The Pennsylvania Christmas Tree
December 12 , 2005 Filed in: Flora & Fauna | Holidays
The tradition of bringing evergreen boughs and even whole trees indoors during the Winter Solstice began in Europe well before reliable written records. These early indoor trees, however, were not adorned with fanciful decorations. Relatively modern Christmas tree traditions began in the 16th Century, with the Protestant reformer Martin Luther being credited with first decorating a small evergreen tree with candles. These candles represented the stars in the sky that twinkled over Bethlehem. Read More...
William Penn and Lenape Chief Tammany
The Lenni Lenape were the first inhabitants of the Pocono Mountains area. Long before European settlers called Monroe County home, these Native Americans occupied the land. Indeed, the name Lenni Lenape translates into “the original peoples,” and the term Pocono in the native Lenape tongue means “a river between two mountains.” Because the Lenape did not have a written language, their history was passed from generation to generation by story tellers. The ancestors of the Lenape, the true “original peoples,” were said to have come from the great sea in the west thousands of years before Christopher Columbus. Read More...
How Stroudsburg Became County Seat
Although settled during colonization, Monroe County was not one of the earliest official counties in Pennsylvania; it was the 53rd recognized county out of 67 statewide. It was formed from pieces of Northampton and Pike Counties on April 1, 1836. Read More...