Pennsylvania History Presents…

The Winter 2020 issue of Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies is devoted to a special theme: “Harrisburg, Digital Public History, and the City Beautiful.” The two guest editors are James LaGrand and David Pettegrew of Messiah College, who run the Digital Harrisburg Project there. The issue has over twenty articles about how new information can be teased from traditional historical resources such as the census and maps combined with digital datasets to give a whole new perspective on Harrisburg and the City Beautiful movement at the turn of the last century. The project involves teaching tools for students as well.

The Pennsylvania Historical Association proudly presents for free access three articles from that issue:

• “Harrisburg, the City Beautiful: Recasting the History of Urban Reform in a Small American Capital.” Authors: David Pettegrew and James B. LaGrand
• “Harrisburg’s Historic African American Community: An Interview with Calobe Jackson Jr.” Authors: James B. LaGrand and David Pettegrew
• “History and Memory of the Old Eighth Ward.” Author: Rachel Williams

And a bonus! A recreation by the Pennsylvania State Archives of “The Crusade Against Ugliness,” a 1906 illustrated slide lecture given by J. Horace McFarland in Erie, PA. This lecture is discussed in the article “The Crusade Against Ugliness: J. Horace McFarland and Photography.” Author: Linda A. Ries. The recreation is presented with the permission of the Pennsylvania State Archives.