The Wynds of History
An exploration of the paths of history through the lenses of public interpretation and academic review.
As a relatively new Pennsylvanian, there are many PA historic sites, formal and informal, that I have never seen. On Labor Day I ventured to the National Historic Park at Valley Forge. A deliberate "blue highway" route was chose for the trip down. Another time I would like to stop and take photos of some of the wonderful early American architecture along that path, especially Route 100 south of Allentown.
I have to confess. I didn't do my homework. Valley Forge is a much larger parcel of land than I expected. (I was imagining closer to the scale of Fort Stanwix, not Gettysburg.) The couple of hours I had allocated were no where near enough time to view the entire park, even quickly. So, after leaving the Visitor's Center and vowing to come back another day with a picnic lunch and bicycles, I climbed back into the car and drove the 8-10 mile loop, noting the different areas from my window. Two stops were made. One at the National Memorial Arch and another at the Muhlenberg Brigade.
At the National Memorial Arch, my attention was caught by a plaque discussing the restoration of the arch stating that, "During 1996-1997 The Freemasons of Pennsylvania contributed more than one million five thousand dollars necessary to preserve the Arch to its original grandeur." The question that sprang immediately to mind is, "Who pays for history?" I muttered it loud enough that a friend heard me and retorted with his own question, "Is this history?" Further ruminations, and work this evening on my blog, have highlighted that I need to do some solid thinking, and likely historiographical research, into the semantic difference (and opinions) on the difference between "history" and "historical." Is Valley Forge history or historical? Is the National Memorial Arch historical? What about memorials in general? Are they historical when they are built or only when they reach some magic age themselves?
Three months ago to the day, I went to Jacobsburg Historical Society to welcome the executive director as a new member of the Nazareth Club of Rotary International, for which I currently serve as vice-president. While I've lived 2.2 miles away from Jacobsburg and the Boulton Historic Site for almost two years, I had not visited. Jacobsburg, along with the Moravian Historical Society and the general topics of Moravian and Nazareth history, were areas I had, honestly, actively avoided. All were of extreme interest to me. That was the problem. I was afraid that if I even briefly explored the local history I would fall into it, not to resurface, and place actual priorities at risk.
To reach Boulton one drives up to the edge of the woods, stopping just shy of the Bushkill Creek. I pulled into the circular drive in front of John Joseph Henry's Federal style estate house, stepped out of my Element, and turned to face the Old Henry Homestead across the road, which now houses the Museum of the Pennsylvania Longrifle. In truth, I stepped back into my element, an element I left fifteen years ago when the museum education program at the College of William and Mary was cancelled. The world of tangible history.
My intent is for Jacobsburg to be an important part of my journey the next two years and a frequent topic of conversation here. To introduce one of my newest important places to you, I took a short walk around some of the grounds last Friday. Pictorial evidence can be found here. (All photos are my own. Captions are based on the extent of my knowledge at this time and considerable help from the current press kit for the Society. Any errors are my own and any commentary is not on behalf of the Jacobsburg Historical Society.)
Posts
