Resources for Community Program Partners
Resources for Program Partners to help with Planning
Preparing for 250th
- Museums Can Renew America Through the Semiquincentennial, a blog by the America Alliance of Museums
- American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Field Guide for the Semiquincentennial
- July 2023 AASLH Update Report on Making History at 250
- Visit Phily's "Everything You Need to Know About the U.S. Semiquincentennial"
Promoting Delaware County and American History
- Hiking Through History map featuring key battles of the American Revolution and a score of regional trails, preserves and parks.
- PHMC Historical Marker Dedication Calendar
- Declaration of Independence & America's Founding Documents
- Pocket Constitution
- Library of Congress Chronicling America* historic newspaper collection goes back to 1756 and lets us read firsthand accounts of the events that led up to Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
- DelcoPA.gov "Your County at a Glance"
- Delaware County Historical Society
- Heritage Commission's Historic Preservation Directory of Trades, Services & Products
- https://www.delawarecountyhistory.com/sitemap_home.html
- The Revolutionary City: A Portal to the Nation’s Founding provides a one-stop-shop for students, teachers, scholars, and lovers of history to learn about diverse stories of the American Revolution from the perspective of early residents of America’s revolutionary city. This project was created by the American Philosophical Society (APS), the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP), and the Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP).
- The National Museum of American Diplomacy 'The Declaration Heard ‘Round the World'
Preserving Historic Sites, Documents, and Narratives
- PA-SHARE - Pennsylvania’s GIS and online project management system for documenting and working with Pennsylvania’s older and historic places to search for and locate historic properties and archaeological sites.
- Penn Pilot - Historical Aerial Photographs of Pennsylvania
- Delaware County Historic Preservation Network - has links to publications, workshops, and groups dedicated to historic preservation.
- National Trust for Historic Preservation
Re-enactors - Military and Interpretive Demonstrations
- Newlin Grist Mill
- Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation
- Haverford Township Heritage Festival
- Italian American Heritage Festival
- 3rd Pennsylvania Light Infantry
- 6th Pennsylvania Regiment
- Revolutionary War Re-Enactment Groups
- Edward “Ned” Hector, Black Revolutionary War Hero
- Suzanne Plaisted, Heart to Hearth Cookery
- American Historical Theatre (AHT)
Heritage Tourism & Visitor Readiness
- Heritage Consulting, with Donna Harris of Philadelphia
- Cultural Heritage Tourism, with Cheryl Hargrove of Georgia
- Are You Visitor Ready? 10 Tips for Hosting Visitors & Providing Valued Programs by Hargrove International
- New Jersey’s Revolutionary War Sites: Site & Visitor Readiness Assessment
Engaging Community in Dialogue, Conversations and Commemorations
- Rockdale Memorial Day Parade — the oldest Memorial Day Parade (est. 1881)
- Delaware County Veterans Memorial — Flag Casket Ceremonies are held on the second Sunday of the month from April through November at 5 PM, weather permitting for family and friends to celebrate the memory of your loved one or Military ancestor.
- Delco Libraries Book Clubs in a Bag — Pick up Delco's Revolutionary Reads or one of the other ready to go bags of 10 books for your group to read and discuss.
- Media Fellowship House “Our Stories Connect”
K-12 Resources for Teaching American History in Schools and Communities
- PBS Bring U.S. history to life in the classroom!
- Teaching with Historic Places, by the National Park Service
K-12 Resources for Teaching Civic Engagement in Schools and Communities
- Voter Resources — Delaware County, Pennsylvania
- Governor's Civic Engagement Award
- iCivics Education education resources and tools that are nonpartisan, standards-aligned, and inclusive of all learners, founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
- PA Civics - Mix and match these resources to fit any age group and grade level from Pre-K to College.
- Stanford University's Strengthening Democracy Challenge — promising, short interventions and scientifically evaluated them in one of the largest randomized experiments in the social sciences.
- Civics for All of US — an education initiative with civic literacy and engagement resources
- 100 civics (history and government) questions and answers for the American naturalization test
- US Dept of Education Sept 17th Constitution Day and Citizenship Day Educational Resources
- Educating for American Democracy framework, which has been funded and endorsed by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Department of Education, the Collaborative intends to approach this grantmaking from a posture of “reflective patriotism.”
- 10 Facts: The Founding Fathers by American Battlefield Trust
- Educate and Commemorate: 250 in America's Classrooms by National Council for History Education (Video ppt)
- Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement — inspiring the next gen of citizens
- WHYY, PBS Ken Burns, Revolution and the New Nation 1754-1820s
- American Academy of Arts & Sciences 'Our Common Purpose' a project of the bipartisan Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship.
- Harvard University '10 Questions for Young Changemakers' project within the Democratic Knoweldge Project (DKP).
- CivxNow, more than 300 organizations working to make civic education a nationwide priority and provide the research, policy, and institutional practices that empower educators, administrators, students, parents, and community members to help all young people build confidence in themselves, each other, and our country’s future.
Student Internship & Essay Contests
- Junior Delaware County Council — All rising high school juniors and seniors—get ready to dive into local government.
- Flag Manufacturers Association of America — FMAA Scholarship Program is an annual program offering college scholarships to those enrolled in college or vocational school who have thoughtfully and creatively shared what the American flag means to them through original videos.
Amplifying Lost or Underrepresented Stories
- StoryCorps — Everyone’s Story Matters (audio)
- Scribe Video Center — A place where emerging and experienced media artists could gain access to the tools and knowledge of video making and work together in a supportive environment.
- CMP Radio — A non-profit radio station based in Chester, PA aiming to amplify the diverse voices in our community and across Delco.
- Utility Works — SoundLab Recording Studio in Lansdowne where you can professional equipment and sound quality at affordable prices.
Imagining the next 250 years of America
Watch Videos
- VISIONS OF AMERICA in Celebration of the U.S. Semiquincentennial (Institute of Museum and Library Services and PBS Books) Web-series and curricula
- PCN nonprofit television network - America250PA Videos
Listen to Podcasts
- "Votes for Women: A Visual History" Art Works Podcast: Amanda C. Burdan -- Curator, The Brandywine River Museum of Art
- Backstory - This one comes directly from academics — it’s also entertaining.
- 1619 New York Times
- The History Chicks is dedicated to making sure that the women who've shaped history are recognized and remembered.
- American History Tellers looks at the moments in history that shaped the country—from the Gold Rush to the Space Race, and many more—with attention to how these historical events still affect our lives today.
- Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
- More of Apple's Top Podcasts in History
- Audible "The best history podcasts of all time"
Look at Pictures
- DCHS Photography Archive - hosts thousands of photographs dating back to the late nineteenth century
Read Books
- Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Delaware County, Pennsylvania (Richmond, IN, and New York: Gersham Pub. Co., 1894), ed. by Winfield Scott Garner, contrib. by Samuel T. Wiley (PDF at delawarecountyhistory.com; 104 MB)
- History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania(Philadelphia: L. H. Everts and Co., 1884), by Henry Graham Ashmead
- History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: Printed by H. B. Ashmead, 1862), by George Smith (PDF at delawarecountyhistory.com; 142 MB)
- A History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its People (3 volumes in 1; New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1914), ed. by John W. Jordan (PDF at delawarecountyhistory.com)
- Chester (and its Vicinity), Delaware County, in Pennsylvania; With Genealogical Sketches of Some Old Families (Philadelphia: Printed by W. H. Pile and Sons, 1877), by John Hill Martin (PDF at delawarecountyhistory.com; 137 MB)
- Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Delaware County, Pennsylvania (Richmond, IN, and New York: Gersham Pub. Co., 1894), ed. by Winfield Scott Garner, contrib. by Samuel T. Wiley (PDF at delawarecountyhistory.com; 104 MB)
- Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania (2 volumes: New York and Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1904), ed. by Gilbert Cope and Henry Graham Ashmead (PDF (with both volumes) at delawarecountyhistory.com; 64 MB)
- UPenn Library 'The Online Books Page' Delaware County (Pa.) -- History
- A Historic Saga of Settlement And Nation Building, NPS Historic resource for First State National Park by Paul S. Reed and Elizabeth B. Wallace, September 2019.
High School Student Opportunities
- Complete the U.S. Rep. Scanlon PA-05 Service Academy Nomination Application. Each senator, representative, and delegate in Congress can nominate up to 15 individuals for appointment to four of the five U.S. service academies: U.S. Military Academy (USMA), West Point, NY; the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), Annapolis, MD; the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), Colorado Springs, CO; and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), Kings Point, NY. The fifth service academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), New London, CT, does not require a congressional nomination for appointment. Deadline Oct. 31.