Historical and Genealogical Society of Indiana County

03/28/2025

This is the second of three posts of photos taken on either July 2 or 3, 1953. These three photos were taken in the 600 block of Philadelphia Street. The first photo is looking west. The next photo are looking east. The last photo is of Farmers' Bank at 621 Philadelphia Street. This building no longer exists. The "new" Luxenberg's Jewelers is located there now. Recently it was a PNC Bank.

03/26/2025

This is the first of three posts of photos taken on either July 2 or 3, 1953. The date can be pinpointed by the Western film, "Powder River" playing at the Manos. These three photos were taken in the 500 block of Philadelphia Street. The first photo is looking east. The next two photos are looking west. The newspaper ad is from the Indiana Gazette, July 2, 1953. The photographer is unknown.

Pennsylvania Rep. Jim Struzzi's office is located in the entrance/foyer area of the former Manos Theater at 550 Philadelphia Street. The auditorium of the theater no longer exists having been razed and converted into a parking lot.

03/25/2025

03/18/2025

On April 17, 1976, Blairsville held a Bicentennial themed Easter Parade. The Easter Bunny arrived on the Blairsville & Indiana Railroad Company's 2-8-0 steam locomotive. The Easter Bunny left the train for a Conestoga covered wagon that was Pennsylvania's entry in the Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage. The Conestoga wagon was trucked in from Philadelphia. The parade was sponsored by the Blairsville Sesquicentennial Committee and the Blairsville Merchants' Association. These photos are from the Clarence Stephenson Collection. The newspaper articles are from the Indiana Gazette. The first article is from April 16, 1976. The second article is from April 19, 1976.

The Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage in 1976 was a unique road trip commemorating America's 200th birthday, with covered wagons from each state traveling west to east, retracing pioneer trails, and culminating in an encampment at Valley Forge on July 4th.

03/10/2025

This real photo postcard is of Clyde, an unincorporated community in West Wheatfield Township along Route 22 west of Armagh. The postcard is undated. Clyde was originally known as New Washington. James Downey petitioned in 1845 to open a house of public entertainment (tavern) there. Due to confusion with Washington, PA, the post office was named Clyde when it opened on Oct. 19, 1882, with John W. Huston as postmaster. The Clyde Post Office was closed March 15, 1955. There are two newspaper ads from Clyde businesses. The first ad is from the Indiana Progress, April 18, 1894. The second ad is from the Indiana Gazette, March 8, 1980.

03/04/2025

This real photo postcard is of downtown Blairsville, looking east down East Market Street from Walnut Street. The date is unknown but looking at the cars, I would guess the photo was taken in the 1940s. Heasley's Rexall Drugs (on the left) was located at 11 East Market Street. Both Heasley's Rexall Drugs ads are from the Blairsville Dispatch. The first ad is from August 2, 1938. The second ad is from May 20, 1963. Keirn's Dairy Store (on the right) was at 26 East Market Street. The Keirn's Dairy Store ad is from December 20, 1940. Dean A Keirn (1893-1946), owner of the dairy store died on February 8, 1946. His obit from the 8th is the last newspaper article.

02/24/2025

These are three real photo postcards of Heilwood, PA. The first postcard is a birds eye view of Heilwood. The second is a photo of the inclined plane at the #4 mine in Heilwood. The third photo is of the electric plant.
Heilwood was founded in 1904. It is named for John Heil Weaver, who opened three coal mines in the area. The Heilwood post office opened on October 29, 1904. When it was established, Heilwood had 400 homes with electricity and pure water from artesian wells. It was considered one of the cleanest coal towns in the area. The population was about 2,400.

02/17/2025

Who wrote the novel Frankenstein, often credited as the first science fiction story? Bookworms and lit lovers, get ready! Time Travelers' Trivia on Friday, February 28, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. is your time to shine. Purchase your tickets now at:

Join us for a night of trivia and food. Doors open at 5:30.

02/14/2025

Time to vote for your favorite photos which were entered into our 2025 "My Indiana County" Photo Contest. Votes are $1.00 per vote and proceeds benefit the Historical Society. You can also vote in person at the Historical Society where the photos are on display. Voting ends February 27. https://www.hgsic.org/photo-contest-vote

02/10/2025

These two real photo postcards are of Main Street in Glen Campbell. The town name came from combining the name of the coal company, Glenwood Coal Company, and the name of the superintendent of the company, Cornelius Campbell. The coal fields in the Glen Campbell area were the first opened in Indiana County, opening in 1889 and 1890. Timbering was also an important industry in this area. Glen Campbell was incorporated as a borough on September 27, 1894. It had a population of 1,800 making it the third largest town in Indiana County. There were 29 coal mines in the area in 1909. An electric generating plant was opened on January 1, 1905, by the Giant Electric Light, Heat & Power Company providing electrical service to the area.

02/10/2025

Which movie won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Picture in 1929? Love movies, music, and pop culture? Join us for Time Travelers' Trivia on Friday, February 28, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. to answer this and more. Purchase your tickets now at:

Join us for a night of trivia and food. Doors open at 5:30.

02/10/2025

We want to thank everyone who came out Saturday afternoon for the Opening Reception of our newest exhibit "Towns that Fueled America." The exhibit will be on display through the end of March 2025. Check out images of the event here: https://2025-museum-events.hgsic.org/set/af550bef-faf1-4fb0-890e-d9ee5b63019b

02/05/2025

This is a 12 minute and 30 second 8mm film of Indiana Borough, White Township, and Indiana State Teachers College. It was taken around December, 1940. The HGSIC got a copy of the film from Daryl Johnson. His mother bought the film at a yard sale a few decades ago. Dan Fleming of Memory Lane Media digitized it. We do not know who made the film.

02/03/2025

This is a panoramic real photo postcard of Graceton. I would date this postcard around the period from 1905 to 1915, which was the golden age of real photo postcards. The first photo is the full panoramic view. The next three photos are closeups of sections of the postcard. The first coke ovens in Indiana County were opened in 1886 in Graceton by George Mikesell (1835-1926). Goerge Mikesell was a local farmer whose farm had a coal seam. In 1886, the town/area was known as Mikesell. Graceton was the second coal town in Indiana County after Glen Campbell.