The Luzerne County Historical Society will hold a dedication of a Pennsylvania State historic marker at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 at the corner of East Dorrance Street and Ford Avenue in Kingston.
Together with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; the Kingston Historical Society; the Municipality of Kingston; the Wyoming Valley Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution; and the Frances Dorrance Chapter of the Pennsylvania Archeological Society, the ceremony will unveil the new marker honoring Frances Dorrance, a former executive director of the Luzerne County Historical and Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Dorrance worked for the initiation of a Native American site survey in Pennsylvania, leading to the first comprehensive archeological survey of Native American sites in the 1920s and 1930s. She was also responsible for the publication of the Susquehanna Company Papers, a comprehensive study of the very early founding and settlement of Wyoming Valley.
She and her sister, Anne Dorrance, also gained fame for the rose-growing business based in Kingston that sent train cars of roses to New York City on a regular basis, supplying hotels and residences in New York with fresh-grown roses.
Joe Butkiewicz, interim executive of the North Branch Land Trust and former editor of the Scranton Times, will be the main speaker at the event. Dr. William Lewis, Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, will serve as master of ceremonies, with brief comments from each of the sponsors of the event.
The Pennsylvania Historical Marker program marks the people, places, and events that changed the lives and history of Pennsylvanians. More than 2,600 markers are in place across the Commonwealth.
The event is free and open to the public.
Founded in 1858, the Luzerne County Historical Society is Pennsylvania’s oldest county historical society. LCHS preserves and promotes the collective history and heritage of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, at the Bishop Library and the Museum in Wilkes-Barre, the Denison House in Forty Fort, and the Swetland Homestead in Wyoming. For information, visit http://www.luzernehistory.org or https://www.facebook.com/luzernehistory.