Recently in Civil War Category

York Hospital started sprawling along the hillside south of York, Pa., from its earliest days after its move from West College Avenue in 1930. That move marked its 50th year of operation. Now, the hospital's parent is reaching into Harrisburg. This week, officials at WellSpan said they would explore a merger with PinnacleHealth of Harrisburg. This photograph comes from longtime York Hospital surgeon Ray Kehm's book "The Birth of a Surgeon." Also of interest: Doctor wrote about oxygen use to aid 'average country practitioners' and Spanish flu epidemic in York: 'People died one right after the other' and Civil War hospital: A master's thesis waiting to be written and West Side Sanitarium, later West Side Osteopathic and later Memorial Hospital born in The Avenues in York.

"One winter day in December 1879, a man named Small acted upon a not-so-small idea and began the serious planning that would before long culminate in a hospital for York, Pennsylvania."

So began the preface of Florence La Rose Ames' "That Sovereign Knowledge," a history of York Hospital's first 100 years.

A hospital was needed in post-Civil War York County... .

York County, Pa., Civil War author Scott Mingus has added another book to his growing list of titles: "The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863." This 315-page book covers this famous Confederate brigade during the during the Gettysburg Campaign, including its two-day stay in the York area. For locations to purchase the book, contact Mingus at scottmingus@yahoo.com. Civil War book: 'When flames brilliantly illuminated the sky over the Susquehanna River' and Books probing York County in the Civil War come in strong, sudden onslaught and The Four YorkBloggers write.

In his recently published "Louisiana Tigers," Scott Mingus tells the wonderful story of Gen. Jubal Early meeting the widow Zinn in western York County's Big Mount.

"Are you goin' to destroy us, are you going to take all that we've got?" she asked Early.

Early replied: "No madam, and to give you the best protection possible, I will stay with you, with my staff, and no one shall trouble you."

Early then visited one of his brigade commanders, John B. Gordon, at nearby Farmers.

When he returned at about 9 p.m., Mrs. Zinn had saved a supper of 15 varieties of food - meats, vegetables, coffee and milk... .

Lee Schwan's Web site includes a bunch of compelling photos from northwest York, Pa.'s Yorktowne Homes, built as housing for defense workers in World War II. Schwan wrote in an e-mail, published in a previous post, that he hopes someone writes about living in Yorktowne in the 1940s and 1950s. Background posts: Just try to resist this memory-tugging photograph of northwest York, Pa. and World War II-era Yorkers welcomed nondescript housing and Linked in with neat York County history stuff - Oct. 10, 2009.

From the mailbag: A mixed bag of links to a bit of everything around York County:

- York County history enthusiasts should keep their eye on e-Bay for bits of history. An e-mailer pointed out that copies of The Morning Journal are available on there. The York Dispatch published this short-lived newspaper during a short-lived strike by workers of competitor The Gazette and Daily in 1970. The Gazette came back after that strike as the York Daily Record, owned by District Attorney Harold Fitzkee and partners who had purchased it from J.W. Gitt. That comeback spelled the demise of The Morning Journal... .

- More neat stuff below. -

The community mausoleum sits largely forgotten at York, Pa.'s, Prospect Hill Cemetery. Also of interest: Statesman buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery: 'He said his farewells to his family ... ' and Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts: 'In this simple grave ... lies a national hero' and What's the story of that fenced-in graveyard atop a hill near I-83?.

In the reaches of Prospect Hill Cemetery rests an almost forgotten community mausoleum whose 420 crypts bear the remains of the Pfaltzgraff and Shipley families as well as those of lesser local luminaries.

York Daily Record/Sunday News reporter Jeff Frantz (10/4/09) wrote about the current renovation of the large building, which measures 45 paces in width with a 20-foot high ceiling.

The building will observe its 100th birthday in 1914, and Civil War veterans Lewis E. Smyser was the first burial in the mausoleum... .

Lewis Miller put forth this drawing after the Army of Northern Virginia's surrender to Gen. U.S. Grant's Army of the Potomac in 1865. The carpenter/artist also captured the Confederates trooping into York after the town surrendered to the Confederates two years before. Also of interest: Invaders put off by earthy Pennsylvania women, Owner seeks info on old toll house and York County Civil War, by the numbers.

People might get sidetracked by reports of the gallant demeanor of some of the Confederates occupying York in June 1863 after the town surrendered to the invaders.

They see great generals, albeit dusty great generals, on white horses with plumes in their hats showing their wonderful manners toward women in town.

The Confederates were polite southern boys just doing their jobs in the green pastures of the North, some might say.

Well, fellow blogger and tireless researcher Scott Mingus has come across a heretofore undiscovered account of activities in York the day before the Confederates marched into town for their two-day stay... .

In the final days of Gettysburg's Electric Map's showing in 2007, Mitchell Keiper visited the map while on a field trip from Wisconsin. A photo caption aptly summed up the recent story of the map. Some students said they thought the narrator's voice was boring. Mitchell said he thought the program was interesting. Gettysburg National Military Park is seeking a solution to address both views. Also of interest: Q&A on new Gettysburg visitor center, old Electric Map, Restored Gettysburg Cyclorama arriving in new home and Gettysburg's Electric Map blinking in finale season.

The Gettysburg National Military Park's Museum and Visitors Center is drawing high marks from patrons, The Evening Sun in Hanover has reported.

But many give a brief critique: "I really wish that you still had the map."

Before demolition of the old visitors center, the map was taken apart and is now in storage.

Park officials are considering bringing back the map in video format, as this excerpted Evening Sun (9/13/09) story reports:

A Robert E. Lee look-alike attends a Hinton, Va., hearing in August about a Wal-Mart proposed for a site near the Wilderness Battlefield. Preservationists are urging Walmart to retreat from plans to build a Supercenter near the famed battlefield. Also of interest: York scored another first: Wal-Mart's entry into Pa. and Cracker barrel and Cracker Barrel hold places in York County's past and Just try to resist studying this memory-tugging Sears photograph.

Wal-Mart is looking to build a SuperCenter near the Wilderness Battlefield in Orange County, Va., sparking preservationists into action to block construction.

This is a reminder to catch up on Wal-Mart's presence in York County, particularly since the first Wal-Mart in Pennsylvania was built in the York Mall in Springettsbury Township in 1989.

That store is still there, enlarged in fact.

It drew no controversy then because the mall was reeling after major anchors moved to the newly opened Galleria, and Wal-Mart was not generating controversy in those days... .

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Visitors to the new Gettysburg National Military Park visitors center are presented with the opportunity to examine all kinds of Civil War exhibits. But Civil War enthusiasts don't have to go to Gettysburg to learn about the Civil War. York countians can receive their lessons at home. Background posts: New Lincoln blog category introduced to honor Abe's 200th birthday and Abe Lincoln stopped at Hanover station:"We want to preserve history ... so it doesn't disappear' and York educator plays Abe's friend: 'This definitely was a cool thing'.

Dr. Charles C. Fennell, Jr., will present on the "Confederate Disaster on Oak Ridge: The Demise of Brig. Gen. Alfred Iverson's Brigade on July 1, 1863 at Gettysburg" Wednesday in York.

The licensed Gettysburg battlefield guide will address a meeting of the York (Pa.) Civil War Roundtable.

The Civil War group's meeting is a reminder about the regular monthly meetings that are available at no cost about different aspects of York County's history... .

"The Picket" stood in the center of Hanover's Center Square for years. It has since been moved to a corner of that intersection. This image comes from Scott Mingus' blog "Cannonball." Mingus will give tours tailored to specific areas of York County, with proceeds going to the York County Heritage Trust. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Stack of books on York County's Civil War past getting higher and The Four Bloggers write and 'One of the shells found its mark'.

Civil War author, lecturer and blogger Scott L. Mingus, Sr. will lead personalized guided tours of various sites in York County linked to the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863.

For a free-will donation to the York County Heritage Trust, Mingus will present customized tours... .

This iconic photo capturing the moment of the 1969 York race riots shows police seizing weapons from a North Newberry Street home. Newberry Street Boys were headquarted on their namesake street, which served as the site of shooting of Lillie Belle Allen on July 21, 1969. This photo originally appeared in The Gazette and Daily and now is part of York County Heritage Trust's archives. Background posts: Images capture hope for racial harmony, York Charrette or charade? and First pitch could break link with York race riots.

In an earlier post in this York race riots series, I wrote about prepping to background a visiting journalist about those disturbing moments in the 1960s.

As part of those preparations, I wrote the following slogan, common around York in the 1860s: "The Union as it was, the Constitution as it is and the Negroes where they are."

This was the majority view in York County. As I've written before, it was a border county in a border state in the Middle Atlantic region where North meets South.

The county developed the pragmatic view that slavery was not York County's problem, and it was not an issue that merited splitting the Union and fracturing the Constitution. Many believed it would disrupt commerce with the South, and the freedman would take scarce jobs or demand financial support.

Abraham Lincoln represented disunion, so we voted against him in the presidential elections of 1860 and 1864... .

Scott Blanchard, Sunday editor at the York Daily Record/Sunday News, e-mailed me this week that someone was "tweeting" from a Civil War conference in Gettysburg.

(S)ome interesting stuff on there," he wrote.

Indeed.

I checked out the link he sent and found that Blue Ridge Country magazine editor Cara Ellen Modisett was posting on Twitter impressions from the "Panel discussion at the Journey Through Hallowed Ground's Annual Conference."

You can see her 'tweets' at http://twitter.com/BRCeditor (you might have to go to second or third page). She even provided a twitpic on the panelists at http://twitpic.com/ajqsm.

It's an example of how technology is helping disseminate neat stuff on the history front... .

This 1995 photograph shows the burned out Thonet Industries complex two years after the fire, one of the largest in the past two decades in York County. Background: Colonial York, Pa.? No, try Victorian York, Pa. and York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles' and Fire-damaged Women's Club of York restored.

The question is going around. Was the Chestnut Street rowhouse fire this week the largest ever in York and York County?

It was a big one, displacing 61 people from 26 families who had lived in the 16 damaged rowhouses. The short answer is that a fire in 1856 took out an entire York city block including 17 buildings of mixed uses.

Undoubtedly, the largest fire in York County was the burning of the covered bridge across the Susquehanna River during the Civil War.

U.S. militia set the bridge on fire in 1863 to prevent the Confederates from crossing the river and taking Harrisburg from the east. Some might split hairs and note the bridge was part of Lancaster County, as is the river. But the blaze took out numerous buildings in Wrightsville, too.

But if we're talking about peacetime fires, there's a long lineup to consider.

Here is a sampling compiled from my "Never to be Forgotten," and York Daily Record/Sunday News files:

The York Gazette published invading Gen. Jubal Early's requisitions of York's residents in its June 30, 1863, edition. It was printed on or about the time that the last Confederates were leaving town after staying for a little less than two days. A local researcher has discovered what happened to some of the goods gained in the requisition. Background posts: Invaders put off by earthy Pennsylvania women, Owner seeks info on old toll house and York County Civil War, by the numbers.

For years, it's been known that part of the goods received from the Confederate requisition of York in late June 1863 wound up in the stomachs of the 6,000-plus invaders.

Some remained in or on the bodies of the rebels after roughly 30 percent of Gen. Jubal Early's division sustained casualties in the subsequent Battle of Gettysburg Civil War.

Now author and fellow blogger Scott Mingus has put forth a piece about what happened to part of the requisitioned goods... .

Scott Butcher's "Gettysburg Perspectives" is a 100-page paperback book with more than 100 photos. So it's packed with images. This is the York author's latest in a series of such books on Central Pennsylvania. Background posts: York-area picture book not your typical coffee table publication and Author: 'York's streetscape features almost every style and era of American architecture' and The Four YorkBloggers write.

Fellow blogger Scott Butcher has two new books out and more coming.

His books are photo-intensive, which in itself makes a valuable contribution. The photos provide wonderful visual information. But the writer and architectural historian in Butcher means that his captions are packed with reliable information.

Without further delay, here is info on Butcher's latest work:

When the Confederates entered York, they would have been greeted by a scene similar to this with the Hartman building towering over York's Centre Square. The building, referred today as the Futer Bros. building, is being renovated. But the market sheds are long gone. Background posts: York's western gate: One image says so much, Farm vs. factory tension relieved by overnight raid and Late June has seen pivotal moments in York County history.

Since the year 2000, more than a dozen books have been written that address, in full or in part, York County's role in the Civil War.

Research was limited before that.

But one writer deserves credit for kicking off the current popular Civil War enthusiasm in York County, complete with stories of the Civil War hospital, the burning of the Wrightsville Bridge, the surrender of York, Jeb Stuart's ride through the countryside, among many other events.

His name is Gerald Austin Robison Jr., and he was writing about the Civil War in 1965 when it was not a popular local topic... .

Mount Wolf's Ciara Coombes danced to kick off the York County Heritage Trust's Civil War Celebrity Tea, part of Patriot Days activities in 2006. Patriot Days 2009, last weekend, kicked off this year's Civil War observances. Numerous such events today-Sunday are part of observances of the 146th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Background posts: Site places readers in the footsteps of the Civil War in York County and beyond and Poster highlights the life of a Civil War soldier and Hanover Civil War story stop: 'Mother Loses Two Sons to War'.

The calendar this year - the 146th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg - coincides exactly with the calendar in 1863.

That means that July 1 this year is a Wednesday, and that is the day fighting began. On Saturday, July 4, 1863 - Independence Day - a defeated Confederate army retreated toward the Potomac.

So, a particularly packed lineup of events in both York and Adams counties is scheduled this weekend.

Here's the list, courtesy of the York Daily Record/Sunday News:

This newspaper advertisement touts Gen. John B. Gordon's return to York to deliver a speech. The friendly, enthusiastic crowd welcomed the general-turned-politician. (See photo of Gordon below.) Background posts: York County Civil War hero grandmom of Gore Vidal and Civil War affected women in York County - and vice versa and Years after Civil War, (a) Longstreet steps onto York County soil .

The head of this hypothetical invading force was gentlemanly, but this did not keep his men from stealing the cars and other property from many York countians. Further, he damaged other property - catalyzing the destruction of an expensive Susquehanna River bridge and trampling valuable crops in fields. He killed at least two defenders of the county and shaped the way York viewed itself for years.

Would we welcome him back as a hero? ... .

Cassandra Small, who wrote about the Confederate occupation of York in 1863, will come to life at a Civil War symposium at York College. Terry Latschar will take on her character. The free public event starts at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 25, at DeMeester Recital Hall in Wolf Hall, York College. Scott Mingus and Dennis Brandt will also present. Photos courtesy, York County Heritage Trust. Background posts: All Civil War posts from the start and Cassandra Small's, James Latimer's Civil War letters from York will 'never be forgotten' and Burial site reportedly found for rebel officer who occupied York.

Terry Latschar will give a first-person account of the rebel occupation of York County through the eyes of letter writer Cassandra Morris Small in a Civil War Symposium next week at York College.

In assuming Cassandra Small's character, the former Gettysburg park ranger and licensed battlefield guide will do more than remind those attending about the high emotions linked with the rebel raid in late-June 1863 through York County.

Latschar's part also will underscore the fact that local Civil War demands elevated the profile of women onto local history's pages.

During war and peace, women always had helped form the community's backbone in unsung - and often undocumented - fashion. Their heroics during the Civil War give particularly rich content for Latschar and those writing history to draw from.

Cassandra Morris Small, Cassandra Small Morris, Isabel Cassat Small, Mary Sophia Cadwell Fisher and Sarah Latimer Small were among those who helped support a large military hospital at York's Penn Park. Their contributions, among many others, included making bandages and providing nursing care... .

James O. Lehman and Steven M. Nolt published "Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War." The 2007 book explored the Mennonites and Amish response to the Civil War. Background posts: Stack of books on York County's Civil War past getting higher and 'One of the shells found its mark' and Unsung farmhouse loud symbol of a shaping moment for York.

York County resident Jonathan R. Stayer, who is also head of the reference section of the Pennsylvania State Archives, has called on local Civil War researchers to remember those who sought exemption from military service on grounds of conscience.

York County's conscientious objectors numbered 156 in 1862, he e-mailed, sixth highest among Pennsylvania's counties.

"Even tiny Adams County was home to at least 129 conscientious objectors," he wrote. "The reason? Both counties were (and are) home to significant communities of Mennonites and Dunkards (Brethren), and to a lesser extent, Quakers."

He called attention to James O. Lehman and Steven M. Nolt's "Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War," which local Civil War blogger Scott Mingus has since reviewed.

Here are excerpts from Stayer's e-mail:

Jefferson's newsy Center Square, as it appeared in the early 1900s. Interestingly, roads around the southwestern York County square were first paved only about 80 years ago at a time when many roads around the county were getting their first asphalt coat. Politically active townsman Jenkins Carothers made good use of this square. Background posts: Washington Township, Jefferson Borough, Madison Avenue. How about an Obama Street in York County? and Historical marker to soon point to Jefferson square's famous visitors and Accidental death hits York County family - again and Laurice Elehwany wrote with Jefferson in mind.

Charles H.Glatfelter is one of those prominent Glatfelters featured in last post: A leading York County name: 'Keeping it in family is the Glatfelter way'.

The retired Gettysburg College history professor's work on any topic is invariably the most reliable reference a historian can use.

So when he writes a controversial politico from Jefferson in his 1966 history of that borough, you know it's something to build from.

That's what I did in writing about the colorfully named Jenkins Carothers and his actions in and around Jefferson's historic square, actions that provide lessons for today.

My York Sunday News column (6/14/09), written to tell about an upcoming Civil War market dedication, focused on the mad hatter Carothers... .

The grassy Center Square in Jefferson has been a gathering place for years. That monument in the background is a rare statue in York County devoted to those who served in World War I. A historical marker will be dedicated at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 27. The Codorus Valley Area Historical Society is sponsoring the dedication that will observe this Civil War event, set for Center Square. Scott Mingus will be the guest speaker. Background posts: Washington Township, Jefferson Borough, Madison Avenue. How about an Obama Street in York County? and Abe Lincoln stopped at Hanover station:"We want to preserve history ... so it doesn't disappear' and Abandoned Codorus railroad not just any abandoned railroad.

When a new Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker observing Confederate and Union troop movement through Jefferson is dedicated later this month, it will mark just one of many times the southwestern York County borough and its square have made history.

Squares, by definition, are places where townspeople gather and do good things or dumb things - or places where outside forces do things to a community.

But not all town squares are equal.

And Jefferson's Center Square is more than equal, among many in York/Adams.

For example: ... .

Sgt. Major Robert Myers was the director for the regimental band of the 46th Pennsylvania, which performed in 2006 in York. Patriot Days in York will feature such living historians again this year. Background posts: Books probing York County in the Civil War come in strong, sudden onslaught and History-making evening on rebel occupation of York could turn into daylong symposium and Rebs' short York visit creates long memories .

The forum on the Civil War in York County last year might have been the first such get-together to discuss that controversial story.

That 2008 symposium was not designed to focus on the town fathers' surrender of York to the Confederates.

But questions from the audience, in particular, took it that way.

Better to discuss such controverted events than to ignore them, as York has done with its Civil War story until the past 10 years.

Speakers at this year's forum - set for 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, June 25 - will explore impressions from the North and South as the Confederates marched across York County June 28-30, 1863... .

This Hanover wayside marker is among such recent additions to the state's Civil War Trails program. It observes the contributions of women in treating casualties from fighting on the streets of the town on June 30,1863 - the Battle of Hanover. (See text for that marker here.) Background posts: Signs point to York, 'Prize of the Confederacy,' and other York/Adams Civil War wonders and Living historians bring spotlight to York's Civil War story and Civil War nurse: 'Dogs of war in our midst'.

A little-known statistic about the Civil War's Battle of Hanover is that Union and Confederate forces suffered more than 300 casualties - dead, wounded and missing.

That is the worst carnage ever sustained on York County soil.

The 300-casualty number is a stat that may fail to resonate. But how about this from a new wayside marker in Hanover? ...

Two aging Civil War veterans flank a Lincoln impersonator in this photo from York County Heritage Trust files. The black veteran is thought to be John Aquilla Wilson, who enlisted in the United States Colored Troops, 32nd Regiment in 1864. Background posts: 'One of the shells found its mark' and Black soldiers from York County served in 'Glory' unit - Part I and 'Glory,' Part II.

Will descendants of Civil War vet John Aquilla Wilson please make yourself known?

That is the request from sponsors of a public rededication ceremony of four Civil War cannons at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hanover Junction.

According to my "East of Gettysburg," "Quil" Wilson lived in the New Park area of southeastern York County where he died at the age of 101 in 1942. He was buried in the Fawn AME Cemetery.

He enlisted as a 15-year-old in the 32nd Regiment, Volunteer Infantry, a black unit and became of scores of black soldiers from York County to serve in Northern forces.

Bob Rudy of event sponsor The Sons of Union Veteran of the Civil War (SUVCW) , Camp 33 (York), asked relatives to contact him at bob@bobrudy.com.

The big guns might have a familiar look to connoisseurs of cannons... .

Cassandra Small, daughter of leading York County mechant P.A. Small, left behind the most complete and revealing first-person account of the Confederate occupation of York. (See photo below of a Small played by a living historian.) Attorney James Latimer (see photo below) also wrote letters about the rebel invasion in late-June 1863. Their writings appear on virtual exhibit. Background posts: Panel explores the Confederates' pre-Gettysburg occupation of York and Rebs' short York visit creates long memories and Burial site reportedly found for rebel officer who occupied York.

As the York County Heritage Trust prepared to construct a Civil War exhibit about five years ago at its 250 E. Market St. museum, some folks at the York Daily Record/Sunday News were working to put that exhibit on the Web.

The idea was that museum patrons could view the exhibit in person, and virtual patrons could benefit from it online.

Today, both exhibits remain intact and contain some hard-to-get content... .

Workers construct a platform under the Susquehanna River's Norman Wood Bridge in the summer of 2008. The platform aided painters working on the bridge, a dizzying height above the river bed. Background posts: How many Amish have crossed the bridge from Lancaster to York County? and Bridge painters stalled: 'Everybody's looking for the eagles ... nobody has seen any' and For years, folks have eyed amazing, destructive Susquehanna River ice jams.

Scott Mingus made a quick aside that said much during a speech to the York County Civil War Roundtable in March.

John B. Gordon's Confederates marched in late June 1863 to the bridge spanning the Susquehanna River between Wrightsville and Columbia.

That bridge was the only one standing between Harrisburg and the Maryland Line.

Just a few years earlier - in 1857 - wind and ice had knocked down a bridge at York Furnace in southeastern York County... .

John Wilkes Booth attended school in York years before he gamed infamy for assassinating Abraham Lincoln. Background posts: James A. Garfield: 'York was the capital of the United States when congress was on wheels' and Piece of John Wilkes Booth's body to be shown in Philly and Abraham Lincoln was here.

Those attending the recent Treasures of the Trust were treated to two photographs that served as a reminder of an infamous former resident here.

The photographs at this York County Heritage Trust-sponsored event captured John Wilkes Booth (a cropped version is shown above) and the school he attended in York for a short spell in 1853.

An exhibit booklet said this of Booth and his school: ...

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Starview United Brethren church -- now a United Methodist Church -- as it looked in 1914. A cigar factory, ubiquitious around turn-of-the 20th century York County, is seen at left. The church is now a United Methodist congregation. Background posts: York Daily Record columnist Jim Hubley's last piece: 'Good luck weeding out tobacco' and Mother Goose teaches York County history lessons and York County cigars: 'They contained a vast amount of nicotine'.

Ten-year-old YorkCounts has again added to community discussion in teeing up 38 quality-of-life measurements.

Important, that is, because if issues facing York County aren't tracked, it's difficult to assess progress.

Indeed, several indicators in the March 20 report show that the quality of life is improving in the county.

But, of course, while some categories work, others need work.

A vast amount of work.

To tackle many community issues, the YorkCounts coalition and other local leaders are facing decades of decisions that affect the quality of life today for better or worse.

So, I've provided brief historical background on six indicators, which we'll explain in this and future York Town Square posts, to show how the past and the present may link up.

First, tobacco usage in York County:

Workers started taking down the old Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center this week. The land eventually will be returned to its 1863 appearance. The former Cyclorama building will remain standing pending outcome of a lawsuit. Background posts: Two developers have plans for a relocated Gettysburg Cyclorama building and Gettysburg Cyclorama critics: Reviews ranged from 'huge dinosaur' to 'I was captivated' and Q&A on new Gettysburg visitor center, old Electric Map.

The former visitors center/Electric Map building at the Gettysburg Battlefield, source of so many memories, is coming down.

The Hanover Evening Sun reported on the beginning of the end of the building (3/24/09):

This illustration, from the York Daily Record/Sunday News and drawing from the title of the popular Civil War book, shows in broad brush the Confederate advance across York County in late June 1863. Wrightsville became the east-most point of the Confederate thrust. Scott Mingus' "Flames Beyond Gettysburg" explores Gen. John B. Gordon's Confederate raid to the Susquehanna River. He will address the Confederate advances through the county at 7 p.m. today at the York County Civil War Roundtable and at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Greater Dover Historical Society. Background posts: Signs point to York, 'Prize of the Confederacy,' and other York/Adams Civil War wonders and Poster highlights the life of a Civil War soldier and Pro/Con: Should York's leaders have surrendered to the rebels?.

Scott Mingus is on the speaking trail telling the story of the Confederate invasion of York County as detailed in his recently released "Flames Beyond Gettysburg."

And he's doing some neat stuff on his blog, Cannonball, part of Yorkblog's suite of history bloggers.

For example, it fuels one's sense of discovery when you learn of a new place to explore or are reminded of something you've long wanted to check out... .

The Western Maryland Railroad 'Head House' is part of redevelopment plans in the Northwest Triangle of York. The 1,600-square-foot building maybe transformed into commercial or retail space. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Blue caboose in Red Lion? 'Yes sir - it's gonna be red' and Mystery of Glen Rock-area's Narrow Gauge Road deepens and Northern York area strawberry part of Neapolitan county.

Three railroads met in York in its 20th-century industrial heyday - the predecessors, successors and extensions of the Northern Central, Ma & Pa and Western Maryland railroads.

Despite that, York was never viewed primarily as a railroad town in the mold of, say, Altoona or Enola. That's probably because it was not located on the mainline of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

That said, the Northern Central Railroad with its direct ties to Baltimore and Harrisburg was pretty darn important... .

For years, a hame was displayed on a sign in Leon Saubel's front yard in the Shrewsbury Township (Pa.) village of Hametown. The display has been taken down. Background posts: Codorus collector exhibits collection of conveyances - wheels and sleighs and 'I didn't know a peach tree from an apple tree, but we learned quickly.' and Trees commemorate World War I I vets.

In putting up the recent post on a Hametown one-room school and its upcoming reunion, it occurred to me that viewers might not know how the school's host village received its name.

Hametown between Shrewsbury and Loganville on the Susquehanna Trail was a major center for the making of hames.

Hames, along with collars and traces, form the pulling part of a horse's harness. (Other parts of a harness - a bridle, for example - relate to guiding the horse.)

J. Emory Seitz, whose great grandfather founded the village's hame-making factory circa 1850 defined a hame in a 1970 letter: ...

The information booth at the former visitor center for Gettysburg National Military Park was at time a place of bustle. Now it awaits demolition with the rest of the old building, expected in the next three or four weeks. Background posts: Two developers have plans for a relocated Gettysburg Cyclorama building and Half dozen groups probe acquisition of Gettysburg's retired Electric Map and Gettysburg Cyclorama critics: Reviews ranged from 'huge dinosaur' to 'I was captivated'.

A commenter on a inyork.com/ydr story on the upcoming demolition of the old visitors center at Gettysburg National Military Park raised a good point.

Hold an auction to offset part of the $800,000 in projected demolition costs. A photo of the information desk (above), for example, shows framed pictures that people might want for a souvenir.

But perhaps the park service should go one step further... .

York artist Lewis Miller's depiction of a Christmas tree is part of the York County Heritage Trust's collection. The Trust, largest holder of Miller drawings, has just introduced a new Web Site. The Miller art pieces are the crown jewels of the Trust's collection. Background posts: Don't know much about York County history? Part I and The Four Bloggers write and Stack of books on York County's Civil War past getting higher.

Looking to learn more about your house?

The York County Heritage Trust's newly designed Web site lists resources to check out.

The site's extensive listing of such resources starts like this: ...

Crispus Attucks Association's Cindy Leiphart can be seen in a room in the former home of William C. Goodridge that was reportedly used to hide fugitive slaves as part of the Underground Railroad. A hole in the floor above the room was formerly covered by a trapdoor. Background posts: Stack of books on York County's Civil War past getting higher and Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad in York County - Part I and 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive, Part III.

The life and times of William C. Goodridge's former slave who became a successful 19th-century York businessman were filled with controversy.

He and his family developed national applause despite - or maybe because of - these obstacles.

I made that point in an upcoming York Sunday News column (3/01/09) and urge readers to get behind efforts to create a Goodridge Freedom House and Underground Railroad Museum in Goodridge's former residence.

In addition to honoring this community leader, the museum could become a center for studying York County's still-obscure Underground Railroad history... .

Union engineer Herman Haupt quickly rebuilt this bridge near Hanover Junction after invading Confederates burned it in late June 1863. This Library of Congress photo appears in the just-released "Flames Beyond Gettysburg," which tells about the Confederate raid. Background posts: Stack of books on York County's Civil War past getting higher and The Four Bloggers write and 'One of the shells found its mark'.

OK, those seeking copies of Scott Mingus' "Flames Beyond Gettysburg," the comprehensive look at Confederate Gen. John B. Gordon's raid to the Susquehanna, can pick one up at the York Emporium. The York County Heritage Trust and other booksellers now have supplies of the book, too.

That's the first public sales point for the book, although they can be ordered directly from Mingus at scottmingus@yahoo.com... .

This old Prospect Hill Cemetery gate frames Civil War Soldiers Circle, where many who died at the U.S. Military General Hospital in Penn Park were buried. Lila Fourhman-Shaull tells about some of the noted Civil War-era residents who were buried in the cemetery in her "A Walking Tour of Civil War-Era residents at Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, Pa." Background posts: Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts: 'In this simple grave ... lies a national hero' and 'He said his farewells to his family ... ' and Not all rebel wounded suffered after Gettysburg.

Scott Mingus' recent "Flames Beyond Gettysburg" is another book exploring York County's role in the Civil War.

Since 2000, various presses have produced these works touching on the county and the Civil War or exploring that era:

John V. Jezierski's "Enterprising Images, The Goodridge Brothers, African-American Photographers, 1847-1922" is the most comprehensive look yet at William C. Goodridge and his family. Background posts: Underground Railroad expert: 'We cannot alter past ignorance, but we can resolve not to repeat it' and York's Goodridge House listed as site on Underground Railroad network and Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad in York County - Part I.

The evening is billed as an interactive time with ex-slave-turned-businessman William C. Goodridge played by former-York-City-Councilman-turned-living-historian Wm. Lee Smallwood.

The audience will get the chance to interact with Goodridge from 6-8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 20, at the York County Heritage Trust, 250 E. Market St.

And so will I.

I'm slated to interview him as part of the evening... .

Flames shoot from a grill atop a pier from the bridge that the Union Army burned in 1863 to stop the Confederate advance. Two subsequent bridges used those same now-empty piers. In recent years, re-enactors have simulated the burning of the bridge as an observance of this milestone in local history. Scott Mingus has penned a history, 'Flames Beyond Gettysburg' that tells about that moment when Confederate Gen. John B. Gordon's raid reached the west bank of the Susquehanna. Background posts: New Lincoln blog category introduced to honor Abe's 200th birthday and History-making evening on rebel occupation of York could turn into daylong symposium and Mayor of York, Pa.: 'We are no longer unprotected'.

Scott Mingus writes many memorable stories in his new book on the Confederate occupation of York County.

But he provides one quote that creates an image that will never leave your mind.

Here's what one Union cavalryman later observed about the rebels' charge at the bridge linking Wrightsville and Columbia in late June 1863:

"One old negro to whom was entrusted the duty of igniting the fuse sat very coolly on the edge of the pier, smoking a cigar."

Is the tall man with the stovepipe hat, center background, President Abraham Lincoln at Hanover Junction? That's been long debated. But hundreds will gather at the Junction station from 1-7 p.m. today. Check out www.yorkcountyparks.org or call 840-7440.

About a year ago, it ocurred to me that I was blogging a lot on Abraham Lincoln's links to York County.

His influence in York County was - and is - great... .

Vandalism at the Peace Light Memorial, one of Gettysburg's most honored landmarks. Background: Donations help to repair damaged Gettysburg statues and Headline: 'Beards on Parade at Gettysburg (Battle) Field' and York County historical war deaths top 1,000.

In a letter to the editor, C. Earl Witmer of Spring Garden Township tied together recent vandalism on Gettysburg's Eternal Peace Light Memorial and the special memories held by many local residents toward the landmark.

Many senior citizens were children or teens when they witnessed the dedication ceremony on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Many remember meeting vets of the conflict, which suggests how young our country really is. People today have actually shaken hands with Civil War veterans.

Here are Earl Witmer's memories:

This story from The (York, Pa.) Gazette and Daily in 1925 tells about unpopular President Andrew Johnson's visit to York County, but focuses on the Civil War hero U.S. Grant. The general was part of President Johnson's entourage. (For a post detailing other presidential visits, click here. Background posts: Local man tells about goofy encounter with Gerald Ford and York-based historian shakes hands with 8 U.S. presidents and Visit with former president James Buchanan: Talk did not touch on matters of state.

Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln's successor, made York part of his "Swing Around The World" tour, designed to promote his policies.

His reception in York in September 1866 was akin to that received elsewhere.

"There was not very much enthusiasm when the trained stopped, and the presidential party began to emerge from private coaches which formed the train," The Gazette and Daily reported years later... .

Noted 19th-century York, Pa., artist Lewis Miller captures George Washington in this drawing that is part of the York County Heritage Trust's collection. The trust is displaying presidential artifacts in connection with the inauguration of President Barack Obama at its 250 E. Market St., York, museum. Background posts: Additional posts on presidential visits and Where was Thomas Jefferson when Congress met in York? and President of Congress Henry Laurens kept Congress together in Valley Forge winter.

For example, post-Civil War presidents often visited the battlefield in Gettysburg, and most got there by rail before the days of air travel. They sometimes would travel unannounced on the Northern Central Railroad, later the Pennsylvania Railroad, to Hanover Junction and then head along the line from there to Gettysburg.

Hanover's Mother Smith -- Mrs. M.O. Smith -- joined presidents Abraham Lincoln, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt on the rostrum during presidential speeches in Gettysburg.

"I would not compare the men or their remarks," she told a newspaper after other media had pestered her for such. "I feel it my patriotic duty to refrain from comparing any one president with another."

Indeed, the Northern Central Railroad probably carried many chief executives through York County in the dead of night, unknown to local residents.

Here is a sampling of visits to York and Adams counties from those who occupied the White House (search on this blog for additional information):

This newspaper account tells about candidate Herbert Hoover's campaign stop at the Pennsylvania Railroad's South Duke Street station in York, Pa. Unlike other presidents who stopped in York, Hoover did not give a speech. Background posts: U.S. Grant dines at Mick E. Dee's and About Gettysburg and its famous speech and Where was Thomas Jefferson when Congress met in York?

Republican presidential candidate Herbert Hoover's train made a whistle stop in York in July 1928.

The president issued a lot of smiles and bows. But in a move unusual for a presidential candidate visiting York, the future president made no speech during his brief stop attended by 2,000 people at the Duke Street railroad station, according to a newspaper report.

At one point, he seemed worried about the safety of the crowd when the train backed up and moved forward several times... .

Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama took a tour of the Voith Siemens Hydro Power Plant, in September 2008. His inauguration meant full houses at some York County hotels. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Thomas Chatman Jr., pioneering police chief: 'I thank God and the citizens of York for the opportunity to serve them' and In 2008, 8 top candidates or their families campaigned in York County and York freedman Aquilla Howard chosen to honor slain Abraham Lincoln.

In my last York Sunday News column (1/18/09), I provide a glimpse at moments when York County pushed against newcomers of color.

I contrasted that with recent efforts tied to President Obama's inauguration to bring outsiders - perhaps many diverse outsiders - into the area.

The motivator behind the inauguration push?

Visitors would help the economy.

Interesting, freedmen's alleged negative impact on the economy was an argument used against such visitors in the Civil War era.

Here's how I develop all this:

This drawing captures the scene of a Buchanan stop at York's Railroad Station. That station is the predecessor of the current rail station, known for years as the home of Blattner's photo studio. (To see a list of other visits by presidents or presidental candidates, click here.) Background posts: Giving York news, sports junkies their fix, Part II and In York County and beyond, presidential races have produced rages through the ages and Wheatland Mansion tour: 'We don't know if President Buchanan used the tub'.

James Buchanan's Wheatland Home in Lancaster County meant that he was a frequent rail passenger through York County before, during and after his presidency.

His Democratic politics lined up with York County's - he formerly represented the county in the U.S. Congress - and he would often stop to call on his allies.

He made such a visit the day after his presidential term ended on March 4, 1861, in the days before the onset of the Civil War.

It's not obvious from the outside but this longtime southeastern York County, Pa., landmark, the Felton Mill, is coming down. York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Paul Kuehnel tell the story via video. Background posts: Old Shrewsbury house disappearing hand-hewn log, square nail at a time and 'It's so sad to see such a great piece of architecture fall down' and Old Ma & Pa Railroad trestle may again carry passengers - on bicyles - some day

Even the man who operated the old mill in Felton isn't grieving the fact it's coming down.

It's a fire hazard, Donald Grove said of the old landmark of Civil War-era vintage.

Still, it's sad to see York County's old buildings coming down one by one. Or in the case of the Felton Mill, piece by piece.

A York Daily Record/Sunday News story (1/14/09) tells of its pending demise:

It's not clear about the date and which York newspaper this story ran in, but it provides an account of James Garfield's visit to York before his presidency. The full article is available at the York County Heritage Trust archives. (To see a list of other presidential visits, click here.) Background posts: Piece of John Wilkes Booth's body to be shown in Philly and Presidents visit York, alive and via funeral trains and A Civil War Black Republican: 'He robs birds' nests ... sucks hens' eggs'.

A large crowd observed the funeral train of assassinated president James A. Garfield pass through York on Sept. 23, 1881.

"Lest the gesture of standing in silence with bared heads should seem too meagre in its expression of bereavement such as this, billows of flowers had been strewn between the tracks and floral wreaths were brought to be tossed aboard the coaches," a newspaper reported.

Before his presidency, Garfield visited his friend, former James Buchanan cabinet member Jeremiah S. Black, in York... .

This is the cover art for blogger Scott Mingus' forthcoming "Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition." Here, artist Bradley Schmehl captures the burning of the Wrightsville Bridge in late June 1863. Mingus is one of many productive members of the York County historical community. Background posts: Solomon Meyer 'forsook the publishing business and betook himself elsewhere', Best of yorktownsquare.com, 2007 and Resources for York/Adams history junkies increasingly posted on Web.

'Local history scene is a busy one' said the headline on my recent York Sunday News column providing a sample of good work going on in York County's historical community.

The column went beyond all the books and publications that people are putting out... .

Yet another book is out on York County in the Civil War. This is the second book in recent years specifically on the battle, that ended in more than 300 blue and gray casualties. Background posts: The Four Bloggers write, Signs point to York, 'Prize of the Confederacy,' and other York/Adams Civil War wonders and George Armstrong Custer - and his horse - left legacy in York County.

Scott Mingus reviews John T. Krepps' new book on the Battle of Hanover at his Cannonball blog.

"A Strong and Sudden Onslaught" is the latest in about a dozen books exploring York County and the Civil War published since the turn of the millenium.

Such York Town Square posts as The Four Bloggers speak attempt to explain this Civil War book surge.

Here's an updated list of recent publications that touch, in full or in part, on York County in the Civil War:

.

Cyrus Griest, an agent in the Underground Railroad and his wife are buried with other abolitionist Quakers in the Menallen Friends Meetinghouse, Adams County. Quakers in Adams and York counties were known to aid fugitives traveling along the Underground Railroad. Background posts: York's Goodridge House listed as site on Underground Railroad network, Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad in York County, Part II and Amanda Berry Smith: 'God's image carved in ebony'.

Debra Sandoe McCauslin is doing much to put facts behind Underground Railroad legends.

Her most recent efforts have produced a book exploring Yellow Hill, a black community in Adams County that served as a destination point for fugitives who had crossed the Mason-Dixon Line in an attempt to gain their freedom... .

Re-enactor Byron Wildasin was among members of the 16th Pennsylvania, Co. G, to support renovations to Hanover's Lincoln monument. The markers tells about the president's stop in that southwestern York County town on his way to deliver the Gettysburg Address. Background posts: York newspaper about Gettysburg Address: 'Mr. Lincoln made a joke or two ...', Historical marker may soon point to Jefferson square's famous visitors and Abandoned Codorus railroad not just any abandoned railroad.

Abraham Lincoln's links to York County are many and too often overlooked.

His train, sans Lincoln, passed through here on his way to the White House after his election. (He had taken another train to D.C. because for security reasons.)

Four years later, his funeral train, with Lincoln, stopped in York on its nation-wide tour.

In between, he changed trains at Hanover Junction, south of York, on his way too and from Gettysburg to deliver his famous address.

And along his way to and from Gettysburg, he passed through York County's countryside, steaming through Jefferson, Smith Station before pausing in Hanover... .

The woman in this photo, courtesy York County Heritage Trust, is believed to be Isabel Cassat Small. She was the wife of businessman Samuel Small and a philanthropist in her own right. Background posts: Reader doesn't understand some things about York County, Old P.A. and S. Small building fit better than successors and Freedman kisses earth as canalboat crossed Mason-Dixon Line.

Samuel Small, 19th-century York businessman, is at the top of the community contributor's philanthropy list.

I pointed this out in a York Sunday News column (11/17/08), as I've done on elsewhere on this blog.

But Isabel Small, Samuel's wife, was an overlooked and integral part of the Small philanthropy machine, as outlined in the following gleaned from my "East of Gettysburg" and George Prowell's "History of York County:"

The former Gettysburg Cyclorama building won't face the bulldozer's blade in December after all. Here, visitors experience the Cyclorama in its final days at its longtime post. Background posts: Gettysburg Cyclorama critics: Reviews ranged from 'huge dinosaur' to 'I was captivated', Poster highlights the life of a Civil War soldier and Old Gettysburg visitors center closes today; new site opens Monday.

National Park Service officials will wait to demolish the old Gettysburg Cyclorama building until a court rules on its fate.

A preservation group, Recent Past Preservation Network, has taken the government to court over plans to knock down the familiar round building that housed the Cyclorama from 1961 until recent years. The circular painting, moved to the new Gettysburg visitors center, was opened to the public in September.

According to news reports, the preservation group thinks the park service should explore alternatives before demolition. The park service maintains it sought all such options in 1999 in preparing a plan for the park.

One wonders what the hurry is to demoliish the building... .

You've heard it.

Maybe you've even said it.

This is the most emotional U.S. presidential election ever. Or political nastiness surrounding this Obama-McCain race has never reached such lows. Or the media has never been more one-sided.

Well, I tried to bash these myths in a York Sunday News column (11/02/08). American politics have always been rough and tumble... .

The York Gazette used heavy score lines to observe the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. This solemn and respectful treatment of Lincoln upon death contrasted with the newspapers unabating, often caustic criticism of his admininstration's policies during the Civil War. A few days later, his funeral train stopped in York. Background posts: York's Jeremiah Black, former U.S. attorney general, among Democrats resorting to racism, York County's own Civil War and Civil war prompted strife in churches, too.

Think current presidential campaign rhetoric is vitriolic?

Nineteenth-century newspapers were filled with bitter and caustic speech.

The York Gazette, a Copperhead (anti-Abraham Lincoln) weekly newspaper, gives just one potent example in the Civil War era... .

Tourists visited the rehabbed Cyclorama on the weekend of its grand opening.

Background posts: Half dozen groups probe acquisition of Gettysburg's retired Electric Map, York newspaper about Gettysburg Address: 'Mr. Lincoln made a joke or two ...' and New visitors center gets buzz, but court to rule on old Cyclorama site

The Cyclorama painting is open for a much-anticipated public viewing at the Gettysburg National Military Park.

But early visitors received a special treat in addition to the revamped, round painting.

The visitors center charged $7.50 to see a 22-minute orientation firm and to view the Cyclorama, according to the York Daily Record/Sunday News... .

Rickey Cox shows a model of a planned memorial to honor Vietnam War veterans at a York Revolution game in 2007. Dallastown sculptor Lorann Jacobs designed the model and is shaping the monument. Background posts: Of local Jewish WW II group: 'It's a skeleton post. I'm it.', War memorials stand proudly in towns throughout York County, and Wrightville's overlooked attractions.

York County's Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee is looking for a few good men - and women.

While fund raising for a Vietnam Memorial at the York Expo Center continues, the committee is putting forth plans to unveil the statue.

Committee members are looking for vets from the Vietnam War-era - circa 1962-1975 - to extend invitations to the unveiling ceremony... .

This promotional poster shows the types of events at the top of the York Fair's promotional list in 1928. Background posts: 'The lower she sank in the chair', Old-time York bike shop: 'It's like a store that time forgot' and Can anyone locate this ballpark?.

All's Fair, a blog made up of York Daily Record/Sunday News staff postings, is an example of local blogging tied to York County and international events.

The O-Zone was another blog where staffers explored the Olympics.

York Town Square readers will find - an enjoy - a number of York Fair-history related posts, with links back to this blog: ... .

Students watch the Electric Map at the former Gettysburg National Park Visitors Center in its final months of operation. Background posts: Gettysburg's vaunted Electric Map to soon stop blinking, Gettysburg Cyclorama, with new shape, set for Sept. display and Shrink wrapping in Electric Map's future; Gettysburg tooth heads south.

The Electric Map, so familiar to visitors of the old Gettysburg National Military Park Visitors Center, is collecting dust in its familar room awaiting the carving knife and storage.

That is, unless one of several groups that have asked about this Gettyburg artifact successfully acquire it.

Seems like this is the last opportunity for someone to acquire it for public use before it is sawed into sections and mothballed... .

York County produced several Civil War generals, including at least one for the South. Johnson Kelly Duncan of York County finished fifth in his West Point class of 1849. Background posts: York has produced its share of high-ranking naval officers, Naval Reserve officer, a York High grad, to become admiral, York native to captain new carrier USS Bush and Gitmo second in command hails from York County.

Fellow blogger Scott Mingus has uncovered a little-known Union general with York County links - Brig. Gen. Jacob G. Lauman.

Lauman's lack of local acclaim may result from his undistinguished war record fighting in the Union Army in the West... .

The restored cyclorama and a copy of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address will be the focus of the official grand opening of the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center, Sept. 26-28. Background posts: Q&A on new Gettysburg visitor center, old Electric Map, Gettysburg National Battlefield produces steady supply of news, Part II Gettysburg Cyclorama, with new shape, ready for September opening.

The majority of York countians in the 1860s did not like Abe Lincoln's politics.

That's evidenced by their support of his opponents in 1860 and 1864.

And most did not like his famous speech... .

David Kline works around his Red Lion-area Family Heir-Loom Weavers. He will demonstrate the use of old looms to OLLI Brown-Bag Lunch participants on Oct. 27, one of several such sessions that are part of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute classes this fall. Background posts: York County's landscape, buildings, landmarks can serve as a classroom,
OLLI's theme song: 'Don't stop thinking about learning' and Iron-mine-turned-into-party-spot turned into York County park.

That machinery has produced costumes for actors in the films "Amistad," "Gods and Generals," "Gettysburg" and "Cold Mountain."

His Family Heir-Loom Weavers have produced items for nine presidential homes. That resume includes carpets at Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield, Ill., and George Washington's Mount Vernon home.

But he'll leave the big machinery behind in a Brown Bag Lunch and Learn program in October, part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute fall lineup... ... .

Crispus Attucks' Cindy Leiphart is surrounded by a dirt room beneath the floor in the William C. Goodridge house in York. Fugitives may have used a trapdoor in the kitchen floor to hide in this room, part of the Underground Railroad. Background posts: Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad, Part II, 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive, Part II , William C. Goodridge: From slavery to success story

Efforts to turn the home of William C. Goodridge into an Underground Railroad museum are sitting on a siding while sponsors are searching for funds.

But a recent York Daily Record/Sunday News story telling about these funding woes revealed that the site is listed with the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

That means that there has been some outside-the-county scrutiny of the home of Goodridge - a former slave who became a successful 19th-century York businessman -as an Underground Railroad site.

It appears to be the only site in York County to be so listed... .

The 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg brought back vets from both sides to Adams County in 1938. Many York/Adams residents remember the event 70 years later. This Associated Press photo from an unidentified newspaper shows, from left, Cyrus Stamets, 95, a Union veteran from Richmond Ohio, John W. Turnbough, 94, a Confederate vet from Eldorado, Okla. and Confederate Gen. M.D. Vance. Background posts: Late-19th century Gettysburg photos ready for public, Red Lion doctor treated both Revolutionary War soldier and people alive today and Signs point to York, 'Prize of the Confederacy,' and other York/Adams Civil War wonders.

Sometimes, it seems that everyone in York/Adams visited Gettysburg to observe the 75th anniversary of the battle.

Memories of those grizzled Civil War vets who visited the battlefield in 1938 have firmly settled into the minds of many York/Adams residents living today. You hear about them often... .

Camp Ganoga athletic director Don Roehm leads Boy Scouts in exercises in 1921. Scouts trooped about three miles into the isolated camp on the bank of the Big Conewago Creek near Strinestown after disembarking from the trolley in Manchester. This York County Heritage Trust photo was published in the book "On My Honor, 70 Years of Scouting in York & Adams Counties." The Big Conewago is the symbolic divide between northern York County and the other two-thirds of the county. Background posts: Monica Goodling proves that all roads lead to York, Part of Elm Beech still visible and Northern York area strawberry part of Neapolitan county.

Monica Goodling, in the news recently for her practices in hiring federal prosecutors, lived in a region where northern York County met southern York County.

In a forthcoming York Sunday News column, I tell about the Conewago Creek region where she lived and how at least intra-county cultures met on its banks.

The column follows:

This panel, part of the Murals of York series, shows the Central Market, one of at least three murals that celebrates York County's agricultural prowess. The murals can be used as an effective tool to teach county history. Free walking tours of the murals, courtesy of the York County Heritage Trust, are scheduled at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday until Aug. 30. The tours start at the gift shop behind the Colonial Courthouse, West Market Street, York. Background posts: Don't know much about York County history? Part I, Part II, and Civil rights heros stand out at Bradley exhibit.

The Murals of York can served as a classroom teaching tool.

That's what I told teachers recently in a continuing education course on York County history, offered through Millersville University.

I then provided an overview of county history using the murals, as described in the following York Sunday News column, to be published on July 25: ...

The Murals of York can be used as artifacts to tell a story about the York area. Pictured here is the York Fair mural on the side of the East Market Street parking garage across from the Yorktowne Hotel. There's a certain irony of this particular mural as a celebration of agriculture being located on the side of the garage, overlooking a parking lot. For the last 25 years, York County farmland has been gobbled up to provide housing for commuters from Maryland and elsewhere. Background posts: 20 questions and answers to prove your York County WWII smarts, Resources for York/Adams history junkies increasingly posted on Web, 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part III.

When about 20 York County teachers became my students in a recent Millersville University summer continuing education class, I cast about for tools make local history come alive.

I put together a true/false quiz designed to summarize some of the themes of my two-hour primer. (I used it more as a mental execise than a test.)

See how you do, and don't be surprised if my answers resemble sound bytes. Follow the links to go deeper:

When some people think about the southwestern York County borough of Jefferson, they think Jefferson Hillclimb. Codorus Valley Area Historical Society is seeking a historical marker to tout that region's history, too. Here, a cycle tries to scale the 300-foot hill just outside Jefferson in Codorus Township. Background posts: War memorial stand proudly in towns throughout York County, Driver invades Jefferson's quiet square and Tragedy hits York County family - again

Elijah White's Comanches rode through Jefferson's square in June 1863. This mounted force was bound for the communication and rail center of Hanover Junction.

Then came Jeb Stuart's 4,500 horsemen, with a 125-wagon train in tow, in quest of their commander Robert E. Lee.

Some time after they had cleared the square, Union General David M. Gregg's blue cavalrymen came through, headed toward Gettysburg.

In November of that year, Abraham Lincoln rode via Hanover Branch Railroad train through town, just north of the square. He was on his way to and from Gettysburg where he delivered his celebrated address... .

PennDOT has installed 73 of these "wayfinding" signs in York, Adams and four other counties. Twenty-four of the signs are in York and Adams counties pointing motorists to Civil War sites. Background posts: The horrors of the Civil War struck York County right after Sumter, Resources for York/Adams history increasingly posted on Web and Return Camp Security sign: 'No questions will be asked'.

Motorists around here might be noticing a bunch of new signs - Civil War Trail markers - along the road.

They're designed to point people to Gettysburg campaign sites - including the curiously named 'York: Prize of the Confederacy' - that are part of this region's Civil War Trail program.

These sites will become part of tourism efforts already in place in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina... .

A new Civil War monument in Hunterstown, Adams County, includes a bust of Gen. George Armstrong Custer and a description of Hunterstown's contributions to history. It is located on the Harding farm, corner of Shrivers Corner and Hunterstown Road. Background posts: History-making evening on rebel occupation could turn into daylong symposium, Public gets Buford's-eye look at Gettysburg battlefield and Is Civil-War-era cash buried around Hanover?.

Many prominent Civil War generals passed through York County.

Jubal Early, John B. Gordon, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Jeb Stuart, William B. Franklin, head the list.

And George Armstrong Custer, a brand new brigadier general, is one of the best remembered, perhaps because he - or his horse - made a lasting mark... .

This map showing the early stages of the Confederate invasion in June 1863 also shows the roughly triangular shape of York County. In the next five days, the Confederates crossing all of York County except for the southeastern angle - the Delta-Peach Bottom area. (See additional image below.) Background posts: Rebs' short visit creates long memories, A square courthouse in the middle of York's Centre Square, 20 questions and answers prove your York smarts.

The Yellow Breeches Creek carves a ragged northwest border for York County. And Beaver Creek forms part of its western border. The Susquehanna River creates the eastern border and the legendary Mason-Dixon Line its southern.

So, what shape is York County as a result of these geographical influences?

My shorthand version is to call it triangular. In times when its decision-makers have been less than astute, I've also called it triangular with the northern part, its head, sleepily nodding off... .

This Civil War poster can be accessed at http://www.inyork.com/gettysburg. Readers can pan or scroll to read the presentation. Background posts: Gettysburg Visitors Center gets buzz but courts to decide about old cyclorama, Gettysburg battlefield produces steady supply of news and History making evening on rebel surrender of York.

Several things came together to inspire the York Daily Record/Sunday News to produce the poster "A soldier's life."

The opening of the new visitors center at Gettysburg is one. And it's the 145th anniversary of the battle. Interest grows on these fifth-year anniversaries.

And York County's interest in the Confederate occupation is increasing. (See the beefed up York Daily Record/Sunday News Web site East of Gettysburg... .

Confederate Gen. Jubal Early issued this handbill touting his magnanimity in not burning the town. Some people in York saw the address as an attempt to undermine the authority of the U.S. government. Background posts: The horrors of Civil War struck York after Sumter, Chambersburg seminars spread awareness of south central Pennsylvania Civil War history, Was York's surrender justified?

A large crowd attended a panel presentation this week on the Confederate occupation of York - the invasion that commenced 145 years ago today.

A suggestion that seemed to resonate was to hold a daylong symposium on various aspects of the town's surrender and occupation. With more time, we could present a true pro/con on the surrender decision, something beyond the scope of this week's panel.

Stay tuned for all that.

The following (to be published in the York Sunday News - 7-29) is adapted from my opening and closing remarks as moderator of the panel made up of Mark Snell, Scott Mingus, June Lloyd and Scott Butcher:

The Big Mount house in Paradise Township where Confederate Gen. Jubal Early stayed on June 27, 1863, was up for sale when this photo was taken in 2004. The next day, the three rebel brigades accompanying Early tramped through along the countryside on Canal and other roads, including those in the Admire and Davidsburg area of Dover Township before hitting the Carlisle Road at Weigelstown. Background posts: Owner seeks info on old turnpike toll house, York County photo collection adds to historical record, Jubal Early heard booming of Battle of Hanover's guns.

The 145th anniversary of the Confederate occupation of York County brings to mind the fortunes of those villages in the path of the rebel horde.

Dover Township's Admire is one of those settlements that Gen. Jubal Early's men marched through on their way to York. Like most villages in York County, Admire has interesting stories attached to it.

It was originally known as Slabtown and then Newport.

According to historian George Prowell, when storekeeper Swiler Kunkle was selected postmaster, Voltaire was selected... .

Brad Smith, dressed as a Confederate corporal, took part in the 2005 dramatization of York's surrender to rebel forces in June 1863. The re-enactment is scheduled again this year, along with a panel presentation on the occupation of York and other Patriot Days activities. Background posts: The Four Bloggers write, Panel to explore pre-Gettysburg rebel occupation and Pro/Con: Should York's leaders have surrendered to the rebels?

The York-area's link to the Civil War has been the topic of extensive research and writing in the past five years.

For decades, the best book-length references on York County in the Civil War - and particularly Jubal Early's occupation of York in the pre-Battle of Gettysburg days of 1863 - came as chapters in W.S. Nye's "Here Comes the Rebels!" and Edwin Coddington's "The Gettysburg Campaign."

So in preparing remarks as moderator for Wednesday evening's panel discussion on Confederate occupation of York (7 p.m., June 25, York County Heritage Trust), I inventoried some of the work done on the Civil War since about 2002.

There's a lot... .

A trolley car crosses the Conewago Creek bridge near Manchester in this undated photo appearing in the York Sunday News years ago. To see how the scene look sans trolley and bridge, see below. Ed Beck of York Township provided these photos. Background posts: Building off-peak trolley ridership: Build a park, Research offers insight into York County's trolleys and Transportation of workers fueled York County's trolley system.

The point where trolleys crossed the Conewago Creek has been the scene of many events over the years. Today, it's a quiet river crossing area... .

East King Street's Aquilla Howard School, named after the early black leader of York, was one of two segregated elementary schools opened in 1931 to educate Southern black people who had come north for jobs in industrial York. Smallwood School was the other. It was sold in 1962 and later demolished. Background posts: A short test of your black history knowledge, Freedman Aquilla Howard kisses earth as canal boat passed Mason-Dixon Line and York, Pa.'s Crispus Attucks Center scores intriguing start.

Shirley Proctor Poindexter, SPPoind1171@aol.com, wrote with questions about Aquilla Howard, the freedman, honored as York's representative to place flowers on the bier of Abraham Lincoln's funeral train, and a longtime superintendent of York's A.M.E. Zion Church.

He came to York in about 1856 and died at the age of 87 in 1923.

When the Harper's Weekly artist captured this scene at York's Camp Scott early in the Civil War, many thought the conflict would be shortlived. Even so, the presence of the camp was no picnic from the beginning. Men died from disease and accidents during drills. And stressed townspeople provided nursing and other resources for the camp and accommodated soldiers in their homes. Background posts: 'One of the shells found its mark'', Both Yanks, Rebs camped at old York Fairgrounds, In search of proof that the York Fair is the oldest.

Despite the pagentry associated in drawings of Camp Scott - the old York Fairgrounds converted to military camp - its presence gave many York County residents early first-hand knowledge of the horrors of war.

Just after the firing on Fort Sumter, the fairgrounds took on a martial air soon after sabotage of the Northern Central Railroad between York and Baltimore and unrest in Baltimore - both by Southern sympathizers - meant Northern troops could travel no farther south.

They settled at the fairgrounds, then southeast of the King and Queen street intersection, the first of tens of thousands to camp and train there. Soldiers slept on straw in sheds designed for livestock... .

Cassandra Morris Small experienced the Confederate occupation of York in late June 1863 and wrote letters to a cousin giving an account of the horrors of the invasion. She will be among the people discussed in an upcoming panel exploring the rebel invasion. Background post: Tale of a headless soldier, Headless soldier regains its noggin and Years after Civil War, (a) Longstreet steps onto York County soil.

For years, the York area virtually ignored its Civil War history.

The wrenching surrender to the invading Confederates overshadowed the hosting of a Civil War hospital, community support of a large basic training camp and the courage of the thousands of fighting men who served and the probable hundreds who died... .

A slow-moving tractor tows bales of hay along Grandview Road in Jackson Township in 2007. The township has long been agricultural in nature. "The land of Jackson Township is fertile and productive, and its owners are industrious and prosperous," historian George Prowell wrote in 1907. But the township's location along the turnpike - later the Lincoln Highway and Route 30 - and the Western Maryland Railroad also meant it has played host to its share of industry. Soon, an Arm & Hammer plant is expected to operate there. Background posts: Part of York County's past goes on the auction block, York County railroading: 'Something that gets in your blood' and Old Lincoln Highway pulled 'Americans out of the mud'.

Jackson Township, carved from Paradise Township in 1857, is slated to be home to a new Arm & Hammer laundry detergent plant and distribution center.

Though a longtime farming township with a productive limestone and red shale soil, its position along the former York-Gettysburg Turnpike and the presence of the Western Maryland Railroad meant that businesses have long been operated there... .

During a visit to the area last week, David Whelchel stopped at the monument to his great-grandfather Lt. Gen. James Longstreet at the battlefield in Gettysburg. Whelchel is married to a York County native. Background links: Local Civil War Roundtable gets new digs, Noted writer to blog on local Civil War scene and Unsung farmhouse loud symbol of a shaping moment for York.

Jubal A. Early commanded the 6,000-plus Confederates who overran the York area and reached the banks of the Susquehanna River in Wrightsville in late June 1863.

He was part of Richard Ewell's corps.

James Longstreet was another of Robert E. Lee's corps commanders (A.P. Hill was the third.)

Longstreet's men never made it farther east than Cemetery Ridge during Pickett's charge, also known as Longstreet's assault, during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Had Longstreet's men broken through and won the battle, they might have kept going east to York County on their way to capture Harrisburg, the prized Northern state capital... .

William C. Goodridge, a former slave who became a respected York businessman, was an influential 19th-century figure in York County. He is on a short list of top newsmakers in York County in the past 250 years. Background posts: List of luminaries from Dover lengthens, How come so few in York know about S. Morgan Smith?, Samuel Small tops community contributor list.

On Sunday, we'll post a sampling of 25 of York County's most influential residents. Actually, there are 26.

The suggestions came from members of the public, York Daily Record/Sunday New staff and the newspaper's editorial board.

As a warm up, we post here a list from "Never to be Forgotten" of a group of 30 influential residents from York County's past... .

The York Daily Record/Sunday News has produced several special Web and print publications, including a York County Women's History section. (Allow extra time for it to load.) See below for links to other projects. Background posts: A short test of your women's history knowledge, A short test of your black history knowledge and 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part III.

Check out some of these new Web sites from the York Daily Record/Sunday News and inyork.com guaranteed to appeal to history and news junkies:

The York, Pa.-based Spring Garden Band plays here at the rehabbed Farquhar Park bandstand in York. The 153-year-old group, with roots as a regimental band during the Civil War, will play at the bandstand again on Sept. 7. For a photo of the band in 1861, see below. Background posts: Long Level and Pleasureville fielded bands?, Community bands play on and Parade Music Prince Roland Seitz: From Shrewsbury to Friday Night Lights.

Members of what became the 87th Pennsylvania Regiment's band, the Spring Garden Silver Cornet Band, started playing together in a carpenter shop in Freystown, now the eastern part of York, in 1855.

In fact, the band's first cornet player was William Frey.

The band marched to war with the 87th in September 1861, and the U.S. Department of War discharged members in 1862.

A reformed band played on after the war, and plays around York County today... .

Prospect Hill Cemetery display flags honoring members of the U.S. military killed in Iraq. The York County Heritage Trust has information on that Manchester Township cemetery and a host of other burial sites throughout York County. Background posts: Two York County, Pa., union churches vestiges of bygone era, Not all rebel wounded suffered at Gettysburg and Footballer Lenny Moore has strong roots in York and White Roses mark interstate's entry into York.

Someone posting on York Town Square's sister site The Exchange asked about a cemetery in the Shrewsbury area.

Speaking off the top of her head, Lila Fourhman-Shaull, the area's foremost cemetery sleuth and archivist at the York County Heritage Trust, believed the cemetery might be the Keeney burial ground.

But on the larger question of how you go about identifying such cemeteries, here's Lila's assessment: ...

Springettsbury Township's Meadowbrook Mansion looms in the background as riders and horses strike a pose. At the turn of the 20th century, cigarmaker Edwin Myers brough this George revival look to the mansion. Many stories are attached to the site. Tradition has it that invading, horse-hungry Confederates visited the spread in 1863, perhaps in search of the ancestors of the mounts pictured here. This photograph came from a Meadowbrook Village brochure filed at the York County Heritage Trust. Background posts: Property rights foundational in Lauxmont debate, York County cigars: 'They contained a vast amount of nicotine.' and Picturesque steel bridges going way of covered bridge ancestors.

The Canada goose that sought to hatch her goslings near Borders on Whiteford Road provided an opportunity to draw lessons from the former Meadowbrook estate.

I devoted my York Sunday News column (5/11/08) to the topic, which touched on the Dempwolf architects, cigarmaking, the lives of the rich and covered bridges - and the story of Mother Goose:

The Confederate raid on Chambersburg on July 30, 1864, resulted in the fiery destruction of more than 500 buildings. It was a retaliation, the Confederates argued, for similar Union action on Virginia soil. To celebrate its Civil War heritage, Chambersburg sponsors an annual series of Civil War lectures, including an annual Lincoln Symposium May 16-17. Background posts: Mayor of York, Pa.: 'We are no longer unprotected' , Was York's surrender justified? and Rebel invaders put off by earthy Pennsylvania women.

People sometimes think the Confederate burning of Chambersburg and the rebels' occupation of York happened in the summer of 1863.

The rebels actually torched Chambersburg in the summer of 1864, something they threatened to do in York during their Gettysburg campaign the previous summer.

The same general extorted threatened to burn York and consummated the act in Chambersburg... .

Cases filled with Civil War artifacts line the wall of the Chester, Va., home of Sam White, a Civil War relics collector. White was killed earlier this year when a Civil War-era cannonball exploded. His widow, Brenda (pictured in this AP photo), says the collection will go to their son. Background posts: Rebel trooper: 'Broken down & in no condition to fight', 'One of the shells found its mark' and Pro/Con: Should York's leaders have surrendered to the rebels?

Samuel Wehring, former chief of York's police, made the trip to Gettysburg soon after the battle in 1863.

He joined scores of others from York County who traveled west to help clear the field still littered with items discarded or lost in battle or to aid the wounded in makeshift hospitals... .

Students are silhouetted against pictures of Civil War-era residents at the York County Heritage Trust as Justine Landis, right, describes the people of York from that period. People looking to understand their community to serve it better often avail themselves of programs and exhibits at the Trust and numerous other local historical groups dotting York/Adams. (See separate educational iconic photo below.) Background posts: Mayor of York, Pa.: 'We are no longer unprotected' - 15/31 iconic photos, Interesting Web site dedicated to American country schools and Looking for a local history research topic?

Two more photos in York Town Square's series of iconic images - images that tell a story about York County and its history:

Remember these days at Gettysburg? They'll return with the opening of the restored Cyclorama at the new Gettysburg (Pa.) Visitors Center. As for the old center where this photo was taken, it's currently the subject of a lawsuit. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Old Gettysburg visitors center closes today; new site opens Monday, Who is Bob Kinsley, builder of the new Gettysburg Visitors Center? and Gettysburg Cyclorama, with new shape, set for Sept. display.

It's a classic fight between two sides interested in preserving history.

The National Park Service in Gettysburg wants to restore the area covered by the old Cyclorama building and Visitors Center to its Civil War-era appearance.

Opponents of its demolition consider the four-decade-old Cyclorama an artifact, an architecturally significant building worth preserving.

A court will decide the matter, but it seems the Cyclorama preservationists are, well, fighting uphill. Perhaps it's time for the plaintiffs to seek a truce. Maybe the park service could work in a model of the old Cyclorama building into its exhibits at the new Cyclorama building.

Here's how a York Sunday News story (4/20/08) describes the dispute:

Tim Smith, middle right, narrates the Battle of Gettysburg from the vantage point of the cupola above Schmucker Hall during the Adams County Historical Society's tour of the hall. Standing in the cupola, Union Gen. John Buford surveyed troop movements before the battle began and during the early stages of fighting. Background post: 18th-century helicopter could have aided pastor, Dover's uneven history runs deep in fertile soil and Gettysburg Human Interest Stories scores sequel.

Some Gettysburg fans became familar with the cupola on Schmucker's Hall via the film "Gettysburg."

They saw John Buford, played by Sam Elliott, peering at approaching Union troops from that high point.

What isn't as well known is that the hall gained its name from York native Samuel Simon Schmucker... .

Slaves escaped from the South through any number of means - draymen's carts, family carriages and funeral processions. This drawing shows a particularly ingenious way of escape. Henry "Box" Brown was nailed into a small box and shipped from Richmond, Va., to Philadelphia. A woman similarly escaped from Baltimore to York County, Pa., in 1845. (See a replica of the box below.) Background posts: Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad in York County, Part I, 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive, Part II and York County straddled the Mason-Dixon line in Lincoln votes.

While specifics about the Underground Railroad in York County are foggy, almost by definition, certain generalizations about its functioning in York County are clear.

York County Heritage Trust researchers have put together a myth and reality chart as part of an exhibit that will be helpful in understanding the Underground Railroad and slavery.

These will help add understanding about these often-misunderstood topics:

A crawl space is hidden behind a pantry shelf at the Dobbins House in Gettysburg, Pa. Manequins demonstrate how fugitives might have hidden there as part of the Underground Railroad. Background posts: Amanda Berry Smith: 'God's image carved in ebony', York/Adams' interest in Underground Railroad grows, and Living historians bring spotlight to York's Civil War story.

A local historical group's e-mail recently posed a good question: What is known about the Underground Railroad in Southern York County?

I answered that not a lot is known about the Underground Railroad anywhere in York County. It's an area that begs research with academic rigor... .

The Cyclorama Center at the Gettysburg (Pa.) National Military Park is pictured in 2000. The Cyclorama painting has since been moved to the new visitors center, where restorationists are working on it. The National Park Service has the go-ahead to raze this old Cyclorama building, pending resolution of a lawsuit, and accompanying visitors center. Today is the last day the old visitors center, with its Electric Map, will be open to the public. (See photo of painting under restoration below.) Who is Bob Kinsley, builder of the new Gettysburg Visitor Center?, Gettysburg's vaunted Electric Map to soon stop blinking and Restored Gettysburg Cyclorama arriving in new home.

Those looking for a Sunday afternoon drive - today, April 13 - can head for one last look at the old Gettysburg Visitors Center, with its accompanying Electric Map.

And then head over to do a windshield tour of the new center... .

'Bridge Burner' volunteer Chuck Storm uses a torch to light a basket of firewood on top of one of the old bridge supports in the Susquehanna River in a past commemoration of the burning of the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge to stop the Confederate advance eastward in the Civil War. That bridge was the second built in that location. (See view from Highpoint below). Background posts: A 7th bridge? Pedestrian walkway may span Susquehanna River some day, Susquehanna bridge makeover flowing along and Almost ... a double deck bridge across the Susquehanna?.

Trying to sort through the six bridges that have crossed the Susquehanna River at Wrightsville makes you feel like you're drowning. (If you can wrap your brain around the fates of the six bridges, it's also a good test to stump visitors to York.)

Rivertownes PA USA has thrown us a life preserver... .

Bob Kinsley takes a weekly outing in this photograph from 1998. Even then, Kinsley was in the middle of plans to build a new visitor's center at Gettysburg (Pa.) National Park. Q&A on new Gettysburg visitor center, old Electric Map, Thousands discover formerly unheralded Howard Tunnel and Glatfelter, Farquhar, Shipley: Insights from local greats.

Several years ago, prominent York businessman John Schmidt told me at least one reason for builder Bob Kinsley's success.

"He just gets up a little earlier than the rest of us," Schmidt said.

That goes a bit in providing insight to the man behind the question:

Who is Bob Kinsley, the "private" side of the private-public venture that has constructed the new Gettysburg Visitors Center and Museum? ... .

A sparse audience gets ready for the Electric Map at the old Gettysburg (Pa.) Visitors Center in its final days of operation. The last day to see the map and the rest of the old visitor's center is Sunday, with the opening of the new museum on Monday. Background posts: Q&A on new Gettysburg visitor center, old Electric Map, Restored Gettysburg Cyclorama arriving in new home and Gettysburg's Electric Map blinking in finale season.

Some have pointed out the Electric Map, a fixture in the Gettysburg (Pa.) Visitor Center, is itself an artifact of history and should be preserved.

No doubt many of those visiting the battlefield in the past 50 years consider it an integral part of the Gettysburg experience. It has helped millions understand the pivotal Civil War battle that raged, in part, on the soil beneath the building that houses it.

But the Electric Map might be an artifact in ways not considered up to this point... .

Matt Gay, with a museum service company, positions a cannon at the Gettysburg (Pa.) National Military Park Museum and Vistor Center. The new center is scheduled to open April 14. Background posts: Shrink wrapping in Electric Map's future; Gettysburg tooth heads south and Gettysburg's Electric Map blinking in finale season.

Plans continue to call for the famous Electric Map at the old visitor's center in Gettysburg to be cut up, shrink wrapped and stored until a use can be found for it.

That was one of several questions the York Daily Record/Sunday News posed to park officials in these days before the opening of the new center.

Here is the Q & A:

Re-enactors re-create the surrender of York, Pa., in 1988, the 125th anniversary of the town's occupation to the invading rebels in late June 1863. Background posts: Invaders put off by earthy Pennsylvania women, Owner seeks info on old toll house and York County Civil War, by the numbers.

Continuing the series of telling York County, Pa.'s, history through images: ... .

Northern troops drilled at the York (Pa.) Fairgrounds early in the Civil War. And Confederates camped there when they occupied York in 1863. But the current fairgrounds in the West York area was just a field then. The Civil War-era York Expo Center will be the topic of a mystery talk on Saturday. Background posts: Gettysburg 'Human Interest Stories' scores sequel and Rebels, Yanks to again journey along York's West Market Street.

The whereabouts of the York Fairgrounds will be one of my topics in a talk on Saturday, April 5, at the York Emporium's A Day of Mystery.

I'll cover 10 mysteries or questions rising from York County's involvement in the Civil War in a slideshow starting at 12:30 p.m.

Jim Lewin, the owner, lists me as a pundit, writer and historian. I had to look up what a pundit is, and it sounds OK... .

William J. Fisher, seated, A.B. Farquhar Co. president, and his son, Edward H. Fisher, sold the York, Pa., company to Oliver Corporation in 1951. The farm equipment manufacturer started in 1856 and was one of the prime movers behind the York Plan. Background posts: Who will lead the York area in the future?, Carnegie to Farquhar: '... I am ready to go out and enjoy myself' and Pro/Con: Should York's leaders have surrendered to the rebels?

Continuing the series of telling York County, Pa.'s, history through images:

This part of York, Pa.'s Lafayette Club is lined with past club presidents' photographs. Ten years ago, the club admitted its first black member. Recently, the organization played host to a fundraiser for York-based Underground Railroad Museum. 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive, Part I, Artist Horace Bonham captured everyday life (6/20 iconic images) and Leonard Pitts: Sometimes, history hurts.

A recent letter to the editor from Crispus Attucks Association praised East Market Street's Lafayette Club for playing host to a fundraiser to support an Underground Railroad museum.

That letter in the York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News is pregnant with meaning... .

York, Pa., artist Horace Bonham, 1835-1892, was a Renaissance man - a lawyer, newspaper owner and man about town. But he's best remembered today as a genre painter who captured routine events with his brush. And his work was unusual for its inclusion of diverse people. Background posts: A short test of your York black history knowledge - Part II, Exhibit captures decades-long flow of wide Susquehanna and Artist Jeff Koons came back to York for a show.

No one should believe that sponsored animal fighting - brought to the the limelight by Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick's dogfighting travesty - is unusual in American history, as this Horace Bonham painting "Nearing the issue at the cockpit" suggests:

Confederate soldiers lower the large American flag in York's Centre Square on June 30, 1863, after the town's fathers had surrendered the day before. The rebels marched uncontested into the undefended Pennsylvania town. Immediately after settling in, Gen. Jubal Early's rebels requisitioned food, supplies and money. The town complied with everything but the $100,000 requisition, delivering only about $28,000. Background posts: Carnegie to Farquhar: '... I am ready to go out and enjoy myself' , Pro/Con: Should York's leaders have surrendered to the rebels? and Unsung farmhouse loud symbol of a shaping moment for York.

Another in a series of images that point to events or moments that help define York County... .

This mural of 19th-century York, Pa., businessman William C. Goodridge greets motorists and pedestrians as they head east on West Market Street. Among other businesses, it depicts Goodridge's rail venture, believed to have been deployed as part of another transportation business - the Underground Railroad. Background posts: Freed slaves often faced return to bondage, Amanda Berry Smith: 'God's image carved in ebony' and A short test of your black history knowledge, II.

This image of William C. Goodridge, freedman and businessman, is another in the York Town Square series on important photos that tell York County's story... .

Hanover's Central Hotel, seen here in this image from the Hanover Area Historical Society, served as headquarters for Union cavalry General Judson Kilpatrick late in the battle. This hotel still stands at the corner of Center Square and Baltimore Street. Some Union military men returned to hunt for money buried during the visit in late-June 1863. Background posts: Reader searches for Ziegler's tavern photos, Iron Mike Guards 'The Picket' and Did you know this about York/Adams history?

A treasure hunter is seeking state permission to dig for gold reportedly lost by a Union convoy in Elk County during the Civil War.

This brings to mind a moment shortly after the Civil War in which Union treasure hunters returned to the Hanover area to conduct a dig... .

Scott Weikert, a William Penn High School grad, has been recommended to the rank of rear admiral. 'The camaraderie, the esprit de corps, just the level of commitment of the people I serve with - I've never found that in the private sector,' Weikert said. 'That's probably a reflection of the fact that we depend on each other so much in executing our jobs.' Background posts: York has produced its share of high-ranking naval officers and Book gives positive view about forgotten general Jake Devers.

York County has produced a high-ranking officer at Gitmo, Brad LeVault and the captain on the new carrier U.S.S. Bush, Chip Miller.

Now comes news from the Navy that a York son, Scott Weikert, is awaiting promotion to the rank of rear admiral... .

The Lafayette Club is located in the former P.A. Small mansion on East Market Street. Small, the "P.A." in P.A. and S. Small, was the leading York County business of the 19th century. Samuel Small, the "S." in the company name, lived in a now-demolished mansion across Duke Street. Background posts: Samuel Small tops community contributors list, Old P.A. and S. Small building fit better than successors, York County's own Civil War - Part III and 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive, Part II.

A list of pioneers in the post First York City Latino councilman temporarily state's top appointed Dem included Vernon Bracey as the first black member of York's Lafayette Club.

That event came 10 years ago - on the 100th anniversary of the club... .

Eighty years after his death, industrial leader A.B. Farquhar's business prowess is still remembered. The York park that bears his name attests to his community involvement. Now, a national author has remembered him too, including an exchange between Farquhar and Andrew Carnegie. Background posts: Reader seeks Boys Club photo, York: America's First Capital of Golf? and Pastors denounce Sunday newspaper.

A e-mailer pointed out an exchange in David Nasaw's biography "Andrew Carnegie," in which the Gilded Age industrial giant gave York agricultural implement factory owner A.B. Farquhar his comeuppance.

Farquhar mentioned to Carnegie that he was always sure to be in the office by 'seven in the morning.'

"You must be a lazy man," Carnegie replied, "if it takes you ten hours to do a day's work." ....

This photo shows Bob Rebert, embroiled in a fight against a proposed sewage pipe that would cross his farm, walking on an old railroad embankment in 2007.
That railroad embankment has particular significance. Background posts: Abe, Gwyneth passed through Porters Sideling and Pamadeva. Get it? Pennsylvania. Maryland. Delaware. Virginia..

Outside forces are looking to lay sewer and gas lines under Bob Rebert's North Codorus Farm.

He's fighting the sewer line in court believing an ag security program he's under prevents such sewer line construction.

The sewer line, at least, would go under a railroad embankment crossing his farm.

That's not just another railroad embankment that lived a long existence bearing trains carrying farm products to market... .

Wrightsville's Veterans Memorial Bridge landing may be improved in a tourism initiative spearheaded by Rivertownes, www.rivertownes.org. When it was built in 1930, the bridge carried Lincoln Highway traffic across the mile-wide Susquehanna River. After construction of the Wright's Ferry Bridge in the early 1970s, the bridge, also called the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, has carried mostly local traffic. Background posts: Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge celebrates quiet birthday and Susquehanna bridge makeover flowing along.

Last we heard, plans were under way to rehab the lighting and other historic parts of the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Now, Rivertownes PA, a tourism agency, has proposed working on the landing on the York County side of the bridge and other landscaping projects across the river in Columbia and Marietta... .

Countless horse-drawn and motor-propelled conveyances have passd this 156-year-old New Oxford home since it reached its two-story height. But soon, the house will be demolished. Background posts: Striking architecture lined York's South Duke Street and 'It's so sad to see such a great piece of architecture fall down'.

Who doesn't feel a sense of loss when an old house or building faces the bulldozer?

One would like to think that such monumental buildings as the York City Market, York Collegiate Institute or York County Academy would be restored today instead of knocked down to provide vacant lots, as occurred 40 years ago... .

Art restorationists work on the Gettysburg Cyclorama painting, part of the new Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center and Museum. The cyclorama is scheduled to reopen in the fall, and the new visitors center in April. (See related photo below.) Background posts: Gettysburg Cyclorama gets fist full of funds and Gettysburg Cyclorama, with new shape, set for Sept. display.

The opening of the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center is on schedule to open April 14.

Fundraisers have garnered enough donations to cover the Baltimore Pike center's construction and cyclorama restoration costs, Gettysburg Foundation officials said this week.

The balance of the $125 million to be raised will go to endowments and battlefield restoration.

Here are some facts about the new center, according to an article in the York Daily Record (2/23/08) and Hanover Evening Sun:

The 21st century meets the 19th as rebel re-enactors march in Gettysburg in 2004. The 145th re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg is set for July 4-6 this year. Background posts:Rebel trooper: 'Broken down & in no condition to fight' and Gettysburg Cyclorama, with new shape, set for Sept. display and Gettysburg battlefield produces steady supply of news, Part I.

And these story just don't come from updates on the new visitors center construction or controversies over the current center... .

This is the house of J.W. Gitt, Gazette and Daily owner, as it appeared in 1962. Notice the putting green used by Gitt, a golfing enthusiast. The estate now houses the by-appointment Gitt Memorial Library. Mary Allienne Hamilton will sign copies of Rising from the Wilderness, her biography of Gitt from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at the York County Heritage Trust, 250 E. Market St., York. This is one of several upcoming opportunities in Central Pennsylvania for those who love history. Background posts: York cartoonist's work helps celebrate peace activism and Why is Hanover Country Club in Abbottstown.

History aficionadoes should put these opportunities to see, hear and experience local history in the upcoming months:

E-mailer Steve Cashman has asked about the origin of "the picketts," the area around the intersection of Bermudian and Conewago creeks in northeastern York County.

He understands that the name came from a Confederate encampment there in the Civil War... .

This is the text of the message carried by a union soldier who killed by a farmer near Green Ridge in Codorus Township around midnight on June 29, 1863. This comes from the book "War of the Rebellion" and appeared recently in a Codorus Valley Area Historical Society newsletter. The society is seeking to identify the messenger. Background posts: Archivist's finding sheds light on famous note among the roses and Unsung farmhouse shaping moment for York.

The east-bound courier came to a fork in the road near Green Ridge, in a remote area of Codorus Township in southern York County. He headed toward a farmhouse to gain directions and perhaps some grain for his horse.

George Bair became frightened when the mounted courier called on him.

Bair, a German who did not understand English, thought the horseman was one of the Confederates, raiding the county in these days before the Battle of Gettysburg.

One confusing thing led to another, and George Bair loaded his gun, aimed it at the stranger and squeezed the trigger... .

A single, heavy beam supports roof joists inside a Welsh quarrymen's cottage in Coulsontown, near Delta. Welsh immigrants brought this construction technique to the region when they arrived to work in southeastern York County's slate quarries. If anyone is aware of an outhouse in the Delta area with a slate roof, please comment below. Background posts: Time almost forgot Welsh miner's hamlet of Coulsontown, 100 years later, Delta clock keeps on ticking and Gettysburg fighting heard about 60 miles away.

Seattle's David Williams, wingate@seanet.com, is a natural history writer working on a book about building stone.

He's writing a chapter on slate and its many uses - roofing, billiard tables, gravestones and blackboards.

And on outhouses... .

A Gettysburg tour guide acts out part of a ghost story in the summer of 2006. National Park Service and Gettysburg officials are addressing the growth of the ghost tour industry on or near hallowed ground. Background posts: If you want to see the Murals of York up close ... and Could York bus drivers also point out historic sites? and '... A shadowy figure of a hoop-skirted woman...'

Those capitalizing on the Gettysburg paranormal trade are running into tough embargoes.

Real history isn't enough for some in Gettysburg. They invent ghost stories and then sell it on and around one of the nation's most honored places ... .

This 1927 Wurlitzer theater organ, upper left, can rise from a lower level to of the Capitol Theatre to stage level, just as in the old days. It is still used to provide music and dramatic sounds for silent movies. Movie theaters like the Captol operated in many towns in York County in the 20th century including Hanover, Stewartstown, New Freedom. Small theaters in Glen Rock and Dallastown still operate. Related posts: Black soldiers from York County served in 'Glory' unit - Part II, Little-known facts about Hex murder trial emerge and Miss Saigon's York County connection.

The Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its most recent renovation this year.

That $17.3 million rehab project included a remake of both theaters that make up the complex, an addition of a balcony in the Strand and installation of a chandelier from a Hanover theater at the cost of $30,000.

This anniversary brings back memories of event marking the previous grand renovation of the complex - in April 1980... .

With a dramatic leap over a small stream, Jeb Stuart escapes a Union patrol during the Battle of Hanover. His cavalrymen later rode through the heart of York County in an attempt to link up with Gen. Robert E. Lee before the Battle of Gettysburg. Scott Mingus has written a detailed account of Stuart's raid through York County in the current issue of Gettysburg Magazine. E-mailer queries about Confederate invasion and Jubal Early heard the booming of the Battle of Hanover's guns.

Cannonball blogger Scott Mingus has again revealed York County's Civil War history to a national audience.

In the recently published issue (No. 38) of "The Gettysburg Magazine," his "J.E.B. Stuart Rides Through Dover, Pennsylvania" explores the Confederate cavalry chief's raid through York County's heartland before the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

Mingus is at the top of the pack in explaining York County's rich Civil War involvement to the rest of the world, an effort that's long overdue.

See if Mingus' lead, beginning with the Battle of Hanover, doesn't pull you into the drama of a miles-long column of thundering horsemen riding through the county in the middle of the night:

Finding relics around Gettysburg was common in the post-Civil War years? But finding artifacts of the the Battle of Hanover, site of 300 casualties? Blogger June Lloyd tells about one such find in: Civil War Confederate Sword Plowed Up in Hanover. Background posts: The four bloggers write, Skinny dipping for web readers and Best of yorktownsquare.com, 2007 .

York County's other three local history bloggers regularly come up with surprising findings about the county's past.

Here are some examples of some topics from June Lloyd's Universal York, Scott Mingus' Cannonball and Scott Butcher's Windows into York that may enlighten and intrigue local history enthusiasts:

Calvin Weary, drama teacher at York's William Penn High School, portrays William Johnson in an upcoming Discovery Channel documentary about the Gettysburg Address. Background posts: York County has its own Lincoln photo debate., Goodwin cites York countian's story to tell about Gettysburg Address and Abe's smallpox story has been told before.

Calvin Weary is making York proud by landing the part of William Johnson, a black man who travels with Abraham Lincoln, in a Discovery Channel documentary.

And that's just not because he's another local person starring nationally on the big or little screen... .

Panels of the Cyclorama painting, seen in the new Hunt Avenue visitors center in Gettysburg, await the stitching that will close the gaps. Background posts: Shrink wrapping in Electric Map's future and Restored Cyclorama heading to new home.

Imagine stitching 14 panels in a 377-foot painting that stands 42 feet high.

And further imagine that the painting would not be flat against the wall - as it's been for decades - but bowed in the middle, resembling its original hourglass shape.

That's the job facing restorationists dealing with the painting at the new Gettysburg Cyclorama location.

One way to learn about York native Rear Admiral Samuel Rhoads Franklin is to read a biography of his brother, William Buell Franklin. Mark Snell's authoritative "From First to Last," brings in Samuel at several points. Background posts: York native to captain new carrier USS Bush and F-14 TomCat navigator's name, aircraft in museum and York County holds three links to the ill-fated Titanic.

June Lloyd pointed out in a recent York Sunday News column that land-locked York County has contributed several high-ranking naval officers in its history.

She profiles the previously unrecognized Rear Admiral Richard Morgan Watt Sr. (see below) and mentions Rear Admiral Samuel Rhoads Franklin... .

Rick Hohmann, president of the Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides, works on Little Round Top in 2007. Background posts: Gettysburg Cyclorama gets first full of funds and Gettysburg's Electric Map blinking in finale season.

Things are changing around the battlefield in Gettysburg.

A new visitors center is soon to open, meaning the old one will close.

The famed cyclorama is moving. The Electric Map will be crated up and put in storage.

Each proposed change has attracted fresh controversy... .

Doris Kearns Goodwin was in York in November about her book, 'Team of Rivals, The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.' At the end of her speech, she gave tips to assess presidential candidates. Background posts: Goodwin cites York countian's story to tell about Gettysburg Address, Follow the leader... George Leader and Presidents and presidential candidates have visited York for decades .

Doris Kearns Goodwin counseled a York County audience recently on qualities to look for in a presidential candidate.

Her well-received visit raised the question about who would follow her in an annual or bi-annual fundraiser for the York County Heritage Trust... .

This was the first graphic or photograph to appear with a York Town Square post, accompanying York Market House No. 5 - Carlisle Avenue Market, revisited in April 2006. Incidentally, that the present-day Dreamwrights building was built as a farmers market still surprises folks. Background posts: There were 5, count 'em, 5 York markets and Don't know much about (York market) history?.

The year 2007 saw visitors to this blog increase exponentially over the previous two years we've been posting.

We hope you are enjoying each day's history lesson. The numbers, increased commenting and e-mails suggest you are.

A list of best, first and most popular posts at this blog follows:

Workers clean one of 27 cyclorama panels at Gettysburg National Military Park in this 2006 photograph. The park recently received an appropriation to finish the cyclorama restoration and relocation project. (See another restoration photo below.) Background posts: Gettysburg battlefield produces steady supply of news and Gettysburg's Electric Map blinking in finale season.

"How did the Gettysburg National Military Park - without asking - get $3.8 million from the federal government to finish the Cyclorama painting restoration?" the newspaper story began.

The short answer: The federal government came through with the funds... .

This 2006 aerial photograph shows bridge supports running alongside Veterans Memorial Bridge, sometimes called the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge. These piers supported three bridges over the Susquehanna River, including the famed covered bridge that Union militia burned in 1863 to stop the invading Confederate advance. The last bridge to use the empty piers was demolished for scrap in the 1960s. Three bridges used these supports. Background posts: Urban legend? The day a bulldozer sank from sight and Almost ... a double deck bridge across the Susquehanna?.

Plans are moving ahead for rehabbing Veterans Memorial Bridge spanning the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Wrightsville.

That will include new lights above and below the bridge deck.

Which reminds me of a favorite observation about the bridge and the empty piers running to its north.

The 1930-era Veterans bridge supports line up directly with the bridge-less 1830s piers. As you drive over the 1970-era Wright's Ferry Bridge and look south, you'll see the exact match.

Accident or design?

The Civil War-era U.S. Army General Hospital became a major site for treatment because of its proximity to Virginia and Maryland, where many battles took place, and its location on a major rail line. Here, convalescents pose in one of the hospital wards at the Penn Park complex. The military hospital is an example of a York County history topic awaiting study. Background posts: Civil War nurse: 'Dogs of War in our midst' and Not all rebel wounded suffered after Gettysburg.

Many people use New Year's to kick off historical research projects.

My York Sunday News column Looking for a local history research project? probed several topics ripe for research focusing on York's Civil War-era military hospital.

The following is a sampling of topics from York County history awaiting further exploration or publication of existing research:

Ben Chen, who was smuggled to America aboard the freighter Golden Venture, later became owner of a Springettsbury Township restaurant. He was among a group of Golden Venture passengers, detained for about four years in York County Prison, who remains in the region. The Golden Venture detainees are part of a series of immigrant groups who have called York County home over the years or who stayed in York "for a while" then moved on. Background post: Tips for genealogical research and York's Chestnut Street fortress bad symbol of York's past.

Sue Chehrenegar was born in York County and later moved from the area.

She has relatives here still and retains a strong interest in her native county.

She is a writer and has penned stories on York County, including a recent short history of York for www.lifeintheusa.com ... .

Rivertownes PA USA helps promote Wrightsville, Pa.'s many attractions. Here, Claire Storm, Rivertownes' president in this 2003 photograph, surveys one of the town's stone kilns. Background posts: York County, Pa., Civil War hero grandmom of Gore Vidal, Wrightsville's overlooked attractions and Absorbing photo and overlay shows locations of six Susquehanna bridges.

Wrightsville is a lot like Dover.

More goes on in those turnpike towns than one would think... .

Scott Mingus takes another look at interesting, often behind-the scenes stories of the buildup and aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg. The books are available at Gettysburg bookstores, the York Emporium and Amazon.com. Amazon.com. Background post: E-mail queries about Confederate invasion .

As Confederate Gen. Jeb Stuart was riding away from Hanover after a day-long battle, he detained a "fat dutchman." The Hanoverian seemed to be counted the rebel horsemen.

We'll let Scott Mingus tell the rest of the story, taken from his new book, "Human Interest Stories of the Gettysburg Campaign, Volume 2:"

Nineteenth-century evangelist Amanda Berry Smith is profiled in a recent book "More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Pennsylvania Women." (For details, see below.) Before the Civil War, her family purchased its freedom, and she resided in York County. Background post: Autobiographies contain valuable golden nuggets.

The historical monument for noted evangelist Amanda Berry Smith is out of the way for most York County travelers.

It's on the by-passed Susquehanna Trail in Shrewsbury. It's not far from the Mason-Dixon Line, the same boundary that spelled freedom for Smith as youngster... .

This map from 'East of Gettysburg' shows the location of various units in Jubal Early's division as his Confederates invaded York in the days before the Battle of Gettysburg. One of his commanders, Isaac E. Avery, directed a brigade that lodged in York for nearly two days. Avery was later mortally wounded in fighting at Gettysburg, and his burial site has reportedly been identified. Background post: Civil War in York County, by the numbers.

The Associated Press has reported that the burial site of Col. Isaac E. Avery probably has been identified in Hagerstown.

The Civil War colonel, temporary head of North Carolina brigade, was mortally wounded in fighting on Cemetery Hill in Gettysburg.

Before Gettysburg, Avery was in York... .

The Rev. Rene Kinard gives his final prayer after an outdoor baptism ceremony in the stream at the Dover Area Community Park during a Civil War re-enactment church service in 2005. The Dover area loves its history and has made some, too. Background post: York, Cumberland counties longtime companions.

In previous posts, we've seen that Dover borough in York County is more than the hometime of internationally acclaimed artist Jeffrey Koons.

And it's more than home to the celebrated Dover intelligent design trial, brought to public view again recently via "Nova."

I'll get to another noteworthy part of Dover in a minute... .

A recent post here, 3-D image might show Lincoln at Gettysburg, tells about the finding of a coveted stereoscope showing Abe Lincoln just before he delivered his famous address.

And a previous post, York County will long remember Abe's visit here, shows a photo with a similar discussion on whether that's Lincoln at Hanover Junction, where he changed trains to head west to deliver his speech.

Read and see what you think.

For those who want more on York countian John Richter's recent finding, here is a York Daily Record background story, published on Nov. 18, 2007:

Hanover's John Richter has made the news after finding what could be an image of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg in the Library of Congress' digital archives. The man with the top hat is presumed to be Lincoln.

"It certainly looked liked him to me," a headline on Jeff Frantz's York Sunday News story said.

That was the reaction of many after many saw the steroscopes of what is believed to be Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg.

The full story follows:

This photograph from Florence La Rose Ames' "That Sovereign Knowledge," shows the Women' Ward at York Hospital around the turn of the 20th century. Parts of the hospital, then located on West College Avenue, serves as an apartment complex today. The hospital moved to its South George Street campus in 1930. Background posts: Yank mortally wounded on ninth day of service and Doctor wrote about oxygen use to aid 'average country practitioners' and Cemetery bears rich Civil War tales.

The U.S. Army General Hospital, the large Civil War hospital located on Penn Park, is a master's thesis waiting to happen.

To my knowledge, no scholarly work has been written on the complex, which operated from 1862 to past war's end. The hospital even had its own newspaper, available on microfilm, so it would be possible to pull together strands into a helpful monograph.

One intriguing piece of that research would be to connect the dots, if possible, between the military hospital and York Hospital, started in 1880.

Some links aren't hard to find: ...

The historical marker explaining York's Penn Park is one of at least nine roadside monuments are missing from York County. Background post: Columnist adds to sense of community .

The Camp Security marker isn't the only one missing along York County's roads.

A York Daily Record states that at least nine are missing from York County. About 200 of the 2,200 markers across Pennsylvania are missing. The number is hard to pin down.

It could be people want these state-owned signs for their rec rooms. Or sell them as scrap.

The missing historical marker that marked the spot of Camp Security is missing. The sign stated: 'Stockade built in 1781 by Col. Jas. Wood on land of Daniel Brubaker. British Troops of Burgoyne's army imprisoned here guarded by York County militia. The camp was about a mile to the south.' Background post: Camp Security memories tucked inside memoirs.

The presence of the missing Camp Security marker is a story in itself.

The marker is one of more than 15 American Revolution-related markers dotting greater York.

The prevalance of these markers underscores the area's rightful love affair with its Revolutionary War past. In contrast, the number of markers pointing to Civil War sites is one or two.

It could be three, but a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Web site says that a marker pointing to Gen. Jubal Early's march through the Weigelstown area is also missing.

Thus, these signs can be viewed as artifacts that, taken as a whole, point to the way the community sees itself. That surrender to the invading Confederates in those pre-Gettysburg days of 1863 is long remembered - or maybe intentionally forgotten.

But what is not as easily explained is the dearth of World War II markers... .

Lewis Miller captures Pennsylvania Gov. Andrew Curtin, left, standing in a carriage reviewing troops at York's Camp Scott early in the Civil War. The camp, located at the old York Fairgrounds, South Queen and East King streets, served as a site to give green troops a little seasoning before their movement to battlefields in the South. Local residents help feed and care for the tens of thousands of troops at Camp Scott. Background post: 'Flames Beyond Gettysburg' research brings forth fresh facts.

"And these invaders did fill graves. They blew off the head of a black soldier in the trenches at Wrightsville."

In my York Sunday New column Confederate flag wavers dishonor Union ancestors, I made this point and eight others to show the sacrifices of local soldiers and civilians for the North. This came in response to certain local high school students who think demonstrations of the Confederate flag are cool or a symbol to brag about or I really don't know what they think.

Anyway, the identity of the black militiaman who died in the trenches at Wrightsville in an attempt to thwart the Confederate capture of the important covered bridge across the Susquehanna remains an unsolved mystery... .

Two aging Civil War soldiers flank a Lincoln impersonator. The black veteran is thought to be John Aquilla Wilson, known as 'Quil,' of Fawn Township in southeastern York County. He enlisted in the United States Colored Troops, 32nd Regiment, in 1864. Wilson died at the age of 101. Background post: Black soldiers from York County served in 'Glory' unit and 'One of the shells found its mark.

Ever see the film "Glory" on the big screen?

A couple of years ago, York city brought the film starring Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Matthew Broderick to the Strand-Capitol. The cinematography was beyond description and the audio coming from the Capitol Theater's renovated sound system made you feel like you were in battle.

I was there to introduce the film, the first feature-length treatment of the role of black soldiers in the Civil War, and to give some closing remarks.

At the end, people were so captivated by what they had just witness that they almost seemed in a daze. It wasn't the late hour, nor my usual monotone delivery that quieted people this time.

The film on the big screen literally left people speechless.

Anyway, here are some notes from that night, many of which might be in the "Gee, I didn't know that category." ...

Four soldiers from York County served in the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, highlighted in the 20th-century film "Glory."

George Ellender was wounded in the assault on Fort Wagner, S.C., that took the life of regiment commander Col. Robert Gould Shaw. He was wounded a second time in Olustee, Fla... .

The late Gary Collison penned this well-regard book, "Shadrach Minkins: From Fugitive Slave to Citizen."

The York County historical community has lost three thoughtful and authoritative writers in the past 15 months: ... .

Gen. Jubal Early, division commander of Confederate troops invading York in June 1863, stayed in this house in Big Mount, Paradise Township. After his night's stay in this still-standing, privately owned structure at the corner of Canal and Big Mount Road, Early headed to a surrendered York for a two-day occupation before Robert E. Lee recalled him to the vicinity a Gettysburg, where a battle was brewing. Background post: E-mailer queries about Confederate invasion.

Jubal Early's overnight stay at a York County home produced an amusing incident in the otherwise deadly serious Confederate invasion of York County.

When Early returned to the Big Mount home after visiting John B. Gordon in nearby Farmers, he found the widow Zinn had reserved supper for him.

Sitting with the woman and her teenage daughter, he enjoyed a fare of 15 to 20 Pennsylvania German dishes, particularly fresh summer vegetables.

The rest, from "East of Gettysburg":

Anita Meyers, keystonealarm@comcast.net, is new owner of the Ten Mile House in the village of Farmers, west of the York Airport.

The 6817 Lincoln Highway address is sometimes referred to as Helen's Antiques, named for the former occupant.

Anita is seeking information about the house. Early on, she understood that the house might have been Gen. John B. Gordon's headquarters on June 27, 1863, the night before his brigade entered York along with three other similar units from Jubal Early's division.

The yorktownsquare.com post, Where did Gen. Gordon accept York's surrender? explains the actual location of the site where York's fathers surrendered to the rebels.

Anita provided some information that might jar memories:

This good-natured mock surrender ceremony in 1988 served as a symbolic point of change in York's official view of the town's surrender to the Confederates 125 years earlier. When confronted with the demand by Confederate Gen. Jubal Early, played here by Richard Knapp of Red Lion, center, York Mayor William Althaus, left, declined. 'We are no longer unprotected, having the finest police department in the country,' Althaus said. Background posts: York finally coming to terms with its Civil War legacy and All Civil War posts from the start.

Should York's leaders have abandoned ship upon the Confederate approach in the days before the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863?

That decision to surrender became controversial the moment it was made, and the debate continues to this day.

The following are excerpts from my article in the York Daily Record some years ago that address the question in pro/con format:

The house where John B. Gordon accepted York's surrender in late-June 1863 stands today off Locust Lane near Farmers. This was a photograph which ran in The Gazette and Daily on the 100th anniversary of the Confederation occupation of York County. Background post: Archivist's finding sheds light on famous note among the roses.

I wrote her back that I've bet on another house as the Gordon headquarters on June 27-28, 1863. It's a still-standing house off Locust Lane, not visible from present-day Route 30. That was the location where a delegation from York consumated the town's surrender. The next day, Gordon's brigade and three others from Jubal Early's divsion invaded the undefended town.

My bet is based on three factors:

-- The records of Historic York, the county's architectural experts, say so.
-- That's the lore that goes with the house.
-- The house covers a cool spring.

I'll elaborate a bit more on the latter point:

For years, shoppers at Woolworths in York could observe this marble marker. But where did it go? (Recommended background post: John Adams: 'Yesterday the greatest question was decided'.

Zion United Church of Christ, the York church with the 'stealth' steeple, plays host to a once-popular York landmark that has blended into obscurity... .

Noted author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin will be in town in November to speak on "Leadership Lessons from Abraham Lincoln." For ticket information, contact the York County Heritage Trust at 717-848-1587 or www.yorkheritage.org. The book wonderfully tells how Lincoln molded varying cabinet voices into a team that guided the North through the Civil War. Background post: York countians, newspaper no friend of Abraham Lincoln

Doris Kearns Goodwin accessed a York countian's eye-witness account of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in her acclaimed "Team of Rivals."

She writes briefly about Lincoln's passage through York County on his way to deliver his famous address in November 1863.

As Lincoln delivered his speech, 15-year-old Hanoverian George Gitt was beneath the platform.

Goodwin drew on Gitt's account to paint the scene that day. He wrote that the crowd stilled as soon as Lincoln got on his feet:

Tom O’Handley, right, and Al Missinger of York County Parks helped renovate the New Freedom Train Station several years ago. A museum in the station includes a renovated caboose, former abode for a homeless family. To read about a potentially disastrous middle-of-the-night event that started at the New Freedom train station, see: The unsolved mystery of locomotive No. 1689

An old caboose with a new red coat of paint sits on tracks near the renovated New Freedom Train Station.

As part of a museum at the station, it's open for tourists to walk through and their kids, tired of riding on the nearby rail trail, to climb around in.

But there's an old sign that prohibited men working on the railroad from doing what any kid would do if given a chance: Climbing on the roof of the caboose... .

The southwest York County railroad community of Porters Sideling has made the news twice in recent days.

First, a recent Yorktownsquare.com post pointed readers to Scott Mingus' Cannonball blog post on the Confederate visit there in June 1863.

Then, a York Daily Record story indicated that Gwyneth Paltrow visited Porters in the 1980s.

The story stated:

Dale Danner, 90, of Penn Township, is a retired teacher from Spring Grove Area School District. He is Blythe Danner's cousin. Dale's wife, Mildred, said that when her father-in-law died in 1984, they had an auction of his farm in Porters Sideling, which Blythe Danner and Gwyneth Paltrow attended.

Actually, there was a third reference to Porters as well, and it involved Abe Lincoln. I toured the town and later wrote about it, as follows:

The cracker barrel in old country stores served as focal points in communities for social interaction.

As fellow Yorkblogger Scott Mingus explains in his "The Cracker Barrel" post, the modern country cooking restaurant chain draws on this nostalgia as a gathering place for travellers and visitors.

He goes on to tell of a Civil War moment in which a cracker barrel in southwestern York County's Porters Sideling incapacitated a clerk as rebels plundered his store. You have to read the yarn.

But here's a current twist on the cracker barrel in York's past.

Did you know the first Cracker Barrel restaurant/store in Pennsylvania opened in York County in 1994?...

Visitors gain a sneak preview of the Gettysburg Cyclorama in the new visitor's center in Gettysburg, the circular canvas that has attracted millions of viewers over the decades.
The Electric Map might be slated for storage, but Gettysburg's other top touristy icon is slated to return to public viewing in 12 months.

Paul D. Philippoteaux's Cyclorama depicting Pickett's charge undergoing restoration, and the first of 14 sections is being installed in its new home - the new visitor's center near the battlefield.

An Associated Press report on the project follows:

Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor commissioned this mural in Abbottstown, as well as the one below in Gettysburg. The non-profit group has overseen the drawing of murals and the installation of exhibits along a 200-mile stretch of the Lincoln Highway.

York Sunday News columnist Gordon Freireich recently gave an absorbing tour of the Lincoln Highway - Route 30 - in and around Abbottstown and New Oxford.

Around is appropriate here because those circles in the center of those towns make them memorable on that feature alone. (Goldsboro and Jefferson are two York County towns that route traffic in a circle around a monument or park.)

Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor officials, promoter of the communities along this old thoroughfare that tied together the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, saw his column and will reprint it in a future newsletter.

One of the roadside exhibits sits in front of the Altland House on Abbottstown's Circle. That and the nearby mural are as far east as the group's roadside museum extends... .

Harper Collins is publishing Jim Lewin's and P.J. Huff's "Lines of Contention: Political Cartoons of the Civil War," in November. This selection shows an 1861 cartoon of Jefferson Davis going off to war, penned by E. Rogers. But see below for a flip view of Davis returning from war... .

So far, The York Emporium has played host to a Millennium Festival, Sci-Fi Saturday and Snake Oil & Other Good-Time Recipes programs.

All this was held among its 500,000-books - and some eight-track tapes.

So when it comes to putting together a Civil War festival, one expects, well, not your everyday presentations.

That's what the public will get from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22, at the West Market Street store, according to owners Jim Lewin and Pam Farrow. The store sits along the main route taken by rebel troops invading York in late-June 1863.

Here is a tentative partial lineup:

Lewis Miller captures Gen. Judson Kilpatrick near Hanover. That's old Mr. Rudyseal on the fence, a pro-Union man. "Come to my house and take some wine," Rudyseal tells Kilpatrick. "You do me a favor. Let us stand up for the government, and all bear against the rebel." The York Civil War Roundtable, scheduled to start meeting at the York County Heritage Trust, 250 E. Market St., will explore regional Civil War history, such as the Battle of Hanover. (Drawing courtesy of the York County Heritage Trust.)

After years at Borders Books and other locales, the York Civil War Round Table has found a new home at the York County Heritage Trust.

The roundtable's first program, free and open to the public, in its new location is set for 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 17. Dr. Charles C. Fennell, Jr., will discuss "The other Side of the Story." ...

Juan Calix, right, of Springettsbury Township, portraying Pvt. James H. Shirk of the 55th Massachusetts, sings the National Anthem at an Emancipation Proclamation Celebration at Martin Library. Voni Grimes, an award recipient at the observance, accompanies him on the harmonica.

A majority of York County residents did not like Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation when it was announced on Sept. 22, 1863, or when it became law 100 days later.

That was my conclusion delivered in a speech over the weekend at an EP observance sponsored by Crispus Attucks Association. The organization is raising funds for a soon-to-be-opened Underground Railroad museum at ex-slave and 19th-century York businessman William C. Goodridge's former home.

I showed presidential election stats: Lincoln received only 43 percent of the York County vote in 1860 when Lincoln carried Pennsylvania and won the presidency. His three Democratic challengers scored the rest, and the York County largest vote-getter, John C. Breckinridge, also carried the South... .

John Wilkes Booth ... 'Jack had a yellow streak in him.'

John Wilkes Booth didn't have a very good reputation as a schoolboy in York.

And before he later committed his dastardly assassination of Abraham Lincoln, he dragged a friend and former York County resident into his troubles... .

Clarence Cobb was a schoolmate during Jack Booth's few weeks in a private boy's school in York.

"Jack had a yellow streak in him," that schoolmate, Clarence F. Cobb, later said.

Scott Mingus writes about the Confederate occupation of York County in the most recent edition of Gettysburg magazine.

Public reaction to the Confederate invasion of York was all over the map because emotions and political views of the citizenry were all over the map.

People were in disagreement over the surrender of the largely undefended town to the 6,000-plus invading Confederates in late-June 1863, in the first place.

And when the grimy, often shoeless soldiers marched into town, their entry was met with markedly different reactions.

Some people cried as the enemy camped throughout the town. Others openly socialized with their captors. Some hid behind closed shutters. Some reluctantly complied to the rebel requests, particularly their requisition of large quantities of food, clothing and money. Some complied out of expediency.

In an article in the most recent edition of Gettysburg Magazine on the occupation of York, Scott Mingus uncovers reactions not published up to this point:

Cartoonist Walt Partymiller placed J.W. Gitt in an elite group of American newspaper publishers in this tribute after the longtime Gazette and Daily publisher died in 1973.

J.W. Gitt consistently pointed to the founding date of his newspaper, The Gazette and Daily, at 1795.

That date came out again in the publication of Mary Allienne Hamilton's new biography of Gitt,
Rising from the Wilderness.

The problem with that date - or any year - for the founding of the predecessor to the York Daily Record is that it can't be definitely determined.

In doing Gazette and Daily and Daily Record history, I've tried to consistently use what is certain: the earliest existing copy of The Gazette is dated May 20 and numbered "14." (A copy of that edition is available at the York County Heritage Trust.)

If it published weekly and you count backwards, the first edition would have come off in early 1796. But weekly newspapers did not always publish weekly in those days.

What is more certain is that the Daily Record and Gazette, taken as a whole, is among the top 15 oldest newspapers in America. And one of Pennsylvania's oldest businesses. And perhaps York County's oldest business, although feel free to challenge that.

But there's no claim that publication of any York newspaper has been continuous. A large gap in publication occurred, for example, between about 1807 and when the German language Gazette came back in English-language form in 1815.

Anyway, here is a chronology I prepared of Gazette/Daily Record history:

E-mailer Jack Stuckey has raised several good questions about the Confederate occupation of York in late-June of 1863.

I'll put up some of the questions with answers: ...

Artist Lewis Miller captures members of the black community celebrating after receiving news of the Emancipation Proclamation. (Courtesy, York County Heritage Trust.)

Underground Railroad enthusiasts will have two opportunities to learn more about that network that led many fugitives to freedom through York and Adams counties.

Organizers of the Goodridge Freedom House in York plan an Emancipation Proclamation Celebration from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8. Ex-slave William C. Goodridge's former residence on East Philadelphia Street is being developed as a museum. When completed, it will be officially known as the William C. Goodridge Freedom House and Underground Railroad Museum.

Goodridge was a 19th-century York businessman whose home, business properties and rail line are believed to have been part of the Underground Railroad.

In Adams County, Underground Railroad Tours of Adams County will be conducted on Gettysburg Tour Center buses and vans Saturdays through the fall... .

Lige White's Comanches were in the vanguard of the Confederate invasion of York County in late June 1863. Here, the mounted unit rides in the vicinity of Hanover. In his new blog Cannonball, Scott Mingus will draw on his research about the rebel movement across the southern tier of Pennsylvania to the Susquehanna River. That research will result in book "Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition," due out later this year. (Courtesy, Hanover Public Library.)

In a recent post , I touted Scott Mingus' new regional Civil War blog, Cannonball.

I wanted to give some for insight into his insight local Civil War matters: ...

Cassandra Morris Small witnessed the Confederate invasion of York in late-June 1863. Letters she wrote about the occupation to a cousin remain valuable primary sources detailing the rebel occupation in the wake of the borough's surrender. (Courtesy, York County Heritage Trust.)

A group of living historians have been making the rounds in York and Adams counties recently.

As an example, The PA Past Players will be at Brown's Orchards & Farm Market, Loganville, from noon to 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17.

As part of the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails Program, these historical interpreters have been trained to educate others about this region and the Civil War.

The presence of these characters has special meaning in York County. For years, York's surrender to the Confederates has clouded discussion about the York's area's Civil War past.

In the past 20 years, recognition of Civil War achievements, long overshadowed by the questionable surrender and humilitating Confederate occupation, have been increasingly part of community discourse. These living historians are further evidence of this trend.

Supplied by the PA Past Players, the following are brief bios of people from history portrayed by the group:

Let the countdown begin.

An Associated Press story tells about the approach the 150th anniverary of the start of the Civil War.

That's assuming one figures the war actually began with John Brown's 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry. For those who prefer Fort Sumter, the 150th of that bombardment is only four years away.

The AP story shows how folks today are partaking of Civil War sites, complete with wine tastings, plantation house tours and Shakespeare plays.

The target group is "new seniors," Baby Boomers who won't go to Branson, Mo., via bus. ...

Workers dig trenches near Wrightsville to provide defenders leverage against an anticipated Confederate offense to capture the bridge spanning the Susquehanna River between York and Lancaster counties. But the ditches did little good as the outmanned soldiers in blue folded to the Confederate assault of Wrightsville in late June 1863. Scott Mingus, author of a soon-to-be-published book on the Confederate raid, has begun blogging on Civil War topics at http://www.yorkblog.com/cannonball/ .

Yorkblog.com's newest blog, Cannonball, will feature posts from Scott Mingus on the Civil War.

Scott has written two books on the Civil War already, and he has written a soon-to-be published major work on Gordon's Expedition through Chambersburg, Gettysburg and York on to the Wrightsville bridge in late June 1863.

His day job is in research and development for Glatfelter paper, and he brings those investigative skills and a lively writing style to his history work.

As an example of his thoroughness and precision, this was his response to my query about the strength of John B. Gordon's force as it fronted Wrightsville and its coveted bridge on June 28, 1863:

Jan Weitkamp of York Township shops the Zarfos Furniture Store in Red Lion. Weitkamp would visit the store with her parents and later bought her own furniture from Zarfos. A century ago, her family would have used the store's undertaking services.

George Hay was leader of local volunteer troops in the Civil War.

He was part of the delegation that rode to Farmers Post Office, 10 miles west of York, to surrender the town to the advancing Confederates.

But he is also known today for his civilian occupation. He made furniture - and caskets. He was an early York County furniture maker/funeral director... .

Love getting questions from readers.

In fact, I wrote a York Sunday News column exploring some recent queries.

Now, we get a couple more: ...

E.A. Wise acquired this classic view of York's western entrance in a New York City antique shop in 1960.

E.A. Wise of York sent in a lithograph of York's western entrance circa 1845. His image tells an interesting story.

The Centre Square courthouse is gone, moved to the East Market Street location occupied by its successor today. That suggests that agrarianism still ruled for the borough to keep a bustling market place at its center.

The market sheds came down in 1887 when the city's powers believed the need to transport people and product, spawned by the Industrial Revolution, outweighed these venerable, but tottering sheds... .

Ruthe Craley, right, presents Lady Bird Johnson with a memento from the York Symphony Orchestra. This photograph appeared in the YSO's 75th anniversary book.

A York Sunday News editorial pointed out all of the Great Depression-spawned organizations that add so much to the York community today.

We also note in the editorial that at least four other great organizations grew up in another difficult time: the post-Civil War era. The York Benevolent Association, York Collegiate Institute (forerunner of York College), Children's Home of York and York Hospital highlight that list.

Indeed, one man's name has been linked to all four - Samuel Small, the "S." of P.A. and S. Small, the great merchants of York in the 1800s... .

Is the tall man with the stovepipe hat, center background, President Abraham Lincoln at Hanover Junction? The world might never know. But a stone Abe (see below) will soon adorn a garden near the station.

For years, people have pondered the old black-and-white photograph.

Is that Abraham Lincoln standing there with the stovepipe hat at the Hanover Junction train station?

No, some say, that was A.W. Eichelberger, president of the Hanover Branch Railroad.

Well, Abe was there, no doubt... .

An Adams County Historical Society rep will return this Confederate soldier's tooth to his family.

The Electric Map is staying, but the Civil War soldier's tooth is leaving.

A recent story in the York Sunday News explained that the familiar light-bulb-laden map showing Gettysburg troop movements probably will be carved up, shrink wrapped and moved to a National Park Service barn.

No group has put forth a credible bid for the low-tech map, and it's hard to move elswhere anyway because the building that has housed it for years was built around it.

No indication about when the map will be displayed again, but at least it's not going to the landfill.

Now for the tooth... .

York Hospital's Dr. Douglas Arbittier shows a 1730s-vintage saw used to amputate limbs. He will demonstrate saws from his collection on a History Channel program. See History Channel for programming.

Douglas Arbittier has collected surgical saws and bloodletting devices for years. He even has a Web site to show off his collection.

His collection gives a poignant view of progress in medicine and the horrors of war.

York County, of course, is historically in tune with such horrors. In fact, the the U.S. Army Military Hospital operating in York during the Civil War had its own collection of surgical saws... .

There's an interesting story behind this Grand Army of the Republic photograph, with a York County twist.

Angelo Scarlato of Etters ran across a photograph of grizzled Civil War vets than piqued his interest.

"History Detectives" became involved and effectively unraveled the mystery, as reported by the Syracuse (N.Y.) Post-Standard:

The Adams County Historical Society is making available a set of photographs of the Gettysburg battlefield at the end of the 1800s.

The historical group has digitized the William H. Tipton collection.

Here's an excerpt from a Hanover Evening Sun story on the collection:

Richard Kraus said he misses the sounds and smells of his old home, especially the creosote odor from the fireplace. He was surprised to learn it's still there.

First comes a longtime resident of the Elmwood Mansion telling credible stories about ghosts in that wonderful York landmark.

As discussed in previous posts, Ann Niess wrote an intriguing book about growing up in the mansion. (Excerpt: My whole family, and later on Edward Strickler and his family, all witnessed a shadowy figure of a hoop-skirted woman ... . I am very aware that you as the reader will have your own interpretation of what I relate. However, I experienced it and can only describe what I thought I saw and how I felt.")

Now, York Daily Record writer Frank Bodani explores the Elmwood Mansion with a more recent resident, Richard Kraus. And he also told stories of apparitions.

All this attention has caused Ann Niess's book to sell out at its two local vendors: the Memorial Hospital Gift Shop and the York County Heritage Trust Museum shop.

But extra copies are being printed.

Ghosts aside - and they should be far aside - Niess believes the house gives meaningful lessons about America, as she wrote in a recent letter to the editor:

The very endurance of the house exhibited by all of the past interfacing events it had been subjected to, it can be compared to the "American dream" theory that substantiates our very American culture. Despite the ravages of time, wind and weather, the very bricks and mortar it was made from, it still "stands tall", and on its own. This trait is displayed by its long perseverance over adversity and circumstance, and to have evolved to its present status by becoming a useful structure for public service. We as Americans inherited this same legacy. We stand tall with our belief that in our very solid goodness of will and determination, we will overcome what ever will threaten our Americanism. We will persevere over adversity, and retain our identity. The very existence of the Elmwood Mansion exemplifies this Americanism theme.

Meanwhile, enjoy Frank's article on the mansion: ...

While checking out Patriot Days activities at York County Heritage Trust on June 22-23, look for the case exhibit on the York White Roses. ...

The goddess Victory is part of the handle to U.S. Grant's silver and gold sword. The former Union general in chief's initials are monogrammed in diamonds. This sword, estimated to be worth $2 million to $2.5 million will be auctioned in Gettysburg, June 24-25. The story of the sword appeared in the York Sunday News in June, another in a long line of Gettysburg stories. Background posts: Gettysburg statue damage spawns memories of Ellsworth Zouaves and U.S. Grant dines at Mick E. Dees.

The York Daily Record/Sunday News regularly covers Gettysburg battlefield news with the idea that not only will Adams County readers eat it up, but so will our primary circulation base in York.

When you add stories from our sister paper, the Hanover Evening Sun, to our regular story lineup coming from Adams, it's a heavy lineup of high-interest news to thousands of readers.

Many appear in our history section or in this blog's Civil War archives.

The following represents a short list of recent Gettysburg/Civil War stories produced by the Daily Record/Sunday News or the Hanover Evening Sun:

This is a section of East Market Street's York Fair panel, the widest of the murals. If you can't go on the walking tour of the Murals of York, see this virtual tour and also this colorful spread of all 18 panels.

You'll get a chance to hear first hand about those colorful Murals of York by attending free tours starting Saturdays through Labor Day.

I've used these 18 large-scale murals and 13 mini-murals regularly as illustrations in this blog and in the York Daily Record/Sunday News. They do a wonderful job of telling York County's story - from wars to everyday life and show how the community has advanced in including minorities as part of that narrative. (See below.)

Representatives of the York County Heritage Trust, curator of the large-scale panels on the walls of buildings will conduct the tours... .

For decades, not much was written in York County wrote about the Confederate invasion of the county and other pieces of the county's Civil War story.

At the risk of oversimplification, that's the cost of surrenderingYork without a fight. People got lost in the ignominy of the surrender and turned their research pursuits elsewhere.

Anyway, writers have hit stride, and it's about time.

In fact, the public will have a chance to meet several writers of Civil War books, including yours truly, as part of the a Patriot Days Weekend on June 23. ,,,

This is a view not commonly seen by those visiting the Electric Map - its underbelly. For a topside view, see below. Some map stats: The map is a 30-foot square. It was built in 1938 and installed in its own 554-seat auditorium in 1963. Number of light bulbs? 625. Background posts: Q&A on new Gettysburg visitor center, old Electric Map and Gettysburg's vaunted Electric Map to soon stop blinking. For numerous additional Civil War-related posts on this blog, see this category.

Gettysburg's Electric Map is for sale.

Soon, the low-tech map that for decades has oriented visitors to the Gettysburg Battlefield will not be part of the National Park Service's offerings.

Two observations:

The most memorable part of the presentation is the announcer's comment that Southern forces arrived at the battlefield from the north and Northern troops entered the field from the south. Those who have followed York County and the Civil War know that a whole division of Southern troops -- 6,000-plus men -- who, indeed, entered the field from the north -- had just arrived from the east.

Got that?

Those were Jubal Early's men, who had countermarched to Heidlersburg in Adams County, northeast of the field, after reaching York and the west bank of the Susquehanna in Wrightsville.

Also, park service stats place Electric Map visitors in 2006 at 228,792 people. At an average price of $3.50 a ticket, sounds like a pretty good business opportunity for someone who wants to preserve the Gettysburg icon. (To see how the park service will handle the map, view the post shrinkwrapping ).

The York Sunday News story follows: ....

"Doctors say Lincoln had severe smallpox when he delivered Gettysburg Address," the headline on the AP story read.

That seemed like old news.

I checked and it was.

Gettysburg physician Bradley R. Hoch explored Lincoln's illness in his "The Lincoln Trail in Pennsylvania", published in 2001. And he involved York County's Hanover Junction in his explanation.

As Lincoln was returning to Washington, D.C., via Hanover Junction, he waited for a connecting train. Hoch wrote:

Louisa and Anna Berger, shown in this York County Heritage Trust photograph, were members of a widely known family musical troupe in the 1800s.

June Lloyd's Sunday column "The musical young Bergers" told the story of a then-prominent, but now-little-known musical group with roots in York County - the Bergers.

That 19th-century group later featured an pioneering woman saxophone player after the Civil War. And one of the Bergers played the coronet.

June wrote:

A previous York Town Square post detailed several monumental historical York County events occurring in late June.

Congress' departure from York County in 1778 was one. The Confederate Army's invasion in 1863 was another.

Now, we've discovered two more... .

Neighborhood kids play in the Salem Square park as the renovated statue of a Civil War soldier looms in the background. For a photograph of the headless statue after it was damaged by high winds, see below.

The restoration of Salem Square's statue in York intrigues for at least three reasons.

First, the statue offers a two-fer. It shows a Civil War soldier but celebrates the York Rifles unit's involvement in both the American Revolution and the War Between the States.

That unit was an early responder in both wars. Its members marched to Boston to join George Washington's forces in the seige of that city in 1775. And the unit guarded the Northern Central Railroad within hours of the Confederate firing on Fort Sumter... .

Workers from Keystruct Construction labor on the new museum and visitor center at Gettysburg National Military Park. Red metal siding is up on the cyclorama portion of the building, designed to make the center resemble a barn. The longtime Gettysburg Cyclorama painting will be moved to the new center.

A depiction of Pickett's Charge, painted by the same artist who produced the Gettysburg Cyclorama work, has been purchased in North Carolina.

A story in the York Daily Record explains the 376-foot-long painting:

Mary C. Fisher, seen in the living room of her East Market Street home, arrived at field hospitals in Gettysburg soon after the battle ended in early July 1863. What she saw there shocked even this veteran military nurse.
One more thing about Mary C. Fisher, the seasoned Civil War nurse who helped so many wounded after the Battle of Gettysburg.

She made one of my favorite quotes from history, in describing the concern of York's citizens about the Confederate occupation in late June 1863... .

Mary C. Fisher cared for the wounded after the Battle of Gettysburg and at the U.S. Army General Hospital in York. She later wrote about her heroic duties in the Philadelphia Times. Here is a clip of her work from the York County Heritage Trust files.

York County's historian Jim Rudisill reminded me of a Mary C. Fisher story that I did not include in a York Sunday News column on the noted 19th-century nurse.

After Mary's death in 1913, her family kept stories alive about the great days that Mary and her husband/county Judge Robert witnessed the rebel occupation of York in late-June 1863.

Daughter, Mary, a youngster at the time, recalled how a rebel officer picked her up as he rode through York and said: ...

Soldiers Circle, where many Union soldiers who died at York's military hospital were buried, is seen through the gate at Prospect Hill Cemetery in this undated photograph. (Photograph courtesy of York County Heritage Trust.)

As blue and gray soldiers, bunked in hospital such as York's U.S. Army General Hospital, suffered and died in the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, some of the wounded had a good life.

In researching a sequel to his "Human Interest Stories from the Gettysburg Campaign", Scott Mingus came upon an unfortunate story about William A. McCartney, listed as a York resident in his muster papers:

Two Union batteries fight on Bunker Hill, overlooking the main streets of Hanover, on June 30, 1863. The Union cannons dueled with Confederate artillery units in high positions across town. The booming cannons and screeching projectiles terrorized residents hunkered in homes. The story of how the Confederate invasion of York County in 1863 enmeshed women and children has been too little told. (Drawing courtesy, York County Heritage Trust.

In my York Sunday News column, I wrote about how Mary Jane Rewalt stared down a room full of Confederate officers who were testing her loyalty.

That occurred in her Wrightsville home during the rebel invasion of 1863, and, as I outlined in my column, that exchange represented one of many dangerous encounters between rebel troops and their York County captives.

But on a national level, she is better known as author Gore Vidal's grandmother.

June Lloyd, archivist emeritus of the York County Heritage Trust, links the heroic Mrs. Rewalt with Gore Vidal:

This scene, in a York County Heritage Trust photo, appears to show the gazebo still standing in 1866 near the demolished buildings that made up the U.S. Army General Hospital in York. About 200 military patients died at the hospital, and many are buried at Soldiers Circle, commemorated by a monument.

Intrepid researcher Scott Mingus has put a face on one of those who died at York's Civil War military hospital.

Mingus shared a regimental history entry on Frank Rollins, serving with the First Minnesota in first day fighting at Gettysburg.

Simply put, Rollins ran into a Confederate buzzsaw.

The 22-year-old had had been a soldier for only nine days... .

Remember those three Gettysburg monuments attacked by vandals about a year ago?

About $39,000 has been donated thus far to repair them.

Gettysburg National Park officials have updated the monument refurbishings:

Blaw-Knox's Naval Ordnance Depot, successor of York Safe & Locks, was one of the newsmakers that occupied a spot in Codorus narrows north of World War II-era York. The area where the creek cuts through the hills has long been a site of activity in York County, including home of current occupant of the old Naval Ordnance building, Harley-Davidson. Here, servicemen from Philadelphia's Naval Incentive Division "inspect" Twin Bofors, 400 mm anti-aircraft guns, with the aid of some women workers. (For a look at Quad Bofors, see photograph below.)

An e-mailer responded to my recent column on the Codorus narrows with some memories:

Living away from York for many years, I particularly enjoy reading
your excellent historical pieces on my hometown.

Your recent piece on the Codorus Narrows brought to mind a visit home
a few years ago, when I woke to the sight of excavation on the
hillside directly west from our family home. The hill, long being
gobbled up by a quarry on the creekside had been scraped clear for a
townhouse development to the east and south... .