York Town Square

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Picturing History Archives

Picturing History examines this obscure building in Glen Rock, Pa. Actually, it’s has an interesting past as an early home to AMP in Pennsylvania. AMP moved work to Glen Rock in 1941, according to Jeffrey L. Rodengen’s ‘The Legenda of AMP’. He wrote, ‘… (Owner U.A.) Whitaker contracted with Paul Shepperd owner of a factory in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, just south of York. White was familiar with the town from his American Machine and Foundry days, when AMF had its Glen Mixer Division there, and he liked the area. The landscape reminded him of the rural Midwest, where he was raised, and the local workers seemed to adhere to a traditional work ethic.’ The photo at left shows Glen Rock’s AMP plant in the 1940s or 1950s. At right, Baumiller Automatic Screw & Precision Machined Parts operates today on the site of the former AMP plant.

Yes, the Lady Linden. And a grand lady she is. Queen of The Avenues, a neighborhood that grew along the trolley line that ran from York, Pa.’s Continental Square to Dover. As this Picturing History slider shows, at left is the Lady Linden, an 1887 Queen Anne house on Linden Avenue in York, circa 1890. And at right, the Lady Linden, now a bed and breakfast, is seen in a late 2014. The Lady Linden’s website gives this brief history: ‘Lady Linden was built in 1887 for industrialist Samuel Nevin Hench. He and his business partner, Walker A. Dromgold, came to York from Perry County in 1878 to manufacture farm harvesting implements for steam tractors and horse drawn. Many of these items were of their own design and patent and were shipped to international destinations. They built their houses side by side with the same design footprint here on Linden Avenue and raised their families here. Both these gentlemen were very active in the community and family members remained here until 1920.”

This shows one of York County’s most controversial photos, particularly relevant in this season in which Abraham Lincoln passed through Hanover Junction on his way to – and his return from – delivering his Gettysburg Address. Is that Abraham Lincoln in the stovepipe hat?

The Avalong farmhouse, now Christmas Tree Hill, in Springettsbury Township. The Willis House near Prospect Hill Cemetery. Forry Loucks Mansion, now Lauxmont’s farmhouse. Those are a some recognizable farmhouses around York County, Pa. But this modest house might be York County’s most recognizable farmhouse, although it didn’t gain that fame from farming. It was isolated, located in a hollow in the county’s backwoods, but is known to many. Can you ID this place?

‘Picturing History’ captures a then & now scene from Kiwanis Lake. Sometimes, Kiwanis Lake is mushed in with nearby Farquhar Park. But this list from the City of York separates it out among the 25 parks listed on its website. Check out that list of 25. How many parks have you visited?