The "Havin' A Good Time In Lancaster: Part II" Story

Witmer's Tavern on Old Philadelphia Pike.

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in front of Witmer's Tavern wondering what ever happened to it!  I can remember taking a Polaroid photo of it years ago to add to my altered Polaroid collection, but back then there were rocking chairs on the front porch with the smell of fresh baked bread coming from the open front door.  

Photo of the Witmer's Tavern as it appears now.

It really looked like a tavern and inn, not as it looks today.  The building is on the list of National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania, which means it must stand for eternity...if possible.  The roof is in need of repair, a side building is ready to fall down, the driveway around the building is filled with debris and the blue tarp covering the building tells visitors that it is in dire need of repair.  

Click to enlarge photograph.

Standing in front of the building is the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission sign telling the story of the building: built about 1725 by Benjamin Witmer, passed on to his son John, enlarged by Henry Witmer in 1773, prominent in the construction of the Philadelphia-Lancaster Turnpike in 1792.  This place drips in history, but sadly it drips in desperation and sorrow.  I walked around it and headed back to my car where my wife waited for me.  "That's so sad," she said when I was back in the car.  What more can anyone say!   The tavern sits on an acre of land and is also known as the Conestoga Inn Tavern.  It most recently was renovated in 1978 and was at that time operated as a bed and breakfast.  There were two barns on the property at the time, but a prop plane crashed into one of the barns and did quite a bit of damage to the roof and rafters of that barn.  Both barns were eventually torn down.  Luckily both the pilot and passenger of the plane survived.  

I hope that repairs will be made soon to the remaining tavern.  

Witmer's stone bridge over the Conestoga River.

Shortly I headed west toward Witmer's Bridge which stands on the bottom of what we in Lancaster call East King Street.  It too bears the Witmer name which was so prominent in Lancaster County.  Immediately after the Revolutionary War there was no bridge.  

The 1932 bridge built over the Conestoga River.

In 1753 Lancaster Commis- sioners met and talked about the need for a bridge over the Conestoga River to replace the busy ferry that was in place.  The following year they asked the the General Assembly of the Province for help with the cost.   On the west side of the bridge stands what at one time was known as the Witmer Restaurant, but today is called the Conestoga Restaurant and Bar.  

An early photo of the Conestoga Inn and Restaurant.

The original building was constructed in 1742 with the present building being built by Abraham Witmer about 1789, shortly after the American Revolu- tionary War ended.  The name and its owners have changed many times since then, but the name Conestoga was used most often.  To the east of the restaurant is the Conestoga River with a grassy area that at one time was more than likely the landing where patrons would board the "Lady Gay" riverboat to travel to Rocky Springs Amusement Park.  

The east entrance into the Conestoga Restaurant.

At first they thought they could hold a lottery to pay for the bridge, but that fell through.  Then the owner of the land on the west side of the river, Abraham Witmer, decided to help pay for the bridge, assuming it would be a toll bridge so he could get his money back.  It was said that the toll for every coach, chariot, wagon or other four-wheeled carriage would be 1 shilling and 6 pence, for every chaise, riding chair, cart or two-wheeled carriage would be 9 pence, every sled would be 1 shilling, every single horse and rider would be 4 pence and every foot passenger 2 pence with every head of horned cattle or swine 1 pence.  It was also decided that all poor persons could pass for free.  The bridge would be built across the river where the current road stood.  The bridge built by Abraham Witmer under the act of 1787 was not the current bridge, since it was built of wood.  

Another view of the Conestoga Restaurant.  One of the
owners was a student of mine in high school.

So another act was passed saying Mr. Witmer should built a more permanent bridge and remove the old one.  On November 12, 1800 Abraham Witmer informed the public that his new bridge will be completed by  tomorrow.  The stone bridge was 540 feet and the width was 19 feet with a tablet in the middle of it on the north wall telling of the history of the bridge.   Evidently Mr. Witmer was paid for the bridge by the county, and the toll was removed on September 5, 1918.  In 1932 a new concrete bridge over the Conestoga River replaced Witmer's stone bridge.  I have traveled across that bridge many times in my lifetime.  My Aunt and Uncle lived about 300 yards from the bridge on the east side of it and there were many times that I went fishing in the shadow of the bridge.  I must admit that once I found out that it wasn't the original Witmer bridge, the excitement of crossing it and following in the same tracks of many famous people seemed to evaporate.  The photograph I took today is still special, since I perhaps was standing on the exact spot that Mr. Abraham Witmer may have stood years and years ago.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The Conestoga Restaurant as seen from Lincoln Highway.

Witmer's Bridge looking west toward the city of Lancaster.

One more view of Mr. Witmer's second bridge of stone.  This was replaced in 1932 with the bridge that now crosses the Conestoga.