The "Adventures on the Lincoln Highway: Part II" Story

It was an ordinary day.  A lazy summer Sunday afternoon with absolutely nothing to do.  The grass looked great, the weeds were wilting from being sprayed and the elephant ears were getting huge.  Carol and I had just finished lunch and I told her I wanted to take a drive to take some photos for a story I was planning.  Didn't seem to interested in my idea until I told her we could stop at Dairy Queen for a Blizzard on the way home.  Didn't take long for her to close the passenger's side car door.  My mission today is to take photos along the Lincoln Highway from Lancaster to York.  This stretch of the Lincoln Highway is now known as Rt. 462, but at one time was designated as U.S. Rt. 30.  The Lincoln Highway was the first coast-to-coast highway in the United States and was the brainchild of Carl G. Fisher in 1912.  It opened in 1913 and is celebrating it's 100 Anniversary this year.  As Carol and I picked up the road on the Western outskirts of the city, I said, "I'm excited to see what we can find that's old on the Lincoln Highway today."  She came back with, "You mean like us!"  "Yeah right!  Nah, I mean places that may have existed when the highway first opened in the mid-1910s."  

Maple Grove today.

We first passed what used to be the Maple Grove Swimming Pool which in 1913 was a short ride on the streetcar.  The park boasted a two million gallon pool that was the world's largest.  Lined with Belgian block that came from the streets of Lancaster and a beach that featured sand shipped in from Cape May, NJ.  

Maple Grove in the early 1900s.

At one time there was a snack bar, roller coaster and airplane swings and the auditorium featured big bands and boxing matches. I can remember my mom taking me there as a child and also to listening to the Friday night fights broadcast by radio from Maple Grove.  Today all that remains is a Community Center and a grassy park where the pool was located. As we headed West, we passed through the town of Mountville where my grandson was playing baseball a few weeks ago on a neat little field behind the VFW.

Mountville Post Office in the early 1900s.

The Lincoln Highway in this town featured the original Post Office which became Showers Store. That store is no longer there, replaced with a private residence.  As we headed into Columbia we passed Bully's on Main where our son Derek worked as a bartender for a year or so in the late 1990s.  Place was first built as a railroad hotel in 1903 to support the bustling town of Columbia.  

Bully's On Main as it appears today.

Since just after the turn of the twentieth century, this location has welcomed guests with the promise of a satisfying meal, first-rate drinks, lively company, and the offer of a warm, clean place to a get good night’s sleep.  As we entered the town of Columbia I told Carol to be on the lookout for the ceramic tiles that had recently been imbedded in the sidewalks along the Lincoln Highway, which is one of the main streets through the town.  The tiles feature a likeness of Abraham Lincoln, each measuring 8" x 8", made in terra-cotta with a deep reddish-brown glaze.

Limited Edition ceramic street tile of Lincoln

A limited edition of 500 were made and are offered for sale. Finally realized that the small items that looked like drains in the middle of pavement slabs were the tiles. As we reached the West end of the town we passed a beautiful Victorian Mansion that was built in 1890 and now houses the home and gallery of Tom Hermansader.  

Hermansader Mansion in Columbia dated 1890. 

Tom was a school teacher at one time who retired and now makes limited edition paintings of Lancaster County landmarks. I got to know him when both he and Keith Grebinger, my current boss at the gallery where I work part-time, had stands at Park City Center during the holiday season.  We crossed the Susquehanna on the Veterans Memorial Bridge and passed through Wrightsville before finally reaching the East end of York, PA. which is now called Market Street as it passes through the city of York.  

Pump in front of what used to
be Lincoln Highway Garage.

I decided that it was time to call it a day and head to the promised Dairy Queen.  First had to make a stop at a Turkey Hill mini-market for gas and realized that the store was the 1921 Esso Lincoln Highway Garage.  On the exterior wall of the Turkey Hill store was a mural showing what the station looked like in it's heyday on the Lincoln Highway.  

 Original gas pump stood on the other end of the store.  Neat way to finish our photo journey, except for the lemon meringue Blizzard I had at Dairy Queen.  Stay tuned for other stories in the next few weeks of my travels on other parts of the historic Lincoln Highway which is celebrating it's 100 anniversary this year.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

Turkey Hill Gas Station from today.

Painting on the far right wall of the gas station showing what the Lincoln Highway Garage looked like in the early 1900s.