Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "An Historic Susquehanna Beach Town: Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day. Sitting in my recliner reading about the nearby town along the mighty Susquehanna River known as Marietta, Pennsylvania. It was only yesterday that I drove through Marietta for the first time in my life! I have no explanation why I waited so long except for the fact that I never felt a need to drive the 15 minutes from my home to the north of Lancaster to Marietta in order to see what I for years thought was a run-down, dirty little nothing of a town. And, then the other day I happened to Google "Marietta" and up pops the heading "Marietta, PA - A Historic Susquehanna Beach Town". Wow, what have I been missing? I love beaches!!

Well, I grabbed my camera, my car keys, told my wife I'll be back in an hour or so and gave her a kiss as I headed out the door to the car. Traffic was light as I headed west on Route 30 towards the Susquehanna River. Took the Columbia exit and turned right toward my destination. Within two minutes I had turned left at the sign that said, Welcome To Historic Marietta, Inc. 1872. Wasn't long before I began to realize what I had missed for close to three-quarters of a century. First of all, I felt alone as I headed down Market Street which I believe runs parallel with the Susquehanna. There was no one on the sidewalks and barely a vehicle on the road. I came upon some of the neatest architecture along the quiet street. Original log homes, stone homes, all styles of architecture with both single, duplex and row homes filling the streets in front of me. I noticed Victorian, Colonial American, Gothic Cottages and the few log cabins. I eventually reached what I assume was the square and pulled to the curb to take some photographs. I saw home after home that had "Historic Home" or "National Register of Historic Places" plaques near the front doors of homes and businesses. Many of these places were built in the early 1800s.

St. John's Episcopal Church in Marietta.

I stopped at the Episcopal Church for a photograph as well as an old gas station turned into a home that still had the original pumps in front of it. This little town, once known as "Anderson's Ferry", has an historical theater, town museum, old bank, a few churches, a Meeting House and 147 cherry trees (at least when the online article I had read was written a few years ago). I'm sorry to say that the only thing I can remember about Marietta was the disaster known as Hurricane Agnes that hit the town in 1972. A fellow who I worked with at Manheim Township High School lived in the town and had his home covered with water. We took up a collection for him to help with his recovery. What I thought would be a quick drive through town ended up being a three-hour visit. My photos today will give you an idea of what I saw during my very first time to drive through the town of Marietta. Tomorrow I will give you a look at some of the historical spots in the town. My only regret was that I never found the beach! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.