"Remember Paoli!" was America's first battle cry — born here in our own backyard after a terrifying evening in 1777. Join us as Jim Christ, President of the Paoli Battlefield Preservation Fund, brings to life the Paoli Massacre, a gripping piece of Revolutionary War history!

On the night of September 20, 1777, British General Charles Grey led roughly 2,000 men on a silent raid into the Great Valley, catching our country’s troops completely off guard. What followed was one of the bloodiest battles of the war, opening the door for the British occupation of Philadelphia.

Shockwaves from the Battle of Paoli rippled through our local community for generations, inspiring the second-oldest Revolutionary War Memorial in the nation in Malvern. 

• Come find out why the battle’s known as the "Paoli Massacre.”
• Get ready for Jim to bust some myths — yes, including the one about American troops being caught asleep.
• Hear Jim trace how General “Mad Anthony” Wayne turned this brutal defeat into a stunning comeback, using hard-won lessons to score a decisive victory at the Battle of Stony Point, NY.

“Remember Paoli!” is local history with national significance — don't miss this one!

Event Details

Tuesday, October 13, 7:30 PM.

This event will be held at the Schuylkill River Heritage Center (SRHC),
Foundry Building, 2 N. Main St., Phoenixville.

Admission is free for SRHC Members, $5 for non-members (payable at the door).

WILLIAM PENN: THE FORGOTTEN FOUNDING FATHER

Take a look at the far shore of the artwork "Peaceable Kingdom": It depicts William Penn greeting the local Lenape tribe, a gathering that likely occurred along the Delaware in what is now Kensington!

Long before our country was born, William Penn was already experimenting with the ideas that would define it. His Peace Treaty with the Lenape helped foster an exceptional period of peace and prosperity in early Pennsylvania.

When Penn founded Pennsylvania, he envisioned a society built around individual liberty, religious freedom, representative government, and peaceful coexistence. And he developed founding documents that gave Pennsylvania an unusually forward-looking framework for self-government.

Over time, the essential principles of Penn’s Experiment — liberty, tolerance, and limits on government power — helped influence and shape our United States Constitution.

ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 15, LEARN MORE!

The Schuylkill River Heritage Center speaker series will host speaker Perry Hamilton for a presentation on William Penn: The Forgotten Founding Father.

A graduate of Susquehanna University, Perry traveled extensively throughout the mid-Atlantic states during his nearly 40 years in the private business sector. During that time, he pursued his love of reading vintage history books, mostly about Pennsylvania business history. Perry regularly presents historical lectures with an emphasis on Philadelphia-area business.

Mark your calendar for William Penn: The Forgotten Founding Father!

Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 7:30 p.m.

Schuylkill River Heritage Center Phoenixville (SRHC), Foundry Building, 2 N. Main Street, Phoenixville

The presentation is free to SRHC members, $5 for non-members.

Hey Phoenixville and surrounding towns! On behalf of the Schuylkill River Heritage Center, all are welcome at the Phoenix Wheel ribbon-cutting ceremony -- Saturday, June 6 at 10 am!

Our great appreciation is extended to all who've supported the Wheel project!

For those people asking if they can still purchase commemorative bricks (to be installed at the Wheel site at a date TBD), the answer is yes! More info here:
https://givebutter.com/inscribe-a-brick