At Elizabethtown College, students in the Public Heritage Studies Program have the opportunity to explore and preserve the rich local history of Lancaster County and beyond, while gaining hands-on experience that will prepare them for careers in museums, archives and history preservation.

While the program is open to college students, its benefits to the community extend well beyond the campus.

The roots of the Public Heritage Studies Program run deep. Director Jean-Paul Benowitz, who has taught history at Elizabethtown for 33 years, began developing local history courses after publishing books on the history of the college and the borough in 2014 and 2015. What began as a certificate program has grown into a full-fledged minor, supported by the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, which highlights the regional heritage of the Amish, Mennonites and Church of the Brethren.

Central Pennsylvania is the perfect spot for the program, Benowitz said. Lancaster and York played pivotal roles in early American history, serving as temporary capitals and the birthplace of the Articles of Confederation. The region was also home to Thaddeus Stevens, a key figure behind the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.

"It is not an exaggeration to say the heritage of this area was important in the establishment of American democracy," Benowitz remarked. "And the future of American democracy relies on our understanding of our local heritage, building on this important legacy."

As Benowitz explained, students who want to earn a minor choose from a concentration in either applied history or historic preservation. "Courses are open to all students of all years/cohorts and all academic majors," he stated. "The classes are interdisciplinary; students from a wide variety of majors take these courses and complete the minor."

Student projects through the program have included researching and reporting about every building on the Elizabethtown College campus to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the college's founding. Beyond the campus, students have worked in neighboring communities to preserve the past.

"In the fall and spring semesters, all Public Heritage Studies courses have a community-based learning component requiring students to conduct field work and research in the local community," Benowitz said. "These projects are also conducted during the summer through a program at the college called Summer Creative Arts and Research program (SCARP)."

Each spring semester since 2019, students research a report about a historically significant property in the National Historic District of Marietta, where the student explains the architectural style of the property, the history of the property and biographical information about all the people who lived in the property and contributed to local history, Benowitz said.

"Every fall semester, students choose a local historic site or museum and conduct research about an artifact in the collection's archives, producing print and electronic versions of a brochure explaining the significance of the artifacts to the collection's history and enticing researchers to visit the local historic site or museum," he stated.

This coming fall semester, students will conduct genealogical research about their family history and film a presentation to show family members to reveal interesting facts about their heritage based on the PBS show "Finding Your Roots."

Students have also created online maps that are used by genealogists and historians conducting research.

The college program helps students discover more about local history while also providing opportunities to share their findings on a larger scale.

"Several honors students have made their Public Heritage Studies projects into their senior thesis," Benowitz remarked. "They have presented at local and national conferences. These thesis projects have contributed to their being accepted into competitive Public Heritage Studies graduate programs and careers in the field of public history and historic preservation."

Along with exploring the electronic maps students have created, Benowitz encourages people to support historical research by getting involved with the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, Marietta Restoration Associates or the Historic Harrisburg Association.

"Donate historically significant books, letters, documents, photographs, artifacts to various local historical societies, record or write down memories of local history and donate to the library/archival collections at various local historical societies," he said.

Benowitz also encourages people to sign up to participate in City As Text - Places As Text, an all-day program he will lead that will be held on Saturday, Aug. 9, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Pennsylvania Chautauqua Hall of Philosophy, 212 Gettysburg Ave., Mount Gretna.

"City As Text is an active experiential learning approach to exploring local history and culture," Benowitz said. Small groups will explore, observe and reflect through the event. To learn more, visit https://mtgretnahistory.org/events.

To explore the digital maps created by students visit https://bit.ly/452hALY.