Community Calendar
The Community Calendar
A central part of LancasterHistory’s mission is to support the needs and interests of history-oriented organizations in our region and to bring into greater focus the extraordinary opportunities for learners of all ages to experience America’s past in Lancaster County and the surrounding region. LancasterHistory is proud to provide this Community Calendar to highlight upcoming events of history-focused institutions and organizations. Looking for LancasterHistory’s main events calendar? View events calendar.
How To Submit An Event
If you are an authorized representative of a Lancaster County-based, history-focused institution or organization, please fill out our Community Calendar Submission form to submit your event for inclusion on this webpage. Before submitting, however, we highly recommend you review our Community Calendar Guidelines [PDF, 217kb]. A LancasterHistory staff member moderates this Community Calendar. Questions about this calendar can be directed to info@lancasterhistory.org. Submit Event to Community Calendar COMMUNITY CALENDAR GUIDELINES [PDF, 217KB]
Calendar Guidelines & Disclaimers
Each submission will be reviewed and must be in compliance with our Community Calendar Guidelines [PDF, 217kb]. LancasterHistory will do its best to make sure all information on this calendar is correct and up-to-date. Despite our efforts, some information may be incorrect or may have been submitted incorrectly to us. We apologize for any inconvenience. Listings below may contain URLs to other organizations’ or institutions’ websites or ticketing pages, or other third-party URLs. These URLs do not constitute official endorsement on behalf of LancasterHistory and are for informational purposes only. LancasterHistory is not responsible for those URLs, the content found on those webpages being linked to, or those website’s privacy policies and policies on collecting data.
“Lancaster Prisoners of War: Transforming British Rebels into American Revolutionaries”
Who: Millersville Area Historical Society
When: Saturday, May 9 | doors open at 8:30am and lock at 9:15am
Where: Millersville Borough Administration & Police Building, 100 Municipal Drive
Cost: Free & open to the public
The Millersville Area Historical Society invites the public to a free presentation, titled “Lancaster Prisoners of War: Transforming British Rebels into American Revolutionaries,” when it meets at 9am Saturday, May 9, in the Millersville Borough Administration & Police Building, 100 Municipal Drive (doors open at 8:30am and lock at 9:15am).
The speaker will be Robyn Lily Davis, PhD, associate professor of history at Millersville University with expertise in colonial and Revolutionary America.
Lancaster, a thriving inland city and a major detention center for British and Hessian prisoners of war, largely experienced the American Revolution not through battles but instead through the daily realities of conflict on its streets. Davis’s talk will reveal the close and often tense encounters with enemy captives that reshaped local loyalties and sharpened divisions between Britons and Americans. “From their daily experiences with these prisoners of war,” Davis says, “Lancastrians were nudged away from a British identity and towards a shared sense of themselves as Americans.” A Q & A period will close the meeting.
Robyn has taught at MU since 2012 and currently is chair of the History and Philosophy Department. She’s been nominated to serve for the next three years as a member of the American Historical Association’s Beveridge Family Prize in American History, for which she’ll have to read 150-160 books each summer. The NYC native earned a BA in French Language and Literature from Columbia University before family took her to Oklahoma ,where she developed a liking for history and earned an MA and a PhD from the University of Oklahoma.
Although admission is free, donations are appreciated. For more details, contact Phil Gerber at 717.872.8837 before noon or at pge8507@aol.com.
Animating Democracy: The William Whipper Reading Circle
Who: The African American Historical Society of South Central Pennsylvania
When: Tuesday, May 12 | 5pm-7pm
Where: Lancaster Public Library, 151 North Queen Street
Cost: Free & open to the public
An artist/educator and a storyteller/civic organizer will be the featured presenters at the fifth and final session of the 2026 series, Dyymond Whipper-Young, Philadelphia-based artist, educator and a collateral descendant of the noted 19th century Abolitionist and Underground Railroad operator, William Whipper of Columbia, PA, will discuss her family heritage and show how that lineage has influenced her art. Her presentation will include dialogue and engagement with guests. Also presenting will be Chris Ballentine, a passionate student of history who will offer reflections on the powerful speech Frederick Douglass delivered at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. in 1894, titled, Lessons of the Hour.
To read this work of the great 19th century Abolitionist, publisher and orator, visit: https://frederickdouglasspapersproject.com/s/digitaledition/item/18815 This series of monthly public gatherings is sponsored by the African American Historical Society of South Central Pennsylvania and hosted by Lancaster Public Library in honor of the late Lenwood “Leni” Sloan of Lancaster, known and revered as an historian, cultural steward and an artist who passed away unexpectedly late last year.
This series of free public gatherings, The William Whipper Reading Circle, is named in honor of William Whipper, the noted 19th century entrepreneur from Columbia, Lancaster County. Whipper rose to national prominence as an writer, publisher and activist who advocated for Black civil rights through non-violence and moral suasion. He was a conductor in the secretive work of the Underground Railroad, along with his business partner in Columbia, the Rev. Stephen Smith (c.1795-1873).
For more details, contact Contact: Dr. Leroy Hopkins, lhopkins531@gmail.com or Leigh Kaliss, Director of Communications, 717-394-2651 Ext. 2270 lkaliss@lancasterpubliclibrary.org