Pennsylvania's Transportation
and Industrial Heritage Sites

Pennsylvania is extremely rich in historical sites devoted to its industrial and transportation heritage. Although many are owned and operated by private entities, the "Keystone State" is fortunate to contain several such sites maintained by the National Park Service (NPS), the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Those government-operated industrial heritage sites are the subjects of this web site. Privately owned and operated industrial heritage sites will be the subject of a future website.

Site Index:

Hopewell Furnace
Allegheny Portage Railroad
Steamtown
Lackawanna Iron Furnaces
Drake Well Museum
Old Economy Village
Pennsylvania Lumber Museum
Anthracite Heritage Museum
Eckley Coal Miners Village
Museum of Anthracite Mining
National Canal Museum
Cornwall Iron Furnace
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Greenwood Furnace
Allegheny Ridge State Heritage Park

National Historic Sites.

Hopewell Furnace
Photo Essay
Official Hopewell Furnace Website:
http://www.nps.gov/hofu/

Allegheny Portage Railroad
Photo Essay
Official Allegheny Portage Website:
http://www.nps.gov/alpo/

Steamtown
Photo Essay
Official Steamtown Website:
http://www.nps.gov/stea/

PHMC Industrial Heritage Sites. PHMC operates twenty-six historic sites, ten of which are devoted to preserving and interpreting the development of transportation and manufacturing industries in Pennsylvania.

The Drake Well Museum is located in Titusville, in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Photo Essay
Official Drake Well Museum website:
http://www.drakewell.org/

Old Economy Village is located near Pittsburgh, in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Official Old Economy Village Website:
http://www.oldeconomyvillage.org/

The Pennsylvania Lumber Museum is located in Potter County, Pennsylvania.
Photo Essay
Official Pennsylvania Lumber Museum Website:
http://www.lumbermuseum.org

Anthracite Industry Sites:
The Lackawanna Iron Furnaces are located in Scranton near Steamtown.
Photo Essay
Lackawanna Iron Furnaces Website:
http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/BHSM/toh/scranton/scrantoniron.htm

The Anthracite Heritage Museum is located in Scranton, in northeastern Pennsylvania. It is next door to the privately owned and operated Lackawanna Coal Mine museum.
Photo Essay
Official Anthracite Heritage Museum Website:
http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/BHSM/toh/anthheritage/anthraciteheritage.htm
Lackawanna Mine Museum Information:
http://www.visitnepa.org/coalmine/index.html
Eckley Coal Miners Village is located near Hazelton, in northeastern Pennsylvania. A former coal company town, it was used as a location for the movie The Mollie Maguires, starring Sean Connery and Richard Harris.
Photo Essay
Official Eckley Village Website:
http://www.fieldtrip.com/pa/76362070.htm
The Museum of Anthracite Mining is located in Ashland, in northeastern Pennsylvania. It is next door to the privately owned and operated Pioneer Tunnel Mine museum.
Photo Essay
Official Museum of Anthracite Mining Website:
http://www.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Historical_Museum/BHSM/toh/anthmining/anthracite.htm
Pioneer Tunnel Mine Museum Website:
http://www.pioneertunnel.com/
The National Canal Museum is located in Easton, in eastern Pennsylvania.
Photo Essay
Official National Canal Museum Website:
http://www.canals.org/
The Cornwall Iron Furnace is located in Cornwall, Lebanon County, in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Photo Essay
Cornwall Iron Furnace Information:
http://www.fieldtrip.com/pa/72729711.htm
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is located in Strasburg, in the heart of "Pennsylvania Dutch Country." It is across the road from the Strasburg Railroad, a steam tourist railroad.
Photo Essay
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Official Website:
http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/
Strasburg Railroad Website:
http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/

Pennsylvania State Parks Oriented on Industrial and Transportation Heritage.

Greenwood Furnace State Park is a DCNR recreational park in central Pennsylvania. It is oriented on a former charcoal iron plantation.
Photo Essay
Official Greenwood Furnace Website:
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/g-wood.htm
The Allegheny Ridge State Heritage Park is under development as a multi-mode recreational trail based on abandoned railroad grades and canal towpaths in south central Pennsylvania. The Project is a cooperative effort of DCNR and the private, non-profit Westsylvania Heritage Corporation.
Westsylvania Heritage Corporation Website:
http://www.allegheny.org/index.htm

Related Links:

PHMC Trail of History:
http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/BHSM/trailofhistory.htm

Link to my Industrial Heritage Homepage

Link to my Web Pages at Carnegie Mellon University