Meadville, settled by David Mead in 1788, was established 100 miles from Pittsburgh and Buffalo in the French Creek Valley of northwest Pennsylvania. The city's population grew from 500 in 1810 to more than 10,000 at the end of the 20th century. The construction of residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial buildings burgeoned, and the diverse cultural heritage of the residents dictated a wide variety of architecture. Meadville's Architectural Heritage captures how the citizens of Meadville have retained portions of the grand architecture and have continued efforts to find new uses and functions for many historic buildings.
Anne W. Stewart, county historian, and Steven B. Utz, Rose Architectural Fellow with training from the National Park Service's Historic American Building Survey, share an interest in the preservation of Meadville's heritage. The architectural foreword was written by Diane Shafer Graham, Ph.D., adjunct professor of architectural history at Allegheny College, who also serves on the governing board of Preservation Pennsylvania. The authors were assisted in image procurement by Jonathan Miller Design.