An ad in a 1823 York Recorder reminds us again why the good-old-days weren't so great. Cabinetmaker George Dowdel guaranteed that his improved bedstead was better than any heretofore made.
Finish reading 'York Cabinet Maker Invents Bedbug-Proof Bedstead' »
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1842 Strack Furniture ad
From the early days furniture makers prospered in Pennsylvania. A variety of sturdy woods were available and local craftsmen had the skills to fashion them into pleasingly utilitarian pieces.
Charles Strack of York regularly ran the advertisement below in the York Gazette of 1842 reminding residents of the vast selection of furniture he could manufacture for your family. He could fit you out from the cradle to the grave. In fact, as you can see from the ad, he would even take you to the grave.
Finish reading 'York County Cabinet Makers--Chairs to Coffins' »
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.
Finish reading 'York’s Variety Iron Works Produced Real Variety' »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?
Finish reading 'York County, PA in 1828--What’s a Fulling Mill?' »
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.
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?
Finish reading 'York, PA Pullmans--Classy Automobiles of 100 Years Ago' »Automobile manufacturing was booming in York a hundred years ago. One of the most successful was the Pullman automobile, made by the York Motor Car Company. Manufacturers entered the cars in all kinds of races and competition to capture the attention of the public, and the results were duly reported in the sports pages.
One such competition was a hill climb in New York. The account in the April 11, 1908 York Gazette reads:
Finish reading 'York, PA-Made Pullman Beats Out Other 20 Horsepower Cars' »
Weaver Factory on Broad Street
Renowned composer and orchestra leader Victor Herbert was in the prime of his career when he came to York in May of 1908.
Finish reading 'Victor Herbert Praises York’s Weaver Pianos' »Nineteen hundred and eight was a very strange year in York County.
Click here to read about Rex Fire Company’s building out in the middle of Duke Street.
My last post was about Judge Wanner ruling in favor of a mule. Click here to read about that.
This item, from the March 19, 1908 Gazette, is even more bizarre:
Finish reading 'York Workman--a Rat Whisperer?' »You may have heard of Bull Frog Alley and wondered where it was. The following 1878 York Gazette article tells about the basket makers living there.
