History of the Pocono Region to be Discussed at ESU Forum

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Posted by: admin on April 9, 2013, No Comments

The history of the Poconos will be explored in a conference from 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Friday, April 26, 2013, presented by East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) and the Monroe County Historical Association. “Coming to the Poconos – A Conference on Local History” will be held in the Niedbala Auditorium in the Warren E. ’55 and Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology Center on the ESU campus.

“Studying the history of our area allows us to bridge the gap between our work-a-day worlds and the past, a past that continues to resonate around us,” said Martin Wilson, Ph.D., associate professor of history at ESU. “Place names, railroad tracks, old buildings, the layout of our streets, for example, speak to us of days gone by. This conference will help us to recognize evidence of the past that we might otherwise overlook, and thereby increase our knowledge of the present.”

The conference is open to the general public and at no cost.

The presentation schedule is as follows:

Welcome and Introduction
9:15 – 9:30 a.m.

Session I
9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Origin of Select Brodhead Watershed Place Names
Chair: Sara Dickey, graduate student, ESU

Christopher Brooks, Dr. phil., assistant professor of history, ESU
Sambo Creek: A Short History of a Troublesome Toponym

Laura Munn, student, ESU
The Naming of Dry Sawmill Run and Big Meadow Run

Tim Edwards, student, ESU
Tom X Run and Newton Run

Shawna Serpe, Moravian Museum of Bethlehem
An Explanation of the Naming of Brodhead Creek and Marshalls Creek

Session II
10:30 a.m. – noon
Early Arrivals
Chair: Erin O’Donnell, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, ESU

Jeffrey Wright, Little Bethel Historical Association
First European Settlers of Monroe County: Dutch Diversity and Pragmatism

Brian Young, Lehigh University
Walking Purchase — Neither a Walk Nor a Purchase: What Was It?

Rick Bodenschatz, Historical Association of Tobyhanna Township
Sullivan’s Expedition in Tobyhanna Township

Bernadine Lennon and Diane Smith, Greene-Dreher Historical Society
Hopedale Church Mission and the Newfoundland Settlement — 1831–1850

Lunch
Noon – 1 p.m.

Session III
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Getting to the Poconos
Chair: Bonar Hernandez, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, ESU

Jim Werkheiser, Pocono-Jackson Townships Historical Society
The Wilkes-Barre and Eastern Railroad

John Layton, Paradise Township Historical Society
The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western

Kathleen Sandt, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Having A Swell Time: A Postcard History of the Poconos

Ben Cohen, Independent Scholar
A River Runs Through It: Contemplating the Value of Nature’s Bounty in Northeast Pennsylvania

For more information, please contact Dr. Wilson at 570-422-3991 or at mwilson@esu.edu.