York Town Square

Helb’s Keystone Brewery contributed to York’s skyline for decades before its demolition along with other landmark buildings in the second half of the 20th century. The Helb family’s sprawling enterprises started in Railroad borough in southern York County and included this brewery and a bottling company in York. This drawing appears in Walter Ehrenfeld’s “York’s Factory Whistles.” All this leads to the question: Would York be more vibrant today if some of these grand buildings had not come down? Also of interest: The ornate, but now-demolished York City Market House in living color and Railroad Borough: ‘Probably no other town in America has a horse heaven’ and Brewery profits produced landmark West York mansion.

Neat stuff from all over … .

Joe Boose is interested in York County history, particularly as it intersects with one-room schools. Joe and his family are key organizers of Hametown’s one-room school reunions, which have pulled in reunions from other schools in York County.
He emailed recently with a query: How did the Civil War affect the one-room school system?
It’s an area that reunion organizers hope to focus on next year at their annual reunion at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hametown… .

I suggested that he should go to the York County Heritage Trust archives and check the county school superintendents file.
I told him that one would think that there would be an impact, with many men away at war, and families stressed because of those who did not come back or who came back nursing wounds.
If anyone can enlighten Joe, let him know or comment below.
A York County first: The nation’s first transcyclery has opened in York County. A subhead on a York Daily Record/Sunday News story explains transcylery a bit: “The $1 million transfer station for recyclables began operating at Modern Landfill in Windsor Township this week.”
Blog post of the day: Universal York’s June Lloyd writes about York’s links to the head Copperhead of the Civil War era.