The 222nd anniversary of President James Buchanan's birth will be commemorated on April 20, 2013 and will feature the annual presentation of the White House wreath for the President's grave site at Woodward Hill Cemetery starting at 10 am followed by a Birthday Celebration at Wheatland starting at 12 Noon and lasting till 2 pm. Both events are free and open to the public.

The day's events begin at 10:00 AM at Woodward Hill Cemetery for the Presidential Wreath-Laying Ceremony. The Ceremony includes a historical view about James Buchanan by Major General Stephen M. Sischo, of the PA 328th. Another special guest is the 15th President's historic guards, the Lancaster Fencibles; they will present a black powder-gun salute at the Cemetery. The Ceremony concludes with the Presidential Wreath being placed at James Buchanan's tomb by Major General Steven M. Sischo with assistance from two Buchanan Elementary School students; Chad Haiges as James Buchanan and Madeleine Gagliano as Miss Harriet Lane, the 15th President's First Lady and niece.

Following the Ceremony the public is invited by the students and PTO of Buchanan Elementary School to President James Buchanan's Wheatland for a 222nd Birthday Celebration. Free tours of the President's beloved home, Wheatland, are available from 12 Noon until 2:00 pm with a tour beginning every 15 minutes and the last free tour beginning at 1:45. These tours will be led by the Buchanan Elementary School students as they interpret the history of Wheatland, James Buchanan, his family and his life. Enjoy a slice of James Buchanan's birthday cake with some punch provided through the generosity of the James Buchanan Elementary Parent Teacher Organization (PTO.)

• The Wreath Laying event will be held at James Buchanan's gravesite in Woodward Hill Cemetery 538 E Strawberry Street in Lancaster.
• Ceremony starts at 10:00 AM
• Free tours of the President's beloved home, Wheatland, are available from 12 Noon until 2:00 pm with a tour beginning every 15 minutes and the last free tour beginning at 1:45.

The Directors and Staff of LancasterHistory.org invite you to

The Grand Opening Gala for the Campus of History.

An Evening of Gratitude and Celebration

Saturday, April 27, 2013, 6:00 pm.

Cocktails and Buffet by The Belvedere Inn.

Preview the inaugural exhibition County, Commonwealth & Country

Sponsored by the Richard C. von Hess Foundation

Explore the grounds of the Campus of History, dance the night away to the sounds of The Business !

You may pay for your tickets to the Gala using PayPal !

One weekend in May Lancasterhistory.org brings WWII to Lancaster and the surrounding communities with tanks, trucks, tents, soldiers and a USO Dance. After 2 years in Lititz, our WWII Encampment returns home to the Campus of History at 230 N. President Ave.

Surround yourself with more than 75 re-enactors—paratroopers, infantrymen, the Army Air Corps, the Women's Air Corps (WACs), Navy Seabees, the Red Cross, the Germans and our workers on the home front. Talk to the soldiers, enjoy some bar-b-que, relive and remember the past. Teachers, send your students; they can chat with the re-enactors, collect their signatures, and bring their stories back to the classroom. Parents, bring the kids!
The encampment runs Saturday May 18, 9 am to 5 pm and Sunday May 19, 10 am to 4 pm. A WWII bi-plane flyover is scheduled weather permitting. The encampment is FREE and Open to the Public.

Saturday evening at 7pm it's time for the USO Big Band Dance. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B, I'll Never Smile Again, Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree, In the Mood.....enjoy dancing, rain or shine, to the songs and sounds of the Moonlighters. The Dance starts at 7pm. Admission is just $5. So break out your dancing shoes and brush up on your jitterbug!

Sponsored by:

Join us on First Friday, March 1, 10am - 8pm at LancasterHistory On the Square - 4 West King Street, Lancaster, PA

Gallery Grand Re-Opening

LancasterHistory On the Square located at 4 W King St will re-open to the public on March 1st for First Friday!  The gallery at 4 W King St features the exhibit, Take Another Look which features select portraits that were displayed in Lancaster in 1912 in a landmark exhibition on portraiture.  This 1912 exhibit was mounted at the Woolworth building and showcased over 200 historical and contemporary oil portraits of Lancastrians. Take Another Look includes a selection of the portraits that appeared in the 1912 exhibit, as well as examples that escaped the original curators' eyes the first time around.

Expanded Retail Space

• More Books
• Fine Gifts
• Local Folk Art

The gallery and retail space at LancasterHistory On the Square will be open after March 1, Tuesday through Saturday, 10am - 4pm.

County, Commonwealth, & Country, our newest exhibit on display in the Groff Gallery at LancasterHistory.org will open to the public on April 29, 2013.

Funded through a grant from the Richard C. von Hess Foundation, County, Commonwealth, & Country begins with the idea that local history provides a lens for viewing the broader American story. By looking closely at the objects from our collections, County, Commonwealth, & Country intertwines the stories of Lancaster, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the United States of America. In fact, many of America's foundational principles—liberty and freedom, tolerance and diversity, democracy and the political process—were molded and shaped in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

From the county's beginning as a part of William Penn's unique experiment in religious freedom and cultural pluralism, to its critical role in the emergence of national democratic politics in the 19th century, Lancaster County's story chronicles the many ideals that formed and transformed our state and nation. Our county tells stories of varied immigration and migration, tolerance and struggle, slavery and race relations, and the ever-changing saga of democratic politics in a nation that is still, on an international scale, in its political adolescence. The story of the county becomes the story of America.

Be sure to visit the Groff Gallery on or after April 29, 2013 and take a close look at the objects in our collection and learn how even the smallest object can tell the story of our nation in County, Commonwealth, & Country. Also, be sure to go to the Lower Level and examine the many objects that are housed in the open storage of the Richard C. von Hess Foundation Decorative Arts Center.