Crawford County Messenger and CCHS News

The politics of Crawford County in the first decade of the last century were divisive and crude. Federalists and Republicans battled over land issues, internal improvements and banks. There was little they didn’t fight over....

With the recent opening of Cussewago Square, it seemed appropriate to take a moment to bring attention to the history of the location, as well as to take advantage of the opportunity to highlight one...

It was a bright Monday afternoon on January 24, 1848 when James Marshall found some gold nuggets on the American River near John Sutter’s sawmill in what is now Sacramento, California. The consequences were worldwide...

Culture – As Reported in the Local Newspapers If cultural climate were to be judged by numbers of local newspapers, Meadville would rank as one of the most cultivated towns in the country. More than...

The Cultural Climate of Meadville: From 1800-1900 is an article written in 1974 by Mrs. Julian (Carol) Ross for the members of the Meadville Women’s Literary Union. She researched theater, art, music, and other categories...

Many think of the 1960s in America as a time of peace, love, and understanding. But, during the time the country was nearing the end of the decade, turmoil crisscrossed the United States. By 1968,...

On the fifth of April, I803, Jesse Moore was appointed President Judge of the Sixth Judicial District of Crawford County by Governor Thomas M’Kean, succeeding Judge Alexander Addison who was the first Judge of this...

The homes at Hillcrest in Meadville, Pennsylvania, have become such a part of the fabric of the community that one could almost take them for granted. They seem to have always been there. Like a...

Dorothy Thurston was born on July 31, 1896, in Meadville, Pennsylvania, to Alic and Jessie May (Hill) Thurston. She was one of five children in a family well known for its contributions to local and...

The David Nelson homestead, built in 1820, was demolished on 22 Nov. 2016. It was two stories tall, built of brick with a frame rear wing, and stood at 2693 State Road in Fairfield Township,...

2025, marks the 117th anniversary of one of the more gruesome episodes in the long history of Crawford County’s old jail. It all begins on Christmas Eve, 1908, when Jack Cronin uses a .32 revolver...

At a time when vaccines against the coronavirus are being produced by multiple companies, an interesting bit of Meadville history comes to our attention.  First, it is important to remember why and how “immunization” and...