Collections
The Collections at LancasterHistory
Scroll down to view each collection type, or click the links below to quick jump to a specific collection.
ARCHIVES | LIBRARY | PHOTOGRAPHS | OBJECTS
ARCHIVES
The Archives has over 600 manuscript groups that contain the records of individuals, families, businesses, social organizations, and City and County Government of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. These records range in date from the incorporation of the county in 1729 to the present. Letters, diaries, estate papers, business records, trade cards, Civil War muster rolls, love letters, and court records combine to tell the stories of families and communities in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
LancasterHistory is also a repository for Lancaster County Historic Government records.
- SEARCH THE ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS
- LancasterHistory’s Archival Collections and the Lancaster County Historic Government records are available online to the public.
- SEARCH THE MANUSCRIPT GROUP FINDING AIDS
- Finding aids for the Manuscript Groups, collections of materials which have a common theme or origin, are available by keyword searching LancasterHistory’s main website. This can also achieved by clicking the magnifying glass in the top, right corner of your screen. To search just the titles of the Finding Aids, you can also visit their main landing page.
- ORDER PHOTOCOPIES OR PDFS OF DOCUMENTS
- To order photocopies or PDFs of documents, please visit Services & Orders.
CONTACT STAFF
Need additional assistance? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to LancasterHistory’s Research Center staff at archives@lancasterhistory.org.
LIBRARY
- SEARCH THE LIBRARY COLLECTIONS ONLINE
- SEARCH THE JAMES BUCHANAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
- BROWSE DIGITIZED NEWSPAPERS
- BROWSE OR SEARCH LANCASTER CITY & COUNTY DIRECTORIES, 1843-1922
- These directories list residents in the city and the county by name and street address, and can help locate people on an annual basis from 1843-1922. The directories also list businesses and professionals.
- LINKS TO DIRECTORIES:
- ORDER PHOTOCOPIES OR PDFS OF DOCUMENTS
- VIEW HELPFUL RESEARCH GUIDES
- LEARN MORE OR SUBMIT AN ARTICLE TO THE JOURNAL OF LANCASTER COUNTY’S HISTORICAL SOCIETY
- SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES AVAILABLE ON-SITE
- Ancestry Library Edition
CONTACT STAFF
Need additional assistance? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to LancasterHistory’s Research Center staff at research@lancasterhistory.org. Patrons can also view a selection of research guides to assist with their research progress.
PHOTOGRAPHS
The photographic collections of LancasterHistory contain more than 90,000 historic images around the County. Included are early tintypes, daguerreotypes, stereographs, cartes de visite, and cabinet cards taken by Lancaster County, PA, nineteenth century photographers.
- SEARCH THE PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTIONS ONLINE
- Over 78,000 photos from the LancasterHistory Historic Photograph Collection are available online to the public. Patrons can also view a list of Lancaster County photographers whose photographs are in the collections.
CONTACT STAFF
Need additional assistance? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to LancasterHistory Research Center staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
OBJECTS
Since 1886, LancasterHistory has been collecting objects for research and exhibition. Today there are thousands of items that pertain to the history of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the life of President James Buchanan, First Lady Harriet Lane Johnston, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Lydia Hamilton Smith and so many more.
CONTACT STAFF
Need additional assistance? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Dr. Jim McMahon, Curator & Director of Collections, at james.mcmahon@lancasterhistory.org or (717) 392-4633, ext. 112.