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
It’s soon income tax time again. There was no federal income tax 200 years ago, but that doesn’t mean that you didn’t have to pay taxes to support the United States government. Not having strong taxing ability was one of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. It was unbelievably
This post is the fifth on my series exploring the five blue and gold historical markers placed on the square in York commemorating some of the events that happened there. The marker for the Articles of Confederation, on the northeast quadrant of Continental/Center Square, is the newest of the five.
A recent post quoted an April 1912 York Gazette article on planned improvements for York’s Penn Park/Penn Common. A slightly earlier view on the postcard above, sent in 1908, shows an already impressive scene. A huge fountain is in the background (more about that later) and the lofty Civil War
Northeast corner of Philadelphia and Beaver Streets today The Lighthouse Youth Center Ministry of the York Rescue Mission has been operating its worthy programs out of the impressive building above at the corner of West Philadelphia and North Beaver Streets in York for many years. Those with long memories may
During the Civil War “Peace Democrats” were also known as “Copperheads.” There are a couple of explanations for the term applied to those Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and wanted to see the country reunited, even if it meant that slavery would continue. Some sources compare them to
Architectural drawing of York’s old post office Wow! Once again we find we have a significant treasure right under our noses right here in York County. Fellow blogger Jim McClure recently posted a photo, taken by Dianne Bowders, of the old York Post Office at Philadelphia and Beaver Streets. We
There were quite a few news stories the past week on the “Bonusgate” grand jury recommendations that Pennsylvania General Assembly reform its wasteful spending practices. Is this a new problem? Don’t answer that until you read the excerpt below from the November 6, 1782 Freeman’s Journal, a Philadelphia newspaper. (At
Battery manufacturer Frederick C. Perkins He just ran a small, struggling battery manufacturing plant that he had started from scratch ten years before. Why then was Fred Perkins of West York in the national spotlight, the subject of lengthy sympathetic articles in magazines and newspapers, such as Time and the