President Cole writes a regular column for The Meadville Tribune. For paid subscribers it can be found here.
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the Sippy Historic Machine Shop where I gained deeper appreciation for the origins of the tool and die industry in Meadville.
Lon Sippy’s passion and contagious enthusiasm showed me how awareness of heritage can build strength in community. Lon is employing historical research and methods used in the public humanities with a living museum to tell the story of the tool and die industry in our region. Experiencing this grounded me with a sense of place — a connection and a shared understanding of the innovation, resilience, and work ethic that are part of what shapes Meadville today. By understanding this heritage I felt a stronger connection to our community.
Why is this? Community is often defined as a group that shares common interests. Common interests can bring people together, fostering positive relationships. In this regard, heritage can be that common ground, bringing different people together, bridging past to present and building a stronger connection to our region and each other. Beyond the Sippy Historic Machine Shop, where else might we find heritage building strength in the Meadville community?
Our very own Meadville Market House comes to mind. As the oldest continuously-run market structure in Pennsylvania, the historic Market House has brought generations of people together in downtown Meadville in connection with our agricultural heritage. Today the Market House includes an active farmers market during summer months, local foods and artisans, and is home to the Meadville Council on the Arts. I’m glad when I see crowds of people of different backgrounds connected by their experience, and I celebrate that the City of Meadville received a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Main Street Matters program for this important landmark.
Cussewago Square in the Fifth Ward is another historic site in Meadville that will soon bring people together. Rob and Nancy Smith, through RAN Investments, are revitalizing the Meadville Distilling Company complex (built in the mid-1800s and the former Race Street Lumber site) into a center for the visual and performing arts. In addition to local restaurants, Cussewago Square includes a home for the French Creek Arts Collective along with theater spaces shared by Meadville Community Theatre and French Creek Community Theatre. Importantly, Cussewago Square is leveraging the heritage of this historic location to strengthen our community through shared experiences and small business development.
Just under a mile south of Cussewago Square, “as the crow flies,” is the Meadville Railroad Depot, built around 1881, now a museum run by the French Creek Valley Railroad Historical Society that honors the heritage of the railroad in Meadville. Following the launch of the Meadville Railway Company, also in 1881, the railroad expanded and became a critical driver of economic development in Meadville and literally brought people together in the community. Today the Meadville Railroad Depot Museum is a place of distinctively local pride, like the Sippy Historic Machine Shop, educating and connecting us with a sense of place through history that shaped our town today.
As I reflect on celebrating heritage to strengthen community, the Crawford County Historical Society is another organization that really acts as an anchor for local treasures, both past and present. “Protecting our past to enrich our future” is a phrase on their website that reinforces for me the notion of strengthening community through a shared understanding of a sense of place. They do this through preservation of physical places such as the Baldwin-Reynolds House and the Tarr Mansion as well as through one of the most comprehensive research collections in western Pennsylvania. Through thousands of photographs, centuries of newspapers, and many more artifacts that tell our unique story, the Historical Society builds strong connections among people.
There is so much rich history that unites us, it’s too much to write about here.
I encourage you to explore the above and other heritage sites for your own grounding in sense of place. We think a lot about the promising activities that are currently happening in Meadville. Understanding our history enables an even deeper appreciation of our forward motion. From economic development to bridging the gaps between people, places and things, to overcoming challenges, learning from the past can give us a foundation of hope for shaping a strong future, reinforcing strength in our community.
