Blog

New Yard Signs for the Commonwealth Monument (A Final Reflection)

Posted on by pc1226

Throughout this semester, I have had the privilege to work on designing various yard signs for the “Gathering at the Crossroads” Monument in Harrisburg. In collaboration with Mr. Lenwood Sloan, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Monument Project, I worked on creating two yard signs, the first pertaining to the Old Eighth Ward/Look Up, Look … Continue reading New Yard Signs for the Commonwealth Monument (A Final Reflection)

Joining the Digital Harrisburg Initiative

Posted on by pc1226

Source of image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/governortomwolf/50273969193/ As a senior psychology major who is new to digital public humanities and the Digital Harrisburg initiative, I look forward to working with the Digital Harrisburg team and community partners in Harrisburg. Throughout the course of this semester, I will be working on two major digital public humanities projects. The first … Continue reading Joining the Digital Harrisburg Initiative

The Digital Harrisburg Initiative in Fall 2025

Posted on by David Pettegrew

Fall semester 2025 at Messiah University began six weeks ago and our students have been busy working on a number of projects related to the history of Harrisburg. As the coordinator for digital humanities with Messiah University's Center for Public Humanities (CPH), I'm excited about what our students will accomplish this term in collaboration with … Continue reading The Digital Harrisburg Initiative in Fall 2025

Harrisburg Historical: A New Mobile App for Exploring the History of the Capital Region

Posted on by David Pettegrew

Yesterday marked a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to make the rich history of Pennsylvania’s capital region more accessible to the public. After two years of dedicated work by students, faculty, and community partners, Messiah University’s Center for Public Humanities officially launched Harrisburg Historical, a free website and mobile app that brings to life … Continue reading Harrisburg Historical: A New Mobile App for Exploring the History of the Capital Region

Tracing Outbreaks: A Digital Journey Through Harrisburg’s Disease History

Posted on by ef1301

With December comes the end of the semester and the culmination of projects and finals. This semester in Digital History, I learned and did a lot. I learned to make a website, curate images, and how to collect data for history. All the labs we did throughout this semester were to teach us and lead … Continue reading Tracing Outbreaks: A Digital Journey Through Harrisburg’s Disease History

From Idea to Digital Circulation: The Spirit of the Commonwealth Quarter

Posted on by ev1193

Amish buggies, Great Danes, Butterscotch Krimpets. All of these were nominated to be on the Pennsylvania state quarter in 1999 because someone thought they represented Pennsylvania. None of these were finalists for the Pennsylvania state quarter, though a ruffed grouse and eastern hemlock tree were. The official chosen quarter features the state outline, a keystone, … Continue reading From Idea to Digital Circulation: The Spirit of the Commonwealth Quarter

Researching Harrisburg’s Wildwood Zoological Park

Posted on by Kylie Smith

As a current student in a Digital History class at Messiah University, I was tasked with creating a Story Map about an aspect of the history of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. For my Digital History Story Map, I chose the topic of the Wildwood Zoological Park that used to exist in the capital city. While the Zoological … Continue reading Researching Harrisburg’s Wildwood Zoological Park

A City Submerged: Remembering Harrisburg’s 1936 Flood

Posted on by Ben Andrasi

An aerial shot of Harrisburg during the March 1936 flood (PennLive.com) By, Ben Andrasi During my college journey, I discovered a course on digital history, which got my attention. In our class we read parts of the article "What is Digital History?" by Seefeldt and Thomas. We learned that digital history is an expansive term … Continue reading A City Submerged: Remembering Harrisburg’s 1936 Flood

Digitizing Pennsylvania’s “Lunatic Hospital”

Posted on by Sophia Snyder

When I first encountered the “Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital” in an archive folder, I hardly expected the challenges I would encounter and the complexity of such a rich history that both intimidated yet excited me. I vividly remember sifting through pages of primary documents at the Pennsylvania State Archives, searching through maps, brochures, photographic images, … Continue reading Digitizing Pennsylvania’s “Lunatic Hospital”

Processing Digital History: My Work with Genevieve Blatt, the ‘First Lady of Pennsylvania Politics’

Posted on by mg1438

When I reflected on what I learned this semester as part of my final for my Digital History course, I realized how much this class had contributed to my digital skills. Looking back, my main motivation for taking this course was to fulfill my requirements for my Public History major here at Messiah University. I … Continue reading Processing Digital History: My Work with Genevieve Blatt, the ‘First Lady of Pennsylvania Politics’