CLOSED ON JULY 4th | All operations of LancasterHistory, including President James Buchanan’s Wheatland, will be closed on Friday, July 4 for Independence Day. We will reopen for normal business hours on Saturday, July 5. Thank you!
Open Mon – Sat, 9:30am – 5pm | Wheatland Tours 10am – 3pm
This summer, LancasterHistory welcomed six students from colleges and universities across Pennsylvania into our NEH Summer Internship Program. Starting in early June, the interns worked on various individual projects as well as participating in workshops and traveling to other museums throughout the region. In this post, you’ll get to meet each intern and learn about […]
Read MoreLancasterHistory recently acquired an 1856 James Buchanan presidential campaign medal. While some of the images and symbols on the medal are straightforward, others are not. Especially intriguing is the appearance of 32 stars on the back of the medal—at a time when there were only 31 states in the Union. Why 32 stars? The answer, […]
Read MoreCommemorative Medals Three-inch bronze medals produced to commemorate important events, people, or places have been produced by the U.S. Mint as well as various private coin dealers and firms since the early nineteenth century. The 1850s ushered in an age of increased interest in collecting commemorative medals as mass production techniques allowed these items to […]
Read MoreWhen people talk about Harriet Lane Johnston, they tend to focus on all the outstanding elements in her life. Behind these exceptional stories is a reoccurring story of loss. Like many Victorians, Harriet knew death well. Today’s post explores the grief that coexisted with the timeline of Harriet’s public and political accomplishments. Rife with Tuberculosis […]
Read MoreTen year old Charles Jacob Swarr had quite the vivid imagination. Or so it would seem from his colorful and creative self-published picture book. It’s truly – and literally – one of a kind. The book was hand drawn and has stitched binding, though it’s no bigger than a matchbook. Created by Swarr in […]
Read MoreThe Slant-Front Desk For those of you familiar with the National Treasure movie franchise, this story of a secret (but empty) compartment in a Chippendale style walnut slant-front (or slant-top) desk might seem rather ordinary. Even so, the discovery of such a compartment in an eighteenth century desk of local manufacture speaks not only to […]
Read MoreContinuing from our previous post, we know that Peter Hilliard escaped arrest in April 1867. There is a small period where his whereabouts remain unknown until Buchanan’s Chemical Bank Book lists Peter Hilliard back at Wheatland as early as June 1867. In this book, Buchanan records wages of $12.00 per month given to Peter Hilliard […]
Read MoreFrom 1848-1868, Buchanan employed domestic staff at Wheatland. Some worked briefly and others worked for many years. The majority were people of Irish, African American, and German descent. Their age range during employment was as young as 13 and as old as early 60s. The domestic staff at Wheatland also had a variety of family […]
Read MoreJames Buchanan “Buck” Henry was one of James Buchanan’s nephews. Orphaned at the age of seven, he lived under the guardianship of his Uncle Buchanan. Buck went on to attend the College of New Jersey (presently known as Princeton), become a successful lawyer, serve two years as President Buchanan’s private secretary, and serve as the […]
Read MoreIn many ways, Buchanan’s presidency was a failure. While we regularly discuss those failures from a political perspective, there is one other fatal flaw to his presidency that lurks at a microscopic level. Indeed, as Buchanan made fatal decisions during his term in office, his body suffered the fatal error of his choice in hotel […]
Read MoreRoom, board, and tuition cost $34 for a three month term at Lancaster County Normal School in 1855.