State Museum of PA 2009

     Thursday, June 25, 2009: This was the first time I've ever been to the Pennsylvania state capital and the State Museum of PA, 300 North St., Harrisburg (717-787-4980). Except for Gettysburg National Battlefield, this museum is the most visited in PA between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. I felt pleasantly surprised as I toured the different floors, starting at the top floor. This museum covered the history of PA from the time of the formation of the Earth to the present via texts, pictures, and exhibit items as well as dioramas, tableaus, and multi-media presentations. Thus, I learned about PA's natural resources in animals, plants, and minerals as well as its Human history from the time of the local Native Americans to the current diverse ethnic groups of people. The State Museum of PA has been a definite must-see place.

Fallsington, PA 2009

   Thursday, June 18, 2009: Although I had to reserve in advance for a tour of this historical town that dated back to the 17th century and founded by Quakers, it was worth it. The headquarters for Historical Fallsington, 4 Yardley Ave., Fallsington, Pennsylvania (215-295-6567), was the former Gillingham store in a 1910 building. After I browsed through this gift and souvenir store, my tour guide walked me through the town square and told me the history of this town. Then, she led me into three of the buildings included on this tour: a log house from the 1750s, a 1798 tavern, and a house from 1809. The organization that runs Historical Fallsington restored each of those buildings and their interiors to the proper period. Therefore, I learned about life in a 1750s log house, a 1798 tavern, and an 1809 house. Finally, I was free to walk along the nearby streets and look at the exteriors of several buildings that dated from the 1700s and 1800s. (Most of these buildings are private residents, businesses, or schools and are not open to the public.) The first Friends Meeting House from 1690, where William Penn worshipped, was gone, but three others remain. The Religious Society of Friends still used the latest Meeting House, from 1841, for worship.