Research & Books: October 2007 Archives

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?