Entertaining and informing listeners with stories of people and events in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, hosted by Mark Smith.
Latest episodes
-
58 min
The Williamsport Boom (Ep23)
The story of Pennsylvania, first as a colony and later as the Commonwealth, is in many ways inseparable from its trees. The name Pennsylvania, which means “Penn’s Woods,” is itself…
-
40 min
The Pennsylvania Navy Part 2 (Ep22)
In the previous episode, we described how the Pennsylvania Assembly’s Committee on Safety established the Pennsylvania Navy, developed three forts along the Delaware River, and ins…
-
48 min
The Pennsylvania Navy Part 1 (Ep21)
Did you know that, during the American War for Independence, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had a navy? Let that sink in. It’s true. The Pennsylvania Navy was established in 1775…
-
50 min
Renaming Allens Lane (Ep20)
What does Black Lives Matter have to do with rededicating a street in Northwest Philadelphia? In February of 2022, community leaders in Philadelphia celebrated the recognition of a…
-
55 min
Death In Yellow Part 2 (Ep19)
In 1793, the capital city of Philadelphia was struck by a terrible yellow fever epidemic, one that caused President George Washington and Congress to flee the City, which ultimatel…
-
52 min
Death In Yellow Part 1 (Ep18)
It was perhaps the greatest calamity of the newly constituted United States, and it struck the capital city. In 1793, an epidemic of yellow fever decimated Philadelphia, and caused…
-
1 h 03
The Pittsburgh Lineup Card (Ep17)
On September 1, 1971, something unusual happened at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The game that night – between the Pittsburgh Pirates and their home-state rivals, the Philad…
-
46 min
The Live Aid Concert (Ep16)
On Monday, June 10, 1985, at press conferences in London and New York City, it was announced that in just one month’s time there would be a 17-hour, two-stadium, bicontinental bene…
-
58 min
Hess's of Allentown (Ep15)
This is the story of the Pennsylvania department store that for several decades was more well known and more glamorous than the city in which it was located – Hess’s of Allentown.…
-
1 h 11
Revolution on $33,000 a day Part 3 (Ep14)
This is the concluding episode in our three-part series on the financing and supply logistics of the American Revolution. It begins with financial and monetary crises having hit bo…
-
1 h 06
The Johnstown Flood (Ep13)
On May 31, 1889, after torrential rains worse than any in recorded history, the South Fork Dam on the western side of the Allegheny Mountains broke, and 20 million tons of water po…
-
56 min
Revolution on $33,000 a day Part 2 (Ep12)
This is the second episode in our three-part series on the financing and supply logistics of the American Revolution. In the first episode, we asked, “Who paid for all this stuff a…
-
1 h 13
Revolution on $33,000 a day Part 1 (Ep11)
The financing and logistics of the American Revolution. In order to get a full picture of the American Revolution, one has to study more than the battles fought by the soldiers and…
-
1 h 11
Occupied Philadelphia (Ep10)
What was life like in the nation’s capital under British control? From September of 1777 to June of 1778, the British Army occupied the City of Philadelphia. During this time, the…
-
1 h 12
The Valley Forge Winter (Ep9)
July 1777 to June of 1778 was the pivotal year of the American Revolution. With the exception of the Battles of Saratoga, the most crucial events either happened in Pennsylvania (l…
-
52 min
The York Congress (Ep8)
The Second Continental Congress – the very same Congress that declared independence from Great Britain in 1776 at the state house in Philadelphia and that served as our representat…
-
45 min
William Penn Part 2 (Ep7)
The life and legacy of William Penn. This episode, the second of a two-part series, focuses on his founding of the English colony of Pennsylvania. William has direct experience wit…
-
1 h 04
William Penn Part 1 (Ep6)
The life and legacy of William Penn, the founder of the English colony of Pennsylvania. This episode, the first of a two-part series, focuses on his family history and upbringing,…
-
55 min
The Erie Triangle (Ep5)
Why the map of Pennsylvania has that little right triangle of land at the Northwest corner and why it has been a consequential place in our state’s history, perhaps most notably in…
-
59 min
The Allegheny Portage Railroad (Ep4)
The successful opening of the Erie Canal in New York State in 1825 gives the rest of the country a case of “canal fever” and none more so than the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Des…