End of May, over Ten-Feet of Ice at Lockport along Susquehanna in York County; Connection to Apollo Moon Mission
Ice on the River Bank is the title of an article appearing in the May 21st, 1881 issue of the York Daily:
The hot weather, says the Wrightsville Star of yesterday, has not yet disposed of all the ice by the river. Between Lockport and York Furnace, on the bank between the canal and the river, the ice is piled in huge chunks to a height of ten or fifteen feet. The boatmen find it very convenient, and are using it daily on their trips.
Years ago, prior to walking some of the trails in Apollo County Park, I wanted to know more about the Village of Lockport in Chanceford Township. Lockport is now under the Apollo County Park edge of Lake Clarke, however Lockport still appears on current topographic maps.
Before the building of the Safe Harbor Dam in 1931, Lockport was located at rivers edge, where Wilson Run emptied into the Susquehanna. The Safe Harbor Dam is the second dam at this site. George Prowell’s 1907 History of York County, PA, describes in Volume I, page 944, the first, much smaller, dam was used to aid boat traffic crossing the river:
Lockport, another small village [in Chanceford Township], is directly opposite Safe Harbor, in Lancaster County. A dam extended over the Susquehanna here for many years. It was used to aid in the transporting of boats across the river to the Conestoga navigation, which extended from Safe Harbor to Lancaster.
The land for Apollo County Park was donated to York County in 1969 by P. H. Gladfelter Company and named in honor of the 1969 Apollo moon landing; that momentous event occurred 45 years ago. The park originally contained 149-acres, however has been expanded over the years; it now contains 340-acres. This link will take you to a trail guide for Apollo County Park.
On a USGS Topographic Map, surveyed in 1910, I’ve circled, in yellow, Lockport, in Chanceford Township and York Furnace, in Lower Chanceford Township. Between these locations, during May 21th, 1881, on the river bank between the canal and the river the ice was piled in huge chunks to a height of ten or fifteen feet.
Related posts include:
- Frankenstorm at Accomac 1945; and 1875 The Frankenstorm post shows 1945 photos of “immense cakes of ice of great thickness” covering the river road. In addition, 1875 must have been another bad winter; ice still blocked a portion of the river road in the middle of May!
