Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation

Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation, Nonprofit Organization, 400 North Street, Harrisburg, PA.
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The Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation® is a non-profit 501(c)(3) partner of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), the official state agency charged with preserving and interpreting the Commonwealth's heritage and culture.

Pennsylvania’s First State Game Lands which totaled 6,288 acres, was acquired June 15, 1920, in Elk County. By 1919 ...
06/15/2026

Pennsylvania’s First State Game Lands which totaled 6,288 acres, was acquired June 15, 1920, in Elk County.

By 1919 Pennsylvania had twenty State Game Land reserves, but most animal populations were still distressingly low. That year, Governor William C. Sproul signed a law authorizing purchase of land specifically for game preserves. The Commission purchased 6,288 acres in Elk County from the Wright Chemical Company for State Game Lands Preserve Number 25. In the next five years, the Commission acquired another 86,000 acres and managed a game reserve system that covered an additional 100,000 acres of publicly owned and private lands.

Old GloryThe nickname “Old Glory” was coined in 1831 by Captain Stephen Driver, a shipmaster from Salem, Massachusetts. ...
06/14/2026

Old Glory

The nickname “Old Glory” was coined in 1831 by Captain Stephen Driver, a shipmaster from Salem, Massachusetts. It is said that as he was leaving upon one of his world voyages, his mother and a group of local women crafted a beautiful flag of 24 stars. As the flag opened to the ocean breeze for the first time, he exclaimed “Old Glory!”

When Captain Driver retired to Nashville, he hid this flag during the Civil War by quilting it into his bed coverlet to escape detection. Captain Driver updated the flag in 1861 to reflect thirty-four stars and added an anchor in the corner to indicate his sea service. Driver’s “Old Glory” is now in the Smithsonian.

Image Credit: Smithsonian

In the 1920s, Henry C. Kessler opened the York Cone Company. In addition to ice cream cones, he offered confections. How...
06/12/2026

In the 1920s, Henry C. Kessler opened the York Cone Company. In addition to ice cream cones, he offered confections. However, no one could perfect chocolate covered peppermint but in 1940, Kessler found a way to make the center crisp, firm and delicious. He named the new creation the “York Peppermint Pattie”.

York Peppermint Patties had to break clean down the middle or they weren’t packaged for sale. So what happened to the extra patties? People would go to the Pine Street plant in York and scoop up any imperfect batches.

While the company traded hands over the years, York Peppermint Patties joined The Hershey Company in 1988.

A Committee of Five June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress formed a committee tasked with drafting the Declarat...
06/11/2026

A Committee of Five

June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress formed a committee tasked with drafting the Declaration of Independence. Known as the "Committee of Five", the delegates were John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut.

This Declaration committee operated from June 11,1776 until July 5, 1776, the day on which the Declaration was published.

Big IkeThe Isaac M Mason packet was commonly known as "Big Ike." This sternwheel was built in Brownsville at Andrew Axto...
06/10/2026

Big Ike

The Isaac M Mason packet was commonly known as "Big Ike." This sternwheel was built in Brownsville at Andrew Axton and Son Yard and put into service in 1893. It had several owners throughout its time including Captain Thomas McCreery who used it as a towboat near the end of her commission. In March of 1913, Big Ike was burned at the water's edge near Cook's Landing on the Ohio river above Beaver, Pennsylvania.

A packet ship, or simply a "packet" was a boat that carried mail, cargo and passengers on a regular schedule. These vessels dominated America's river systems in the 1800s. The name comes from the "packets" or packages that they carried.

Image: PA State Archives Postcard Collection

Fred Waring, a name synonymous with American choral music.Born in Tyrone in 1900, at eighteen, Fred left home for Penn...
06/09/2026

Fred Waring, a name synonymous with American choral music.

Born in Tyrone in 1900, at eighteen, Fred left home for Pennsylvania State College to study engineering but was more interested in music. Beginning with his banjo quartet, he kept adding instruments, and the group grew in demand around campus. When the glee club rejected him, he added to his orchestra the component that opened the door to his future: voices. With its up-tempo beat and inviting harmonies, the group took on a life that State College could not contain. Far more popular than the college glee club, Waring's band was soon touring from coast to coast, but in one way never left home: Waring named them "The Pennsylvanians".

In the 1930s, The Pennsylvanians - now a full choir, fifty-five voices strong - became the first musical group with a nationally broadcast radio show, and, a decade later, the first with their own video TV show, which attracted Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and other notables as guest stars.

June 8, 1789, James Madison introduced a proposed Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Of his initial amendments, 17 pa...
06/08/2026

June 8, 1789, James Madison introduced a proposed Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Of his initial amendments, 17 passed in the House, 12 were passed the Senate and sent to the states for approval. On December 15, 1791 ten articles were ratified and became the Bill of Rights.

National Trails Day may be intended to highlight trails across the country that provide recreation, we figured, why not ...
06/06/2026

National Trails Day may be intended to highlight trails across the country that provide recreation, we figured, why not highlight the historic sites and museums on the Trails of History across Pennsylvania. An added bonus: some of the sites have excellent walking trails!

Explore the righ heritage and beauty of Pennsylvania on the Military History Trail, Historic Homes Trail, Industrial Heritage Trail or Rural Farm and Village History Trail. Membership with the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation includes FREE general admission to the sites on the PA Trails of History. Visit our site... link in the first comment below.

The U.S. Brig Niagara is on her way!
06/06/2026

The U.S. Brig Niagara is on her way!

June 4, 1892, marks the beginning of the Titusville and Oil City Flood. The disaster is attributed to heavy rainfall o...
06/04/2026

June 4, 1892, marks the beginning of the Titusville and Oil City Flood. The disaster is attributed to heavy rainfall overfilling Oil Creek and causing the Spartansburg earthen dam to burst. The water rushed towards Titusville destroying multiple refineries and filling the flood waters with oil. This mix caused true devastation by first flooding homes and businesses. The worst was yet to come, however.

The oil and water caught fire and caused massive explosions. This devastation leveled homes and businesses. When it was all over, the death toll was 132.

Address

400 North Street
Harrisburg, PA
17120

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+17177872407

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