Hidden History

Andrew Wyeth is renowned for his paintings of the Chadds Ford countryside, but what about the his brother, the inventor of the plastic soda bottle? Then there is Bill Haley of Booth's Corner who, along with the help of a few Delaware Valley teenagers, came up with a new sound called rock-and-roll. With a fascinating and occasionally uproarious collection of his Main Line Today magazine columns, author Mark E. Dixon explores the forgotten corners of Delaware County's history. From the Upper Darby abolitionist who conducted more than two thousand people on the Underground Railroad to the Sun Shipyard press stunt that landed heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey in hot water, these offbeat histories will delight visitors and locals alike.

Veteran journalist Len Barcousky shines a light on the hidden corners of Pittsburgh's history.

When Mark Twain visited in 1884, he claimed to spy a little bit of hell in Pittsburgh's smoky appearance. Twain's observations are among the many riveting firsthand accounts and anecdotes to be found in the archives of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Great War hit home after the sinking of the Lusitania, which carried more than a dozen Pittsburgh residents. A few years later, cheering throngs of black and white residents lined downtown streets to welcome African American soldiers returning home from the conflict. The Ringling Brothers Circus held its last outdoor performance here in 1956 and left eight hundred show workers without jobs in the city.

Bucks County was an original county in William Penn's newly formed Pennsylvania province and has carried the weight of history ever since. Join author Jennifer Rogers as she recounts the lesser-known history of Bucks County.

Industrial power in the region expanded in the late 1700s as Irish laborers sacrificed life and limb to construct a section of the Pennsylvania Canal and the Durham Furnace. In 1921, a gruesome train wreck claimed the lives of twenty-seven people, forever leaving its tragic mark on the busy rail lines emerging from Philadelphia. Raised a Quaker in Doylestown, James A. Michener went from local English teacher to Pulitzer Prize-winning author, leaving his philanthropic mark at the art museum named for him.

Beyond the grand facades and trappings of the Main Line cream-and-crystal crowd are hidden tales and scintillating stories.

Author Mark Dixon's collection of articles from Main Line Today explores the region's offbeat and oft-forgotten history. With a keen eye and a touch of humor, Dixon delves into the Welsh origins of nearly unpronounceable towns and the journey of the Sound of Music's Trapp family to Merion. From anecdotes of the socialite who divorced her husband when he had the gall to survive the sinking of the Titanic to the Wayne native who turned from the convent to a career as an internationally renowned opera star, Dixon brings to light the lost pages of Main Line history.

The rolling fields and quiet towns of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, belie its dynamic history. From slaves who escaped to freedom through Underground Railroad stations in Shippensburg and Boiling Springs to a telephone-like invention created by Lower Allen's Daniel Drawbaugh a full decade before the patent of Alexander Graham Bell, the pages of Cumberland County's history conceal long-forgotten but true tales. There are numerous but often-overlooked contributions from county residents--from 1920 to 1923, Newville hosted the first state police academy in the nation, and during World War II, a humble bandage invented in Carlisle saved countless lives. With an engaging collection of vignettes, author Joseph David Cress explores these and other hidden tales from the history of Cumberland County.

From unsolved murders and ghastly disasters to medicinal water and sports legends, Northwestern Pennsylvania has a rich and diverse history.

Titusville native John Heisman shaped football into the recognizable sport that it is today. Girard's Charlotte and Libbie Battles broke glass ceilings by becoming early female titans of business and banking in the region. Marx Toys in Erie County found success in crafting affordable popular toys for the masses and became the largest toy company in the world. The horrific Ashtabula train disaster of 1876 was the worst train incident in history to that point. Join author Jessica Hilburn as she reveals the shrouded history of Northwestern Pennsylvania.

On an Oxford bound train in 1866 Mary Miles refused to move to the 'blacks-only' section, eighty-nine years before Rosa Parks' famous ride. Eight years later in a West Chester courtroom photographic evidence was used for the first time. Soon after that the hills of Westtown became the testing grounds for the Flexible Flyer, America's original steerable sled. These are among the extraordinary stories too often lost to Chester County's history. From the humorous tale of the goat that ate a stick of dynamite to Ann Preston, M.D., leading her female medical students through a mob of enraged men, author Mark Dixon is sure to please with this beguiling collection of vignettes.

Visit the alleys of Philadelphia's Kensington and Fishtown neighborhoods for stories from the Speakeasy War and more.

The docks and alleys of Philadelphia's riverward neighborhoods teem with forgotten stories and strange histories. In the overlooked corners of Kensington and Fishtown are the launching of the Industrial Revolution, the bizarre double suicide of the Rusk twins and the violent Cramp Shipyard strike. With a collection of his "The Rest Is History" columns from the Fishtown Star, local historian Kenneth Milano chronicles little-known tales from the Speakeasy War of 1890 to stories of seldom-recognized hometown hero Eddie Stanky, who went on to play for the 1951 New York Giants. Join Milano as he journeys into the secret history of two of the city's oldest neighborhoods.

History lies almost forgotten among the low mountains and quaint towns of Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands. Tales of Titanic survivors, brilliant inventors and forgotten heroes are all a part of the region's dim past. Since the 1790s, the highlands have been home to a booming glass industry that spun out early windows and flasks and, later, beautifully cut pieces of art. The wonder of the World's Fair of 1893 was none other than Westmoreland's H.C. Frick Coke Co.'s replica of a modern mine. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, lush fields and meadows produced the country's finest whiskey, Monongahela Rye. Author Cassandra Vivian travels off the beaten path to explore the hidden history of the Laurel Highlands.