The "The Lancaster-York Heritage Region: The Corridor Of Culture & Commerce " Story

Our tour boat for the River Discovery Tour on the Susquehanna River.

It was an ordinary day.  Carol had just asked our tour guide if we will see big piles of dead Bald Eagles under the wind turbines when they come into view?  As we meander down the Susquehanna River on our River Discovery Tour the huge wind turbines on the property of Turkey Hill Dairy loom high above us to our left.

The wind turbines from Turkey Hill Dairy.

 Carol's friend Marg had told her that the wind mills have killed many birds, since they were erected in 2011.  The turbines have reduced the dairy's greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 5,900 tons annually which is the equivalent of removing 1,000 cars from the road.  The wind turbines stand 262 feet in the air, thus the reason why some fear they are killing birds.  

Our tour guide for our trip, Kevin.

Our young and handsome tour guide, Kevin, looked at her and said, "You're the second person to ask me that today!  And, no, I don't think they have ever killed any Bald Eagles let alone any other birds.  But they do supply all the needed energy for Turkey Hill as well as places around them."  The day is cool for a day in early September with the temperature in the mid-60s as we begin our tour of the mighty Susquehanna River after leaving from the dock at the Zimmerman Center for Heritage.  

Safe Harbor Dam.

The tour is a new event this year and is a free activity due to a grant from the National Park Service and Pennsyl- vania Depart- ment of Conser- vation and Natural Resources.  It was a year ago that I wrote a story telling about this area along the Susquehanna River being named the 50th National Heritage Center.  I assume the funds for the water excursion came from the U. S. Park Service.  

The Pennsylvania Railroad tracks run under this water trough.

Three hour and a half long tours leave the dock below the Zimmerman Center daily.  They were supposed to stop at the end of August, but I recently received an email telling that the tours would run a few more weeks.  Asked for tickets and Carol and I are sitting in the small watercraft with about a dozen other people enjoying the history lesson our guide is giving to us.  We headed south, or downriver, until we reached the Safe Harbor Dam which is a hydroelectric gravity dam that was built between April of 1930 and December of 1931.  During the 60 minute ride our guide pointed out various species of birds as well as a Bald Eagle nest high in the trees along the shore.  

One of a few Bald Eagles we saw.

He also pointed out where the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal was located.  At one time it ran between Wrightsvile, PA and Havre de Grace, MD, at the head of the Chesapeake Bay.  As we headed north he told us about the start of the Pennsylvania Railroad system along the eastern shore of the Susquehanna which was primarily very high rock formations for quite a distance.  The railbed was constructed along the rock with several aquafer troughs running over the rail line.  The troughs were necessary due to the amount of water running through the rocks along the shore.  We also learned of the very large shad population and how the fish were gathered from the river years ago.  Stories of the Native Americans and early settlers to the area gave us a look at what life was like along the river years ago.  

Stick sculptures can be seen along the shoreline.

We headed upriver toward the Veterans Memorial Bridge which opened in mid-1929.  It used to be called the Columbia-Wrightsvile Bridge and was the longest multi-arch concrete bridge in the world.  Twenty-eight three-ribbed open-spandrel reinforced concrete arches, each spanning 185 feet carry the bridge across the Susquehanna between Lancaster and York Counties.  

It is on the National List of Historic Places and is still the longest such bridge in the world.  We didn't reach the bridge due to the shallow water, but turned once again and headed back to the Zimmerman Center.  The weather was chilly and the water sprayed on us a few times, but we enjoyed our trip learning about the history of the river.  Our thanks to Kevin, our guide as well as the River Discovery Tours for the free history lesson.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Another water trough over the railroad tracks.

A cormorant sits on a rock in the river.

The Veterans Memorial Bridge which connects Wrightsville and Columbia.