German immigrants of the nineteenth century brought their traditions of winemaking and mouthwatering cuisine to the slopes of Mount Penn high above Reading. With a Santa Claus beard and a long-stemmed pipe, the hermit of Mount Penn, Louis Kuechler, founded Kuechler’s Roost, where travelers flocked for feasts, literary soirees and free-flowing local wine. The opening […]

Before the Civil War, a community of African American freedom seekers grew in the town of Waverly in northeastern Pennsylvania. During the Civil War 13 African American men from the town served in the U.S. Colored Troops. In this episode of the African American Experience we talk with Yvonne Schrieks-Johnson and Jim Remsen about this […]

Join It’s History! for a tour of the historic Nemacolin Castle overlooking the Monongahela River in Brownsville, PA. The Castle was built in the 1850s by the Bowman family and is listed on National Register of Historic Places. It’s History! airs Sunday nights at 8. Watch It’s History! and more PA History and Culture on cable and the PCN Select Streaming Service.

Founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, the Library Company’s collection includes rare books, manuscripts, broadsides, ephemera, prints, photographs, and works of art. Join It’s History! as we explore the Library Company and its collection of books on women’s history, an exhibit on the 18th century massacre of the Conestoga, and more. It’s History! airs Sunday […]

The Winters Heritage House Museum preserves two of Elizabethtown’s earliest structures. Built in 1760, when this area was the frontier of the British colonies, the homes exhibit the building styles of Scots-Irish and German settlers. Slated for demolition in the late 1980s, these historic structures were rescued and preserved by the Elizabethtown Preservation Associates. Description […]

This week on It’s History! we visit Grove City, PA to tour the museum operated by the town’s historical society. The area was highly influential in the hammered aluminum giftware industry and the museum showcases that rich history. Memorabilia and photos of the town, the people, and Grove City College are displayed in specially themed […]

In “Declaration,” William Hogeland brings to vibrant life both the day-to-day excitement and the profound importance of those nine fast-paced weeks essential to the American founding yet little known today. He depicts the strange-bedfellow alliance the Adamses formed with scruffy Philadelphia outsiders and elegant Virginia planters to demand liberty. He paints intimate portraits of key […]

Upon assuming the presidency in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower set about to make good on his campaign promise to end the Korean War. Yet while Eisenhower was quickly viewed by many as a doddering lightweight, behind the bland smile and simple speech was a master tactician. To end the hostilities, Eisenhower would take a colossal risk […]

Louis Kahn (1901–1974), one of the most important architects of the postwar period, is widely admired for his great monumental works, including the Kimbell Art Museum, the Salk Institute, and the National Assembly Complex in Bangladesh. However, the importance of his houses has been largely overlooked. This beautiful book is the first to look at […]

In 1900, Jack and Gus Mack founded the Mack Brothers Company in Brooklyn, NY and in 1905, they moved the company to Allentown, PA. Over the years the company would produce iconic trucks from fire engines to highway trucks to military vehicles. Join It’s History! for a tour of the Mack Trucks Historical Museum in […]