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Sign up for the ‘Secret Trust Adventure’ today!
Update March 21, 2021. It was a whirlwind of a weekend! Scores of people joined the crusade to find the treasure at the end of the Secret Trust Adventure. The Longnecker family using a single segment of the GPS coordinates and their superior local history skills to decipher the poem located the cache this evening.…
Blast from the Past: Canoeing Guide to the Historic Conestoga
Imagine our pleasant surprise to rediscover this advertisement for the Sehner-Ellicott-von Hess House on the back of the Canoeing Guide to the Historic Conestoga published by the Conestoga Valley Association in 1976. Here’s the text of the ad. Treasured Lancaster Landmark – Built 1780 Home of Andrew Ellicott Home of Penna. Chapter No. I Lewis &…
Architectural Tour of Mount Joy: Bube’s Brewery
Central Hotel / Bube’s Brewery / Cooper Shed 102 North Market Street Mount Joy, PA 17552 Bube’s Brewery is the most important and still surviving late 1800s brewery and one of the few late Victorian hotels in intact condition, remaining in Lancaster County. The entire complex, including the brewery, cooper’s shed, and bottling works buildings,…
Gone, But Not Forgotten: Weather Mountville Barn
Gone, But Not Forgotten: Weather Mountville Barn In 2008, the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County created a calendar series entitled “Gone, but not Forgotten” as a reminder of some things that aren’t here anymore. The Weathered Mountville Barn was the featured image for February of that year and painted by J. Richard Shoemaker. Artist’s…
C. Emlen Urban: Kirk Johnson Building on West King Street
For more than 45 years, the prolific Urban created many of the historic landmarks that are fundamental to the beloved character of Lancaster City. In this post, we will examine Urban’s 1911-1912 West King Street structure. This narrow building presents an elegant facade designed by C. Emlen Urban in the French Baroque style during the…
History of Columbia: 1795 William Wright Mansion
30 South 2nd Street 1795 In 1795, William Wright, financier of the first bridge across the Susquehanna and grandson of one of the founders of the community of Columbia, built a mansion next to his aunt, Susanna Wright’s home, the Wright’s Ferry Mansion. Both of these residences originally faced the Susquehanna River but as the…
Hidden Treasures: Historic Poole Forge
The history of this beautiful property dates back to the earliest days of our country. It was the second of three forges along the Conestoga River in Caernarvon Township, and the fourth forge constructed in Lancaster County. The story of the owners of Poole Forge is an example of the interrelationships through the marriage of…
See the Sehner-Ellicott-von Hess House as it looked in April 1883
123 North Prince Street Lancaster, PA April 1883 This was the home and land office of Andrew Ellicott on the southeast corner of North Prince Street and Marion Street at 123 North Prince Street. Ellicott was one of America’s most famous surveyors. He lived in Lancaster at 123 North Prince Street from 1801 to 1813.…
Southern Conestoga Valley: Smith-Coleman House
Smith-Coleman House Martic Forge Mansion 1164 Marticville Rd, Pequea, PA 17565 circa 1727-1815 The Smith-Coleman House is comparable to the Benedict Eshleman House in terms of age, social prestige, and size, but the two houses differ in their interpretation of the Georgian style. This tour offers a rare opportunity to compare how German and English…
Gone, But Not Forgotten: Orchard Road Farm
Gone, But Not Forgotten: Orchard Road Farm In 2008, the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County created a calendar series entitled “Gone, but not Forgotten” as a reminder of some things that aren’t here anymore. The Orchard Road Farm was the featured image for November of that year and painted by J. Richard Shoemaker. Artist’s…