Hockendauqua Indian Town, Northampton, Northampton County

This is an odd one, which is part of why it's taken me so long to put it together. The borough of Hokendauqua as we know it today is in Lehigh County. However, this marker - like the original settlement by that name - is in Northampton County, although very close to the border.

This marker located right next to one of the (many, many) markers for the Walking Purchase, which is going to be a ridiculously long blog post. It's taking me forever to collect them all and I might end up skipping some, depending on my mood. This marker is clearly at least somewhat associated with the same thing. I know that in part, the situation is the way that it is because this marker is a plaque, and dates from back when the PHMC was just called the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, so it's a lot older than the standard blue and gold collection and the wording is, shall we say, less politically correct.

Portland Cement, Lehigh and Northampton Counties

My thoughts today are with two friends who are in the hospital; one of them I won't name out of respect for their family's privacy, but the other (who is quite open about it on his social media) is the Hometown Historian. Jon's always been a good friend to this blog, so please keep a good thought for him as he undergoes a difficult but necessary procedure.

I'm having trouble getting this week's blog post started through no particular fault of my own. No, it's the children who are to blame - my two younger cats, Kashi and Sashi, are living up to the nickname my friend Rachel gave them. She calls them "the chaos babies" and they keep trying to sit on my laptop keyboard. This is making it difficult to write, because I keep having to fix the 'additions' they're making to the post. But the history must go on, I suppose.

For this second quest of 2026, I'm staying relatively close to home and looking at the background of one of the Lehigh Valley's resident industries. I already touched on it quite some time ago, when the blog was still pretty new and I still lived within walking distance of the First Cement marker. The blog and I have since moved elsewhere, but then again, so has the cement industry.

Pennsylvania Railroad Shops, Altoona, Blair County

Hello and welcome to the second-to-last MQ adventure for 2025! I still can't believe this has been the seventh year of quests, and I really appreciate how many of you have joined me for my adventures in history. I have one more regular post lined up for next week, and then in December I'll be doing the annual wrap-up where we look at statistics and fun facts. After that, as my longtime readers know, I'll be taking the rest of December off because of my day job being in retail.

This week we're heading back out west to Blair County to look at trains. I do like trains.

Reading Terminal & Market, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County

We're bidding farewell to the most beautiful month of the year in just a couple short days, and meanwhile sending my prayers for those being affected by Hurricane Melissa. I never saw a weather radar map which colored a storm black until this, that was really bizarre. 

For this week's quest, I have a confession. I've never actually been inside of this building, which is why I don't have any pictures of the interior to share. But you can see lots of pictures at the various sources I've linked at the bottom, and it's most certainly on my list of places to see in Philadelphia "someday". (I have a lot of things scheduled in that very nebulous timeframe.) I got the marker a few years back, when my mother and my BFF Andrea and I took a double-decker bus tour around the city to see different locations, and today I'm going to tell you about what goes on inside.

Philip Ginter, Summit Hill, Carbon County

Happy October!

I'm still working on the Carbon County marker book - I expect to be finished before too much longer. So it takes up a lot of my mental energy because I'm honestly quite excited for it. (To quote from the recently released trailer for the back half of the Wicked movie, "I'm obsessulated.")

That being the case, here's another preview for my faithful blog readers, revisiting an earlier post. As with the previous post I've done of this sort, this is not the entire chapter, just a truncated version. I have to save some of the good stuff so people will buy the book, after all!

Sylvania Electric Products, Emporium, Cameron County

Still at work on the book I mentioned last week. Have you ever heard the Weird Al song "Everything You Know Is Wrong"? That's sort of how some of the chapters of the book are making me feel. I almost cringe looking at my blog posts on the subject, because it's clear to me that I've grown as a writer in the years since they were first done, but also because so much of what I wrote was based on incorrect information. Granted, that's not entirely my fault, but it's still humbling. 

But I'm still doing my best! This week we're debuting the first post from Cameron County, thanks to a picture sent by the Shenandoah Sentinel's Kaylee Lindenmuth. She had to make a trip there one day this summer and sent me a few pictures. (She always thinks of this blog when she sees a marker and tries to help. I appreciate her so much.) This company's story is a little bit complicated, because the names changed a lot, but I'll try to make it as easy to follow as I can.

Hereford Furnace, Hereford Township, Berks County

July's been very topsy-turvy for me, as you might have guessed from last week's post. This past week has been no different, as I've been occupied with what feels like everything under the sun, including but not limited to doctor's appointments and also seeing my late Aunt Gene's beloved cat off to his new home. He's living out west of here with my dear friends at Moon Family Studios, and the photos I've been receiving suggest that he's being absolutely spoiled. As he should be.

I've also been getting ready for a short trip for husband Kevin's birthday, which is next week. We're not going quite as far this year as we did a couple years ago, when we ventured out to Altoona to (try and fail to) ride Leap-the-Dips. Instead, I've been invited to the museum of the Sullivan County Historical Society, as they very much enjoyed my recent post about the Old Woolen Factory. Since nobody gets more excited about people paying attention to my blog than Kevin (no, not even me), he immediately suggested we make it a road trip for his birthday. So we'll be going there and we'll also be checking out the natural beauty at Penn's Cave, which is in that neck of the woods.

But first, a blog post. It's been a while since I did anything from Berks County, so I think it's time for a visit. I collected this one a while back and I sat on it in the hopes that I might be able to get a picture of whatever's left of the furnace, but apparently there isn't much to see. There's always history, though.

Old Woolen Factory, Forksville, Sullivan County

Six years in and this blog manages to surprise me sometimes.

A few days ago I received an email from Jolene Dodge, who lives in Utah. She complimented my work here at MQ and sent the gift of a marker from a county I have yet to visit, so it was very exciting. She is a descendant of the gentleman mentioned in the marker text, so it's of particular interest to her. She's the reason that Sullivan County is making its debut on the blog this week, and once again, thank you, Jolene!

Jeremiah Sweinhart and Successors, Boyertown, Berks County

I am alive and returned from Zenkaikon! Hello to everyone who is new to the blog - I actually ran out of my business cards during the Lancaster history panel, so if any of you found your way here because of that, I'm very happy that you've joined us. 

If you read the most recent newsletter, you know that my computer is in need of a little TLC; I haven't had the chance to take care of that yet. But the main reason for a lack of posts this month is because almost every waking moment has been spent either at my actual job or preparing, in one sense or another, for my beloved convention. My panels went well, I think, and as ever I had a marvelous time. The only disappointment was that we were so busy with our friends and the many activities that I never had the chance to go marker hunting, even on the way home! But my emotional support silly man did record my panels for me, so next week (once he's had the chance to get them off of his phone) I'll be sharing the ghosts of Lancaster with all of you.

Also, for those of you who didn't see it in the newsletter or on the Facebook page, my non-convention excitement of recent weeks was being interviewed! Paula, the Keystone Wayfarer, is a fellow Pennsylvania blogger and she cites MarkerQuest as one of her inspirations, which touches me so deeply you don't even know. She really makes me sound like a big deal in her article, which can be read here, and definitely do yourself a favor and check out her other posts as well because she's awesome.

Meanwhile, trying to get back to what I do here, let's take a trip down to scenic Berks County and learn something, shall we?

Hummelstown Brownstone Quarries, Hummelstown, Dauphin County

Happy New Year! This post was meant to go up much sooner, but the year has been off to a bit of a wonky start for multiple reasons, including my husband being sick and me struggling with pain issues due to the polar vortex temperatures. (Danged arthritis and sinus headaches.) But I made it through another holiday season in retail with my sanity mostly intact and my hair only a little more gray than it already was, so I'm taking the wins where I can find them. And given how truly awful January has already been for some parts of the country and the world, that's really all any of us can do. 

Meanwhile, we've still got plenty of Pennsylvania history to uncover in the coming year, so we might as well get started. As you may remember, I had a marvelous day exploring in Dauphin County last summer with my college friend AmyBeth, and this is the second of the two Hummelstown markers. Besides, it's so bitterly cold and windy here lately that it does me a bit of good to remember that hot July afternoon.

Davies and Thomas Company, Catasauqua, Lehigh County

One final reminder: I will be signing copies of Laury's Island: The Lehigh Valley's Forgotten Park at the Laurys Station Volunteer Fire Company's annual Community Day this coming Saturday, September 21st. The event runs from noon to 8 p.m. and will include a ton of activities for kids, plus food vendors, crafters, local non-profits, live music, and more. If you're within driving distance of the Lehigh Valley and this sounds like it might interest you, check out this Facebook page for more information, including the address of the fire station.

As I said on my own Facebook, I will be there until I run out of books. Please help me run out of books. ;)

Speaking of running out, I am genuinely starting to run out of markers! I haven't been able to take too many road trips this summer for various reasons, so I haven't had a lot of opportunities to add to my stash. I do still have a few from prior trips, but I need more. I have a visit planned with a friend next week in Chester County, so that will help. In the meantime, I'm going to start occasionally updating Confessions of a Wandering History Nerd on Wednesdays instead of MQ, just to help my content stretch a bit farther, so look for a new post over there next week. (It'll be about a cemetery, for those of you who like that sort of thing.)

My hometown of Catasauqua put up a new marker last year when I wasn't looking, so for this week's regularly scheduled nonsense, let's go visit my former neighbors and see what we can learn.

Revolutionary War Gun Factory, Hummelstown, Dauphin County

Yesterday I had a grand adventure, the likes of which I haven't been able to enjoy for some little while. I made my way to picturesque Hummelstown to visit a friend from my days at Kutztown University; AmyBeth and I were members of the school's Medieval & Renaissance Club (and you are shocked by that, I'm sure). She offered to be my tour guide if I would make the trip to visit her, and was so considerate as to schedule us a visit at the community's historical society. Geneva, who met us there, gave me access to all kinds of information related to the two markers in Hummelstown and was very interested to hear about what I do. 

We caught up on each other's lives while we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the 1950's themed diner The Soda Jerk (delicious burgers and excellent service!) and then took a trip to nearby Hershey. In total, together we collected seven markers, visited two cemeteries (one of which I'll be writing about for my other blog, so look for that), and discovered a museum that neither one of us even knew existed. We both had such a good time that we're going to arrange another trip, maybe when it cools down some in the fall. Meanwhile, today we're heading back to the colonial era to learn about a brief moment in Hummelstown history.

Phoenix Iron Company, Phoenixville, Chester County

The May newsletter is out! If you're not already subscribed, you can read it here. (But please consider subscribing.)

This Friday, May 3rd, I'll be heading to my birth city to attend the marker dedication ceremony for the Allentown State Hospital. It was originally supposed to be held last fall but got rescheduled, and I only just found out a few days ago that it was set for this week! They've scheduled a few more dedication ceremonies throughout the coming summer, so be sure to check the official calendar to see if any of them are happening near you.

Meanwhile, for the first quest of the fifth month, let's travel to Chester County and take a look at the history of a company which, like the bird for which it was named, emerged from its own ashes repeatedly over almost two centuries before finally closing its doors.

The Banana Split, Latrobe, Westmoreland County

My apologies to anyone who missed a post last week. We had two and a half days of rain around here, and as my longtime readers know, my body does not take kindly to that sort of thing. I was hurting pretty badly and I just couldn't focus. But I'm back this week!

Pennsylvania, among its many claims to fame, is known as the snack food capital of the United States. It's not hard to see why, either. We're the home of Hershey, Tastykake, Middleswarth chips, Sturgis pretzels (both Julius and Tom), and a whole bunch of other companies that make many of our favorite snackies. This includes ice cream products, from outfits like Yuengling. 

There's apparently something of a mild debate about the origin of the banana split. It seems that a number of communities across the country like to claim to be where the famous sundae was invented. However, our own Latrobe has the earliest claim, and has been certified as the birthplace of the banana split by the National Ice Cream Retailers Association. My sister Liza and I visited Latrobe last autumn to pay homage to Mister Rogers, and the marker for the banana split isn't far from his.

Charming Forge, Womelsdorf, Berks County

First of all, I want to express my appreciation to everyone who has checked out the podcast so far! I genuinely had my doubts about it, despite what my friends said, but it's been very reassuring to get so much positive feedback. I anticipate uploading the next episode tomorrow, and it's my hope that I will have all of 'season one' (that is, the blog posts from 2018) recorded and uploaded by the end of May.

Meanwhile, for this week's quest we're going to visit an allegedly haunted house in Berks County. I say 'allegedly' mostly because I can't verify either way, but the stories persist.

Sheppton Mine Disaster and Rescue, Sheppton, Schuylkill County

I really, really don't understand how it is November already. We turn the clocks back in a few days, and vote next week, and it just doesn't seem real. On the other hand, the store where I work has been selling Christmas decorations for the last few weeks already, so you could argue that my sense of time is a bit muddled. (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas stuff all crowds together. It's organized chaos at its most festive.)

But it is most certainly the start of November. If you don't already subscribe, you can find the latest issue of my monthly newsletter by clicking here.

Near the end of October, the bff Andrea and I had a day where we were both completely free, so we hopped in my car and took a very pleasant tour of some of our northern counties, enjoying the fine weather and glorious fall foliage. I don't care what anyone else says, for my money it's hard to beat Pennsylvania for sheer beauty in autumn. Of course, the real objective was to collect markers, and I came home with a very satisfying bundle. So we'll kick off the penultimate month of the year by visiting Schuylkill County, and learning an emotionally complex story of both tragedy and triumph.

Hotel Fauchère, Milford, Pike County

Yes, friends, you read that correctly - quite unexpectedly, I'm debuting my first marker post for Pike County this week! My bff Andrea's aunt recently took a trip out that way with her boyfriend, and he was so kind as to stop and grab a couple of pictures for her to send to me. Their timing was amazing, because I had literally just been trying to decide what to do for this week's post when the text came through. Thanks again, Jeff and Donna!

This is an interesting one, because the exact nature of the historical significance isn't immediately apparent. But as it turns out, it's a rather unique one.

Boyertown Burial Casket Company, Boyertown, Berks County

Happy Flag Day!

I had hoped that this week I'd be bringing you all the details of the new marker up at Fighter's Heaven in Schuylkill County, but between the poor air quality of last week, the lingering sinus issues I developed as a result, and my day job, I just didn't get the chance to go there. 

Instead, for this week's quest, it's the first time all year that I'm repeating a county! We're going back to Berks County, which was the location of the first post of the year, to find out the answer to a question I couldn't help asking: exactly why does a casket company, of all things, have a historical marker? 

Old Forge, Lackawanna County

Only one week remaining to get your answers in for the scavenger hunt! I'm starting to worry I made it too difficult, but I really just wanted everyone to have fun trying to find the answers. Here's a fresh clue for my readers: The Fulton Opera House is not the answer to any of the questions, but it's mentioned in the blog posts about the men who are the answers to questions #6 and #10. Remember, answers must be submitted by midnight next Wednesday! Even if you don't have them all, you can still enter, because the winners will be determined by who has the most correct answers. Feel free to guess if you get stumped!

This past weekend I made a trip to Bethlehem for their fine arts festival, with one particular goal in mind - I wanted to meet up with Jim Cheney, the owner of the marvelous Uncovering PA website. We had a very nice chat; not only are we familiar with and admirers of one another's work, but we also have a mutual acquaintance in one of the members of my Sherlock Holmes club. I also got a signed copy of his wonderful book, Waterfalls of Pennsylvania, which I heartily recommend to nature lovers and hiking enthusiasts. Thanks again, Jim, it was great to meet you!

By complete coincidence (no, really), Jim is one of my sources for today's blog post, which is the first one ever for Lackawanna County. My bff Andrea and I took advantage of a mutual day off and went up to the southernmost corner to collect a few markers; I was a little torn about which one to cover today, to inaugurate the county, but here's the one I chose.

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.