Billmeyer & Small will be the Central Theme in the historical novel RAILCAR GOLD. Every Thursday a new installment for this novel will be posted on YorksPast. RAILCAR GOLD will be a historically accurate multi-generational fictional tale of hidden treasure primarily set in York County, Pennsylvania during the latter half
I know the answer if there are just two men painting this mile-long railroad bridge between Wrightsville and Columbia. Besides the buckets of paint, these men were equipped with little more than some paintbrushes, rope and planks of wood. Harold L. Smith, my Dad working for the Pennsylvania Railroad, along
York County was formed from Lancaster County in 1749; at that time it was reasonable to look at Lancaster County Maps for York County Information. However 75-years later the best map details available for Wrightsville, with adjoining town Westphalia, and connecting to Columbia via their first Susquehanna River bridge comes
The post on Tuesday dealt primarily with the Hermit House and the idiosyncrasies of its owner. This post will delve into the family history of the man known to locals as the Hermit. Kurwin W. Hauser was born December 1883 and died January 1967 at 83 years of age. Kurwin’s
RAILCAR GOLD is a historically accurate multi-generational fictional tale of hidden treasure, primarily set in York County, Pennsylvania during the latter half of the Nineteenth Century. This is Part 1 of Chapter 1 . . . Eureka. A new part will be posted every Thursday.
The names are from two individuals who formed a partnership; which launched the company Billmeyer & Small. The individuals were Charles Billmeyer and David E. Small. The illustration is from a promotional advertisement for a railcar built by their company in 1874 for the Eureka & Palisade Railroad in Nevada.
This past Spring I was out for a walk, heading east on Pleasant Valley Road in Springettsbury Township. Just before reaching Alpine Road, I passed a remarkable stone house on the left. At the same time a woman, also out for a walk, was approaching from the opposite direction. I
Such an authorization by an agency of the United States Government happened some 50 years ago. Local headlines could have been ‘York County authorized to name summit Buzzards Roost.’ A headline would have been warranted because substantial effort is required to obtain approval for a summit name to appear on
A month after I started first grade, The Mickey Mouse Club premiered October 3rd, 1955. My usual routine the next four years was to come home from school and play outside. At the appointed time my siblings and me gathered around our small black and white TV in the living
Unusual bits and pieces associated with Local Family Histories will be one of many areas that will be explored in the YorksPast Blog. Even though I wrote a genealogical history of all Barshinger Families in America since 1735, it is essentially a local family history. Second generation Barshinger Families were