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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Lewis Miller drawing of York jail on George Street
York County has had four prisons in its nearly 260 year history. The present one certainly seems to be the most secure. But reading the newspaper accounts of past jailbreaks, you have to wonder if anybody was watching.
At least in the 1857 Christmas night jailbreak the prisoners had to hack through a wall of the almost-new second jail on Chestnut Street. Click here to read about that escape.
In 1829, when the jail was on the northeast corner of George and King Streets, it was apparently much easier. The May 26, 1829 York Recorder tells the story:
East Street, 1903
Like many cities, York, Pennsylvania has a street named for each direction of the compass. I must admit, though, I had to look at a current atlas to find East Street, even though I go by it almost daily.
I assumed that these four streets made their appearance at the same time, marking the boundaries of the town as it grew. Wrong--as you can see from the information below gleaned from 1850, 1876, and 1903 maps of York.
Finish reading 'North, South, East, West--Where Are These York Streets?' »
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' »
Hartman Building Revealed March 2008
Miller View With Spectators in the Cupola
You can’t miss the news that the Hartman Building in the Square of York is going to get a drastic facelift. It has been reported in print, on TV and online. I also whipped out my camera when I walked by the other day, struck by the sight of the impressive stone keystone lintels and sturdy bricks that had been covered by metal siding all those years.
I read the news stories that the owner, commendably, plans to restore the building. But then I started to look at the various incarnations and wonder which one will be chosen. Six stories or seven? Cupola or no cupola?
The site has been drawn, photographed, and made into postcards as much as any in York County over the past 200 years. I picked six out of the many views available to share with you. See below for more.
Which Hartman building do you like best?
Rex and Laurel Fire Companies
You think traffic gets obstructed today by double parking and delivery vehicles? At least no one, as far as I know, has constructed a building smack dab on the street since 1908. How did the Rex Fire Truck end up residing there for two weeks?
Click here to read about one of the fires to which the Rex truck responded.
From the January 1, 1908 York Gazette:
Finish reading 'York Fire Truck Building Built in Street' »I recently wrote about a Confederate sword that a farmer plowed up near Hanover in 1882, nearly 20 years after it had fallen in a skirmish there.
Click here to read about sword on Forney farm.
There were probably a lot of swords around York County in the years after the Civil War, brought home as souvenirs of that dreadful conflict.
Drinking and weapons of any kind shouldn’t go together, as we can see in the following article from the October 30, 1877 Gazette. (The anonymous reporter had a rather droll sense of humor--a 19th century Mike Argento?)
Lewis Miller drawing of the new courthouse, 1839.
I recently wrote about a thief stealing the copper spouting off the York County courthouse in 1874. That was the York County’s second courthouse, completed in 1840.
Click here to read about the spouting heist.
York County residents, as always, had plenty of opinions where that new courthouse should be and kept a keen eye on the cost. The first courthouse, the one in which Continental Congress met, had to go, they said, because it sat in the middle of Center Square, and traffic was picking up.
I'll tell you more about the cost of the 1840 building itself in a future post, but for now, I’ll quote the Gazette editorial of February 13, 1838 when, after much wrangling, a site was finally chosen:
Finish reading 'Gazette newspaper hopes York County Commissioners will “...guard against extravagance” in new courthouse. ' »
This map, from the 1876 Pomeroy, Whitman Atlas of York County shows the location of the Lutheran Burial Ground.
Sounds like familiar headlines from today’s papers, doesn’t it? Unfortunately stealing for the salvage value is nothing new. In fact, the following article from December 29, 1874 Gazette reports that the York County Courthouse was the victim:
Finish reading 'York County Courthouse Spouting Stolen, Sold for Scrap' »We often hear of terrible fires that could have had even worse consequences if it were not for extraordinary ordinary people, and well as brave firefighters, risking themselves to save other humans as well as animals. The same held true in the past.
There was an ever-present danger of fire 150 years ago. Homes were heated and cooking was done in fireplaces and stoves with flames or smoldering coals. Arson seemed also to be a popular crime. In the winter of 1857 the Gazette reports on a five-structure fire and how horses were saved by a not very well clad rescuer:
