Grace Dietz submitted a Yorkana postmarked postcard with questions about a relation who served as its Postmaster. The close-up of the postmark indicates it was stamped on October 3, 1906; during the A.M. Quoting from the e-mail query from Grace: “Hunkered down at home, a thought about this postcard caused
Joyce Runkle submitted photos of Walters General Store which doubled as a Yorkana Phillips 66 Gas Station and is skillfully captured in artwork by Cliff Satterthwaite. Joyce, from Springfield, Missouri, discovered the John Walters Store photos in some family history work that had been underway by her late Mother. Joyce
Learn why Dr. John W. Barcroft selected the name Yorkana as the post office for a community in Lower Windsor Township during 1875. The name endures upon Yorkana Borough incorporating in 1912. Dr. Barcroft is the reason several Northern Virginia communities are named Barcroft. What inspired him to select the
Ten-day Yorkana Campmeetings were annual occurrences during summers of the late 1800s to refresh body and soul. It was also the place where love blossomed for young people; as was the case for my grandparents, Luther and Iva Smith. The Yorkana camp was located in a grove of trees on
During the early 1900s, there were at least four Smeltzer Cigar Factories in Bittersville; a small village located at the end of the trolley line from York into southeastern York County. Cigar manufacturing was the dominant industry in York County in the early 1900s; both in terms of number of
The Dritt Mansion along the Susquehanna River at Long Level was the site of a lecture on the story behind the Revolutionary War powder horn of Captain Jacob Dritt. Last week’s lecture was part of the Second Wednesday Heritage Lecture Series at The Zimmerman Center for Heritage; a mansion once
In 1832 Phineas Davis built the “Atlantic” an improved version of his 1831 “York” locomotive for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. While the “York” was the first successful coal burning locomotive in the United States, the “Atlantic” was considered the first commercially successful locomotive; finishing its active life as a
Three public talks by Stephen H. Smith are scheduled over the next five weeks. This year, the majority of my talks have been to private groups following luncheons, so this is your chance for the general public to catch some of my newer talks. A synopsis and scheduling of all
A Heritage Lecture at will be given at the Zimmerman Center, 1706 Long Level Road, on November 12, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. This lecture is $8 for Members and $12 for Non-Members, Register online or by calling 717-252-0229 X6. Use this link for further details about the Susquehanna Gateway Heritage
I’ve depicted D. J. Lake surveying the 1860 Map of York County, Pennsylvania, in this illustration. D. J. Lake “went around pushing a wheelbarrow in front of him, and in this barrow he carried his instruments. He did not talk to any one except to ask at every place the