Crawford County Messenger and CCHS News

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...

Crawford County has rarely stifled its opinions regarding national politics. The tone was set by residents in 1807 who burned an effigy of Federalist, Aaron Burr outside the courthouse. And this was hardly the county’s...

Timothy Alden Jr., the founder of Allegheny College, was by all accounts a charismatic and motivated man who pursued opportunities to expand education throughout his life. He was descended from John Alden, who landed on...

One of John Leech’s Original Illustrations for A Christmas Carol  With the Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum hosting their annual “Fezziwig’s Christmas Dinner” in just a few short days, some readers might be curious “what’s in a...

A Passion for a New Art Much of the world’s first oil boom was captured in the photography of one John A. Mather, an English immigrant whose love for his art allowed such a vivid...

The colors of the 150th, on display at the state capitol The year is 1862. The War of the Southern Rebellion has flooded field after field with blood and the dead. Though volunteers had already...

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...