Did you know that George Washington stopped in Harrisburg on his way to address the Whiskey Rebellion in October 1794? A new Harrisburg Historical story, titled "George Washington in Harrisburg," explores the first U.S. President's visit here. Written by Messiah University alums Kylie Smith (2026) and J.T. Crocenzi (2025), who also served as managing editor … Continue reading George Washington in Harrisburg
Public historian and Messiah University alumna Molly Elspas' recent Harrisburg Historical story tackles the history of restrictive housing covenants in the capital region. Titled "Restrictions on Locust Street: Building Homes to Build Fences," this piece examines the ways developers combined restrictive covenants and high prices to prevent African Americans and immigrants from moving into certain … Continue reading Restrictions on Locust Street
Public History junior Hannah Boes' most recent Harrisburg Historical article explores the history of the Catholic community in Harrisburg's Old Eighth Ward. It spotlights the story of Sister Mary Clare Grace, founder of the Harrisburg Sisters of Mercy, and the Sisters' efforts to care for those in need throughout Harrisburg. Here's the lede to the … Continue reading Sister Mary Clare Grace and the St. Clare Infirmary
Messiah 2025 alum, JT Crocenzi, a long-time contributor to Harrisburg Historical, has published an important article exploring the case of resistance of Harrisburg's African American community to slave catchers in August-September 1850. Titled "Violence at the Jailhouse: A Fugitive Slave Case in Harrisburg," the article tells the story of George Wilson, Samuel Brooks, and a … Continue reading Resistance at the County Jail: A Fugitive Slave Case in Harrisburg, 1850
Flashback Thursday: Nearly a century ago this week, Harrisburg Telegraph carried a story about the new "triplets" -- baby lions -- that could be seen in Harrisburg Zoological Park. Did you even know that Harrisburg had a zoo? From 1929 to 1945, Harrisburg's dailies regularly reported updates about the various animals--lions, bears, snakes, bison, monkeys, … Continue reading Remembering the Harrisburg Zoo
On March 24, 1842, the well-known English writer and journalist Charles Dickens traveled through Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in his first American tour. Hannah Boes, History major at Messiah University, has just published an article on Dickens' visit at Harrisburg Historical. Here's a glimpse: "The celebrated English writer Charles Dickens, along with his wife, Catherine, and her … Continue reading Today in History: Charles Dickens Visits Harrisburg in 1842
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)
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
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
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
