2019 Retrospective, 2020 Plans

Hi everybody, and thanks for being so patient. When I wrote about Hawk Mountain a few weeks back, I mentioned having missed a post due to being extremely sick, and that I was still "not quite firing on all cylinders." As the blog's Facebook followers learned not long afterward, it turned out that I had a pretty serious case of pneumonia, which is not the way I had planned to spend Thanksgiving. I've been doing a lot of resting these last few weeks and I'm getting better, although the cough lingers. I was sorry to keep everyone waiting so long for a new post, but I'm grateful for how much attention the Hawk Mountain article received in the meantime.

Because I'm still recovering, it's been hard to conduct any real research since my doctor handed down the diagnosis. It's also the holiday season, which is busy enough on its own, and I have a job in retail so my time is at an even greater premium. So what I thought I'd do to wrap things up for 2019 is to take a look at where this blog has been, and talk about where I'm planning to take it in the new year. No pictures, just a bit of a chat with your intrepid blogger.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, Berks County

Back in the saddle this week! I couldn't update on schedule last week, as my Facebook followers saw, because I was extremely sick. Still not quite firing on all cylinders, but doing better than I was and I appreciate everyone who reached out to wish me better.

My husband Kevin and I went out on a special trip last month to collect this marker. It's a place which is very near and dear to my heart, as I spent several years there as a volunteer, and I was so pleased to hear they were finally getting a marker. I only missed the ceremony because it was at the same time that the Richard Moore marker was being dedicated, and I had already promised to be in Quakertown that day. Because I love Hawk Mountain so much, this post will be maybe a touch longer than usual and with more photographs.

Lindley Murray, East Hanover Township, Lebanon County

Autumn has once again descended on Pennsylvania, with this week and the next expected to bring our peak colors. It's my favorite time of year and I'm hoping to get out this weekend and get some pictures - and not only of markers!

This week's quest is a relatively quiet one, since it's one of those for which I only have a picture of the marker itself. People who know me well may find it an amusing subject for me, though; among my friends and family members I'm known as being a stickler for grammar (that's putting it mildly), and so was today's subject. In fact, he wrote the book.

Packer Mansion, Jim Thorpe, Carbon County

Before we get into the meat of today's post, I wanted to share a link that was sent to me by Karen Galle, from the PHMC office. She enjoyed my description of the Richard Moore marker dedication and wanted to make sure I knew (and could tell all of you) that there's a calendar on the PHMC website, detailing upcoming dedication ceremonies. If you'd be interested in attending the unveiling of a new marker near you, be sure to take a look and mark your own calendar! Thanks, Karen!

I live very close to the point where the borders of Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon Counties all meet. Jim Thorpe is not too far from me, and I'm rather fond of the quaint little community. We used to drive through it periodically when I was a child, on the way to visit relatives in the nearby town of Nesquehoning, and the view of Jim Thorpe as we would enter it from its southern end has always been arresting to me. Of particular interest to my childhood fancies was the enormous green house with the red roofs, nestled into the distant hills. What was this fairy tale come to life? Who lived there?

Richard Moore, Quakertown, Bucks County

Before I sink my teeth into this week's post, let me draw your attention to the snazzy new header image, designed by my friend Rachel - I love it so much! Check out the quest links page if you'd like to contact her about her graphic designs. Thank you, Rach!

Last week, I told you about the fun I had watching this marker be unveiled and dedicated. This week, we'll actually talk about what's on the marker, and the history which led to it.

I recently had a conversation with my mother about history. Apparently, some public school students we know were never taught about the Underground Railroad in school, and neither of us can figure out why. Part of the reason it's so important for us to learn about our history is so that we can learn from our history, or else mankind is just doomed to keep making the same mistakes. I don't generally get political on this blog, for what I would imagine are fairly obvious reasons, but I also don't think it's exactly a major political statement when I say that slavery is wrong, and is one of the big mistakes that we need to learn not to repeat. 

Richard Moore marker dedication, Quakertown, Bucks County

So if you're paying attention to my usual update schedule, you might be thinking, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be posting next week instead of this week?" And you would be correct, because this is one of the in-between weeks in which I don't tell you about the history behind a marker.

Instead, I thought I'd do a sort of 'special edition' for the blog, and share my experiences from this past weekend when a marker was dedicated. I don't know how often I'll be able to attend a marker dedication ceremony, but I'm going to get to them when I can because I'm interested to see how the different communities handle the events. This was the first one I ever attended, and I had a wonderful time. The actual history behind the Richard Moore marker will be covered in next week's regularly scheduled blog post; but here's how it went seeing it unveiled.

The Unknown Soldier, Bethlehem, Northampton County

It's been a while since MarkerQuest went to Bethlehem, and I find myself missing it a little bit, so I thought that we'd welcome September (and celebrate my birthday) by heading back there. This is sort of a sequel to a previous post, which is always fun for me.

Last December, I talked about visiting the replica of the first house in Bethlehem, and how it was the place where the city received its name. In that post, I mentioned that the replica house includes a plaque related to soldiers buried on a nearby hillside, and how that's related to Bethlehem's very own Unknown Soldier, which is what I thought I would cover today.

Molly Maguire Executions, Carbon and Schuylkill Counties

This is a new one for the blog - the first cross-county post. Throughout Pennsylvania there are a number of markers which are related - either they contain the same information in two different locations (which is the case today), or they're a series of markers which, when put together, more or less tell a story. It's not going to be easy for me to do some of these; for example, there are several markers related to the various canals that will take me a long time to collect. But this one, which has just two, I can do.

Odd as it probably sounds, given the subject matter, I've been looking forward to writing this post. It contains one of the most interesting and obscure pieces of local apocrypha that we have in the Lehigh Valley region. I only waited as long as I did to do this one because I needed a couple of photos from the other location in the story. Now that I have those, here's how we'll finish out the summer - with the deaths of ten men.

Burd Patterson, Pottsville, Schuylkill County

Today we make the blog's first foray into Schuylkill County (that's "SKOO-kill," for those of you who aren't from around here). My youngest sister Liza took me on a drive around the city of Pottsville, which is not far from where she works; we collected a handful of the markers. There's nothing quite like driving around Pennsylvania in an open-air Jeep, so thank you, baby sis!

Among the findings of that afternoon was a beautiful Federal-style mansion on Mahantongo Street, which more than one sign identified as being the former home of Burd Patterson. He turned out to be a trickier subject than I expected.

Pearl S. Buck, Perkasie, Bucks County

It frequently happens in my video games that while I'm on one quest, I stumble across multiple unrelated side quests (as they're called). MarkerQuest isn't all that different. It happens - quite often in fact - that while I'm out in the world simply doing whatever I'm doing, I stumble across those telltale markers which form the basis of this quest. However, it also happens, both in games and in real life, that one of the other characters will direct me to a side quest, and that's what happened in today's post.

I visit Peddler's Village in Bucks County with my mother a couple of times a year, usually in the company of friends. We were coming back from one such trip when she said, "You know, one of your signs is nearby. We should go get it."

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County

Today's blog post once again makes use of photos sent by my friend and former coworker, Sheila Clever, who works at the subject location. Thank you, Sheila! I also want to say thank you to my mother's dear friend, Mitzi Smith, who recently provided me with the 1991 edition of the Guide to the State Historical Markers of Pennsylvania as well as a pile of information regarding George Taylor, which will all be of use to me in publishing this blog. So thank you very much!

I admit I was slightly surprised to receive these photos, because it managed to escape my notice that the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has its own historical marker, which it received in 2007. However, I haven't been there in - well, more years than I want to admit. I was a patient, a long time ago, and I know they do great things there.

The Markerless Quest (London, England)

Hello and Happy Independence Day from the birthplace of America!

I have returned from that vacation I mentioned in my last post - my wonderful parents sent my husband Kevin and myself on a trip to Europe, which is something I've wanted to see for as long as I can remember. My favorite part was visiting Wales, which is the birthplace of my grandmother's grandmother, but the entire trip was amazing and we took more than two thousand pictures. Wales, incidentally, looks a lot like Pennsylvania - forests and mountains. 

I'll admit that it felt a little strange to be traveling and not looking for blue and gold markers to photograph. In fact, the first couple of days, I found myself looking for them purely out of habit, which made me laugh when I realized what I was doing. Many of our pictures were, in fact, of historical markers or signs, because I like to be able to reread them afterward and remember what I learned.

One of our days was spent on a bus tour of London, England. I can now say that I have actually walked on the streets of London, which is an item off my bucket list. There were many of those. We saw Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, the London Eye, and Westminster Cathedral. (We also saw quite a bit of road work and construction, so we felt right at home.)

We also saw the oldest church in London, which is actually the subject of this post. The bus was not stopped long enough for me to photograph it to my own satisfaction, and unfortunately, with all the road work and "Future Friday" protests, the time we were able to spend off of the bus was not as long as we had hoped it might be, so going back for more pictures wasn't an option. Also, I apologize for the quality of the images I do have; they were taken through the windows of the bus, so there's some reflection interfering with the clarity.

I was able to catch this picture of their sign, because the fact that it's as old as it is really caught my attention - London itself was founded in 49 AD by the ancient Romans, and the church as you can see was founded in 675. But apart from this sign, there's a marker carved over another door which I didn't get to photograph - we pulled away too fast. All I really saw was the word Pennsylvania. Now why, I thought, would that be inscribed on an ancient church in London? I had to suppress my curiosity until we returned to our cruise ship and the wifi connection.

As it turns out, All Hallows by the Tower is where our own William Penn was baptized on October 23, 1644. This is apparently significant enough in the church's history that they engraved information to this effect over one of the building's many doors. He also received much of his education there as a boy. It was because of William's father, Admiral Penn, and his friend Samuel Pepys that the church survived the Great Fire of London in 1666, and they watched it blaze from the church's topmost tower.

Many other historical figures have had connections with this church as well; John Quincy Adams was married there in 1797. Being as close as it is to the Tower of London, they've had to be the ones to care for a number of beheading victims over the years, including Thomas More.

One of the doorways, though
regrettably not the William Penn one

The history of the church, as it appears on their website, is not very long but whets the appetite. It was founded by the Abbey of Barking in 675 as mentioned, which makes it 300 years older than the Tower of London. It started as a Saxon church, and it still contains an arch from the original building. It also has a crypt beneath the church, the contents of which include Roman pavement dating from the second century. However, the building which survives today only dates from the 1950s (which is how they got Penn's information over the door), because the previous incarnation was severely damaged in the Blitz during World War II.

All Hallows by the Tower is situated on Byward Street in London, and is part of the Diocese of London in the Church of England. The crypt museum houses a number of interesting relics, including William Penn's baptismal record, and can be visited during the church's regular visiting hours. Audio and guided tours of the church are available; the website also offers a virtual tour. Please check the website for visiting hours, scheduled services, and other information.

I have no idea when, or if, I'll be in London again. But All Hallows is on my list of places I want to give a second look if the chance befalls me - and if you get there, I hope you take the opportunity too.

Join me in two weeks for a return to my regular historical nonsense, and have a fun and safe July Fourth weekend!

Edit 8/7/2019: Karen Galle, of the PHMC, contacted me about this post a couple of days ago. The cartouche over the door at All Hallows by the Tower, which was the thing that caught my attention from the bus, technically is part of our historical marker program! Well, sort of. Here's what she told me:

In 2000, the PHMC contributed to the refurbishment of the cartouche above the door that you mentioned in the blog.  The Commission had originally thought to put up a marker in England to commemorate Penn, but since there already was this commemoration of him at the church where he was baptized, arrangements were made to contribute to its conservation. A delegation of PHMC staff attended the rededication ceremony.

Thanks for this information, Karen!

---

Sources and Further Reading:

Official website of All Hallows by the Tower

Official All Hallows Facebook page

Official All Hallows Twitter account

---

Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.

Blue Mountain Forts, Annville, Lebanon County

If you live in Pennsylvania, you know that last week we had a lot of severe weather all over the state for a few days in a row, including several tornado watches and warnings. As I mentioned in the past, my body reacts badly to severe weather, so I was in pretty bad shape and missed last week's update. My apologies to anyone who was looking forward to it!

It seems that the last time I mentioned my problems with the weather was in my post about the Hanover Resolves. Today's post has two things in common with that one, and this is the first. The second is that, like in that post, I only have one photograph for today - the picture of the historical marker itself. After attending the latest meeting of the White Rose Irregulars of York, my companions and I made a brief detour in Lebanon County to collect a few markers there, and here is the first post from that county.

The Solitude, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County

Two weeks ago, I promised my Facebook followers that whichever of two post subjects they did not select would be the focus of this week's update. Having given my attention to the heavily requested David Tannenberg, I now take us back to Philadelphia to visit a mansion in the middle of the zoo.

I visited the Philadelphia Zoo with my husband last summer, and wrote about it on a very cold day when I was in need of some sunshine. At the time, I didn't give too much focus to the beautiful Colonial mansion in the middle of the grounds, because it has its own marker and I knew I'd be telling you all about it in another post. And here we are.

David Tannenberg, Bethlehem, Northampton County

Once again I polled my Facebook followers to see which of two subjects they wanted me to cover this week. By a two-thirds margin, they voted for this one.

Burnside Plantation is a magnificent colonial estate nestled in a part of Bethlehem which, until I undertook this particular marker quest, I had never occasioned to visit. It's sort of tucked out of the way. The road leading to it branches off from Schoenersville Road, and this week's marker is found at the entrance.

Carbon County

I'm not sure how commonly this is known, but did you realize that every one of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania, in addition to being home to many other markers, has a PHMC marker of its very own? I've been trying to figure out the best way to talk about these, but as is so often the case, I'm probably overthinking the matter and I'm just going to treat them like the other markers.

The marker for each county is found in the vicinity of the county courthouse, and the community where the county courthouse is located is known as the county seat. (The lone exception to this rule is Philadelphia County, which consists entirely of the city of Philadelphia - it is its own county seat.) So if you haven't had occasion to wander past the courthouse of a given county, odds are you've never seen one of these markers.

(Edit: Karen Galle, of the PHMC, tells me in a comment below that Montgomery County actually does not have its own marker.)

Rock Ford, Lancaster, Lancaster County

Happy April! Pennsylvania is finally starting to get warm(ish)!

First, another shout out to Karen Galle, the director of the PHMC’s historical marker program. She recently updated their official blog with some info about new markers that are being erected this year, thus ensuring that I will continue to have blog subjects for years to come, and at the very end she gave a lovely shout-out to MarkerQuest! You can read the post, which is quite interesting, here.

If you read my post last year about the First Reformed Church of Lancaster, you may remember that I said I'm in that city at least once a year for Zenkaikon, the local annual gathering of pop culture enthusiasts. We were together once again at the end of March, so a big hello to any of my Z-pals who are reading this! While I was there with my usual guest star party members Rachel and Andrea, we took some time between panels to collect a few more signs for this blog. Today's subject was unexpected - we stumbled upon it while traveling between our hotel and the convention, and of course made the detour to get photos.

Moravian Archives, Bethlehem, Northampton County

A special shout-out hello to Karen Galle, the director of the PHMC’s historical marker program, who recently emailed to say how much she's enjoying MarkerQuest! She suggested that I start including the county in the name of each blog post as well as the community, which makes sense to me, so thank you for the idea.

Words might be my bread and butter, but in today's post, I rely more heavily on photographs than I normally do. That's because it's sort of hard for me to adequately describe the treasures of the Moravian Archives.

First School Slate Factory, Slatington, Lehigh County

For this first post written in my new residence, I'm going back to the county of my birth, to the hometown of my grandmother and her sisters. Slatington gets its name from the local deposits of slate, which have been used over the years to make many things. In particular, it's been used to make school chalkboards, which is what today's post discusses.

Hanover Resolves, Grantville, Dauphin County

My apologies to anyone who missed me updating on schedule two weeks ago - we had some very bad weather and it affects me pretty intently. We're having some this week too, but I couldn't let another 'blog day' go by without an update.

Today's post is a slightly odd one, however. I don't have any photos to share except for the picture of the marker itself. But I did learn some interesting things while writing this, and I hope you find them interesting too.

Pilger Ruh, Bethel Township, Berks County

I've mentioned in previous posts that my good friend Rachel used to work for Historic Bethlehem before she moved out of state. One thing she told me is a running joke for the staff and volunteers is that "Count Zinzendorf is everywhere." The Count, as you may remember from my post about the first house of Bethlehem, is the one who gave that city its name and was extremely involved in the Moravian movement of the 18th century.

It's really not an exaggeration to say that he's everywhere, either, given the number of times I've come across his name in my work. However, while I'm used to him cropping up during research in Northampton County, I wasn't expecting to find his name on one of the markers in Berks County, more than seventy miles away.

Fort Deshler, Whitehall, Lehigh County

Hello and Happy 2019, history fans! I'm looking forward to another year of sharing with you the fascinating stories of our beloved commonwealth. To start us off, I'm back in my native Lehigh County for a marker which I pass almost every day.

A few months ago I told you about Fort Allen, up in Carbon County, which was built during the French and Indian War to help protect the local settlers from Native American raids. In fact, Pennsylvania was home to quite a number of similar forts, most of which are gone. One of these stood in Whitehall, near what today is Route 145, and it was called Fort Deshler.