Extraordinary Stories

1944 (1) Act of kindness (12) Acting (2) Adoption (4) Adventure (766) Advertisement (6) Africa (1) Aging (14) Agriculture (47) Airplanes (9) Alphabet (5) American Red Cross (1) Americana (116) Amish (43) Ancestry (5) Ancesty (2) Animals (43) Anniversary (4) Antigua (10) Antiques (14) Apron (1) architcture (1) Architecture (36) Art (175) Art? (8) Arts and Crafts (69) Athletics (6) Automobiles (40) Awards (7) Banking (2) Barn raising (2) Baseball (103) Basketball (3) Batik (1) Beaches (89) Becoming A Citizen (1) Bed & Breakfast (2) Bee Keeping (6) Beer & Breweries (2) Bikes (3) Birds (9) Birthdays (34) Blindness (1) Blogging (5) Bookbinding (5) Books (12) Boxing (2) Brother Steve (12) Buisiness (3) Business (5) Canals (1) Cancer (14) Candy (30) Caribbean Islands (9) Caribbean Villas (15) Cats (5) Caves (1) Census (1) Chesapeake Bay (61) Children (28) Chocolate (4) Christmas (57) Church Adventures (122) Cigars (1) Circus (3) Civil Rights (8) Civil War (6) Classic Cars (7) Climate Change (5) Clubs (1) Coin club (2) Coins (1) Collections (73) Comedy (3) Comic Books (5) Commercials (1) Comnservation (2) Conservation (41) Covered Bridges (3) Craftsmanship (12) Creamsicle the Cat (11) Crime (16) Crisis (312) Cruise Travel (6) Crying (1) Culture (4) Dancing (1) Danger (16) Daughter Brynn (58) Daughter-In-Law Barb (7) Death (5) Death and Dying (65) Destruction (2) Donuts (1) Downsizing (2) Dunking (5) Easter (3) Eavesdropping (1) Education (48) Energy (15) Entertainment (165) Entrepreneurial (62) Ephrata (1) Etchings (1) Eternal Life (4) Facebook (5) Factories (4) Fads (6) Family (261) Farming (37) Father (42) Father Time (68) Favorites (88) Firefighting (1) Flora and Fauna (28) Fond Memories (490) Food and Cooking (171) Food and Drink (111) Football (16) Forgetfullness (3) Former Students (10) Framing (30) Friends (359) Fruits and Vegetables (3) Fun (4) Fundraiser (6) Furniture (1) Games (7) Generations (3) Gifts (1) Gingerbread houses (1) Giving (8) Globes (1) Golf (3) Good Luck (2) Graduation (1) Grandkids (136) Grandparents (3) Grandview Heights (29) Great service (3) Growing Old (8) Growing Up (187) Guns (2) Handwriting (3) Hat Making (2) Hawaii (49) Health and Well Being (61) Health Care (4) Health Hazards (110) Heartbreak (7) Heroes (26) High School (142) History (777) HO Railroading (4) Hockey (4) Holidays (134) Home construction (7) Horses (2) Housing (3) Humorous (71) Hurricanes (1) Ice and Preservation (2) Ice Cream (8) Inventions (34) Islands (4) Italy (12) Jewelry (3) Job Related (62) Just Bloggin' (56) Just Wondering (19) Juvenile Diabetes (5) Labor (3) Lancaster County (542) Law Breakers (8) LDubs In-Laws (3) Lefties (1) Libraries (1) Life's Lessons (175) Lightning (1) Lists (72) Lititz (18) Locomotives (1) Lodging (1) Love (4) Magazines (2) Magic (1) Maps (2) Marching (2) Market (5) Medical (161) Memories (28) Middle School (3) Milk (2) Minorities (1) Money (3) Mother (54) Movies (6) Mt. Gretna (1) Music (118) My Brother (19) My Wife (260) Neighbors (7) New Year's Day (5) Newspapers (4) Nicknames (2) Nuisance (3) Obsolescence (5) Occupations (2) Old Age (1) oldies (1) Pain and Suffering (12) Panama Canal Cruise (13) Parish Resource Center (14) Patriotism (3) Penmanship (1) Pets and Animals (99) Photography (220) Pizza (1) Plastic (2) Playing Trains (2) Poetry (2) Politics (27) Polution (3) Postal Service (2) Predators (2) Presidents (11) Pride (4) Printing (81) Protesting (3) Public Service (65) Questionnaire (1) Quilts (1) Race relations (6) Rain (1) Reading (4) Records (2) Religion (10) Retirement (4) Revolutionary War (3) Robotics (1) Rock & Roll (4) Rodents (2) Saints (4) Sand (1) Scouting (2) Sex (1) Shakespeare (1) Shelling (2) Shopping (24) Simple Pleasures (122) Slavery (6) Small Towns (4) Smoking (1) Snickedoodle (1) Snow (1) Son Derek (27) Son Tad (33) Son-In-Law Dave (27) Soup (1) Spices and Herbs (1) Sports (139) Sports and collectibles (1) Spring Break (1) St. James (2) St. Martin/Sint Maarten (306) Stained Glass (3) Stone Harbor (4) Story-Telling (26) Stragers (2) Strangers (4) Strasburg Railroad (1) Stress (3) Stuff (4) Suicide (2) Sun (1) Surfing (1) Tattoos (4) Teaching (49) Technology (90) Television (6) Thanksgiving (2) The Arts (6) The Beach House (62) The Flag (1) The Future (5) The Shore (78) This and That (23) Timekeeping (7) Tools and Machines (25) Tours (2) Toys and Games (31) Track & Field (1) Tragedy (8) Trains (19) Transportation (18) Travel (16) Trees (2) Trending (2) TV Favorites (23) Underground Railroad (10) Unit of Measurement (1) USA (2) Vacation and Travel (545) Vehicles (80) Vison and Eyesight (2) War (14) Watches and Watchmaking (5) Weather (48) Weddings (3) White House (1) Wisdom (3) Yearbooks (12) York County (3)

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

The "What Ever Happened to the Shippen House? Story

The original Shippen House at Shippen and Orange Streets.
It was an ordinary day.  Driving west on East Orange Street when I have to stop for a traffic light at the corner of Lime and Orange Streets.  To my right, across Lime Street, is one of the most beautiful and charming buildings in the city of Lancaster, PA.  Place is known as the Young Woman's Christian Association (YWCA) and was built 100 years ago.  Wasn't a popular building when it was first built since it required the demolition of a two-story limestone structure that was built in the late 1760's and was at one time the home of Edward Shippen III.  The property itself passed from James Hamilton to Thomas Cookson, Joseph Balloway and Jasper Yeates.  
The YWCA which replaced the Shippen House.
Edward Shippen III had served as mayor of Philadel- phia as well as holding the office of chief magistrate in Lancaster County.  He founded the town of Shippens- burg and was one of the founders of the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton.  In Lancaster he was best known as allowing the Paxton Rangers to kill the last of the Conestoga Indians after he had pledged to protect them.  The Shippen House was one of Lancaster's best known landmarks.
Click on the photo to read the sign
which stands in front of the YWCA.
 In 1908 the trustees of The Shippen School bought the house and another building along North Lime Street where classes were held.  The teachers in the Shippen School lived in the old Shippen House.  Four years later the YWCA purchased the property and used the Shippen House as their headquarters before demolishing it.  On March 9, 1915, an article appeared in the local Intelligencer reporting that ground was broken for what was called a "splendid structure" to be erected at the corner of Lime and Orange Streets in downtown Lancaster.  The new building will be none other than "the handsome new Young Women's Christian Association."  The move to tear the Shippen House down and build a new building was rather controversial at the time.  The only consolation that the people who wanted the building saved was an historical sign that told about the Shippen House.  I have posted another story about the occupants of the original Shippen House, but have never followed it up with what ever happened to the residence.  Today's story, in the 100th year of what was once the Shippen House, will do that.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

4 comments:

  1. In the early 60's we went to a few swim meets on the ground floor in the YMCA. At the gym there were dances on the BB court called the "hangout" every week.
    I can only remember four places to hang out to eat. Wheatland Diner, McDonalds Col av, Martins, and of course Gino's next to Brecht Elem school. Did you know/knew "Johnny" Hershey at Brecht?
    Chip Seiple

    ReplyDelete
  2. That name doesn't sound familiar. What years did he attend Brecht? I was there from Sept. 1949 to June of 1956. I too remember going to "Hangout", McDonalds on Columbia Ave. and Martin's Drive-In where they had Go-karts you could drive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hershey was a '63 MT grad, so he was a year behind you at Brecht. Dad owned Hershey's Esso on Liberty & Lititz Pike. Lived across Lititz Pk from Overlook beside Armstrong Manor.

      I recently opened my autographed "History of Manheim Township" only to see the layout & design was by you. Surprse..Nat signed my copy as a BD gift from my sisters Sally & Nancy who were good friends & classmates of his. Great book.

      Lastly, I met Norm Billipp once around '62 and was friends w/ brother Andy who was my classmate in '64. WE had our 50th class reunion last Oct and had a good talk about Norm.

      He wa shot down in '68?, and I was at Cam Ranh Bay three years later. I was also a Capt. Thanks to
      Ken Knap @ MTEF, my AF 8X10 pic is or will be on the wall w/ his & others.
      Sorry this is so long.

      Chip Seiple

      Delete
  3. My wife and I travel with Jerry and Sue Herr (Bingham) who both graduated with me from MT. On vacation now, but when I get back I'll have to get in touch with you so we can talk. I'm sure you will refresh my memory and give me some stories I can add here. Larry

    ReplyDelete