Researching Local History
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?
Fellow blogger Jim McClure has written several books on York History. The book “Never to be Forgotten” is a primer on local history, from the earliest days through 1999, when it was published. Jim has also written about local Revolutionary War history (“Nine Months in Yorktown”), Civil War history (“East of Gettysburg”), African-American history (“Almost Forgotten”), and World War II history (“In the Thick of the Fight.”)
Georg Sheets is another local history author who has written several books. In 1981 he released “To the Setting of the Sun: The Story of York.” This was an important work because it was the first comprehensive local history written in several decades. My parents had a copy of it, and it was actually this book that really motivated me to learn more. It was updated and reissued in 2002 as “York County: To the Setting of the Sun, An Illustrated History.” “Made in York,” “Facts and Folklore of York County,” and “Lawyers & Leaders” are other local history works written by Georg.
The Civil War has been a popular topic the past few years, so here’s a few books to check out:
- “Human Interest Stories of the Gettysburg Campaign” by Scott Mingus. Scott writes the Cannonball blog on this site. Soon you’ll be able to read another book by Scott, “Flames Beyond Gettysburg: the Gordon Expedition.”
- “From Home Guards to Heroes” by Dennis Brandt. This book chronicles the history of the 87th Pennsylvania.
- “A Walking Tour of Civil War-era residents of Prospect Hill Cemetery” by Lila Fouhrman-Shaull. Lila is the librarian for the York County Heritage Trust Library and Archives.
- “Fire on the River” by George Sheldon. Subtitled “The Defense of the World’s Longest Covered Bridge and How It Changed the Battle of Gettysburg.”
- “Civil War Walking Tour of York, Pennsylvania” by some guy named Scott Butcher. (Okay, that’s admittedly a shameless plug!). I wrote it to coincide with York being named one of the seven “gateway” communities on the Pennsylvania Civil War Trail.
For local creative traditions, pick up June Lloyd’s “Faith and Family,” a colorful book about Fraktur or “Quilts: the Fabric of Friendship,” published in conjunction with a Historical Society exhibit.
One of my personal favorites is “Views in the Borough of York and Vicinity, 1830,” a collection of watercolors by William Wagner. I love old views of York, and this book provides a great snapshot into York in the early 19th century. Wagner is believed to have used a technique known as Camera Obscura, which resulted in highly accurate, detailed depictions. Best of all, you can pick up a copy of this book at the Heritage Trust Museum Shop for only $6.95.
And, if you can tolerate another plug, you may want to thumb through my book “York: Postcard History Series.” Much like this blog, the book looks at local history in visual terms, in this case early and mid-20th century postcards.
This is certainly not an all-inclusive list, but plenty to get your collection started! In the next post, I’ll review some reprints and older history books that might be a little harder to find.
Happy reading.
