It wasn't my intention to entirely skip the last week of November and dive straight into the yearly wrap-up, but it also wasn't my intention to come down with a sinus infection. Between that, the holiday, and the usual hullabaloo of working retail on Black Friday weekend, there just wasn't enough time for blogging. I hope all of my American readers had a great Thanksgiving, and that my handful of international followers enjoyed a very pleasant Thursday.
We are now entering the last year in which I can describe my age as "fortymumble" and I haven't quite decided how I feel about that. But one thing remains certain, and that is that I'm still having a lot of fun with this blog, so rest assured that it's still going to be a thing in the new year. With that, let's dive into the annual recap and see which of this year's offerings you all liked the best.
What did MarkerQuest™ do this year?
I received some very charming invitations. First, as a result of my post about the Old Woolen Factory in Sullivan County, I was invited to visit their county historical museum. Kevin (the emotional support silly man) suggested a road trip for his birthday and off we went; we had a wonderful time being shown around the museum by Melly Norton, and collected several markers in three counties during the adventure. This led to my posting about Walter Tewksbury in Wyoming County, and the post was found by the nonprofit which runs a museum in his wife's family home. So I have a standing invitation to visit them as well, and hope to do so next year.
I added a handful of new counties to the blog this year - Sullivan, Wyoming, Bradford, Mifflin, and Cameron. (Those last two were thanks to guest photographer Kaylee Lindenmuth, who likes to send me marker photos from her travels for the Shenandoah Sentinel.) That brings the total to 29 of the 67 counties in the commonwealth, although in several cases I've only done one post from a county. I think after the holidays, I'll create a more interactive map for the blog so I can keep myself updated.
There are also a few things I stopped doing this year. Chief among those is the mailing list - I realized that it was a lot of extra work every month for very little payoff, plus my list server was basically pushing for me to pay for the service by putting more and more features behind a paywall. I really don't make any money off of this blog, so that's not something I can reasonably manage just at present, and as a result I made the decision to discontinue the mailing list until further notice.
What are some facts about MarkerQuest™?
The blog celebrated its seventh birthday in May! I marked the occasion by inviting my readers to tell me about their favorite PHMC markers, and a fair few of you had some interesting tales to share.
As of this writing, the MQ Facebook page has 405 followers, not counting those who read my posts when I share them in relevant groups. I also created an Instagram for the blog, which currently has 92 followers. I'll admit I am terrible about updating it, mostly because I don't use it on a personal level and I'm still not used to the format, but I'm going to try to be better in the coming year.
As is my tradition, let's see what the most popular posts of this past year have been. My post about Gnadenhuetten (one of the three original posts on the blog) retains its place of honor as my most-read post of all time, with more than 5,000 hits.
This is not including the 'special edition' posts I shared this year, like the puzzles and the favorite markers list, of which I had more than in years past. These are strictly 'quest' posts. Also, there was once again a tie - this time for eighth place - meaning that I had to include an extra one on the list. So in reverse order, the ten eleven most popular posts written in 2025 are:
10) Tulpehocken Evangelical and Reformed Church, Richland, Lebanon County
9) Hereford Furnace, Hereford Township, Berks County
8) Gen. John Armstrong, Carlisle, Cumberland County
8) Silver Spring Presbyterian Church, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County (tie)
7) Sylvania Electric Products, Emporium, Cameron County
6) Old Woolen Factory, Forksville, Sullivan County
5) Catherine Drinker Bowen, Bethlehem, Northampton County
4) Hummelstown Brownstone Quarries, Hummelstown, Dauphin County
3) Shawnee-Minisink Archaeological Site, Smithfield Township, Monroe County
2) Charles Sheeler, Doylestown, Bucks County
1) Shippen House, Lancaster, Lancaster County
In total, the blog has just this week broken 300,000 hits of all time! That means that there have been a little more than 100,000 hits since this time last year, which is a sign that it's surely growing. I've got a lot of work to do.
What's coming up for MarkerQuest™?
I'm almost ready to announce the first book to be released in the MQ imprint! I had hoped it would be ready in time for the December holidays, for gift-giving purposes, but life gets in my way a lot. I'm really happy with the quality of the writing, though, and I can't wait to share it with all of you. There are at least two more books in the immediate pipeline as well, and I'm already starting to line up signings for 2026.
I'll be returning to my beloved Zenkaikon in March of next year, where I'm assisting in a different history project than my usual - the con is turning 20 years old and I'm the vice-chair of the anniversary committee, so I've been helping to put together information about that. I've also got applications in to talk about a few other history topics related to either Lancaster or the con's theme (or both).
Whatever you celebrate, I hope it's peaceful, warm, and full of joy. I look forward to resuming my weekly posts in January, and wish everyone a Happy New Year.
To all of my readers, my supporters, and the friends which MarkerQuest™ has gained over the years - thank you for joining me on this adventure. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you and I hope you'll continue to be a part of the MarkerQuest™ crew in the coming year.
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.
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