Charles Sheeler, Doylestown, Bucks County

I thought the showers were supposed to be in April. Around here, it's May which has been rainy this year - and more than rainy at that. Yesterday we had a tornado confirmed about twelve miles from my house, with hail falling in other places. My longtime readers know that I'm a walking barometer, so this hasn't been exactly fun for me.

I'm doing my best to keep up with the blog, though, and I did finally get files transferred from my less cooperative laptop to the one that my husband has essentially given me. (It's his, but he prefers his desktop computer and his iPad, so he gave me unrestricted access to this one. I like to use a laptop for writing purposes, because then I can work in bed and adjust my position as needed for pain.) So with any luck, sharing Pennsylvania history with all of you will be a bit easier now, and we have some possible trips coming up that will let me collect more markers.

For today, we'll take this year's first trip down to Bucks County, and learn about an artist who used to live in Doylestown. In fact, today is the 60th anniversary of his passing. (P.S. Don't forget, you have until May 18th to send me pictures of your favorite historical markers! See my previous post for details.)

James A. Michener, Doylestown, Bucks County

Sorry I'm late? I didn't intend to be gone for what amounts to four weeks, but upon returning from our fantastic vacation (thank you very much, parents), both my sister and I were struck with some pretty nasty sinus infections. She was much worse than I was, but I was bad enough that it was hard to concentrate on writing. My voice was also affected, so there have been no new podcast episodes because it hurt to talk that much. I'm hoping that the orange boys will help me with a new one in the next few days; we'll see if they feel like cooperating.

To get back into the swing of things, I thought I'd make a return trip to scenic Doylestown and talk about a writer who was way more productive than I'm ever likely to be. James Michener was the author of more than forty books, both fiction and non-fiction, and even if you've never read a single one of them you've probably at least heard a few of their titles.

Aaron Siskind, Doylestown, Bucks County

Those of you who subscribe to the monthly newsletter already knew this was coming, but it's officially happened. As of Tuesday, February 20th, I am a podcaster. It's my hope that the blog will reach lots of new friends in this manner, but also that my existing followers and readers will find it interesting as well. You can get all the details here.

Meanwhile, for this week's quest I'm returning to the poll I took on Facebook last week. We're heading back down to the very photogenic Bucks County to learn about a gentleman who found inspiration in the unique architecture of the region.

W. W. H. Davis, Doylestown, Bucks County

First, happy capital day to the city of Lancaster! As you may remember, it was on this day in 1777 that Lancaster became the capital of the United States... and lost the designation one day later. The Founding Fathers, having taken refuge in Lancaster as the British captured Philadelphia, decided to put the Susquehanna River between themselves and anyone who might be pursuing them, and relocated the capital to the city of Yorktown (now just called York). 

I couldn't quite decide what to write about for this week's quest, so I put up a poll for the blog's Facebook followers and asked them to make the choice for me. Much to my surprise, it ended in a tie, which was no help to me at all! So I resorted to that time-honored method of making a decision, flipping a coin, and the result is today's post. (If you voted for one of the other two options, don't worry - they'll both be appearing in October.) Join me for a look at the life of one of Bucks County's most celebrated sons - a veteran of two wars, prolific author, and prominent Doylestown resident.

Doylestown Agricultural Works, Doylestown, Bucks County

It looks like a lot of people are taking interest in the "fiveaversary" scavenger hunt, and I'm excited about it! I've shared a few clues on the blog's social media outlets already, so if you're not already following the Facebook or Twitter, definitely hop over there to read those. Meanwhile, here's a clue for everyone: The answers to questions #7 and #15 have the same first name, and that's pretty much the only thing they have in common. You've got just two more weeks to submit your answers - good luck!

As for the quest, I said last week that it was the final week of not repeating a county this year. I was wrong! I was recently able to take a couple of unexpected side quests and add a bit more to my list of captured markers. This past Sunday, the plans that I had with my youngest sister Liza were upended, and she surprised me by proposing we go and collect some markers instead. We had an excellent day in Doylestown, where we toured the Mercer Museum and she delighted the docent with her exclamation of "Wow!" upon seeing the central room. After that we visited Peace Valley Lavender Farm, which was new to us both; her whole car smelled like lavender for the rest of the day from everything we bought. Following lunch, we had some delicious ice cream at Evolution Candy on State Street. Before heading home, we went to Le Macaron Doylestown, on Oakland Avenue, and treated ourselves to gourmet cookies. (Hi Steve! Thanks for the Facebook follow!) I definitely recommend all of these places for the next time you're in the area, and I particularly recommend the lemon macarons, which were divine.

And I managed to get five markers, which means I've got almost all of the Doylestown markers now, and today we're going to look at one of them.

George Nakashima, New Hope, Bucks County

The June newsletter is out, after I had a bit of an argument with the server! Click the link to find out who won the Twitter giveaway and see what other nonsense I've been accomplishing.

Because I was having technical difficulties, I completely forgot to put something very important in the newsletter: the William Tennent House, in Bucks County, is in serious need of funds. William Tennent was the founder of Log College, the first school in the United States for the training of Presbyterian ministers; he was the teacher of George Whitefield, among many others, and his school was a forerunner to such big-name universities as Princeton. The school has a marker, so it'll be discussed in a future blog post, but the William Tennent House Association is trying to raise money to preserve his home and have it listed on the National Register of Historic Places. You can help! Click here for details.

Speaking of Bucks County, my best friend Andrea and I closed out the month of May with a day trip to scenic New Hope, which is full of history. Neither of us had ever been there. She was a good sport despite the oppressive heat, and we had a great time exploring the Delaware Canal and poking our noses into some of the shops. 

Unfortunately, a lot of the attractions in New Hope are only open on the weekends, so it wasn't to our best advantage that we went there on a Tuesday. But we did have a wonderful meal at Martine's Riverhouse Restaurant, where we ate delicious seafood (grilled salmon for me, shrimp po'boy for her) while enjoying a beautiful view of the Delaware River. Shout-out to our server John, who was delightful. After collecting markers and doing a bit of shopping, we wrapped up our visit with some excellent homemade ice cream at Moo Hope Ice Cream, so hello to those guys too. I definitely recommend both places (and the borough as a whole) to travelers who want to get off the beaten path.

Before we left, we ventured just outside of New Hope proper to collect this marker. This is the story of a woodworker whose unique vision helped to usher in the American craft movement.

Casimir A. Sienkiewicz, Doylestown, Bucks County

I intended to go to Lehigh County in this week's post, but while setting up my research I made a mildly embarrassing discovery. The marker I planned to cover is actually one of a pair, and I haven't 'caught' the second one yet. This will require another dual-county post to talk about them both, which is great - I love hitting two at once - but since I don't have that second one yet, it'll have to wait. It may have to wait until the new year; we shall see.

So instead, we'll take a trip back to scenic Doylestown, in Bucks County, and learn about a local Renaissance man. He had his fingers in a lot of pies - finance, military, transportation, and art.

Henry Chapman Mercer, Doylestown, Bucks County

Back in June, on a much finer day than what my area is experiencing currently, my best friend Andrea and I took a ride down to visit Doylestown, in Bucks County. I can't tell you why I'd never been there, although I'd driven through it a number of times - usually on the way to Peddler's Village. Anyway, as it turns out, Doylestown is adorable and very... I think the word I want to use is quaint. We had a really delicious meal at La Dolce Vita da Franco, where we sat outside in a little walled dining area; highly recommend, would eat there again. But our primary objective was to acquaint ourselves with a length of Doylestown colloquially known as the Mercer Mile.

The Mercer Mile gets its name from a man who designed three very distinct buildings. I think I would have liked this guy, because we seem to have a lot in common. This includes, but is by no means limited to, a love of dogs (my "little brother" is sitting beside me as I write, because I'm dogsitting for my parents) and a love of castles (I don't have one of those, but he did).

Durham Furnace, Durham Township, Bucks County

As you might have seen on the Facebook page for the blog, there was no post last week; I came down with a sinus infection that made me very sleepy and unable to focus. Sorry for the delay! We're back to business as usual now.

Before I get started on the subject of last-week's-post-turned-this-week, I do want to give a shout to the Herstory Club, which you might recall accepted me into its ranks last fall. This month's blog theme is medieval history, and I had the chance to make my first contribution! I introduced the Herstorians to one of my favorite historical figures, Princess Gwenllian of Wales; they seemed to really enjoy it and I hope you enjoy it too. Thanks for the opportunity, team!

Back in March, my husband Kevin and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Most things were still kind of locked down, though, so we decided to just go for a nice drive and enjoy the scenery. The roads brought us down to Bucks County, to where George Taylor had once been the ironmaster, and we got out of the car and snooped around with our phone cameras for a bit. (We must look like weird tourists.)

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.

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 Fries Rebellion of 1799, Quakertown, Bucks County

During our visit to the Sun Inn two weeks ago, I talked briefly about the Fries Rebellion and how the inn served as a holding place for some of the arrested rebels until they were liberated. I also said that the incident has its own marker and I'd be covering it in a future blog post. Over this past weekend, my husband and I were in Philadelphia for his birthday, and on our way home we stopped in Quakertown to get the details.

All I knew, going in, was what I told you in the previous post about the Fries Rebellion and the fact that the sign was at the Historic Red Lion Inn on Main Street in Quakertown. I've driven through Quakertown a fair few times, usually on my way to its farmer's market. (The market has a pretty decent used video game store.) I knew the sign was at the inn, but I was puzzled because I'd never seen it - as it turns out, the inn is on Main Street, but the marker is around the corner, at the side of the building.

Edited 3/5/2024: This blog post is now available as a podcast episode! Learn even more facts about the Fries Rebellion by listening to or downloading the episode today at Audio.com, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.