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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office

    Marker Forms and Guidance

    Learn more about the marker program and what PHMC offers to help potential applicants.

    Pennsylvania Historical Marker Pennsylvania Historical Marker for Parkers Landing Petroglyphs, Perry Township, Clarion County

    Nomination Resources

    If you are considering applying for a State Historical Marker, please review the below helpful sources.

    Guidance

    Guidelines for Pennsylvania Historical Marker Nominations: Guidelines and instructions for preparing historical marker nominations.

    Submit and Manage a Marker Nomination in PA-SHARE: Step-by-step instructions for using PA-SHARE.

    Helpful Resources: Website links to help nomination preparers learn about and find primary and secondary sources for researching their nomination subject.

    Scoring Rubric: Used by the Marker Review Panel and Staff Marker Committee when evaluating marker nominations. 

    Forms

    Pre-Application Worksheet: Fillable worksheet to submit to PA SHPO.

    Significance and Documentation Form: Fillable worksheet to collect information required for a historical marker nomination.

    Video Series

    The following series of short videos is available on YouTube:

    • Overview of PHMC Marker Program
    • New to Marker Program in 2025
    • Marker Nominations Module 1: What you need to know
    • Marker Nominations Module 2: Tips & Tricks for Successful Nomination
    • Marker Nominations Module 3: Using PA-SHARE
    • Marker Nominations Module 4: Evaluation Process

    Additional Resources

    Local Historical Markers

    Looking to create a local historical marker? Contact your local Historical Society or local government to see if there is already a program in place. For more opportunities:

    ExplorePAHistory.com

    The ExplorePAhistory educational website uses PHMC's historical markers as an entry point to bring history to life for visitors, students, teachers, and history buffs. The site integrates tourism tools, rich and accurate information, and the only PA standards-based lesson plans for teaching Pennsylvania history.

    The website was launched in 2003 as a partnership between PHMC and WITF, Central Pennsylvania's public media center, with support from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the William Penn Foundation, and the United States Department of Education.

    PHMC does not administer the ExplorePAhistory website. For questions and comments regarding the website please contact WITF. If you need updated attraction detail information please go to visitPA, the official tourism website of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

    Keystone Town Markers

    PHMC does not administer the Keystone Town Markers. The Keystone Town Markers were originally erected by the Dept. of Highways, PennDOT's predecessor in the 1920s and 30s and responsibility has fallen to municipalities and interested individuals to maintain, repair, replace, or remove these markers.

    To learn more about Keystone Markers and the Keystone Marker Trust visit the Keystone Marker Trust website.