In 1826 Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1765-1833) created the first real photograph known to exist today. The view from a window at Gras, France is also known as the “First Photograph,” and it is in the photography collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
In a recent York Sunday News column I used Lewis Miller’s carpenter work on the 19th century York County Jail, which stood on the northeast corner of George and King streets, to illustrate that you can tie together several sources to paint a more complete picture of the past. When I
Doing historical research? Can’t find much on a particular person or family? Don’t despair—just keep looking and widen your search to include many resources. Sometimes you find what you are seeking where and when you least expect it. See below for my recent York Sunday News column using York’s 19th
Advertisements in old newspapers give us a glimpse into the lives of our ancestors. Here is a sampling from the December 21, 1824 York Recorder, on microfilm at the York County History Center: FRESH CRANBERRIES The Subscriber begs leave to inform his friends and the public generally, that he has
I could go on about the dozens of picturesque covered bridges that used to dot the York County countryside, but this will be my last post on them for now. I realize that they were rendered obsolete by mid-twentieth century transportation needs and were not really sustainable. It is a
As stories fly about the possible planned destruction of Hybla, the Mifflin-Wright house near Wrightsville, more concern has surfaced about this important York County historical site. Hybla has just been named one of the 11 most endangered properties in Pennsylvania by Preservation Pennsylvania. Click these links for media coverage of
It is exciting when one piece of research ties back into a nother. I was reminded of this when looking at old and new almanacs and the listed moon signs, especially the lore of their influence on planting vegetables. I recently wrote about these almanacs, printed in York and throughout
(Illustrations from A Treatise on the Mulberry Tree and Silkworm and on the Manufacture and Production of Silk, 1839. Courtesy of York County Heritage Trust Library/Archives) Silk has been prized for as long as 5,000 years, since the fibers spun by silkworms were discovered in China and spun into luxurious
Advertisements from the York Recorder gives us an glimpse into educational offerings in York Town in the early 1800s. The first is for a small girls school, probably run out of a home: EDUCATION &c. &. Misses THOMSON and SCANLAN take the liberty of informing the inhabitants of York, and
I have been looking at old photos of York’s square, following the various sites where Punch, the wooden cigar store statue, offered his bundle of cigars over the decades. The earliest photo of Punch (see above) also shows a very large sign for the Gazette Printing Office atop the building.