{"id":209956,"date":"2026-06-03T22:33:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/209956\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T22:33:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:33:11","slug":"pennsylvania-man-finds-rare-revolutionary-era-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/209956\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania man finds rare revolutionary-era journal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA Cumberland County historic re-enactor uncovered a rare journal from Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, dating back to 1776, at the Williams Grove Flea Market in March. Brian Engle said he found the journal, which contains historic entries from 1776 to 1781, in an unexpected spot. “It was sitting in a beer box covered in plastic, and I didn’t even notice it,” Engle said. The journal is believed to be one of only 200 copies printed in 1782 and includes records of the Continental Congress declaring independence on July 4, 1776, as well as the nation’s struggles during the Revolutionary War. It was purchased alongside a package of other historic items for $300.”I have to say, when I realized what it was, I got chills just to know that history and what it’s been through,” Engle said. Family reactionElaine Engle, his wife, was surprised to see him bring home another book but quickly understood its significance. “He’s definitely come home with a lot of interesting things, but this one probably has to take the top prize,” she said. What the journal revealsThe journal provides a glimpse into the efforts of the Founding Fathers as they worked to form a new country while George Washington and the Continental Army fought for independence. “It’s recording everything that occurred during that time when we were going through war on our own turf and fighting for independence and freedom,” Engle said. The document also includes records of taxation, paying bills, and debates on various issues in Pennsylvania at the time. “That’s exactly what’s in here and what was going on in Pennsylvania at the time,” Engle said. Engle noted that Pennsylvania’s governing body convened in Lancaster during that period, a time when the state had far fewer counties than it does today. Preservation effortsTo preserve the book, Engle reached out to state Rep. Tom Mehaffie, who connected him with the state library for advice. “Keep it how you like to live: reasonable temperatures, reasonable humidity. If you’re comfortable, it’s comfortable,” Engle said. Sharing it with the publicEngle plans to share the journal with the public by bringing it to places like Historic Dill’s Tavern, managed by the Northern York County Historic and Preservation Society, as part of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations. “I’m excited to take it places and share it. To me, it’s not supposed to just sit on a shelf,” Engle said. Elaine Engle joked about her husband’s flea market trips after the discovery. “I guess I have to let him go to the flea market more often. Not that I could stop him!” she said.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A Cumberland County historic re-enactor uncovered a rare journal from Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, dating back to 1776, at the Williams Grove Flea Market in March. <\/p>\n

\t\t\"a<\/p>\n

Brian Engle said he found the journal, which contains historic entries from 1776 to 1781, in an unexpected spot. <\/p>\n

“It was sitting in a beer box covered in plastic, and I didn’t even notice it,” Engle said. <\/p>\n

The journal is believed to be one of only 200 copies printed in 1782 and includes records of the Continental Congress declaring independence on July 4, 1776, as well as the nation’s struggles during the Revolutionary War. It was purchased alongside a package of other historic items for $300.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"a<\/p>\n

“I have to say, when I realized what it was, I got chills just to know that history and what it’s been through,” Engle said. <\/p>\n

Family reaction<\/p>\n

Elaine Engle, his wife, was surprised to see him bring home another book but quickly understood its significance. <\/p>\n

“He’s definitely come home with a lot of interesting things, but this one probably has to take the top prize,” she said. <\/p>\n

What the journal reveals<\/p>\n

The journal provides a glimpse into the efforts of the Founding Fathers as they worked to form a new country while George Washington and the Continental Army fought for independence. <\/p>\n

\t\t\"a<\/p>\n

“It’s recording everything that occurred during that time when we were going through war on our own turf and fighting for independence and freedom,” Engle said. <\/p>\n

The document also includes records of taxation, paying bills, and debates on various issues in Pennsylvania at the time. <\/p>\n

“That’s exactly what’s in here and what was going on in Pennsylvania at the time,” Engle said. <\/p>\n

Engle noted that Pennsylvania’s governing body convened in Lancaster during that period, a time when the state had far fewer counties than it does today. <\/p>\n

Preservation efforts<\/p>\n

To preserve the book, Engle reached out to state Rep. Tom Mehaffie, who connected him with the state library for advice. <\/p>\n

\t\t\"a<\/p>\n

“Keep it how you like to live: reasonable temperatures, reasonable humidity. If you’re comfortable, it’s comfortable,” Engle said. <\/p>\n

Sharing it with the public<\/p>\n

Engle plans to share the journal with the public by bringing it to places like Historic Dill’s Tavern, managed by the Northern York County Historic and Preservation Society, as part of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations. <\/p>\n

\t\t\"a<\/p>\n

“I’m excited to take it places and share it. To me, it’s not supposed to just sit on a shelf,” Engle said. <\/p>\n

Elaine Engle joked about her husband’s flea market trips after the discovery. <\/p>\n

“I guess I have to let him go to the flea market more often. Not that I could stop him!” she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Cumberland County historic re-enactor uncovered a rare journal from Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, dating back to 1776,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":209957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3680,92086,92090,3613,92087,28,30,29,92091,92088,92089],"class_list":["post-209956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-cumberland-county","tag-cumberland-county-historic-re-enactor","tag-flea-market-find","tag-house-of-representatives","tag-northern-york-county-historic-and-preservation-society","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-rare-1776-journal","tag-rep-tom-mehaffie","tag-williams-grove-flea-market"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}