Stories from the Springs
Join us for unique stories from the Moore Archives at Historic Yellow Springs. These regular stories center events and voices associated with the Village of Yellow Springs, PA. and its rich local history of over 300 years. With first hand accounts, artifacts from the past, and audio recordings, we seek to bring history alive and share it directly with you.
Biography of John Rose
Portrait of the Baron, later in life | public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Family Background John Rose was born Gustav Heinrich de Rosenthal in 1754 into a long-established…
Biography of Dr. Bodo Otto Jr.
Painting of Dr. Bodo Otto Jr. (date unknown) | image digitally clarified and enhanced Family Background Bodo Otto Jr. was born into a German medical family with deep professional, religious, and…
Biography of Reverend Dr. James Sproat
Engraving of Sproat (ca. 1794) | image digitally clarified and enhanced Family Background James Sproat was born into a deeply rooted New England family with long-standing ties to Massachusetts religious…
Biography of Abigail Hartman-Rice
HYS’s artistic interpretation of what Abigail most likely looked like Family Background Maria Appolonia Hartman, known in adulthood as Abigail, was born on September 4, 1742, according to the Rice…
Biography of Rina
HYS’s artistic interpretation of what Rina most likely looked like Family Background Rina was an enslaved woman whose surname, birthdate, and parentage were never recorded in surviving historical documents. She…
Biography of Sarah Ruston Kennedy
Signature of Sarah Kennedy | digitally clarified and enhanced Family Background Sarah Ruston Kennedy was born in 1737 in Oxford, Chester County, Pennsylvania, into the large and influential Ruston family.…
Biography of Dr. Bodo Otto Sr.
Painting of Dr. Bodo Otto Sr. (before 1755) | image digitally clarified and enhanced Family Background Dr. Bodo Otto was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1711 into a family whose…
Biography of Dr. Samuel Kennedy
Signature of Dr. Samuel Kennedy | digitally clarified and enhanced Family Background Samuel Kennedy was born in 1731, recorded as being born at sea while his family crossed the Atlantic…
Throwback Thursday: Making History- Winter at Washington Hall
Our Research to Imagine Key Figures from Yellow Springs’ Past and Represent them to a New Audience Art Imitates Life In preparation for our upcoming exhibition on Washington Hall and…
Throwback Thursday: (Pottery) Fragments of the Past
We Identify and Date Several Pieces of Mysterious Pottery Found on the HYS Property Fragment of pottery found at Historic Yellow Springs (undated) Setting the Scene Today, pottery and sculpting…
Throwback Thursday: Medical Tools of the Revolution
As We Explore the Medicine of the 18th Century, The Uses of these Tools Intrigued Us Collection of medical tools from Historic Yellow Springs, replicas of Dr. Bodo Otto’s surgical…
Throwback Thursday: Slipping into Slip-Trailed Redware
Could The Fragments of an Old Bowl be Connected to Life at Washington Hall? Shelves, Boxes, and Shards of the Past As we have mentioned in previous posts, the Moore…
Throwback Thursday: Valley Forge, The Doctors Otto, and Washington Hall
In Collaboration with the Valley Forge Park Alliance, We Analyze the Deep Winter of 1777–1778 and the Role of Dr. Bodo Otto, His Sons, and Washington Hall Image Courtesy of:…
Throwback Thursday: A Study of Medical Services
A 1971 Report On Revolutionary War Hospitals Helps Us Understand Our Past Setting the Scene The Moore Archives at Yellow Springs are in the middle of a careful reckoning. Staff…
Throwback Thursday: The Will and Estate of Dr. Samuel Kennedy
Research is Bringing Notable Figures from Yellow Springs’ Past to Life (and death) In Preparation for the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence Healing and War at Yellow Springs…
Throwback Thursday: Banquet at Summer’s End in 1920
Over 100 years ago, the P.A.F.A. Summer School held a Thankful Banquet to Mark the End of Summer A week before Thanksgiving, we want to take a moment to highlight…
On the Trail of Fall Colors
Researched and Written by Mark Ashton The leaves are fading fast, but the trails on and surrounding Historic Yellow Springs offer a medley of color and light. Our 140 acre property is built into…
Throwback Thursday: Thirsty Thursday (Moonshine Making at Yellow Springs)
Uncovering Clues of a Secret Setup in the Connie Fraley Studio Basement This box of old glassware was discovered during the renovations of Fraley Studio at Yellow Springs Buried Bottles…
Throwback Thursday: P.A.F.A. Period Glass Plate Photo Negatives
Carefully Uncovering the Contents of a Sealed Box in the Archives, Labeled ‘Fragile – Handle with Care’ Our archivist uncovered a sealed box in the to-be-filed cabinet of the Moore…
Throwback Thursday: Ghost Tapes
Haunting Cassette Tapes from Yellow Spring’s Past On the Eve of Halloween, this week’s Throwback Thursday showcases some ghostly-themed cassette tapes from the Moore Archive’s collection. Local legend has long…
Throwback Thursday: Childs’ Play
Identifying Specific Toys from Yellow Springs’ More Playful Past For this week’s Throwback Thursday, we are going to highlight some of the artifacts that have been stored in the Brick Room of the…
Throwback Thursday: Rediscovered Springs
Two Additional Springs Discovered Along the Northridge Trail Spark Curiosities The Discovery Back in June, our Facilities Manager, Kevin McCraw, discovered something curious while exploring the Northridge Trail. The Northridge…
Throwback Thursday: Sassafras Leaves & Lenape Traditions
From Clay to Leaf- Rediscovering Lenape Connections in the Landscape of Historic Yellow Springs Pot made by our Lenape Elder guests, made of native-dug clay from the HYS property and…
Throwback Thursday: Piecing Together Medical Botany
The “Flower Book” from the Moore Archives is much older (and weirder) than We Thought Root Cause While organizing our library, we found a mysterious manilla folder- filled with what…
Yellow Springs and the Battle of the Clouds
Researched and Written by Mark Ashton A blue and white flag with white stars (AI-generated. AI-generated content may be incorrect.) Head Quarters, at Yellow spring [Pa.] Septr 17th 1777. Parole:…
Throwback Thursday: Bog Garden Discovery of Archaic Projectile Points
Indigenous Americans have been using the land at Yellow Springs for at least Four and a half Millennia Projectile points in their original wrappings A Second Rediscovery Throwback Thursday for…
Throwback Thursday: The Cyclopedia of Chester County
Compiled in 1893 by Samuel T. Wiley and Winfield Scott Garner This week’s Throwback Thursday features another hefty, aged leather-bound book discovered in the Moore Archives library: the Biographical and…
Throwback Thursday: Lane Family Photo Album
(Cross-referencing this photo album with Orphan School Records) This week’s Throwback Thursday highlights the Lane family photo album, which donated to Historic Yellow Springs at some point during the past…
Jack Harris: Father of the Blob (2015)
Researched and Written by Mark Ashton D/O/M Neile Adams November 1956 Filming of Blob per Adams February 1958 McQueen died of mesothelioma in Mexico on Nov. 7, 1980. One of his…
Throwback Thursday: The Head of Walter
(1926 Sculpture by Sydney R. Mudge) For the first week of September, our Throwback Thursday highlights Head of Walter, a plaster sculpture created in 1926 by Sydney R. Mudge, then…
Artifact of the Month: August 2025
Historic Yellow Springs and the Moore Archives Presents: The Sketchbook of Margaret Goddard From 1916 to 1952, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) operated a Country Art School…
A glimpse into the Holidays for PA Soldiers’ Orphan School in 1898
In reviewing Annual Reports at the PA Soldiers’ Orphan School at Chester Springs from the historical archives, we recently came across these holiday descriptions from 1898. “Thanksgiving passed quietly. A…
SEPTEMBER 17, 1777
YELLOW SPRINGS…On this day in early morning, General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, marched into the village of Yellow Springs with his wet, muddied, and exhausted army. They…