‘Don’t Forget the Ladies’: A Genealogist’s Guide to Women and the Law

In early America, women were all too often the people who just weren’t there: not in the records, not in the censuses, not on juries, not in the voting booth. The common law relegated women to “protected” – second-class – status, and understanding how they were treated under the law provides clues to finding their […]

Chats from the Stacks: The 1777 Chester County Property Atlas

Explore and discuss the Chester County Archive's award-winning Chester County Property Atlas with those who created it! In 2020, the Chester County Archives staff unveiled their award-winning 1777 Chester County Property Atlas. This project highlights property owners, roads, and notable sites of interests (mills, taverns, places of worship, etc.) in existence in September 1777 during […]

A Lenape Among the Quakers: The Life of Hannah Freeman

Wednesday, April 13, 2022 7:00pm-8:00pm via Zoom On July 28, 1797, an elderly Lenape woman stood before the newly appointed almsman of Pennsylvania’s Chester County and delivered a brief account of her life. In a sad irony, Hannah Freeman was establishing her residency—a claim that paved the way for her removal to the poorhouse. Ultimately, […]

For the Union: Launching Lincoln’s Quest for the Presidency in Chester County

The book "For the Union" tells the story of how Quaker abolition, a hanging, a slave riot, and a newspaper in West Chester helped launch Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign in 1860. The first biography of the presidential candidate was published at what is now known as the Lincoln Building in downtown West Chester. It ultimately […]

Chats from the Stacks: The Making of Visible Storage

Learn how visible storage was planned and implemented to feature the museum collection. More than 800 artifacts from the museum collection are viewable by visitors every day in the new visible storage gallery. Learn how artifacts were selected, how they were installed, and how their stories connect them to Chester County. This project was completed […]

Lost Gardens of the Main Line, 1880-1930 (virtual)

This lecture explores some of the great gardens and estates of the Main Line from the 1870s to 1930s. It looks at the changing garden styles and the work of noteworthy landscape architects such as the Olmsted Brothers, Ellen Biddle Shipman, Beatrix Farrand and Thomas Sears, and explores the outdoor world of estates like Dolobran […]

Virtual Book Discussion – First Principles

Thomas E. Ricks offers a revelatory new book about the founding fathers, examining their educations and, in particular, their devotion to the ancient Greek and Roman classics—and how that influence would shape their ideals and the new American nation. Thomas Ricks considers a few questions: What kind of nation do now have? Is it what […]