During the last week of February 1945, a large ice jam in the Susquehanna River caused large chunks of ice, some over 6-feet thick, to smash into bungalows along the river’s edge in Hellam Township. These photos show one such massive chunk of ice, which came to rest on River
This is the beginning of a new series of YorksPast posts; as I search for additional details about the Codorus Canal. Two years ago, upon researching my post Codorus Tow Path Railroad to Chickies I uncovered some interesting Codorus Navigation Company court cases. I have since discovered a diary and
The Blackstonian Club of the Lancaster bar purchased the Wild Cat Inn, in Hellam Township, York County, on November 7th, 1924. They employed Lancaster architect Henry Y. Shaub to draw up alterations to the Wild Cat Inn for their use. A note on those December 8th, 1924 architectural drawings, coupled
Several readers asked about the journal, which was published in the 1870s at Wild Cat Falls, along the Susquehanna River in York County. This illustration, from the collections of the York County History Center, shows the header from the July 28, 1874, issue of the Mason’s Daily Wild Cat Journal.
The IVA-LU Bungalow was built in 1930 and was named for my grandparents Iva and Luther Smith. In the past ten days, I’ve received numerous comments about the Smith bungalow, which was located along the Susquehanna River, 5/8-mile west of Accomac. The circa 1947 photo of the west side of
Bob Smyser had a passing interest in family history when he was given a box of papers, recently discovered by his dad; it contained family history research, started by his dad’s grandmother. I met Bob at my family history talk near Pittsburgh last month. He shared a Civil War era
The December 6th evening to unravel York County history is Retro York’s 2017 third-edition of the annual York Daily Record event. The theme this year is Weird York. I will be one of five local historians participating. The event is at a new location this year; DreamWrights Center for Community
The York-built steamboat CODORUS was the first metal-hulled steamboat to operate in America. The CODORUS also was the first common carrier metal-hulled steamboat put in service in America; when it commenced operation in 1829 as a passenger ferry providing regularly scheduled transportation in North Carolina, between New Bern and Beaufort.
A York-built iron steamboat was successfully launched in the Susquehanna River at Accomac, Hellam Township on November 22, 1825. The boat named CODORUS was the first metal-hulled steamboat in America. The builder, John Elgar, captained the CODORUS on a voyage 300-miles up the Susquehanna River into New York State during
Cliff Satterthwaite painted two large murals for the York Haven State Bank in 1980. This mural depicts canal operations in York Haven during the 1840-1850s era; and looks across the Susquehanna River towards Falmouth, Lancaster County. That canal at York Haven was the first working canal in Pennsylvania; opening on