Museum Information
Native Americans

Pennsylvania’s infamous ‘Walking Purchase’

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When Thomas Penn, one of William Penn's sons, sought additional lands from native Americans for the Pennsylvania colony, it was agreed between the two parties that this new land grant would contain a tract of land beginning at Wrightstown and extending northward as far as a man could walk in one and one-half days. This became known as the infamous "Walking Purchase." Read More...

Historical Marker dedicated in Smithfield Township

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On Friday, July 2, 2010, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, together with the Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors, the Middle Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors, and the Eastern Monroe Regional Commission dedicated an official State Historical Marker commemorating the Shawnee/Minisink Archaeological Site at Rivers Edge Park in Minisink Hills. Read More...

The Legend of Lover’s Leap

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An old tale from Monroe County’s history recounts the legend of a love between and Indian princess and an early Dutch settler. The story, which may or may not be true, was first recorded in Luke W. Brodhead’s 1870 book, The Delaware Water Gap, Its Legends and Early History. As the story goes, Princess Winona was the beloved and only daughter of Chief Wissinoming, the noble leader of the Minisink. While the chief ruled all of the land along the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers to the Atlantic Ocean, the headquarters of the tribe was located near Shawnee Island and present-day Smithfield Township, Monroe County. Read More...

Dansbury Mission spreads Moravian ideals to East Stroudsburg

Dansbury Mission
The area now known as East Stroudsburg has a rich and early history. East Stroudsburg was settled by the Brodhead family in 1737, while Stroudsburg was not settled until Jacob Stroud purchased his first piece of land in 1769. Read More...

William Penn and Lenape Chief Tammany

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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.” Many times, the Lenape were referred to as Delaware because they lived along the Delaware River. The Wolf Clan (also known as Munsee or Minsi) occupied land in what is now Monroe County. Their area stretched northward along the Delaware River from the point where the Lehigh River meets the Delaware in what is now Easton. Read More...