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The Arc of Pennsylvania
Maintains extensive list of historic documents related to people with intellectual disability on its website. Hosted traveling exhibit. Has preserved and digitized eight reels of 16mm film about Pennsylvania intellectual disability movement.
Elwyn, Malvern, PA
Established in 1852, Elwyn is the longest operating institution for people with intellectual disability in the U.S. Has Elwyn Historical Archives and Museum in its administrative building. Held symposium. View the 1968 film about Elwyn.
Historic Harrisburg Association
Historic Harrisburg Association, a committee of community stakeholders to preserve history of Harrisburg State Hospital, the nation’s first asylum for people with mental illness, successfully nominated Harrisburg State Hospital as a national historic site and International Site of Conscience.
Institute on Disabilities at Temple University
Collects the stories of those who played a part in, or were first-hand witnesses to, the events that changed the lives of people with intellectual disabilities in Pennsylvania. These first-person accounts are a vital resource for students, teachers, scholars, people with disabilities, families, policymakers and members of the media. The project is in two parts: video interviews and collected papers of attorney and advocate Dennis Haggerty. The project includes five interviews with Western Pennsylvanians.
Millersville University, Millersville, PA
Holds annual conference on preserving and sharing disability history. Has academic major in Applied Disability Studies.
Pennhurst and the Struggle for Disability Rights
Book edited by Dennis B. Downey, James W. Conroy, Foreword by Dick Thornburgh, and Ginny Thornburgh
Pennhurst Lives Remembered
Digital exhibit produced by Mary Schreiner, Ph.D
Pennhurst Memorial Preservation Alliance
Nominated Pennhurst institution as a national historic site and an International Site of Conscience. Produced documentary, traveling exhibit, and book to be published by Penn State University Press.
Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation, Pennsylvania Trails of History
Nonprofit partner of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the state’s official history agency.
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Responsible for the collection, conservation, and interpretation of Pennsylvania’s historic heritage, which we accomplish through the Pennsylvania State Archives, the State Museum of Pennsylvania, the Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums, the Pennsylvania Trails of History, the Bureau for Historic Preservation, and the Bureau of Management Services.
Pennsylvania History Coalition Honoring People with Disability (PHCHPD)
Mission is to honor, preserve and share the history of people with disability in Pennsylvania. Projects focus on community outreach, involving collaboration with key stakeholders, including university programs and students, researchers and private funding sources, together with traditional stakeholders. Download the PHCHPD’s User Guide for Preserving and Sharing the History of Pennsylvanians with Intellectual and Developmental Disability.
Pennsylvania State Archives
Has 1500 cubic feet of records from Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare concerning administration of services for people with disabilities. Receives 200+ requests per year to access archives for scholarly and other purposes. Does not have patient records and administration records from state hospitals.
Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office
The Bureau for Historic Preservation serves as the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Executive Director is designated as the State Historic Preservation Officer.
State Museum of Pennsylvania
Has collected, preserved, researched, and interpreted the cultural and natural history of the state since 1905. Is a bureau of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Voices of our Region
A project of Allegheny County Department of Human Services, features 57 first-person stories from Western Pennsylvanians living with disabilities. These audio recordings provide candid accounts of the quest for self-determination and equal opportunity from the mid-20th century through the present day.
West Chester University
Has small collections group, which is part of PA Historic Commission.
WITF Public Media, Harrisburg
Produced “I Go Home,” 50-minute documentary about history of oppression of people with intellectual disabilities.
