Walking down the streets of Chester County, each place, house, and building has its own unique story- stories that may have been hidden under the bricks if not told by our local historians. Local historians are shaping our tomorrow by bringing the past into the present, keeping alive the voices of those who shaped the community long before us. They make a bridge connecting the stories and events that shaped our county to the modern area many live in today. Whether speaking with sources, digging through archives and papers or retracing long forgotten paths, these individuals play a vital role in ensuring the region’s past never fades away.
For many decades, historians from multiple organizations and societies have been discovering the area’s unique past and heritage, making it so special. Not only do they unravel the past, but their tireless efforts to preserve it ensure that the history--papers, archives, landmarks--is valued, guarded, and cherished so as not to be lost in passing. One such society in the area is the Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society.
The TEHO is the oldest society in the Upper Main Line area, formed in 1936, committed to local historical research associated with the Tredyffrin and Easttown townships. Their motto since the founding year has been to accurately share the history of the townships with the world around us. Board members and historians of the society work around the clock to find every detail of history to put together the puzzle.
One historian and Board member in TEHO is Ms. Bertha Jackmon. Ms. Jackmon, a long-time local resident of Chester County, plays many vital roles, preserving and finding the past in our community. To name a few, she is the founding and current Co-Chair of the West Paoli Neighborhood Reunion Committee and the Co-Chair of the executive committee of Path to Freedom. In association with the TEHO, she is also a Church Historian for Mt. Zion AME Church.
Ms. Jackmon’s interest in becoming a historian comes from her mother, whom she lovingly referred to as “Grand Central Station”. Ms. Jackmon recalls, “She was the one in the family, anything that happened on both sides of the family, she would be the one people would contact”. Another spark in her career as a historian was curiosity. As a young, shy child, she didn’t ask a lot of questions, but with maturity, that changed. She realized that she could ask questions, and she did, leading her to this path.
Mc. Jackmon’s main field of research lies within the past of African Americans, at the neighborhood, township, county, national, and even international level. Her first work as a historian was in 2009. She was appointed as the church historian and tasked with getting Mt Zion AME Church on the National Register of Historic Places. After working and filling out applications, talking and reaching out to people, Ms. Jackmon and her team reached the goal. While working on such a project or finding the history of a building or structure, the key is talking to people. According to Ms. Jackmon, the way to encourage the community in the local history is by “Talking about it. Constantly. And emailing events, activities, and just being out in public”. In her own personal story of getting Mt Zion on the National Register, Ms. Jackmon reached out to other historians, attended local meetings to learn skills which led to uncovering the real reason of the church’s importance- The Berwyn School Fight.
As historians use sources, data, and archives to uncover the past, they also rely on technology and the internet to guide them. With access to over thousands of websites, articles, and databases, researching a particular topic has become much easier than flipping through pages of books and magazines. Ms. Jackmon says, “A lot of places are now digitized,” which helps research the project, speeding up the process. Another huge aspect of the work of historians is recording the findings. Photography of buildings and structures is an art that is mastered by historians, like Ms. Jackmon. At a workshop she recalls learning about skills that make the result even better. She recalls some-
“If you want to take a picture, make sure that you take the picture of the building, showing the sky and the ground, because the building doesn't just stand alone, it's a location”. Along with this, historians are advised to take pictures of the whole building and get as close in order to represent the whole building.
Ms. Jackmon, who has been a historian for around 17 years, has one important piece of advice for young readers who may follow a path leading up to a historian. “History is not some old thing that happened to other people. You are history, your family, and everyone you know and don't know is history. Why? Because every person living now, those who lived before you were born, and those who will be born, survive and thrive, all of them have stories to tell. And no matter how large or small or insignificant the stories seem to be, every one of us impacts the whole telling and the sharing of history.”