Crawford County Messenger and CCHS News

The Unitarian College, 1908 From the mid 1800’s up through the early 1900’s Meadville had not just one college in the city, but two–Allegheny College and the Meadville Theological School. This was unique as most...

Clarence F. Underwood – 1905 Clarence Frederick Underwood [1871-1929] was one of the leading illustrators and commercial artists of his generation, providing work to a range of books as well as highly circulated publications such...

Coach John Heisman (center) with his 1909 Georgia Tech team. The name Heisman has become synonymous with the best in college football, however it is often forgotten that the man behind the trophy found his...

GW Depot with McHenry House to the left in 1869 As with most establishments in the hospitality industry, success could not have been attained without competent management. The same holds true for the McHenry House,...

A crowd gathered to greet one of the inaugural A & GW trains. Note the Depot in the background. As time progresses forward it becomes increasingly difficult to imagine the grand structures that once dominated...

Bentley Hall, Allegheny College Nestled away at the top of the hill overlooking Meadville, Pennsylvania is Allegheny College which holds the title of 32nd oldest in the United States, having just celebrated it’s 200th birthday in...

Front view of the Saegertown Inn with French Creek along left side. With the overwhelming interest in photographs of the Saegertown Inn recently posted on the Crawford County Historical Society’s social media pages, what better...

Mary Jane Tryon Somewhere in the 1840’s, Mary Jane Tryon made a quilt. As she sat piecing together the small, intricate blocks, she could never have imagined the impact her quilt would have 168 years...

“Hold up there, Santa. How should we greet you?” Not so long ago I was admonished for wishing somebody a “Happy Holiday” instead of a “Happy Thanksgiving.” “I don’t celebrate ‘holidays,’” the person told me....

Ohio race horses helped bring about the county fair With the excitement of the Crawford County Fair upon us, it’s worth taking a belated look at the origins of the what arguably is the county’s largest...

On December 7, 2015, the Crawford County Historical Society took ownership of the James and Elizabeth Tarr Mansion, thus saving it from planned demolition. In that moment, thanks largely to the support of the community,...

A boy sits among the debris in Titusville For most of May and the early part of June in 1892, Northwestern Pennsylvania was soaked in a seemingly endless period of rain which culminated in four...