The America250PA ”Start Here, America Did” Podcast

Step inside one of Pennsylvania’s most remarkable historic estates.

In this episode, listeners travel to Andalusia Historic House, Gardens and Arboretum, a breathtaking property along the Delaware River where more than two centuries of American history are preserved in the home, gardens, collections, and stories of the Biddle family.

In our next episode, we explore Grey Towers National Historic Site in Milford, Pennsylvania, the former home of Gifford Pinchot, the first Chief of the United States Forest Service and a two-term Governor of Pennsylvania. Joined by Jared Simister, Director of Interpretation for Grey Towers, this episode highlights the Pinchot family’s role in shaping the American conservation movement. From its historic home and landscape to...

In this special Memorial Day bonus episode of Start Here, America Did, we pause to honor the service members who gave their lives in defense of our country and reflect on the responsibility we share to remember them. Joined by The Honorable Devlin Robinson, Pennsylvania State Senator for the 37th District and United States Marine Corps veteran, this conversation explores the meaning of Memorial Day through the lens of service, sacr...

In this episode of the America250PA Podcast, “Start Here, America Did,” we travel to Bedford, Pennsylvania, where a remarkable piece of early American history was hiding in plain sight for more than 200 years. Host Sydney Harris-White sits down with Tyna Walker-Lay of the Fortified Bedford House to uncover the story of a 1758 structure believed to have served as a British powder magazine or armory connected to Fort Bed...

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Step off the beaten path and into the stories waiting to be discovered across Pennsylvania. In Uncovering PA: Hidden Gems Across Pennsylvania’s Six Regions, host Sydney Harris-White sits down with Jim Cheney, founder of Uncovering PA, to explore both the inspiration behind his widely trusted travel resource and the hidden places that don’t always make the guidebooks. From scenic escapes to overlooked historic sites, thi...

In honor of Women’s History Month, this episode of Start Here, America Did highlights the women shaping Pennsylvania’s future today.

Host Sydney Harris-White sits down with Linda Loop of Dress for Success Luzerne County to explore how confidence, opportunity, and support can transform lives.

From powerful stories of resilience to the ripple effect on families and communities, this conversation shows what happens when wo...

In this special Women's History Month episode, host Sydney Harris-White explores a lesser-known side of Gettysburg, one that reaches beyond battlefields, generals, and troop movements to uncover the stories of the women who lived through one of the most defining moments in American history. Joined by historian Tim Smith of Gettysburg History and the Adams County Historical Society and Abbie Hoffman of the Shriver House Mu...

Travel to Montgomery County’s Borough of Trappe, where history is not confined to exhibits but experienced through preserved homes, landscapes, and artifacts. In this episode, host Sydney Harris-White explores the work of Historic Trappe, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing 18th-century daily life, Pennsylvania German cultural traditions, and the lasting impact of the Muhlenberg family. Executive Director Lisa Mi...

As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, another milestone is unfolding right in the heart of the Commonwealth. In Episode 58, we step onto the campus of Penn State Harrisburg, the Capitol College, as it marks 60 years of impact in central Pennsylvania. Host Sydney Harris-White sits down with Assistant Teaching Professor Seth P. Wright to explore how a former Air Force base transformed into a thrivi...

Episode 57, Where History Ferments: The Story of Stoll & Wolfe, explores how one Pennsylvania distillery is carrying a nearly 300-year legacy into the present. In Lititz, Stoll & Wolfe Distillery draws directly from the Commonwealth’s deep agricultural and distilling roots, using grain grown on a family farm established in 1741 and techniques shaped by centuries of practice. Host Sydney Harris-White sit...

What if the next great adventure was already waiting just beyond your doorstep? 

In Episode 56, The Department of Adventure: The Story of Purple Lizard Maps, host Sydney Harris-White talks with Michael Hermann, founder of Purple Lizard Maps, about how a single hand-crafted map of Rothrock State Forest in 1997 grew into a beloved Pennsylvania-born brand rooted in exploration and connection. Michael shares the vis...

Step into a Pennsylvania town that helped save Christmas. In Episode 55, The Town That Saved Christmas: Pennsylvania’s Wellsboro Glass Legacy, host Sydney Harris-White travels to Wellsboro with guest Kylie Birgensmith of the Wellsboro Glass Historical Association to reveal how this small Tioga County community became a global force of light and innovation. From the late 1800s to the arrival of Corning Glass Works in 1916...

In Episode 54, “Beyond the Chocolate Bar: The Story of The Sweetest Place on Earth,” host Sydney Harris-White sits down with Quinn Bryner of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts to explore how Milton S. Hershey’s vision became far more than a chocolate empire. From the creation of Hersheypark and its iconic resorts to the founding of the Milton Hershey School, this episode uncovers how one man’s com...

In 1976, Fairview Township caught the “Spirit of 76” and never let it go. In this episode, host Sydney Harris-White sits down with original Fairview Bicentennial Committee members Sabina Shields Freeman and June Hetz to relive the unforgettable year when Freedom Festivals, community variety shows, ox roasts, and neighborhood history tours brought an entire township together. What began as a volunteer effort to...

In 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette returned to a young United States and turned Lancaster into a sea of arches, banners, and cheering crowds. In this episode, host Sydney Harris sits down with local historian Benton Graves Weber to walk through Lafayette’s unforgettable visit to Lancaster, PA, from the moment he crossed the Chester County line to the candlelit ball, saluting veterans, and even a hastily built pontoon...