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)

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

Progress Update: Harrisburg Historical Walking Tours by Messiah University  

Posted on by jk1641

Jake Kocher: December 9, 2024 As the fall 2024 semester approaches its conclusion, it is a fitting moment to provide an update on the history tours being developed by Messiah University's Harrisburg Historical team. Significant progress has been made since the last update, culminating in a streamlined and focused approach to this important project. Here … Continue reading Progress Update: Harrisburg Historical Walking Tours by Messiah University  

Concluding Fall Semester 2024: An Update on Student Activities

Posted on by David Pettegrew

It's the final week of fall semester at Messiah University and as I type this, students are working hard to finish their projects and practicums in digital public humanities as well as a variety of exams, presentations, and projects for other classes. Earlier in the semester I noted here that students were then working on … Continue reading Concluding Fall Semester 2024: An Update on Student Activities

A Tour Takes Shape: December Update on Harrisburg Historical

Posted on by Alex Shehigian

The final week of the Fall 2023 semester is upon us, and thus our student team is putting the final touches on our contribution to the Chester Way Civil Rights Tour on the Harrisburg Historical website. If you’re new to this story, Harrisburg Historical is a Curatescape project by Messiah University, the T. Morris Chester Welcome … Continue reading A Tour Takes Shape: December Update on Harrisburg Historical

Harrisburg Historical: Developing a Digital Civil Rights Tour

Posted on by Alex Shehigian

The landing page of Harrisburg Historical, a collection of digital tours through the city. What if there was a way to conveniently access a diverse array of histories surrounding the Pennsylvania capitol in the palm of your hand? This is the very goal of Harrisburg Historical, an upcoming website and mobile application that will tell … Continue reading Harrisburg Historical: Developing a Digital Civil Rights Tour

The Untold Epidemic of 1916

Posted on by fs2173

Learn about the epidemic of measles and whooping cough that swept over Harrisburg in the year 1916. A graph of the numbers of diseases per ward. Source: Faith Swarner I was presented with a kind of mystery this semester. For our final project, we were to find information from the PA State Archives to produce … Continue reading The Untold Epidemic of 1916

Sharing the Stories of Harrisburg’s Schools through Story Maps

Posted on by Alex Shehigian

Image Source: Alex Shehigian by Alex Shehigian When this semester’s Digital History course began, I was capable of discussing the more theoretical elements to this facet of the discipline of History but lacked technical experience in the vast majority of applications and tools that have now become central to the field. As our class explored … Continue reading Sharing the Stories of Harrisburg’s Schools through Story Maps

Retelling the Story of Harrisburg’s Historic African American Community: My Final Reflections

Posted on by Kelan Amme

- Kelan Amme, Lenwood Sloan (who plays Martin J. Delaney), and Lewis Butts (who plays Jacob T. Compton) discuss project details. Image by Kelan Amme. For part one of this story, click here. For part two of this story, click here. When I first began brainstorming how the Chester Way walking tour, my idea of … Continue reading Retelling the Story of Harrisburg’s Historic African American Community: My Final Reflections

Harrisburg Transformations: Digitization and Datification

Posted on by se1231

By Sam Erikson Going to The Pennsylvania State Archives and The Dauphin County Historical Society were both formative experiences for me over the course of this Digital History course. When my classmates and I traveled to The Pennsylvania State Archives together a few weeks ago, I was immediately overwhelmed by the vast amount of collections. … Continue reading Harrisburg Transformations: Digitization and Datification