History Center on Main Street, Mansfield PA

08/10/2026

08/08/2026

I Just received notice from Simon Stepney about a novel he has written based on the life of his mother, Mary Stepney, who lived on Rutland Hill raising sheep for fifty years and who died last year at age 100. I have downloaded my kindle copy and am reading it now. Mary was a remarkable local woman in many ways. I am including the Amazon write-up here.

The Queen of Rutland Hill is a novel inspired by the extraordinary life of Mary E. Stepney, an Englishwoman who rebuilt her life as a sheep farmer on a neglected hill farm in rural Pennsylvania, where faithful dogs, neighbors, farm animals, and the changing seasons became part of her world.

Told through memories, conversations, dreams, and the quiet routines of the days leading up to her hundredth birthday, the novel moves between England, Africa, Austria, Spain, and the United States, weaving together family history, sheep farming, humor and loss, resilience, and the search for happiness.

As past and present gently merge, forgotten voices return, old mysteries are revisited, and the story of Rutland Hill Farm unfolds across generations.

Drawing on Mary Stepney’s diaries, poems, letters, and personal writings, this is both a celebration of an unforgettable woman and a meditation on memory, aging, love, and the enduring bond between people and the land they call home.

Rich in historical detail and rooted in real places and events, The Queen of Rutland Hill is a deeply human story of resilience, family, and a remarkable life lived close to the land.

08/05/2026

A 1950s memento from the Twain Theater in our collection. The Mansfield Diner ad is on one side and Merrick's Sunoco Station on the other. 3D Movie Glasses.

07/17/2026

How about a stay at the Penn-Wells in Wellsboro 1950ish?

07/16/2026

In 1930, the music students of Mansfield State Teachers College celebrated their graduation with a picnic at Corey Creek Golf Course. From the photo album of Mary Annette French (MHS 1926, MSTC 1930) donated by her great niece, Annette Camenga Waterman.

07/03/2026

For July 3, two more of our 1909 Raphael Tuck Independence Day series of postcards. Holding the Line Continental Army and Minute Men of the American Revolution.

07/02/2026

For July 2, two more of the 1909 Raphael Tuck Independence Day series of postcards. Spitit of '76 and Ragged Continentals

07/01/2026

Leading up to July 4 we will post some of our collection of the Raphel Tuck Independence Day series of postcards dated 1909. Check back tomorrow for some more of this series.
Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere to start.

06/30/2026

Thanks, Nate, for the visit and the write-up

06/10/2026