State seeking local places for inclusion on Historic Places Inventory
The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) is asking residents of Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties to suggest historic places in their communities to add to the state’s Historic Places Inventory.
The multiyear initiative aims to collect baseline survey information about thousands of older and historic places across parts of Pennsylvania that are underrepresented in the statewide inventory.
The inventory helps the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission’s (PHMC) partners and the residents of the state understand how the commonwealth developed and evolved. The map-based inventory also assists leaders in making informed decisions about future plans within their communities.
It has been four decades since PHMC initiated a survey effort of this scale.
In one year, PA SHPO added more than 7,500 properties in 17 counties. This year and next, the initiative expects to add about 19,500 more places across 35 counties, including recreational properties, fraternal buildings, industrial resources, African American churches and cemeteries, ethnic communities, and properties that represent local building styles and traditions.
To submit local historical places for consideration, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PASHPO_baseline_survey or via email to ra-bhpmail@pa.gov.
Survey teams will travel throughout the state beginning in April 2022 through early 2023.
To learn more about survey, visit www.phmc.pa.gov/Preservation/survey/Pages/Baseline-Survey-Effort-2020-2024.aspx.