As Pennsylvania prepares for America\u2019s 250th anniversary this year, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission opened the 2026 nomination cycle for the Pennsylvania Historical Marker Program, inviting communities across the Commonwealth to help identify and elevate the stories that shaped local history and the nation.<\/p>\n
With more than 2,500 blue-and-gold markers already installed in all 67 counties, Pennsylvania\u2019s Historical Marker Program is one of the Commonwealth\u2019s most visible and enduring ways to connect residents and visitors to the people, places and events that define Pennsylvania\u2019s role as the \u201cKeystone of American History.\u201d For nearly 80 years, the historical markers have commemorated the diverse narratives that have shaped the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we celebrate \u2018Pennsylvania 250: The Keystone of American History,\u2019 we are reminded that the American experiment was shaped by stories in every corner of our Commonwealth,\u201d said PHMC executive director Andrea Lowery. \u201cOur historical markers are PHMC\u2019s most public program, turning ordinary roads and parks into open-air museums. We are looking to the public to share the history they value\u2014the hidden figures, local innovations, and pivotal moments that have helped build the Pennsylvania of today. We\u2019ve refined our process this year to better support applicants, ensuring that telling these vital stories is more accessible than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2026 nomination cycle builds on recent improvements PHMC made to make the marker program more accessible and supportive for applicants, particularly first-time nominators and community organizations.<\/p>\n
Key dates and process improvements include:<\/p>\n
A required pre-application is due April 1. Applicants must first submit a pre-application, allowing PHMC staff to provide early guidance on historical significance, documentation, and eligibility before a full nomination is prepared.<\/p>\n
The final application deadline will be on June 1. Applicants invited to proceed after pre-application review must submit final materials by this date.<\/p>\n
Nominations may be submitted by individuals, historical societies, local governments, nonprofit organizations and community groups. All proposals are evaluated by a panel of independent historians and scholars from across Pennsylvania and approved by the agency\u2019s commissioners. More information on the program, including application guidelines, is available online at PAHistoricalMarkers.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Pennsylvania prepares for America\u2019s 250th anniversary this year, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission opened the 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[45958,45959,28,30,35858,29],"class_list":["post-93351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-commemorative-plaque","tag-heritage-interpretation","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-historical-and-museum-commission","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93351","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=93351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}