Western York County home owner seeks info on old toll house
Anita Meyers, keystonealarm@comcast.net, is new owner of the Ten Mile House in the village of Farmers, west of the York Airport.
The 6817 Lincoln Highway address is sometimes referred to as Helen’s Antiques, named for the former occupant.
Anita is seeking information about the house. Early on, she understood that the house might have been Gen. John B. Gordon’s headquarters on June 27, 1863, the night before his brigade entered York along with three other similar units from Jubal Early’s division.
The yorktownsquare.com post, Where did Gen. Gordon accept York’s surrender? explains the actual location of the site where York’s fathers surrendered to the rebels.
Anita provided some information that might jar memories:
We’ve found the house on the tax maps of 1860 and 1876 listed as a
tavern/hotel owned by J. Stambaugh (as well as the 1821 map with the name
Spangler – I think – it’s a lot less detailed). The folks at Historic York,
and an article from 1917, date the house to the late 1700’s to early
1800’s. People stopping by have told me it was a toll house and the Farmers
post office at various times. One guy came by in a Confederate uniform (you don’t see that every day!) and asked permission to go through the house.
He told me that he thought it would have been the spot for the front line
troops to be stationed, since it is the high point for the area and has a
pretty commanding view of the landscape to the north and east along the main
road.
The toll house reference relates to houses to collect fares for turnpike use on present-day Route 30 when it was a toll road from 1815 to 1918. By comparison, toll house No. 1 has been at various sites around York, West York and West Manchester Township. West Manchester Township’s 200th anniversary book places perhaps the last toll house at the northwest corner of East Berlin Road and West Market Street.
Anyone with further information on Anita’s Ten-Mile House is welcome to contact her or comment below.
