The "Historical This & That Of Lancaster, PA: Part II" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Finishing my story about some of the "this & that" in the history of Lancaster County, PA.  Many of the vignettes I have written about in the past, but I have added a few new facts about many of the events and also added a few fun facts that will give you a better understanding of the city in which I was born, grew up and still live.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

Raising silkworms had a big influence in Lancaster in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Thousands of Mulberry trees were planted in Lancaster County to help feed the silkworms.  Heavens, we even named one of the city streets Mulberry St.

This post card from the early 1900's is of Stehli Silk Mill located in Manheim Township.  It was the largest in the nation and the second largest in the world.  During its best years it employed over 2,000 Lancastrians.  NOw you see why all those silkworms were important to the county of Lancaster.

The brick building on the left is now Lancaster's Visitor Center, but back in the late 1700s and into the 1800s it was Lancaster's City Hall.  From 1799 to 1812 Lancaster served as the capital of Pennsylvania, using this building as the capital building.  The brick building in the center is Lancaster's Central Market.

This building is known as Wheatland and was the home of James Buchanan, Lancaster's President of the United States.  Before he was President of the United States, he served as President of Franklin and Marshall College Board of Trustees.  He was responsible for selecting the current site of the College.

This is a postcard showing 533 South Prince Street in Lancaster City.  It was built in 1873 in 10 hours on a wager.  It was known as the Benjamin Mishler house and is still standing.  It recently was sold and looks much like it does on this post card.

This hand-tinted post card shows Lancaster's Prison located on East King Street.  It still stands and looks exactly as it does in this photo.  It was designed to look like the old Lancaster Castle in Lancaster, England.  We also have a red rose as our town symbol just as it was in Lancaster, England.

This photograph shows Penn Square in downtown Lancaster.  As you can see, a trolly is navigating through the square. These streetcars were pulled by horses until 1890 when they were electrified.  The building on the top right was known as Watt & Shand and was Lancaster's grandest department stores in center city.  I don't remember trollies, but I do remember the tracks in the street until they were finally removed.

I took this photo a few years ago of what was at one time the Follmer Clogg Umbrella factory on West King St. in downtown Lancaster.  It was the largest in the world.  Today it is an apartment complex.

This old photo shows workers at Armstrong Cork Company.  My grandfather worked there for years and I have the watch that he was presented when he reached 35 years of service.  Armstrong Cork was Lancaster's largest employer for years.  Today there are still a few Armstrong buildings, but not like it used to be.  

The Fulton Opera House on North Prince Street is now the oldest "living" theatre in the United States.  I have a few stores about the building that can be found under "Lancaster County".

In 1903 the Safety Buggy Works was the first company in America to build an automobile.  It was located on North Plum Street in downtown Lancaster.

There are many tobacco warehouses in Lancaster city.  Tobacco was the leading cash crop in the county from 1840 until 2000.  Lancaster's Amish community still plants hundreds of acres of tobacco in the rich soil of Lancaster County.  Most of the old tobacco warehouses have been converted for other uses such as this one which is now housing units.

One of Lancaster's most famous athletes, Barney Ewell, who won one gold and two silver medals in the 1948 Olympics.  According to my dad, Barney still owed my dad money when he died.

An old postcard of the Woolworth building in downtown Lancaster.  It opened in 1900 and was the tallest building in Lancaster at the time.

This is the Greist building in downtown Lancaster.  It was designed by C. Emlen Urban and became the tallest building in Lancaster when it was built.  

This is a postcard of the Hamilton Watch Company in Lancaster.  Hamilton Watch was established in 1892.  They were famous for the railroad watches they produced.  In 1957 they created the world's first electric watch.  My dad, who was a watchmaker in Lancaster, bought me an electric watch when I graduated from high school.  I still have it today, though it doesn't work.  

Lancaster's Central Market is the oldest operating farmer's market in the United States.  In this 1890 photo you can see a few of the 79 butchers who operated at the central market.

And finally, these recognizable Easter treats were created and sold at Lancaster's Rodda Candy Company.  Back then they were hand-squeezed through pastry tubes.  Lancaster County was also the home of Milton Hershey, the chocolate candy king.  What you may not know is that he became famous making caramels.