several local historical markers that shine a light on the region’s lesser-known figures and events, writes Sandy Smith for the Philadelphia Magazine. Langhorne Speedway, situated at 1939 East Lincoln Highway in Langhorne, is a one-mile dirt oval known as “The Big Left Turn.” This historic venue was host to one…
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This Bucks County Town Was Listed As One of The Best Halloween Towns in America
A part of Bucks County recently made the list of best Halloween towns in the entire nation, a coveted title this time of year. Charity De Souza wrote about the local spooky town for Visit Bucks County. New Hope made the list of spookiest town in America. Known for their Halloween festivities and their haunted…
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The 150-Year Legacy of Ivyland’s Beloved Country Store
The Ivyland store building, constructed in 1873 by Ivyland founder Edwin Lacey, was one of the first structures in Ivyland. It was opened and operated as a store in 1874 by J. Montgomery Carr. Carr was an experienced merchant who previously had a store and dairy establishment at Neshaminy on Street Road at Easton Pike.…
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Philadelphia Is Where Edgar Allan Poe’s Writing Flourished
Despite a lifetime of living in the Philadelphia area … and 15 years of living downtown itself … I’d never visited the Edgar Allan Poe house. Until recently. My motivation: a New York group heading for Philly wanted to tour the site. So, before they came, on a recent rainy Friday afternoon, I walked up to…
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Series of Short Films Aims to Preserve New Hope’s LGBTQ+ History
A series of five short documentaries produced by New York-based studio TRAVERSE32 aims to preserve New Hope’s rich LGBTQ+ history, writes Rosa Cartagena for The Philadelphia Inquirer. One of the films, Don’t Cry For Me All You Drag Queens, focuses on “Mother,” or Joseph (Josie) Cavallucci, a Philadelphia native who moved to New Hope in…
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This Covered Bridge in New Hope Among Local Creepy Places to Visit Ahead of Halloween
Van Sandt Covered Bridge in New Hope is one of the creepiest places in the tri-state area you can visit ahead of Halloween to get your dose of spooky, reports Dan Sheridan for 6abc. Many believe the bridge is haunted by several spirits, one of them a woman whose cries can be heard at night. …
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SS United States Leaves Philadelphia Home of Nearly Three Decades
The SS United States hosted a small event over the weekend to bid farewell to its Philadelphia home of nearly three decades as it heads to Florida for semi-retirement, writes Ximena Conde for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The SS United States Conservancy and Florida officials from Okaloosa County marked the occasion with a small transfer-of-title ceremony…
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This Cult From the Late 1600s Was Born in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania is the birthplace of several unusual cults and religious groups and one in particular was born in Philadelphia, writes Kalena Thomhave for The Keystone. Among the first doomsday cults in the New World is tied to the woods of the Wissahickon Valley in Philadelphia. This cult is the Society of the Woman in the…
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New Historical Marker in Springfield Honors First Woman to Practice Law in Pennsylvania
The new Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission historical marker recently unveiled and dedicated in Springfield honors attorney Caroline Burnham Kilgore, the first woman to practice law in Pennsylvania, writes Peg DeGrassa for the Daily Times. Born in 1838, Kilgore was a trailblazer and legal scholar. She fought for 14 years to achieve her right to…
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Downingtown Now Has a Sister City in the United Kingdom
Downingtown has linked to Bradninch Devon in the United Kingdom as a sister city, writes Bill Rettew for The Daily Local News. Downingtown was named after Thomas Downing II, who also resided in the town’s new sister city. He left Bradninch in the early 18th century and emigrated to the U.S. The sister city mission…
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Washington Square West is Now Philadelphia’s Newest Historic District
On Friday, September 13, the Philadelphia Historical Commission voted to make Washington Square West a historic district with a unanimous 9-0 with one abstention, writes Raymond Strickland for CBS News Philadelphia. Tami Sortman of the Washington Square West Civic Association is elated because she has spent years pushing to get that designation. “You can’t get…
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Hit Hard by Hurricane Ida, South Perkasie Covered Bridge Is Coming Back
Repairs are starting on one of Bucks County’s most iconic covered bridges after Hurricane Ida ripped it from its concrete supports three years ago, writes JD Mullane for Bucks County Courier Times. The Perkasie Borough Council voted Sept. 3 to award a $195,030 engineering and rehab contract to Wood Research and Development for the 200-year-old…
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Remembering the Sears Tower on Roosevelt Boulevard Nearly Three Decades After its Demise
Almost three decades after the Sears Eastern Regional Catalogue Headquarters on Roosevelt Boulevard was demolished, the complex and its 14-story clock tower continues to live on in the memory of many Philadelphians who worked and shopped there, writes Edward W. Duffy for the Hidden City. Not everything is gone, however. The power plant’s chimney still…
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