Name: What the Map Doesn't Show: Property Research with Jane Dorchester
Start: 2026-03-07T10:30:00-05:00
End: 2026-03-07T12:00:00-05:00
Location: Chester County History Center

What the Map Doesn't Show: Property Research with Jane Dorchester

Join us for an engaging, hands-on program with Jane E. Dorchester, who will guide participants through the rich collections of the Chester County History Center and beyond. Drawing on decades of experience in architectural and property research, Jane will share practical tips, proven strategies, and memorable anecdotes from the field —especially what to do when your research hits a dreaded brick wall.
Attendees will learn how to navigate manuscripts, maps, deeds, and other primary sources to uncover property histories more effectively. The program also includes hands-on time with original manuscripts and documents from the CCHC Library, offering a rare opportunity to work directly with archival materials and see how professional researchers piece together the past.
About the speaker: Jane E. Dorchester, is a local and architectural historian, lecturer, historic preservationist, and writer, who started in the preservation field in 1983 as a historic researcher. Over the past 42+ years, she has researched the histories of and written Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Forms, National Register Nominations, and historical evaluations for properties located in Kent, Newcastle, and Sussex Counties, Delaware, and Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Jefferson, Lancaster, Luzerne, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania. In 2001, Jane received her Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania, concentrating in architectural history and historic preservation administration. She has lectured on and written about a wide variety of history-oriented topics from “How to Research Your Historic Property” to “What is Serpentine”. Her articles have appeared in County Lines, the Chester County Day Paper, the Chester County Historical Society Antiques Show Catalogue, and the Daily Local News. She is currently Proprietor of Jane E. Dorchester, Architectural Historian, a historic preservation consulting firm located in East Goshen Township, Pennsylvania.
Admission is $10.00 for adults, $7.00 for Seniors (65+), and $5.00 for students with ID. Members receive FREE admission with discount code. (Need your member code? Email [email protected]!) Your ticket includes admission to the museum galleries.
For tickets: https://buytickets.at/chestercountyhistorycenter/2061027