American Studies Commons^™

Mary Sachs: Two Types Of Beauty In Harrisburg, Robin Schwarzmann

Student Scholarship

Harrisburg’s City Beautiful Movement presented by historian, William H. Wilson, and journalist, Paul Beers, among others, often focuses too narrowly on the term beauty, leaving other types of beauty out of the narrative. The narrative frequently focuses on men instead of women, policies instead of people, and external beauty rather than internal beauty. However, both types of beauty were crucial in Harrisburg’s City Beautiful Movement.

Mary Sachs was a Russian born immigrant, who came to America with her family at four years old. Sachs began her life in Baltimore, where she worked in a factory as a teenager. However, when …

Network Of City Beautiful Reformers: Humanizing Harrisburg’S Influencers, Anna Strange

Student Scholarship

How do we find out information about strangers in our society today? We ask their friends about them, observe their interactions with others, or possibly check their social media. When researching people in the early 20th century, we can uncover clues to people’s character by using archival research. We can study them in their space and place using geospatial and census data. Mira Lloyd Dock, J. Horace McFarland, and Warren H. Manning were three key reformers who rose to prominence during the City Beautiful Movement in Harrisburg, defined broadly as the period of urban development from 1900-1930 . They formed …

History And Memory Of The Old Eighth Ward, Rachel Williams

Student Scholarship

The City Beautiful movement in Harrisburg brought many improve- ments to the capital city, but it also brought destruction to the diverse neighborhood directly east of the capitol building, known today as the “Old Eighth Ward.” Even though this community no longer exists, newspaper accounts of its razing and digital mapping of the families of the Old Eighth Ward preserve this story of displacement within public memory.

Political Life In The Old Eighth Ward - With Biography Of Anne Amos, Drew Hermeling, Digital Harrisburg

Look Up, Look Out

The Old Eighth Ward was a very politically active community. Many citizens were actively involved in a variety of civic organizations to bring about political change in the community. Voting was prominent topic of discussion, especially among black men in the community. Prior to 1838, men of color enjoyed voting privileges in Harrisburg and throughout the state of Pennsylvania, but in 1838, the Pennsylvanian Constitutional Convention disallowed the African American men in Harrisburg the ability to vote. The vote was reinstated for African American men across the country with the passing of the fifteenth amendment in February of 1870. Although …

Serving The People Of The Old Eighth Ward - With Biography Of Sister Mary Clare Grace, Drew Hermeling, Digital Harrisburg

Look Up, Look Out

While many of Harrisburg’s City Beautiful advocates sought to “save” the people of the Old Eighth Ward from the outside, many individuals and organizations within the ward dedicated their lives to serving the community as well as the wider city.

City Beautiful & Capitol Extension - With Biography Of Dr. William H. Jones, Drew Hermeling, Digital Harrisburg

Look Up, Look Out

At the turn of the century, Harrisburg was at a crossroads. The city was physically deteriorating and had lost its prestige as a thriving steel and railroad center. The rest of America moved on from its industrial boom, and Harrisburg was left behind. Faced with losing its status as a capital city, a change had to be made. Many civic reformers began to speak up about the drastic need for better health conditions in the city. After delivering a rallying speech to the Harrisburg Board of Trade in December 1900, a pivotal local leader, Mira Lloyd Dock ignited an …

Making A Home In The Old Eighth Ward - With Biography Of Hannah Braxton Jones, Drew Hermeling, Digital Harrisburg

Look Up, Look Out

According to the 1900 census, just over 50,000 people called Harrisburg their home. Of these 50,000 people, 4,435 lived in the Old Eighth Ward. The eighth ward was disproportionately occupied by African-American residents. A total of 1,507 African Americans lived in the Old Eighth Ward, which comprised about 34% of the population of this ward. This percentage is quite large in comparison to other wards in the city. Second to the eighth ward, the ward with the largest African American population was the second ward; African Americans comprising about 11% of the population. In contrast, the tenth ward was …

The Old Eighth: Gateway To The Capitol - With Biography Of Gwendolyn Bennett, Drew Hermeling, Digital Harrisburg

Look Up, Look Out

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Harrisburg began to develop as an industrial center. Railroad steel, cigars, flour, shoes, and many other businesses thrived, especially in the Eighth Ward. A large thoroughfare was required in order to accommodate the movement of raw materials throughout the city for processing. Like most industrial societies, Harrisburg utilized water as a means of transportation, with the Susquehanna River flowing alongside the southern border of the city. The Harrisburg canal system was started in a similar manner as the City Beautiful movement– through internal efforts. In 1822, the Harrisburg Canal, Fire Insurance and Water …

Business And Social Life In The Old Eighth Ward - With Biography Of Colonel W. Strothers, Drew Hermeling, Digital Harrisburg

Look Up, Look Out

Despite its reputation as a lower-income and vice-ridden region, the Old Eighth Ward was a thriving place for businesses, both large and small. In fact, much of the neighborhood’s reputation for unhealthiness was a result of the prominent industries that called the ward home. One such factory was W. O. Hickok Manufacturing Company, also referred to as the “Eagle Works,” the oldest and most prominent industrial plant in the Old Eighth Ward and one of the first manufacturing plants to use electricity for light and power. Additionally, Eagle Works’ founder, Orvil Hickok, served as a councilman for the borough …

Vice And Virtue Of The Old Eighth Ward - With Biography Of Joseph L. Thomas, Digital Harrisburg, Drew Hermeling

Look Up, Look Out

One of the most exhaustive resources for studying the Old Eighth Ward is a series of columns published in the Patriot newspaper between 1912 and 1913 penned by local educator and editorialist, J. Howard Wert, titled “Passing of the Old Eighth.” A white Civil War veteran, he was politically progressive for the time, and while he was active in the Harrisburg school system, he was a strident advocate for school integration, often partnering with the African-American educational reformer, William Howard Day. However, Wert was also a staunch advocate for the Capitol expansion project and the City Beautiful movement and …

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 27, No. 3, Don Yoder, Katherine Ann Jarrett, Janet Theophano, Louis Winkler

Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine

• The Spiritual Lineage of Shakerism
• Pennsylvania in the Romantic Age of Tourism
• Neighborhood Influence on Mailbox Style
• Feast, Fast, and Time
• Pennsylvania German Astronomy and Astrology XVI: The Gruber-Baer Era
• Advertisements of Urban Healers
• Views of Harrisburg

Letter From D. Edward Elder To Alfred L. Shoemaker, July 10, 1958, D. Edward Elder

Alfred L. Shoemaker Folk Cultural Documents

A handwritten letter from D. Edward Elder of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated July 10, 1958. Within, Elder informs Shoemaker of a rough drawing of a broadside of Adam and Eve that is enclosed within the letter.