Joe McClure

3 weeks ago | pennlive.com | Joe McClure

It started as a cooking club, then served up a different kind of dish. In May 1882, a group of Harrisburg women met at the home of future social reformer and botanist Mira Lloyd Dock on North Front Street. Interest in the cooking club had faded, and the women had musical abilities. They had heard of women’s music clubs in other cities. So they started one of their own.

1 month ago | pennlive.com | Joe McClure

Mira Lloyd Dock helped launch a revolution. Speaking to Harrisburg’s business leaders in late 1900, the reformer and botanist showed images comparing the ugliness of Harrisburg, especially a riverfront marred by sewage and garbage, with the beauty of cities in Europe and elsewhere in America. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.

2 months ago | pennlive.com | Joe McClure

Updated: Mar. 26, 2025, 8:06 a.m.|Published: Mar. 26, 2025, 8:00 a.m.Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a nationally known poet, lecturer and social reformer, lived in York for a time and spoke in Harrisburg.Wikimedia CommonsFrances Ellen Watkins Harper and Agnes Kemp sought equal rights for women. In their travels, these 19th-century figures lectured about abolition, temperance and women’s suffrage to a variety of audiences in central Pennsylvania, America and the world.

Feb 13, 2025 | pennlive.com | Joe McClure

Updated: Feb. 13, 2025, 8:01 a.m.|Published: Feb. 13, 2025, 8:00 a.m.Dr. William H. Jones was a prominent Black doctor in Harrisburg who promoted the City Beautiful movement among African Americans in the early 20th century. harrisburghistorical.orgTwo Harrisburg men shared a name, William Jones. They both served as doctors. And both lived in the same part of town, the largely Black and immigrant Old 8th Ward. It was wiped out more than a century ago to expand the Capitol Complex.

Jan 17, 2025 | pennlive.com | Joe McClure

Updated: Jan. 17, 2025, 9:45 a.m.|Published: Jan. 17, 2025, 9:45 a.m.Shoppers gather at the Broad Street Market's wooden frame extension, across from the market's brick building, right, around 1900. Trolley tracks on Capital Street pass between the two buildings at lower right. Historical Society of Dauphin CountyThe space between the Broad Street Market’s two buildings has undergone changes in the 165 years since the market was established.