Results tagged “Prospect Hill Cemetery” from York Town Square

This image from York, Pa.'s, Prospect Hill Cemetery's Web site shows the I-beam from the World Trade Center upon its arrival at its new home in cemetery. The cemetery will dedicate the beam in an upcoming ceremony. Statesman buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery: 'He said his farewells to his family ... ' and Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts: 'In this simple grave ... lies a national hero' and What's the story of that fenced-in graveyard atop a hill near I-83?.

A woman at the just-dedicated Vietnam War Memorial at the York Expo Center asked a visitor about the much-publicized World Trade Center I-beam at Prospect Hill Cemetery.

She had been at the cemetery earlier Sunday afternoon, had even seen the flags representing those who had died in Iraq and Afghanistan, but could not find the beam... .

The community mausoleum sits largely forgotten at York, Pa.'s, Prospect Hill Cemetery. Also of interest: Statesman buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery: 'He said his farewells to his family ... ' and Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts: 'In this simple grave ... lies a national hero' and What's the story of that fenced-in graveyard atop a hill near I-83?.

In the reaches of Prospect Hill Cemetery rests an almost forgotten community mausoleum whose 420 crypts bear the remains of the Pfaltzgraff and Shipley families as well as those of lesser local luminaries.

York Daily Record/Sunday News reporter Jeff Frantz (10/4/09) wrote about the current renovation of the large building, which measures 45 paces in width with a 20-foot high ceiling.

The building will observe its 100th birthday in 1914, and Civil War veterans Lewis E. Smyser was the first burial in the mausoleum... .

This drawing, from York County (Pa.) Heritage Trust files shows York Silk Manufacturing Co.'s Diamond Branch at the turn of the 20th century. The Hay Street building has been converted into the Hudson Park Apartments, but it remains a visible part of York City's skyline. Also of interest: After WWII success, Farquhar sells assets to out-of-town outfit and Who will lead the York area in the future? and Who are York's most influential citizens?

You can't miss York Silk Manufacturing Co.'s fortress-like imprint on York's skyline.

How did that landmark building get there in the first place?

These ornate iron pieces atop the York Elks porch are the type of fine metal work adorning the organization's 233 N. George St. building. (See related image below.) Background posts: York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles' and York County's connection to the French Quarter and Collector searching for Western Maryland Railroad memorabilia and When the bridge over the Codorus moved

My recent post - Plaques offer historic insight into 'The Swamp,' before Sovereign Bank Stadium drained it - provides a historic look at York's Arch Street area.

But for those parking at Small's Field, north of Codorus Creek, or in the downtown area, south of the creek, their stroll to the park affords many landmarks scrutinize.

My York Sunday News column for July 1, 2007, covers interesting sites as one moves into or out of The Swamp... .

This old Prospect Hill Cemetery gate frames Civil War Soldiers Circle, where many who died at the U.S. Military General Hospital in Penn Park were buried. Lila Fourhman-Shaull tells about some of the noted Civil War-era residents who were buried in the cemetery in her "A Walking Tour of Civil War-Era residents at Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, Pa." Background posts: Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts: 'In this simple grave ... lies a national hero' and 'He said his farewells to his family ... ' and Not all rebel wounded suffered after Gettysburg.

Scott Mingus' recent "Flames Beyond Gettysburg" is another book exploring York County's role in the Civil War.

Since 2000, various presses have produced these works touching on the county and the Civil War or exploring that era:

The body of Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts was laid to rest at Prospect Hill Cemetery in 2007, five years after he died in Afghanistan at the hands of al-Qaida. Background posts: Hammer-wielding Yorkers helped to nail kaiser's noggin , WWII in York County, by the numbers and War memorials stand proudly in towns throughout York County.

Navy SEAL Petty Officer 1st Class Neil C. Roberts was the first of more than fighting men with local links to die in uniform in the War on Terror.

He was shot and killed by al-Qaida forces after he fell from a helicopter in the Kharwar Mountains of Afghanistan... .

Prospect Hill Cemetery display flags honoring members of the U.S. military killed in Iraq. The York County Heritage Trust has information on that Manchester Township cemetery and a host of other burial sites throughout York County. Background posts: Two York County, Pa., union churches vestiges of bygone era, Not all rebel wounded suffered at Gettysburg and Footballer Lenny Moore has strong roots in York and White Roses mark interstate's entry into York.

Someone posting on York Town Square's sister site The Exchange asked about a cemetery in the Shrewsbury area.

Speaking off the top of her head, Lila Fourhman-Shaull, the area's foremost cemetery sleuth and archivist at the York County Heritage Trust, believed the cemetery might be the Keeney burial ground.

But on the larger question of how you go about identifying such cemeteries, here's Lila's assessment: ...

Cases filled with Civil War artifacts line the wall of the Chester, Va., home of Sam White, a Civil War relics collector. White was killed earlier this year when a Civil War-era cannonball exploded. His widow, Brenda (pictured in this AP photo), says the collection will go to their son. Background posts: Rebel trooper: 'Broken down & in no condition to fight', 'One of the shells found its mark' and Pro/Con: Should York's leaders have surrendered to the rebels?

Samuel Wehring, former chief of York's police, made the trip to Gettysburg soon after the battle in 1863.

He joined scores of others from York County who traveled west to help clear the field still littered with items discarded or lost in battle or to aid the wounded in makeshift hospitals... .

This photograph from Florence La Rose Ames' "That Sovereign Knowledge," shows the Women' Ward at York Hospital around the turn of the 20th century. Parts of the hospital, then located on West College Avenue, serves as an apartment complex today. The hospital moved to its South George Street campus in 1930. Background posts: Yank mortally wounded on ninth day of service and Doctor wrote about oxygen use to aid 'average country practitioners' and Cemetery bears rich Civil War tales.

The U.S. Army General Hospital, the large Civil War hospital located on Penn Park, is a master's thesis waiting to happen.

To my knowledge, no scholarly work has been written on the complex, which operated from 1862 to past war's end. The hospital even had its own newspaper, available on microfilm, so it would be possible to pull together strands into a helpful monograph.

One intriguing piece of that research would be to connect the dots, if possible, between the military hospital and York Hospital, started in 1880.

Some links aren't hard to find: ...

Philip Livingston is one of two Declaration of Independence signers to be interred in York County. His marker stands in Prospect Hill Cemetery. The monument for the other signer, James Smith, rests in the First Presbyterian Church's Cemetery. This painting of Livingston, exhibited from time to time at the York County Heritage Trust, came as part of the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in 1927. It was posted outdoors, in Continental Square, with 15 other paintings. Background post: Declaration signer James Smith gains moment of fame.

So we find that a plaque feting Declaration of Independence signer Philip Livingston is available for public view in York's Zion United Church of Christ. And his tombstone stands in Prospect Hill Cemetery.

But that's small recognition for a member of one of America's most powerful families - a venerable family perhaps with fame and fortune comparable to the Kennedys today.

The delegate from New York was not feeling well in the days before his departure to York in 1778. In fact, it was believed he would not return to his native soil.

Here's what happened in York, excerpted from "Nine Months in York Town":

Soldiers Circle, where many Union soldiers who died at York's military hospital were buried, is seen through the gate at Prospect Hill Cemetery in this undated photograph. (Photograph courtesy of York County Heritage Trust.)

As blue and gray soldiers, bunked in hospital such as York's U.S. Army General Hospital, suffered and died in the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, some of the wounded had a good life.

In researching a sequel to his "Human Interest Stories from the Gettysburg Campaign", Scott Mingus came upon an unfortunate story about William A. McCartney, listed as a York resident in his muster papers:

York County's unknown Union soldier rests in Prospect Hill Cemetery.

But his gray counterpart lies in a remote spote near the Susquehanna River. At least that's the story.

Here's what I wrote in "East of Gettysburg" about the rebel soldier buried on the York County side of the Susquehanna, in the Accomac area:

This headstone marks the spot of a Yankee soldier in Prospect Hill Cemetery. It's taken from the York County Heritage Trust's "A Walking Tour of Civil War-Era Residents."

The story of an unknown Union soldier originally interred at Emig's Grove Camp Meeting grounds, south of Mount Wolf, raises questions on occasion, including one last week from a reader.

He quoted historian John Gibson: "In one corner of the grounds, in a secluded spot, is a mysterious tomb of a soldier of the civil war. It has been sympathetically remembered by some patriotic members of the Camp Meeting Association, and marked by a neat and appropriate headstone.

His remains were found and interred near the spot, about the time that the Confederate Gen. Early took possession of York, but 'of his name and his fame no one can tell.'
He was clad in the uniform of a Union soldier, the buttons of which contained the coat of arms of Pennsylvania, and his cap the number 65."

In the booklet "A Walking Tour of Civil War-Era Residents at Prospect Hill Cemetery," Lila Fourhman-Shaull links the Emigs Grove site with York's Prospect Hill Cemetery... .

This turn-of-the-20th-century building was originally used to burn refuse from York city and York Hospital. It's been converted into a crematorium.

Last post told the story of Revolutionary War patriot Henry Laurens, apparently the first American to be officially cremated in the 1790s.

Two hundred years later, the practice is gaining visibility around York, where Laurens dwelt for nine months as president of Continental Congress in 1777-78.

In 2000, a small brick building with a large smokestack on Kings Mill Road became a crematorium.

For years, it had been rumored that the then-spooky building was originally used for burning bodies.

A 1955 newspaper article gives a glimpse at how that legend grew. As the story goes, a south-side neighborhood gang lurked around the building on Halloween night. Some gang members who peeked in a window reportedly saw a "job" under way.

Thus ended their sleep for a month... .