York Town Square

This scene could come from the Smoky Mountains. But York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Bil Bowden captured this near old Lock 12 on the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal. Background posts: A far different view of York County, Pennsylvania and water: The river runs through it, and Photographer tramps to the far reaches of York County.

Another photo in York Town Square’s series of iconic images – images that tell a story about York County and its history:

Lock 12 Recreational Park lies north of the Norman Wood Bridge, spanning the Susquehanna River. (Directions and things to see: Lock 12.) York County is confronted by one of the fastest-growing populations in the Northeast, and scenes like this serve as a reminder that such unvarnished beauty can vanish like vapor.
The completion of Interstate 83 in the late 1950s started this growth from the south and that migration turned into a bit of an invasion after 1980, as this York Sunday News (1/2/00) article suggests:

Thousands of Marylanders began moving to York County for the semi-rural suburban lifestyle they could not find, or afford, outside Baltimore.
Yet many kept their jobs there, and commuted daily on Interstate 83.
Census statistics showed that in 1980, 19,400 residents worked outside the county; but by 1990, the number was nearly 40,000 and more than half were Maryland commuters.
The Maryland invasion saw dozens of new subdivisions crop up, particularly in the Southern and South Eastern school districts.

Posts in this series:
– 400 years ago, John Smith explored Chesapeake Bay – 1/31 iconic images
– Declaration signer James Smith tops York County patriot list – 2/31 iconic images
– Going to market a longtime York County pastime – 3/31 iconic images
– William C. Goodridge: From slavery to success story – 4/31 iconic images

– Rebs’ short York visit creates long memories – 5/31 iconic images
–Artist Horace Bonham captured everyday life – 6/31 iconic images
–York County farm vs. factory tension relieved in overnight raid – 7/31 iconic images
– York County stood firmly behind Allies on all fronts in WW II – 8/31 iconic images
– Downtown thrived in post-WW II York – 9/31 iconic images
– After WWII success, Farquhar sells assets to out-of-town outfit – 10/31 iconic images.
– Sears, York County Shopping Center in the middle of things – 11/31 iconic images
– Three Mile Island emergency indelibly written into memories – 12/2 iconic images.
– People of varying religious groups founded York County – 13/31 iconic images
– President Reagan: ‘Harley is back and standing tall’ – 14/31 iconic images
– York’s mayor: ‘We are no longer unprotected’ – 15/31 iconic images
– Grange Hall represented past way of York County life – 16/31 iconic images.
– York County Honors Choir product of proud moment – 17/31 iconic images.
– Meeting of riot victims brought hope for racial accord – 18/31 iconic images.
– Property rights foundational factor in Lauxmont dispute – 19/31 iconic images.
– New baseball diamond serves as York cornerstone – 20/31 iconic images
– Season 2 of York’s campaign to come back – 21-23 of 31 iconic images
– York on knees as its men storm Normandy beaches – 24-25 of 31 iconic images
– One image illustrates two long-neglected subjects in York area – 26-27 of 31 iconic images
– Images explain changes in York County factories, farms – 28-29 of 31 iconic images
York County still home to unvarnished beauty – 30/31 iconic images
Latinos most recent migrant group to call York County home – 31/31 iconic images

To see the full series of iconic photos in a special York Daily Record/Sunday News publication, click here.