Christopher Gist is one of those early American characters whose life sounds like a tall tale at first.
American history is filled with characters like that, including on...
A lot of people know Santa Claus sometimes goes by St. Nick, and many know that St. Nicholas was, in fact, a historic figure.
But far fewer know how an early Christian sa...
Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River from Bucks County, Pa., to New Jersey on Christmas night 1776 ignited a series of military actions culminating in the Battle o...
Nestled in the rolling hills of southern Butler County, Robert C. Brown described Jackson Township simply in his 1895 “History of Butler County.”
“The people of the towns...
The National Christmas Center
Address: 1 Hollinger Lane, Elizabethtown, Pa.; shuttle services at 48 Industrial Road, Elizabethtown
Phone: 717-902-9791
O...
Jewish families from Eastern Europe and Russia have been among the immigrants to call Butler home, with roots in the city for nearly 200 years.
In fact, Jewish settlers l...
The battle that made the U.S. Brig Niagara’s reputation also gave the world one of the most famous lines ever to summarize a battle.
“We have met the enemy and they are o...
Prior to 1800, the area that would become Zelienople was a dense, old-growth forest without roads or significant settlement.
Indian villages and trails traversed the area...
“If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide.” — Abraham Lincoln
B...
Erie Maritime Museum and The U.S. Brig Niagra
Address: 150 E. Front St. Suite 100, Erie
Phone: 814-452-2744
Open: Oct. 1 to March 30: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m....
Almost exactly 96 years ago, Amelia Earhart had lunch in Butler County.
We know, because we have a record of her short layover at the Pittsburgh-Butler Airport on Oct. 13...
Over the past five years, Franklin, Venango County, has been home to a World War II troop transport named, Beach City Baby.
Built in 1942, this Douglas C-53 Skytrooper se...
In the late stages of World War II, for those Americans who were not actively involved in the fighting, the key word was “rationing,” as Americans were urged to conserve ...
Where most people see Seven Fields borough, Gray Weller Jr. — grandson of Clyde Speer — sees the place he “grew up.”
“This was all Valley Farms at one time for my grandfa...
Footage from deep in the Pacific Ocean has given the first detailed look at three World War II aircraft carriers that sank in the pivotal Battle of Midway and could help ...
Frick Car and Carriage Museum
Address: 7227 Reynolds St., Pittsburgh
Phone: 412-371-0600
Open: Guided tours at 2 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday and at 11:30 a.m. Sat...
Cars are first and foremost transport, but to America they are also a means of expression, a way to assert individuality or show conformity, a symbol of individual freed...
Automakers are in the news, especially with the United Auto Workers union on strike against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler.
In storie...
This article was published in the Butler Eagle on Sept. 8, 2002.
Ron Laconi has recurring visions of Sept. 11, especially because he works just six blocks away from ...
The Butler Eagle first published this article on Sept. 13, 2021.
It was an event that shook the nation, an event whose effects are still rippling through our history...
More awareness of risks they take
The Butler Eagle first published this article on Sept. 11, 2002.
They swapped T-shirts, stories and grief last month in the empty s...
Albert Robertson was a high school senior when terrorists commandeered four American jets on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and took aim at four iconic American landmarks...
National September 11 Museum
Address: 180 Greenwich Street, New York, N.Y.
Phone: 212-312-8800
Open: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Monday
Of Not...
Five years before “discovering” electricity and 29 years before signing the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin faced a conundrum.
He recognized that Philadelp...
Residents of Western Pennsylvania know the Allegheny River as a lovely location to enjoy nature, boating, strolling or biking along its length.
But more than 230 years ag...
The similarities are painfully obvious — two unprovoked early morning attacks that left thousands dead and a nation bowed but not broken.
The list of parallels between th...
“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, i...
Despite its local reputation as an “affluent suburb” of Pittsburgh, Cranberry Township comes from humble beginnings — with explosive results.
“If you go back before the ’...