Lancaster County History

Lancaster County is known as the Garden Spot of America. It’s located in the southeast corner of the state of Pennsylvania. The city of Lancaster is about 75 miles west of Philadelphia, and a short drive from New York City, Baltimore, and Washington DC. It is a popular tourist destination, predominately to see the lifestyle and activities of the local residents known as Pennsylvania Dutch, or Amish. There are also other “plain” sects in the county. The early settlers came from Europe to escape religious persecution, and found this area’s mild climate and rich soil.

Native Americans

If you think of American Indians, your mind probably goes immediately to skirmishes and activities in the western part of the United States. But this land was inhabited by Indians as well. Two well known tribes in the area were the Conestoga Indians, and the Susquehannock tribe.  Both groups were tenders of the land, and presented little opposition to the new settlers. Some of this history still lives in area museums and private collections. The author of this article was raised on land in the county that was inhabited by these Indians.

William Penn’s Charter

William Penn’s charter created plots of land for those who immigrated to the new land. Lancaster County became part of this charter. Today you will find many farms and historical places from the 1700′s when people first settled in the area. Paradise, PA is said to have one of the oldest know residents buried in a small plot just south of that small town. Paradise, Strasburg, Blue Ball, Intercourse, Bird-in-Hand, and surrounding small communities are full of history. You may want to visit those towns and see the houses made of brick and houses made of field stone, which was a popular and often free choice of building materials.

President James Buchanan’s Home

Pennsylvania’s only president, the 15th president James Buchanan lived in Lancaster and his home is open to visitors. Not much is written about him because he essentially was not a very interesting president. Buchanan had earlier served as the Secretary of State, and was active in Lancaster politics and education. He also was the Master of the Lancaster Masonic Lodge. Buchanan was a Democrat who fought for control of the party, and by the time he left his one term in office, he had split the Democratic Party. His views on slavery were modest and sympathetic to the South. He believed that the South breaking away from the United States was illegal, but he also believed that going to war to stop them was also wrong. President Lincoln followed him to the White House, and we know the rest of the story.

Slavery

Pennsylvania had begun the slow process in the early 1800′s of making slavery illegal. By the time Lincoln was sworn into office, Pennsylvania was no longer a state that condoned slavery. Thus the southern counties of the state, of which Lancaster County is one, were very prominent in the Underground Railroad, moving slaves from the South to safety in the North. The Mason Dixon line ran along the south border of Pennsylvania and along Lancaster’s southern border as well.

Well Known Industry

Some of the well known companies that were started in Lancaster are the Hamilton Watch company, which is no longer in business. Armstrong (Cork ask it was known earlier) became a household name in flooring. Earlier inventions that came from the county were Conestoga Wagons, and the Pennsylvania Long Rifle, which sometimes is mistakenly known as the Kentucky Rifle. It’s possible that the misunderstanding came from the fact that many early settlers left southeast Pennsylvania heading west, and took the southern route to get around the Appalachian Mountains, which posed a formidable barrier.

There is much more to see in Lancaster. Come, visit and stay a while!

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Lancaster Historical Central Market

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