Pennsylvania Historical Marker Program

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission administers a program of historical markers to capture the stories of people, places, events, and innovations that have affected the lives of Pennsylvanians over the centuries. Nearly 2,600 cast aluminum markers feature subjects related to the histories of Native Americans, early colonialization, government and politics, athletes, entertainers and artists, movements for freedom and equality, historic industries, commerce, and utilities, and a multitude of other noteworthy topics of statewide or national significance.

PHMC is committed to representing and reflecting the experiences of the people and communities it serves. As a public-driven program, communities are empowered to recognize the importance of their history through the Pennsylvania Historical Marker Program.

Although the physical markers are the property and responsibility of the Commonwealth, the histories and pride belong to all Pennsylvanians.

The markers are not intended to be all-encompassing, but to serve as a lunching point for the public to pursue self-directed learning should they desire to know more.

The historical marker policy was adopted on September 9, 2020.

Program Goals

• Encourage a public-driven program accessible to people of all backgrounds and abilities. The public can:
  • nominate subjects
  • report missing or damaged markers
  • request revisions to outdated or inaccurate texts on existing markers  
• Establish authentic connections with Pennsylvania’s native ancestral tribes
• Increase markers in underrepresented histories & geographies

Contact Information

Are you considering nominating for a PHMC State Historical Marker? Please consider submitting a pre-application so staff can assist you with creating a successful nomination. You can download the pre-application here:  PHMC Historical Marker Pre-Application Worksheet.

To request use of images, report marker maintenance needs or for general inquiries, please send an email to ra-phmarkers@pa.gov.

Report Missing or Damaged Markers

If you’ve found a marker that needs refurbishing or notice that one has gone missing, contact the Historical Marker staff at ra-phmarkers@pa.gov with the following information:

• Title of the marker
• Condition of the marker (damaged/missing)
• Image of the marker if damaged
• Approximate location of the marker
• Contact information of property owner

For more information, see our blog post about missing and damaged markers.

Cyclical Maintenance Schedule

PHMC maintains the historical markers on a cyclical basis, moving county by county, typically completing about 5 counties each year. With nearly 2,600 markers across 67 counties, it can be many years before PHMC returns to a county. You can look at our estimated maintenance schedule here to see where your county is on the list. 

History

The fall 2014 issue of Pennsylvania Heritage magazine included an article about the 100th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Historical Marker Program: A Century of Marking History: 100 Years of the PA Historical Marker Program.

Submission Notice

Please Note: By submitting materials with respect to state or federal historic preservation programs administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), you grant to the PHMC the rights to:

• Use the materials for education and promotional purposes and to promote the mission of the PHMC;
• Publish the materials on the PHMC Web site; and
• Make the materials available to researchers and scholars.