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News, events, updates, and tidbits from the Presbyterian Historical Society. Use tags to read related articles or sort by author for similar posts written by PHS staff members and volunteers.

How Our Hilltop Elder Changed American History

February 22, 2021

Washington Taking Command of the American Army at Cambridge, 1775. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

--C. F. William Maurer

On June 17, 1775, the Continental Congress unanimously chose General George Washington as commander in chief and declared that they would maintain and assist him with their lives and fortunes...

Author:

Guest Blogger

Tags:

American Revolution

Early American Bibles

November 20, 2017

Quick trivia question: what language was the first Bible in the Western Hemisphere printed in? The answer is Algonquin—to be precise, the Natick dialect of Algonquin.

Today you can find a “Made in the U.S.A.” Bible in nearly every hotel room in America; most Gideon Bibles, for example, are printed in the Nashville area. But Bible publishing in the

...

Author:

David K

Tags:

Bible, Native Americans, American Revolution

New In-House Exhibit

May 18, 2017

The Presbyterian Historical Society is pleased to announce the opening of “Presbyterians and the American Revolution,” an in-house exhibit at 425 Lombard Street in Philadelphia.

The new exhibit features sixty items from the Revolutionary War, its build-up, and aftermath. Original manuscripts, rare publications, digitized images, and evocative artifacts fill the PHS lobby. A related hallway display remembers Presbyterian celebrations of the centennial and bicentennial.

...

Author:

Fred T

Tags:

American History, American Revolution

A Timely Mystery

May 3, 2017

For our new exhibit, “Presbyterians and the American Revolution,” one of the weightier physical tasks the society undertook was moving the Witherspoon Clock. Relocating the timepiece and cabinet to our lobby took less than five minutes. G. David Fish, a professional clockmaker from John Fish & Sons, spent an hour disassembling and reassembling the lead counterweights, pendulum ball and rod, bonnet, front face, and movements.

What’s amazing about the clock is not just its size, age, and...

Author:

David K

Tags:

American Revolution, John Witherspoon, John Knox

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Blog

How Our Hilltop Elder Changed American History

Early American Bibles

New In-House Exhibit

A Timely Mystery