• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Old Historic Houses
  • Historic Houses
  • Historic Places to Visit
  • Research
  • Advanced Search
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

8 Popular Historic Places & Sites to Visit in Pennsylvania

Updated February 26, 2021 by Krista Leave a Comment

51 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Historic Places in Pennsylvania to Visit

You will not regret adding these historical sites in Pennsylvania to your must-visit list! Learn more about each of the historic houses, places, museums and sites to visit below!

  • Independence Hall
  • The Liberty Bell
  • Fallingwater
  • Jennie Wade House
  • Valley Forge
  • USS Requin
  • Fonthill Castle
  • Point State Park

The Best Historic Places to Visit in Pennsylvania


Independence Hall

Address: 520 Chestnut Street. Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Independence Hall a Georgian style building was built it 1732 and is known as the birthplace of America due to the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution being both debated and signed inside this building.  It was originally built to be the Pennsylvania State House and once housed all three branches of Pennsylvania’s colonial government. 

Independence Hall visitors will be able to see the Assembly Room (where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were both signed) on the first floor of the building. It is open daily from 9-5.

Visit Independence Hall

The Liberty Bell

Address: 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The State House bell, now known as the Liberty Bell, rang in the Pennsylvania State House tower which is now known as Independence Hall. The Liberty Bell got its name from the anti-slavery movement in 1835.

There is no record of when or why the Liberty Bell cracked, but most believe that a split developed in the early 1840s after almost 100 years of being heavily used. Learn more about the history of the Liberty Bell on a self-guided tour that is open daily 9am to 5pm.

Visit the Liberty Bell


Falling Water

Address: 1491 Mill Run Rd, Mill Run, PA 15464

Fallingwater is a one-of-a kind modern house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935. It is located in the mountains of southwest Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands which is about an hour and a half from Pittsburgh.

It was built for the Kauffman family and was used as a weekend house by the family until 1963. It was then donated to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy along with the surrounding 469 acres. Not only that it now operates as a museum and holds regular tours which showcases a moment froze in time.

Visit Fallingwater

Jennie Wade House

Flicker Photo

Address:  548 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325

This museum is dedicated to Gettysburg’s only civilian casualty Jennie Wade. Jennie was struck by a stray bullet on July 3rd, 1863 at the age of 20 while making bread for Union soldiers in her sisters home and died instantly.

Artifacts from that fatal day in 1863 are on display at the museum, including the artillery shell that punctured the roof of the house and a floorboard with Jennie’s blood still on it.

Visit the Jennie Wade House

Valley Forge

Address:  1400 North Outer Line Drive, King of Prussia, PA 19406

Valley Forge is the location of the 1777-1778 winter camp of the Continental Army under General George Washington. Here the Continental Army under Washington’s leadership became a united and disciplined fighting force for the fight against the British.

Visit Valley Forge National Historical Park 365 days a year. A first-time visit to park is best experienced by driving in a vehicle.

The self-guided driving route can take up to 3 hours to complete, depending on how often you stop and how much time you spend at each of the 10 stop locations. The Encampment Tour route includes some of the most scenic views of the park as well as many of the historic sites and monuments.

Visit Valley Forge

USS Requin

Address:  Three Rivers Heritage Trail, Pittsburgh, PA 15212

The USS Requin is a submarine museum located in Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Science Center. It is open daily Spring through Fall for guided walkthroughs.

Requin holds the honor of being the Navy’s first Radar Picket submarine and was completed in 1945. Over the course of over 25 years it had completed 5,000 dives. Once decommissioned it became a museum to educate the community about life and science on a submarine in the mid 20th century.

Visit the USS Requin

Fonthill Castle

Address:  525 E Court St, Doylestown, PA 18901

Despite being sometimes referred to as Fonthill Castle this home is actually a large concrete house and not a castle. It was built between 1908-1912, and was the home of Henry Chapman Mercer an archaeologist and tile maker.

Fonthill is designated a National Historic Landmark and now serves as a museum to showcase Mercer’s decorative tiles and prints from around the world as well as his own. Tours are available 6 days a week. Photo credit: Mercermuseum.org.

Visit Fonthill Castle

Point State Park

Address:  601 Commonwealth Pl Bldg A, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Point State Park a National Historic Landmark is located on a 36 acre parcel at the tip of Pittsburgh where the confluence the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, form the Ohio River.

The park contains the remains of the two oldest structures in Pittsburgh, Fort Pitt and Fort Duquesne. The location of Fort Duquesne is marked by a granite outline within the Great Lawn. The center of the outline contains a bronze medallion depicting the fort. 

It also contains the Fort Pitt Blockhouse which is the oldest architectural landmark in Pittsburgh, and it is also the nation’s only authenticated pre-Revolutionary War structure west of the Allegheny Mountains. Much of its original architecture is intact, including the stone foundation, bricks, and timber elements that are original to its 1764 construction.

Visit Point State Park

historic places and sites to visit in PA

I hope you enjoyed all this historic places list of places you can visit in Pennsylvania! Take a second to explore a few more great places to visit below too!

More Historic Homes & Places to Visit

  • 8 Popular Historic Places & Sites to Visit in Pennsylvania
  • The Best Historic Homes & Places to Visit in Savannah, Georgia
  • Historic Homes to Visit in Eastern Pennsylvania
  • Historic Homes in the United States to Visit

Filed Under: Historic Places to Visit, Resources Tagged With: Pennsylvania

What’s next? 

Follow along with Old Historic Houses on Facebook, Pinterest or on Instagram.

I hope you visit OHH again soon!

Previous Post: « Queen Anne Home in Hawaii Circa 1903
Next Post: Historic House Plaques and How to Get One »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search

Popular Posts

Mount Stirling Farm Greek Rival Circa 1851

Queen Anne Home in Hawaii Circa 1903

Mary Lee Davis House, Fairbanks, Alaska Circa 1910

Fixer Upper Folk Victorian, Alabama Circa 1900

folk victorian

Belle Cottage Colorado Springs Circa 1900

Georgian Historic B & B Wyndie Crest Circa 1919

Footer

© 2022 Old Historic Houses, a Cagle Online Enterprises, Inc. Company

Old Historic Houses is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Old Historic Houses is not a real estate company. This site was created to showcase the old houses found across the web and should be used for entertainment purposes only. All posts have a link to the real estate agent if you’d like more information. Not associated with Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin or Trulia.

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

51 shares