Learn about PA German Heritage and see what life was like in their early Pennsylvania village during “PA History:
The Read It, See It” event occurred on July 15, 2021. Discover the Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum (Rural Farms & Village History Trail). .
This session was recorded and has been added to the State Library's Lunch-and-Learn archive online .
Dedicated to The Landis Valley Museum. American-German review. Philadelphia, Pa. : Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation Vol. 7, No. 6 (Apr. 1941)
The Landis Valley Museum : objectives of a Pennsylvania Dutch folklore museum by Felix Reichman, Allentown, Pa. : Pennsylvania German Folklore Society, 1942, ©1943.
Pennsylvania-German Society. Proceedings and addresses. Lancaster, Pa: The Society, 1891-1948.
Available digitized at University of Pennsylvania Online Books site here and here
Pennsylvania German Folklore Society yearbook 1936-1966
Call Number: State Library Periodicals 398.09748 P3845y
Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society (series). Allentown, Breinigsville, Birdsboro, University Park: Pennsylvania-German Society 1953-1966; 1968-1994; 1995-1999; 2000-
Call Number: State Library Main Periodicals; State Library Main Reference 974.8 P38624
This series consists of annual themed volumes on Pennsylvania German folklife and folklore, decorative arts, material culture, foodways, religion (Anabaptists and Baptists), language/dialect, rural life, clothing, superstition, medicine, and other topics. Volumes can also be located by author, subject, and individual volume title
Der Reggeboge=The rainbow. Allentown: Breinigsville: Birdsboro: The Pennsylvania-German Society, 1967-
Call Number: State Library Main Periodicals 325.243 R262
Primary Resources on Pennsylvania Agriculture from the State Library's Rare Collections
You can locate rare historical books on 18th and 19th century agriculture in Pennsylvania, including German-language items appealing to Pennsylvania Germans, using the State Library's catalog. Some highlights from the collection are farmer's almanacs, farm journals, agricultural society publications, trade catalogs, and other books such as practical guides on crops, livestock, surveying, and home remedies. Contact Michael Lear, Rare Collections Librarian, (mlear@pa.gov) for more information.
Beginning in the 18th century, large numbers of German-speaking people, primarily from the Palatinate region of modern-day western Germany, began emigrating to Pennsylvania in large numbers. These people became known as the “Pennsylvania Deutsch” or “Deitsch” - meaning Pennsylvania German. This term was later corrupted as “Pennsylvania Dutch” and it is important to know these were not Dutch speaking peoples from the Netherlands.
Resources relating to Pennsylvania German folklife and folklore, decorative arts, material culture, foodways, religion (Anabaptists and Baptists), language/dialect, rural life, clothing, superstition, medicine, and other topics can often be found at your local library by browsing the Power Library catalog to see what libraries throughout Pennsylvania have on the subject. Also search the State Library of Pennsylvania's catalog to see what is available there.
You can find materials using the following subject headings: Pennsylvania Dutch; Pennsylvania Dutch Country (Pa.) ; Pennsylvania German dialect ; German Americans--Pennsylvania; Germans--Pennsylvania
You can also use the subject headings above in various combinations with keywords such as: