Wrightsville has always occupied an important location in the transportation network. The Monocacy Trail, orginally a Native American path, became one of the first roads for the European settlers to York County and beyond. That road crossed the Susquehanna River at Wrightsville, first by ferry and then over bridges covered and modern.

The Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, opened in 1840, followed the west bank of the river from the Chesapeake Bay to Wrightsville. Then the mules, working from towpaths on the covered bridge, pulled the canal boats across the river to Columbia to continue on their journey up the east bank.

Railroads soon replaced canals as movers of people and freight, again crossing the bridge at Wrightsville. The excerpt below from the November 20, 1877 Gazette shows the hazards passengers could face and the volume of products shipped out from Wrightsville.

Posted in 1870s Columbia, PA Susquehanna River Universal York Wrightsville York County business canals commerce highways railroads roads transportation

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Lewis Miller drawing of the first York water pipes. (See below for Miller's detailed caption.)

Downtown York traffic was recently disrupted by a broken water pipe. Like anything else, pipes do eventually suffer from wear, whether they are made of iron, ceramic, plastic, or log. Log?

York was quite progressive, instituting a public water system in 1816.

The first piping system, which lasted for many years, was constructed out of logs. In March 1816, the York Gazette ran the following ad:

Posted in 1810s Universal York York business utilities water

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Prosperity seems to have come to the York County of 140 years ago, if the ads in the December 31, 1867 issue of the York Gazette are any indication.

Entrepreneurs and agents from New York, Philadelphia, Maryland, and Adams County were offering investment opportunities.

Real estate was enticingly offered by New Oxford Agent J. C. Zouck as an appeal to:

“CAPITALISTS
LOOK TO YOUR INTEREST!”

Posted in 1860s Adams County Frederick Co., MD New Oxford Universal York York Springs advertising agriculture architecture business commerce farming merchants prices railroads real estate

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One hundred and ten years ago an article on the front page of the Gazette starts out: “A gang of burglars raided the post offices at Dallastown and Red Lion sometime Monday night and succeeded in making a fairly good haul.”

The first robbery was in Red Lion. The article states: “About 12 o’clock that night [Monday] a number of residents in the vicinity of the post office were awakened by the noise of an explosion. A family named Spangler residing in the office building, on hearing the explosion made an investigation of every room but the post office, and finding everything all right, retired to bed. At Hildebrand’s hotel on the opposite side of the street the explosion awakened occupants of the house.”

It goes on to say that:

Posted in 1890s Dallastown Red Lion Universal York Yoe York County business crime

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One hundred and ten years ago, most folks, especially in rural areas didn’t have telephones. That wonderous invention was only 21 years old in 1897. As far as other media, Heinrich Hertz has only discovered radio waves ten years before and television was way in the future.

The way to keep up with news of your neighbors was to read the newspaper. Each small community had a stringer, and no event was too small to report, especially since those free-lance reporters were reportedly paid according to the length of their column. This practice continued well into the mid-twentieth century. I remember, when I was a child, reading in the Gazette & Daily that my parents, grandparents, and I were entertained by my aunt and uncle for Christmas dinner. (My aunt happened to be the stringer for the New Bridgeville area.)

In early December, 1897 the Special Correspondence of the Gazette “Jacobus Notes” column reported that:

Posted in 1890s Jacobus Springfield Twp. Universal York York County agriculture business churches cigars farming history medicine people schools

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McCall's Ferry (Holtwood) Power Plant Under Construction, ca.1907.

Electric power was on the front page 100 years ago. The Merchants Electric Light, Heat, and Power Company distributed hydroelectricity generated by the York Haven Water and Power Company, which utilized giant Kaplan turbines. These turbines were manufactured in York by the S. Morgan Smith Company.

When York Haven went on line in 1904, they were said to be one of the three largest water powered electric plants in the world. Just three years later, by the fall of 1907, there was a much larger hydro project underway. A 3,000 feet long high dam was being constructed at McCall’s Ferry. A Gazette article of the time reported that it was believed that York, as well as Baltimore, would be receiving electric current from the McCall’s Ferry Power Company by August of 1908.

Two days after the initial article another article appeared in the Gazette that raised doubts about the McCall’s Ferry project:

Posted in 1900s 1910s Susquehanna River Universal York York County business dams electricity history industry water power

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One hundred years ago stylish shoes were just as important as they are today. A large illustrated ad for the B.A. Shorb Shoe Co., 24 West Market Street, appeared in the York Gazette in the fall of 1907.

Good leather shoes were a substantial investment. No cheap plastic--oops, “man-made material” was available. Featured footwear for both ladies and men ran up to $5 per pair. The average wage of household bread winner in 1907 probably wasn’t more than

Posted in 1900s Universal York York City advertising business children history industry manufacturing men prices retail stores shoes shopping women

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