Results tagged “Jim Rudisill” from York Town Square

The Spring Grove (Pa.) Public School, left, was dedicated in 1898 and enlarged in 1921, right, as seen in this photo from "The Spring Grove Years." Who are the two luminaries in those round fixtures, photo at right, on this Dempwolf building's side, on either side of the arched entryway? Background posts: John Luther Long: Miss Saigon's York County connection and Each month, three free history presentations offered to York countians and York countians major makers of Kentucky, make that Pennsylvania, long rifles.

Recent posts have reviewed various sung and unsung sites in the Spring Grove-Hanover- McSherrytown area. (See Mining a rich vein of southwestern York County's religious history, Part 1 and Part 2.)

But the tour of southwestern York County that spawned those posts touched on non-religious questions as well.

Here are three: ... .

Hannah Penn Middle School closed early this school year because of confirmed or prospective swine flu cases. Background posts: York community leader: 'We didn't have equal opportunity to achieve' and People mag features York native as a 'Hero Among Us' and 1967 William Penn senior class scored firsts.

Hannah Penn Middle School's place among those York City schools closed by swine flu may cause some to ask about the woman's name on the southeastern school's facade.

Hannah Penn (1671-1726) was the second wife of William Penn, who loaned his name to our state.

Actually, the middle school is the second such building to bear the name of this capable woman, who handled affairs of state for her husband after illness incapacitated him.

Here's a brief summary of York City's middle and high school buildings, according to Jim Rudisill's "York since 1741" and Jim Hubley's "Off The Record:"

The City Market loomed large over the southeastern part of York. One reader believes its location is often misidentified. Background posts: York's Penn Street Farmers Market, nearing 150 years old, seeks to replant for new customers and York-area picture book not your typical coffee table publication and York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles'.

"All the time I read about the location of the City Market it is always at a different spot," a York reader wrote in an e-mail.

I wrote back to say that my recent identification of the now-demolished York covered market's location having been to the rear of the Voni B. Grimes Gym was accurate. I was trying to locate the former site of the Dempwolf-designed market relative to an existing landmark.

The e-mailer said he would send photos showing where the market was located.

This he did... .

This windmill, seen here in this photo from the York County Heritage Trust, operated in the 1870s in the Jefferson Avenue area, north of the Codorus Creek in York. Background posts: Dempwolf architects built York's skyline, history and What was famed architect John Dempwolf's own house like? and Fairmount fit for Roger, Anita and Pongo, Perdita.

But an early attempt in York County to harness the wind came with construction of a windmill of the type normally associated with Holland.

That structure went up near present-day Jefferson Avenue between Beaver and North George streets... .

This "his and hers" outhouse, dated 1886, associated with a Myerstown, Lebanon County, home is a cut or two above those available to thousands of York countians before the day of indoor plumbing. Still the nearby house had running water. A cistern on the third floor caught rain to provide tap water within the house. This photo appeared in the York Daily Record/Sunday News' "Spaces" magazine. Background posts: One-room school reunions preserve educational culture of thousands of York countians, What's a privy? a woman asked. 'It's an outhouse,' came the answer., Imagine: 70-foot boat navigated York County's Codorus Creek and Wheatland Mansion tour: 'We don't know if President Buchanan used the tub.'

From the audience's point of view, the highlight of my recent presentation on one-room schools was not the one-room schools.

Their focus fell on one-room buildings of a different type.

Outhouses... .

The Quakers were a large group settling York County's northern tier from York County's earliest days. The original part of this Friends' meeting house in Warrington Township (seen here) was erected in 1769. The congregation doubled the building's size in 1782. It's one of three such Quaker-built structures standing today across York County's northern tier. Background posts: Gladys Rawlins, 'Black History Profiles,' Part III and Thousands discover formerly unheralded Howard Tunnel.

After seeing several recent posts on railroading, Joe Stein (jstein3@comcast.net), a York Town Square reader, wondered why so many lines ran in the southern and central parts of York County.

"What about the northern portion?" he asked.

York and Baltimore were rail destinations in the South, but surely Harrisburg was attractive in the North.

Here are some thoughts in response ... .