I think of the 1960s as a sad period for York County landmarks. In the city alone the City Market House, an architectural gem by the Dempwolf firm, was torn down, and the imposing Variety Iron Works fountain was removed from Penn Park. Churches, stores and businesses throughout the county
Call it providence, serendipity, fate, karma or whatever you want, but in the study of history, as with many things, it is remarkable how undiscovered resources appear at exactly the right time. Just as York County Heritage Trust came out with a new book of mostly previously unpublished drawings by
It is always enlightening to see other people’s impressions of us. Just recently, we were pleased when the respected Travel and Leisure magazine named York to its list of America’s Greatest Main Streets, citing a turnaround and our historic architecture. George Washington is quoted as saying he wasn’t in danger
Anyone who has passed through York has probably noticed the Colonial Court House on West Market Street by the Codorus Creek. It is a replica of York County’s first courthouse, which originally sat in the middle of York’s square. Now part of York County Heritage Trust, the impressive building is
I started out writing about a little tidbit tacked to an article about the York Imperial apple in the August 13, 1920 York Gazette and Daily. The subject was timothy grass–you know–the plant that is mown, along with clover, for hay, and how timothy came to York County, along with
Where did all those people to the west of us come from? A lot of their families started out here, in south central Pennsylvania, a couple of hundred years ago. Some of them: the Morrows, the Ruhls and the Kinselys are highlighted in my recent York Sunday News column, which
My previous post on John Fisher focused on his clocks. Fisher was also quite an artist. As well as pictures, he painted his wood carvings and also flags and trade signs to order. York folk artist Lewis Miller recorded what happened when Fisher’s dog got a look at the sign
Even in his own time, John Fisher of York was recognized for his extraordinary skills as a clockmaker and artist. His clocks were not just your ordinary eight day tall case clocks of the late eighteenth century. He created musical clocks, playing different tunes, and in 1790 he created a
My last post was on Barbara Smith/Schmidt/Schmith (c.1724-1798), the affluent widow who left nearly her entire estate to the Lutheran congregation [now Christ Lutheran Church] in York, including the funds specifically designated to purchase an organ. That organ, the last organ built by master organ builder David Tannenberg, is now
The legacy (or bequest) of widow Barbara Smith Joseph Smith left a sizable amount of property and other assets to his widow, Barbara Smith, when he died in 1784. He also left funds to the Catholic congregation in Lancaster and had probably already given property to the Catholics in York.