Exploring Historical Markers One
Tour Description
Welcome to the digital tour of Pennsylvania State historical markers located in Crawford County. This tour was created by public humanities students at Allegheny College. Use the GPS points for each marker to find each locale and head out to the site to relive a bit of the county's history. Once there, read the marker and take in the surroundings. Then, read the expanded history presented in this app. Allegheny College students researched the history for each of these markers and sought to bring in new details and offer revised readings of the county's important history. Enjoy your tour!
Locations for Tour
French Creek
The Riviere aux Boeufs of the French, renamed by George Washington in 1753. It had an important part in the French and Indian War and the settlement of northwestern Pennsylvania.
Native American residence on the French Creek Watershed spans…
Conneaut Reservoir
Raised some 10 feet by a 23-mile "feeder" from Meadville, this lake was the vital source of water for the highest part of the canal, 4 miles west. Lake water and traffic flowed north to Erie, south to the Ohio River.
Following the rise in canal…
Baldwin House
Two blocks from here is the home built 1841 by Justice Henry Baldwin. Appointed to United States Supreme Court in 1830. As a member of Congress in 1816 to 1822, he was an early protective tariff advocate.
Desegregation of Pennsylvania Schools
An event here in September 1880 led to the end of segregation by race in the state's public schools. At the South Ward schools, Elias Allen tried unsuccessfully to enroll his two children. He appealed to the Crawford County Court of Common Pleas, and…
Richard Henderson
Born a slave in Maryland in 1801, he escaped as a boy and about 1824 came to Meadville. A barber, he was long active in the Underground Railroad. His Arch Street house, since torn down, is estimated to have harbored some 500 runaway slaves prior to…
Unitarian Church
A fine example of Greek Revival architecture. It was erected in 1835-36 at a cost of $3500, mostly given by Shippen and Huidekoper families. Planned by the builder of Fort Sumter, General George W. Cullum.Greek Revivalist Architecture saw a rise in…
Alliance College
Founded in 1912 by the Polish National Alliance and dedicated by U.S. President William Howard Taft, Alliance College was one of the nation's first nationality colleges. Its mission was to provide educational opportunities for everyone, but…
Rural Electrification
Here on August 5, 1936, the State's first rural electric pole was placed by the Northwestern Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Incorporated on April 30, 1936, this was Pennsylvania's first such cooperative. By 1941, thirteen more had been…
John Brown Tannery
John Brown of Ossawatomie and Harper's Ferry worked here as a tanner, 1825-35. The nearby house was then his home. His first wife and son are buried near.
Before becoming the famed abolitionist, known for his conviction, and his anti-slavery message,…
Oil Creek
Along this stream the first white explorers found Indians skimming surface oil. From 1859 to 1865, the center of oil production and its refining was along the banks of Oil Creek.
As white settlers moved into the Oil Creek region after the American…
John A. Mather
Photographer of oil industry from 1860, lived in this house. His thousands of views form an extraordinary record of an industry that began here. Born, Bury, England, in 1829; died Titusville, 1915.
John William Heisman (1869-1936)
Renowned college football coach and name-sake for the sport's highest amateur honor, the Heisman Memorial Trophy. His innovations included legalizing the forward pass, the center snap, the scoreboard, and game quarters. Heisman promoted player safety…