Dr. Cecilia Chien explores the history of Asian Americans in Philadelphia from the 1800s to the present. There are myriad Asian American communities. They differ in country of origin, ethnicity, language, class, religion, gender, and more. From the colonial era to the present, generations of Asian immigrants and their American-born descendants have transformed the face […]
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 […]
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 […]
Sarah Garrett Hewes (1819-1853) did not follow the expected life path for a mid-19th century woman as she traveled around the greater Philadelphia area working as a daguerreotypist prior to setting up a studio in Philadelphia with a male business partner in 1851. Before establishing the business in Philadelphia, she ran a studio in West […]
CCHC is extremely proud to partner with the Brandywine Conservancy on this amazing new hybrid event! Brandywine welcomes award-winning author and reporter Bruce E. Mowday for a lecture on his most recent book, "Lafayette at Brandywine: The Making of an American Hero." Members of CCHC will receive a discount on in-person tickets, and the event […]
Chester County was home to a diverse patchwork of religious communities, antislavery activities and free Black populations, all working to end the blight of slavery during the Civil War era. Kennett Square was known as the "hotbed of abolitionism" and "the hub of the Underground Railroad" with more Underground Railroad stations than anywhere else in […]
Pew. Luden. Berwind. Clothier. Wyeth. Dorrance. Coxe. Schmidt. This talk by former Winterthur Estate Historian Jeff Groff focuses on leading families and the businesses that once made Philadelphia known as the workshop of the world, from railroads, to coal, to canned soup. It highlights their Main Line and Chester County houses including many that may […]
Oaklands Cemetery has served as one of West Chester’s primary memorial landscapes since 1854, but it also holds a place within the larger world of well-designed garden cemeteries that redefined the burial ground during the middle decades of the 19th century. This talk will provide a historical framework to help us better understand cemeteries like […]
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 interest (mills, taverns, places of worship, etc.) in existence in September 1777 during the Battle of Brandywine and succeeding events of the Philadelphia Campaign. Learn more about how this project […]
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