70,000 and Counting

Written by Cyan Fink, DLNHC Inventory Coordinator through November 2024

Two years ago, I started an amazing journey at DLNHC’s Museum Support Center building. This project was grant-funded by Institute of Museum and Library Services. It was every archivist’s and historian’s dream – a building full of historical materials that needed some organization. Every day of work was filled with dusting off some sort of document, photograph, or object that hadn’t been touched in several years. I found some of the neatest tidbits of history tucked away in boxes and stashed on the shelves which shed a new light on local history such as Bethlehem Steel, Lehigh Valley Railroad, and coal mines. I never knew what I was going to find next.

Sadly, my part of the journey is coming to an end. I am leaving DLNHC, but before I leave, I wanted to share some of my favorite pieces that I inventoried during my time here.

1833 Riot photo.

1 – A booklet, Bethlehem Steel Company, South Bethlehem, PA, U.S.A., 1904. This booklet included captions in English, French, and Spanish of various snapshots around Bethlehem Steel property. One of my favorite photos was of the inside of Machine Shop No. 2, which was the largest of the three shops at 1,466 feet long.

2 – A pamphlet with information on the 1883 Canal Riot, which involved Irish workmen and German boatmen. The riot started between the two groups when an argument over fallen or stolen (depending on who you ask) apples escalated to gunfire.

3 – A signed autograph of James A. Farrell to Charles Schwab. Farrell was the president of US Steel for over 20 years and probably knew Schwab fairly well. This was part of a much larger collection which is stored at the Emrick Center Archives. Some of Schwab’s personal autograph collection will be on display next year at the National Canal Museum.

A Compendious System of Mineralogy and Metallurgy extracted from The Encyclopedia

4 – One day, I took a box off the shelf and opened it up, saw a mess of metal, and quickly closed it. I was very confused by what I saw and decided it would have to wait until after I had my lunch break. When I opened it again, I noticed that the mess of metal was actually an art piece! It was a retirement gift given to David W. Hedrick from his co-workers at the Alloy and Tool Steel Division at Bethlehem Steel. It was made of various safety materials and tools that workers would have used in their daily work. This was such a unique find and there is definitely nothing else like it.

5 – The oldest item I uncovered was a book from 1798. A Compendious System of Mineralogy and Metallurgy extracted from The Encyclopedia, was published by A. Bartram in Philadelphia. When this book was being sold, George Washington was still alive! I could not help but think of the many hands this book has been in.

6 – Photographs of the Museum Support Center before the Archive material was moved in. Working in the nondescript cinderblock building, I got to know all the nooks and crannies. So, I was so surprised when I opened up a folder and uncovered photographs of the building before the National Canal Museum moved in. It was amazing to see the renovation and changes the building went through.

This was just a small part of the over 70,000 items I inventoried during my time at DLNHC. If you’d like to learn more, we’ve been posting our discoveries on The National Canal Museum’s Facebook page – just look for #MuseumMonday postings.