For our exhibit Downtown Then and Now, we were fortunate to have an item loaned to us by Pottsgrove Manor. Loan Courtesy of Pottsgrove Manor, County of Montgomery, Pottstown, PA This is a cast iron kitchen press. It was made at Colebrookdale Furnace by Thomas Potts in 1739. Colebrookdale Furnace was in what is now Berks… Read More »On Loan from Pottsgrove Manor
Hollywood stars have a wide range of backgrounds. One star in particular has a connection to Montgomery County. Burnu Aquanetta, also known as the Venezuelan Volcano, was a rising star in the early 1940s. She originally told agents she was from Venezuela, hence the nickname Venezuela Volcano. Norristown Times Herald, October 17, 1942, HSMC Microfilm… Read More »The Venezuelan Volcano
We have an exciting new resource to announce. Long-time volunteer and former Board President, Charles Kelly has worked on several projects for HSMC over the years. Some of you may have seen his work with Montgomery County Soldiers During World War I or his Capital Sin program. He just released his latest project, which is now stored digitally at… Read More »1918 Flu Pandemic Project
If you follow us on social media, you may have seen a recent post about our Mapping MontCo. Black History project. After giving a presentation about the project at an event hosted by the Cheltenham Township Historical Commission, we got a few more contributions to the map. One of the recent additions to the map… Read More »Abington Friends Cemetery
While preparing for our next exhibit, Downtown: Then and Now, I came across this picture in our photograph collection. Harry Samuel Nash and Store Clerk, Haberdashery Store, HSMC Photographs Collection According to the back of the photograph, it depicts Harry Samuel Nash and a store clerk in front of Nash’s Haberdashery Store in Ambler. The photograph… Read More »Ambler Opera and Theater
One question people often ask me is “How do you research some of the items in HSMC’s collection?” This depends a lot on the type of item in question and what we already know about it from the donor’s records. For example, there are some items, like this medicine bottle pictured below, that come to… Read More »The Dill Company
For our first blog of 2024, we are going to look at a beautiful secretary at HSMC. When unlocking the drop-down front, it reveals a series of additional drawers and a prospect door. The prospect door was designed to store more important documents that could be kept behind a separate lock. Secretary, 1967.11262.001, Bequeathed by Mrs.… Read More »Jacob Strahley
For our last blog of 2023, I wanted to share some winter scenes from our photographs collection. This collection of photographs depicts trolleys in Horsham. Many of these trolleys are buried in deep snowbanks, but a few of the pictures appear to be taken outside of the winter months. The photographer(s) are not known as… Read More »Horsham Trolleys
While hunting for a different item for a Civil War research request, I came across a thin booklet in our archives. It lists Pennsylvania soldiers who were buried at Andersonville, the notorious prison in Georgia. The booklet lists the soldiers in alphabetical order. It also includes their regiment, cause of death, date of death, and… Read More »Pennsylvania Soldiers Buried at Andersonville
For those of you who use our scrapbook collection, you know we have been working hard to digitize them. Since they are all made from newspaper, the material is falling apart and not repairable. Thanks to volunteers, we have scanned most of these scrapbooks which can now be easily accessed on our computers in the… Read More »A Native American Woman