PENNSYLMANIA
Entertaining and informative stories of people and events in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, presented by Mark Smith.
Recent Episodes
The Valley Forge Winter (Ep9)
EPISODE 9: THE VALLEY FORGE WINTER. July 1777 to June of 1778 was the pivotal year of the American Revolution. With the exception of the Battles of Saratoga, the most crucial events either happened in Pennsylvania (like the...
The York Congress (Ep8)
EPISODE 8: THE YORK CONGRESS. The Second Continental Congress – the one that declared independence from Great Britain in 1776 at the Philadelphia State House and served as representative government during the American Revol...
William Penn Part 2 (Ep7)
EPISODE 7: WILLIAM PENN, PART 2. This episode, the second of a two-part series on the life and legacy of William Penn, focuses on his founding of the English colony of Pennsylvania. Penn came to the project with some direc...
William Penn Part 1 (Ep6)
EPISODE 6: WILLIAM PENN, PART 1. The first of a two-part series on the life and legacy of William Penn, the founder of the English colony of Pennsylvania, this episode focuses on his family history and upbringing, his embra...
The Erie Triangle (Ep5)
EPISODE 5: THE ERIE TRIANGLE. Why does Pennsylvania (and not New York) have that little wedge of land atop its Northwest corner? And why has it had such a consequential place in our state’s history, perhaps most notably in...
The Allegheny Portage Railroad (Ep4)
EPISODE 4: THE ALLEGHENY PORTAGE RAILROAD. The successful opening of the Erie Canal in New York State in 1825 gives the rest of the country a case of “canal fever,” and nowhere more so than in Pennsylvania. Desperate to ca...