Highway, railroad, trolley put Manchester Township’s Emigsville on the map
In York County, Pa.
This image on this 100-plus-year-old map shows the convergence of two forms of transportation that put Emigsville, Manchester Township, on the map – highway and railroad. Notice that the railroad almost goes out of its way to link up with the highway, the first major stop north of York on the road to Harrisburg. Later, the trolley between York and York Haven added another major means of transportation through town. Notice the map calls North York by its former name of Mayersville. Also of interest: Roundtown in Manchester Township, York County, Pa.? Where did that come from? and Pottery put the other Foustown – the one in Manchester Township – on the map and Reader looking for info on Manchester’s long-closed Rentzel’s Farm Implements.
Some facts about Emigsville – mostly tied to transportation – gleaned from my recent presentation at a Emigsville Heritage Project story night:
– George Washington did not sleep in the village, but Charles Dickens and Marquis de Lafayette no doubt passed through. Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train rolled through — it had just stopped in York — as did the funeral trains of several other U.S. presidents.
– Thousands of worshippers filled Penn Grove Camp Meeting grounds near Emigsville each year before it burned in 1896. The camp moved to Smith Station in Heidelberg Township, where it later became known as Camp Pamadeva.
– May’s Oak, the massive tree that fell in a storm in 1997, is part of the interactive “Deep Roots, Strong Growth” exhibit at the York County Agricultural and Industrial Museum. Part of its trunk, all 17 feet in circumference of it, is on display.
– Acme Wagon produced sleds, too. Tens of thousands of them in the early 20th century. They bore special names: Royal Sky Plane: “Supreme for steering, beauty and action”; The Rocket Plane: “The sled with eye appeal” and The Monoplane: “A sled to meet the requirements of the speed demon.”
