October 2007 Archives

In celebration of the Halloween season, here’s a bit of dark history from York’s past.

Today the site of the York County Judicial Center, the southeast intersection of North George Street and Philadelphia Street was once the site of the Pennsylvania House hotel and later the Hotel Penn. According to newspaper accounts of the day, a horrific event occurred in the Pennsylvania House.

The year was 1872 and Barnum’s Museum, Menagerie and Hippodrome was in town. They set up a massive canvas tent that held 5,000 people. The tent was located where the Soldiers & Sailors monument stands today and was overflowing with people eager to see such spectacles as the bearded child, the armless woman, the man in miniature, and the strange and brainless being, among others. Rather than retell the story, it is best to read it firsthand from the York Daily from Wednesday, May 15, 1872:

DEATH OF THE CANNIBAL DWARF A HORRID SCENE Cannibalism in our Midst.

Barnum’s Museum, Menagerie and Hippodrome met with quite a loss yesterday in the death of the notorious Cannibal Dwarf, which occurred at the Pennsylvania Hotel, in this place. The little Fiji exhibited symptoms of indisposition several days ago, and the Manager, Mr. W.C. Coup, sent “the General” as he is called, to New York, to be cared for by Mr. Barnum’s family physician. But the little savage becoming restless in the absence of his associates, he was returned to the company. Like all of his race he had a native horror of shoes and clothing, and even in the wet, cold days that came upon the company in New Jersey, the Manager was unable to force shoes upon the General, and make him dress with sufficient warmth. Yesterday the man in charge noticed that his fingers were constantly in motion, while he muttered continually the only word he ever pronounced intelligibly “Fiji.” He refused everything like food or nourishment, and apparently thought of nothing but his native island. Dancing or violent gesturing of any kind was always a source of great merriment to “the General,” but now the keeper could not provoke even a smile. The miniature being was dying and while his keeper was doing his best to cheer him up and make him take his medicine, he rose up in bed, muttered “Fiji” in a whisper and fell back dead. His three native companions, who up to this time were wholly indifferent, now exhibited all the symptoms of genuine grief. They howled incessantly, and such fearful physical contortions were probably never before witnessed in a civilized community.

Do you love historic architecture? If so, this Saturday offers a rare glimpse to take a trip back in time to the days when York County was still part of Lancaster County.

Historic York, Inc., a local non-profit dedicated to architectural preservation, will be holding an open house at the historic Johanes & Cristina Schultz House in East York. Located at 508 Locust Grove Road, the Schultz House is believed to be the oldest in York County. The Schultz family was among the earliest settlers west of the Susquehanna River, before York County was even established. While the interior has been updated over the years, the original building is intact.

The event runs from 12 Noon to 5 p.m., with a cost of $15 per person, which includes lunch from Merica’s Smokehouse and a tour of the buildings and grounds. The 5-acre property includes the 1734 Schultz House, 1870 barn, summer kitchen, and smokehouse. Karen Arnold, executive director of Historic York, will be giving a presentation on German Colonial architecture at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

In addition to covering the costs associated with the event, monies raised will be used for maintenance of the property, listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and required utility upgrades.

The open house is sponsored by PeoplesBank and additional information can be obtained by visiting www.historicyork.org or calling 717-843-0320.

After years of planning, the William C. Goodridge Freedom House & Underground Railroad Museum is coming closer to reality. Construction on the first floor and rear courtyard is underway – though more funds are needed to complete the construction on the first floor and expand the museum to the second floor.

Upon entering through the front door, visitors will be greeted with a period foyer and parlor, much like you’d expect with a house museum. While the foyer will be Victorian-era, the parlor will be Colonial Revival to reflect the home’s other notable resident, architect Reinhardt Dempwolf. In 1897, Dempwolf designed major renovations to the home. The front door, roof dormers, and many interior features are all Dempwolf additions.

Rear facade before and after, courtesy NuTec Design Associates, Inc.

A middle parlor will begin telling the story of the Underground Railroad in York County and the Goodridge family. As part of the interpretation, Crispus Attucks – developer of the museum – has at its disposal panels from the York County Heritage Trust’s “Underground Railroad in York County” exhibit as well as the Michigan Historical Society’s “Enterprising Images” exhibit about the Goodridge Brothers photography studio. Research materials may also be available.

In the span of 25 years, William Goodridge went from a young slave in Maryland to one of York’s most prominent businessmen. He grew from barber to entrepreneur, expanding his business, purchasing new properties, and starting new ventures. For a brief time he even operated a barber shop in Philadelphia.

One of his business ventures was the Goodridge Reliance Line of burthen (freight) cars, which operated from York. These cars were capable of transporting almost any freight, and eventually ran as far west as Pittsburgh and as far east as Philadelphia.

But beyond his success in business, Goodridge became quite successful in another, more clandestine endeavour: the Underground Railroad.

His properties were stations, and he was both a stationmaster and conductor, meaning that he provided shelter for runaway slaves as well as a means of transport to get them one step closer to freedom.

He lived at 123 East Philadelphia Street, in a home that still stands today. Below the kitchen is a root cellar with exposed dirt walls. It was in here that the escaped slaves were hidden. The root cellar was accessible via a trap door in the kitchen floor that was covered with carpet. Long after Goodridge left York and passed away, his children told local historians of the hiding place, which was “found” in an 1897 renovation project by noted architect Reinhardt Dempwolf. There is also at least one narrative from an escaped slave that identifies the cellar in the Goodridge House as a hiding place. Furthermore, the National Park Service has researched and authenticated the site as part of their Network to Freedom program.

One of the benefits of my day job with the Nutec Group is that I sometimes have the opportunity to become involved with local projects of historic significance. Such is the case with the home once owned by William C. Goodridge. For five years I’ve served on the task force working to transform the house into an Underground Railroad museum. Crispus Attucks, the local non-profit working to improve the quality of life in the southeast neighborhoods of York City, and beyond, is spearheading the exciting project.

Who was William Goodridge? He was born into slavery in Baltimore, Maryland in 1805 or 1806. Because he was a slave, his exact birth date is not recorded. His mother and grandmother had been owned by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the wealthiest Americans in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. (If you saw the movie National Treasure, Carroll was featured in a flashback as the last surviving signer.) Goodridge’s mother was sold to a prominent Baltimore physician.

If it is October, it must be time for ghost tours in downtown York. This year, the William C. Goodridge Freedom House & Underground Railroad Museum will be getting in on the fun, offering Downtown York Ghost Tours on Friday, October 26, 2007.

Tours kick-off at 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and the cost is $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for children, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Goodridge Freedom House. Currently under construction, this house museum will interpret the life of one of York’s most important residents.

Goodridge was born into slavery, apprenticed in York, and became one of the area’s most prominent citizens in the late 1820s through late 1850s. He owned several businesses and numerous properties throughout the city. He constructed the tallest building of its day on the northwest quadrant of Centre (Continental) Square. He started the Goodridge Reliance Line of Rail Cars. And he was an important part of the local Underground Railroad, serving as both a stationmaster and conductor.

For a preview of some of the stories you may hear on the tour, surf to www.hauntedyork.net.

Tours kick off at the Goodridge House at 123 East Philadelphia Street and limited parking will be available directly across the street at the C.S. Davidson parking lot. Tickets will be available that evening, but space is limited, so you may want to get your tickets ahead of time. Contact Carol Kauffman at Crispus Attucks at 717-848-3610 x230.

In a future post we’ll cover Goodridge and plans for his house.

In the last post I responded to a query about researching York County history by beginning a list of reference books – many that are recent and readily available at the Museum Shop of the York County Heritage Trust or a local bookstore. Continuing with the list, here are some reprints and hard-to-find reference sources:

“History of York County, from its Erection to the Present Time [1729 – 1834]” by W.C. Carter and A.J. Glossbrenner. This is the first comprehensive history of York, and the default reference source for the works that followed. The book was primarily written by W.C. Carter, who compiled detailed notes on various topics related to local history. But his work was not published during his lifetime. A.J. Glossbrenner came into possession of Carter’s research, organized it, and published it.

“History of York County, From One Thousand Seven Hundred and Nineteen to the Present Time, Compiled from Authentic Sources” by I. Daniel Rupp. This 1845 work, frequently packaged with a similar history of Lancaster County, relied heavily on the work of Carter and Glossbrenner.

“History of York County, Pennsylvania, 1886” John Gibson, Historical Editor. At over 1,000 pages, this history was a major undertaking. Gibson draws heavily from Carter and Glossbrenner for the early history, and also draws from his own work, a Historical Sketch published in 1876. The book includes a lengthy “Special History” written by George R. Prowell, as well as biographies on prominent citizens.

“History of York County Pennsylvania, 1907” by George R. Prowell. In some ways this 2,000+ page work is an update of the 1886 history. Most historic researchers begin with Prowell. I typically look in Prowell first (for pre-1907 information), and then look for other sources. His history contains a staggering amount of information, but sometimes it is not totally accurate. In fact, there is contradictory information in different chapters. But this massive history was written over a period of years, and Prowell was almost blind by the time it was completed.

The 1886 and 1907 histories are available, reprinted, from the Museum Shop of the York County Heritage Trust. Gibson is one volume, and Prowell is two (the second volume being exclusively biographies). A third volume contains an index, which is extremely helpful.

Any serious researcher of York County history should have a copy from Prowell’s 1907 work. And any serious collector of York County books should track down an original 1907 copy – though it may cost $300 - $400!

At the conclusion of the Leadership York downtown walking tour earlier this week, one of the participants asked about where to find books on York history. A similar question about local history book recommendations was posted by Cindy Hoke.

If you are looking to purchase a book, there is no better place than the Museum Shops of the York County Heritage Trust. Their shelves are filled with books on local history. Here you’ll also find books and booklets that you won’t find anywhere else. The local books section at Border’s Books & Music on Whiteford Road is also surprisingly large. In other communities, I’ve been in bookstores where you couldn’t even find a local section, much less a book on local history. And the York Emporium on West Market Street is always worth checking out, too – I’ve found some older York history books on their shelves.

Of course, libraries are always a good place to start, too. I recommend the Library and Archives of the York County Heritage Trust – if there is a book on local history, they probably have it. The Library & Archives is housed in the Historical Society building at 250 East Market Street. Nearby is Martin Library, another destination for finding books on local history.

I’ve come to learn that York County is somewhat unique when it comes to local history. We love it. That alone doesn’t make us unique. But we love to write about it, too. And that is where we stand out from many other communities because York’s history seems to be better documented, and re-documented, than many other towns of all sizes and with equally interesting history.

I’m always discovering new books. At a recent auction I picked up the 1904 “Picturesque and Industrial York, PA” published by the Knights Templar. This book is a real gem – most of the photographs were commissioned specifically for the book. The book followed another quite interesting photo book of York, “York County Sesquicentennial Views, 1749-1899.”

But you won’t find either of these books on bookstore shelves, so where should you start?

Last evening I had the opportunity to participate in an annual autumn tradition – one that doesn’t involve football, tailgating, leaves, or pumpkins. The tradition? Leading the new class of Leadership York’s Leadership Training Program (LTP) on a walking tour of downtown York.

In the coming months, this year’s LTP class will attend sessions on economic development, arts & culture, health care, children’s issues, education, government, boardsmanship, and other notable topics.

But last night was about history.

Most years I share tour guide duties with Scott Royer, Director of Education for the York County Heritage Trust.

When I arrived at the Colonial Court House, Scott and I compared notes. As is typical, he asked if I knew where I was headed or what I was talking about, and I responded, “No.” And then I queried, “You?” “Nope” was his response.

But this isn’t indicative of a lack of preparation; rather, it showcases something quite unique and interesting about downtown York. You can walk in any direction and have much to talk about. As a rule, we both try to lead our respective groups to important landmarks and locations, like Continental Square, Friends Meeting House, and Golden Plough Tavern.

I can’t speak for Scott, but I can tell you that I’ve never given the same tour twice. In fact, over the years I’ve had the opportunity to lead many different walking tours – general history, Civil War, architecture, photography, and even ghosts and legends. I don’t have a “canned” tour. What makes the Leadership York walking tour fun is that I can throw in a bit of everything. The challenge that Scott and I faced last evening was how to each take a group of 20 people from the Colonial Court House to Queen Street (our agreed-upon destination) and back in one hour.

This Sunday Historic York, Inc. will be holding its annual Historic House Tour, minus the houses. Instead, the organization adopted the theme of “Preservation is Everyone’s Business” to promote the importance of historic preservation within a business context. The downtown York tour will feature several notable buildings that are historic in nature. Some, like the Yorktowne Hotel, still serve the same purpose for which they were built. Others, like the Zachariah Spangler House, were adaptively reused for other purposes.

The fundraising event will be held on Sunday, October 7 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to stop by an open house at the Architectural Warehouse after touring the businesses. The newly relocated Warehouse is at 465 East Prospect Street. The Yorktowne Hotel will serve as the kick-off point for tours.

This year, Historic York, Inc. is offer walking tours. Participants will be able to tour the inside of the featured buildings, and learn architectural history in between!