CLOSED DECEMBER 24 & 25 | All operations of LancasterHistory will be closed to the public on Wednesday, December 24 and Thursday, December 25. We reopen to the public for regular operating hours on Friday, December 26, EXCEPT the Research Center which will remain closed. Thank you!
Open Mon – Sat, 9:30am – 5pm | Wheatland Tours 10am – 3pm
The summer of 2018 may have broken a record. It’s been our wettest summer. Ever. The previous high water mark? The summer of 1972 – the year of Agnes. While our rain has been spread out pretty evenly over the last three months, Hurricane Agnes plowed through Pennsylvania at the end of June 1972, dumping […]
Read MoreWas President Buchanan a patriot? Although his presidency is widely criticized, there is little doubt that Buchanan devoted much of his life to serving his country. He famously remarked, as things were heating up in South Carolina in 1861, that “whatever the result may be, I shall carry to my grave the consciousness that at […]
Read MoreIt’s a hot one out there, folks! And what better way to stay cool and have fun than to get together with your friends and family and jump in a pool? Just look at this group of bathers in their 1920s style swimming suits, hanging out and cooling off at Henry B. Keiper’s pool. Well, […]
Read MoreWhat’s a perfect way to spend a summer weekend with your best friends? Hanging out in the woods, preferably near a lake, and most definitely with good food and cold beverages. Pictured here around 1920 or so, Fanny Stauffer, along with her sisters Arline and Dorothy and friends Mabel Myer, Irene Johnson and Irene Numbers, […]
Read MoreThe grand inaugural parade on March 4, 1857 included marching bands, floats, and many elaborate horse-drawn carriages. One particular carriage – in line just behind the one that conveyed President Pierce and President-Elect Buchanan – carried a man few knew even existed: Dr. Jonathan Foltz. Dr. Foltz was there to perform an important duty – […]
Read MoreIt’s a lovely spring day in 1877 and you’re looking for a lovely spot to enjoy nature and maybe read that book you’ve been toting around for the last few weeks. Why not visit your local cemetery? It’s outdoors. It’s quiet. You might even find a nice bit of relaxing shade. Since public parks weren’t […]
Read MorePast visitors to Wheatland may remember the remarkable portrait of President Buchanan that has hung above the mantle in our west parlor since 1945. This portrait was painted by the artist William E. McMaster, who spent three weeks in residence at Wheatland in the summer of 1856 creating the painting from life. McMaster made this […]
Read MoreUlysses S. Grant has the distinction of being our first American president to write an autobiography. Grant’s two-volume autobiography, The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, was published by Grant’s close friend Mark Twain shortly after General Grant’s death in 1884. Many have speculated that Twain served as a “ghostwriter” for Grant; it is almost […]
Read MoreSince it’s Women’s History Month, I thought it only appropriate to highlight some lovely stained glass dedicated to the women of the world. These particular panes are found in the Women’s Memorial Room at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Lancaster. Located at the corner of Pine and West Chestnut Streets in Lancaster, the church is […]
Read MoreFraternal organizations have formed for various reasons over the years – from doing charity work to sports and recreation to military service to just getting together with your friends and neighbors for a cold beverage and a good time. In some cases, all of the above. The Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the […]
Read MoreRoom, board, and tuition cost $34 for a three month term at Lancaster County Normal School in 1855.