Historical Society of Pennsylvania

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania was established in 1824 by seven young Philadelphians who were inspired by the patriotic celebrations and renewed civic pride brought on by the Marquis d Lafayette's visit to the United States.

The aim of their fledgling organization was to collect and preserve evidence related to history of the commonwealth, to encourage scholarly research, and to stimulate public interest in American history. This mission remains central to the work of the Historical Society to this day. Throughout the nineteenth century, books, manuscripts, art, and artifacts swelled the collection, and the Society continually outgrew its succession of homes. In 1883, the Historical Society purchased the site it still occupies at 1300 Locust Street in Philadelphia. After extensive renovations, the current building was dedicated in 1910, boasting state-of-the-art fireproof facilities. The late nineteenth century also saw the launch of the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, a quarterly scholarly journal that the Society continues to publish. Throughout the twentieth century, the Society grew as a repository of national significance. In the 1990s, The Historical Society refocused its mission to concentrate on its role as a special collections library. In 2002, it transferred limited custody and control of its art and artifacts collection to the Atwater Kent Museum. Today, HSP's collections include approximately 600,000 printed volumes, nearly 20 million manuscript items, and more than 300,000 graphics and images, with particularly strong holdings for Pennsylvania regional history, Mid-Atlantic family history, and seventeenth through twentieth-century American history. In 2002, this collection was significantly augmented when the Society merged with the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies. The merged institution carries on with the mission of preserving, and sharing the past with a wide range of constituents.

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