Open Mon – Sat, 9:30am – 5pm | Wheatland Tours 10am – 3pm
Honoring the Founding of Franklin College, 1787 In October 1937, Dr. Herbert H. Beck, Professor of Chemistry at Franklin and Marshall College and President of the Lancaster County Historical Society (precursor to LancasterHistory), presented a bronze plaque to the college from the historical society in honor of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Franklin […]
Read MoreFirst Historical Plaque in Lancaster County to Honor a Woman Today marks 69 years since the dedication of a plaque erected in memory of Ann Wood Henry (1732-1799) on October 26, 1953. The LancasterHistory object collection contains a number of historic bronze plaques – some placed by the Lancaster County Historical Society (forerunner to LancasterHistory) […]
Read MoreLancaster Woman Suffrage Association In November 1920, following ratification of the 19th Amendment in August of that year, women in Pennsylvania voted for the first time. Many from Lancaster participated in the effort through membership in the Lancaster Woman Suffrage Association. Recognizing the role of the Republican Party in supporting suffrage, nearly 1000 women met […]
Read MoreThe Great Commoner As a champion of racial and social equality in America as well as the free public school system in Pennsylvania, it should come as no surprise that Thaddeus Stevens (1792-1868) was also vehemently opposed to exclusionary organizations and secret societies. He regarded such groups as elitist and a peril to democracy. Stevens […]
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 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 MoreLancaster became the capitol of the United States for one day on September 27, 1777.