Yorkers did not lack for entertainment. Traveling performers and theater groups of all kinds made regular stops in York. The draw of the menagerie was usually the assortment of exotic animals, but the one the came to town in May 1843 added lots of drama to the animal acts.

The sizable announcement in the Gazette was an enticing piece of advertising:

Posted in 1840s Abbotstown Columbia, PA Universal York York animals circus entertainment menageries parades

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Doing a Google search on forest fires is eye opening. As I write this, fires are raging in the mountains of New Mexico; tigers and elephants are threatened by the fires in two national parks in India; and 45 forest fires have started in Irkutsk, Russia the past few days.

I don’t recall any major forest fires in York County lately. That wasn’t always the case.

Posted in 1920s Lower Chanceford Twp. Shrewsbury Township Universal York York County York Furnace fires

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What is historical mitigation? A simplified example is that when a structure that might have some historical value is demolished, something is done to compensate for that loss.

When the Sovereign Bank Stadium in York, bounded by George, North, Queen, and Arch streets, quite a few structures were torn down. Some of these were railroad-related, so the York County Industrial Development Authority, with the research assistance of Justine Landis, put together a walking tour History of Rail in York, Pennsylvania. The free brochure, which is available at several sites, including York County Heritage Trust, points out ten sites in the area of historical significance, some of which are no longer standing.

Posted in 1830s Northern Central RR Pennsylvania Railroad Universal York York inventions railroads trains

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Photo from 1928 York Gazette & Daily microfilm at York County Heritage Trust.

O.K., so maybe a lot of moms don’t bake apple pie anymore, but baseball is still big in York County, PA.

Glen Rock native Cliff Heathcote, who played in the major league from 1918 to 1932, shows up in a lot of the record books. In fact, one of his records may never be broken.

Posted in 1910s Glen Rock Universal York York baseball celebrities sports

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Variety Iron Works from 1868-69 city directory at York County Heritage Trust

I am glad to see that some of the remaining buildings of the Smyser-Royer Variety Iron Works complex are part of York City’s Northwest Triangle redevelopment project.

One of my York Sunday News columns outlined the metamorphosis of the company from a small stove manufacturer to a huge fabricator of mill gears and turbines; garden benches, fountains, and statuary; cast iron buildings fronts; light posts; lacy iron railings, such as the famous ones in New Orleans; iron bridge parts; and much more. You can read that column below.

Then I just came across an article in an 1867 York Gazette that added even more variety to the company’s products.

Posted in 1840s 1850s 1860s 1880s 1940s Universal York York City architecture buildings industry iron manufacturing steam power

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We know York County had a lot of different mills. Click here to read about the many mills of York County.

Sawmills sawed trees into boards, and grist mills ground grain. What purpose did a fulling mill serve?

In a recent post about York County runaways in the 18th century, I mentioned that it was pretty easy to describe what the person who ran away was wearing. They probably only had one or two sets of clothing. Click here to read about the runaway blacksmith apprentice.

Even well-to-do people didn’t have that many clothes. You have toured historic houses--how many closets do they have? A few pegs on the bedroom wall would do nicely. Why?

Posted in 1820s Universal York Windsor Township agriculture clothing manufacturing mills textiles wool

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Richard M. Watt, second from left, and the U.S.S. Maine

This week’s Sunday News carried a story about a new book titled What Really Sank the Titanic. The authors came to a different conclusion that that offered by Rear Admiral Richard M. Watt, expert witness and York native, who testified in the 1915 White Star Line liability trial.

Watt, former Chief Constructor in the U.S. Navy faulted the owners, the White Star Line, for not allowing the builders to install longitudinal bulkheads and water-tight doors on the Titanic.

Posted in 1910s Scots-Irish U.S. Navy Universal York York accidents manufacturing ships transportation

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We tend to think of our ancestors and their contemporaries as very strait-laced. Sometimes nothing can be farther from the truth. That’s what is so fascinating about using original documents as historical sources. Those letters, diaries, and newspapers they left behind sometime fairly sizzle with crime, intrigue, and scandal.

For example, take a look at the following advertisements from the April 1777 Pennsylvania Gazette.

Posted in 1770s Chester Co., PA Pennsylvania Germans Universal York Virginia clothing genealogy migration military uniforms soldiers

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It was April 1777. The Revolutionary War was not going well. Desertion was rampant. General Washington had said as much in a letter he wrote to his brother John on February 24.
Click here to read that letter at the Library of Congress web site.

Deserters were described in detail in the newspapers, along with a call for apprehension and an offered reward. Descriptions of the fugitive soldiers were often detailed, as shown in the following advertisement from the Pennsylvania Gazette for William Murphy of Chanceford Township.

Posted in 1770s Army Chanceford Twp. Revolutionary War Susquehanna River Universal York York County clothing deserters ferries soldiers

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After recently posting the article on the 20 horse power York-made Pullman’s win in a 1908 hill climb, I was curious to see what the car looked like.

Click here to read about the hill climb.

The newspaper article didn’t say if the winning auto was a 1907 or 1908 model. Since the race was in early 1908, I went to a 1907 Pullman catalog in the York County Heritage Trust Library/Archives.

The factory turned out three 20 horse power models that year. I’m including illustrations below from the catalog of all three models, along with specs and price. Which do you think beat the competitors up the hill?

Posted in 1900s Universal York York advertising automobiles contests industry manufacturing

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