York Town Square

Part of the USAToday Network

Codorus Township, in southwestern York County, actually sits out in the Sticks

Each Wednesday, Earl Thoman’s woodworking shop in Codorus Township serves as a place to solve the world’s problems. York, Pa., Daily Record/Sunday News reporter Lauren Boyer recently caught up with this gathering of men, who were enjoying coffee and cookies around a wood stove, a double barrel woodstove at that. Also of interest:”Codorus collector exhibits collection of conveyances – wheels and sleighs.”

Lauren Boyer’s insightful visit to Earl Thoman’s woodworking shop in Codorus Township provides a reason to explore a bit into this southwestern York County municipality.

First, my favorite quote from Lauren’s story:

Earl Thoman: “I look forward to this every week. This is a regular Wednesday meeting if the snow isn’t too deep.”

Lauren’s scene setter:

“By the time I got to Shaffers Church Road, the sparse signs of civilization began to speak for themselves.

“No diners.

“No strip malls.

“Not even a gas station.

“It’s a dying species of Americana with a 91-year-old’s woodworking shop nestled in the middle. And it didn’t look like much – Earl Thoman’s white and green shed at the corner of Cherry Run Road surrounded by cars and pickups parked in the grass.”

About Codorus Township: It’s a farming community whose base stands on the Mason-Dixon Line. The incorporated borough most associated with the township is Jefferson, whose post office, indeed, takes on the Codorus name.

Founding:The Gazeteer of York and Adams” places a question mark next to its 1747 founding date. What is more certain is the moment North Codorus separated from its mother: Jan. 6, 1838. The Codoruses then were know as North and South Codorus, but the ” south” didn’t stick.

Historian George Prowell’s assessment: “Many of the early settlers of this region belonged to the Lutheran and Reformed churches and emigrated to this township, directly from Germany.”

Best-known unincorporated area:The village of Sticks. Really. (See post: Vermont promotes Podunk, but York County has its Sticks.

Also of interest:

Codorus Township, or rather a Codorus Township church, made the news recently. The Stone Church is no longer a union church, that once-prevalent practice of Lutheran and German Reformed congregations jointly owning and separately worshiping in the same building: “End of union gives St. Jacobs Lutheran Church new home, room to grow.”