It was an ordinary day. Watching a few airplanes land at the Lancaster Airport. I'm always amazed as to how easy it looks when the plane lands and both wheels hit at the exact same instant. I know it is the skilled pilots that make it look easy, but it is still fun to watch the planes land. I was recently talking with our friends Jere and Sue about a fellow high school classmate who was a pilot for Allegheny Airlines for many years. Jere said, "Wow, how long ago was that?" Well, the company operated out of Pittsburgh, PA from 1952 to 1979 and was the forerunner of US Airways which eventually merged into American Airlines. Our friend Dave became a pilot after we all graduated from high school in 1962. But, flying was perhaps the last step of my story today, since I have found a few photos to share showing land transportation throughout history. Nothing spectacular, just the same routine transportation that has probably been a part of just about every city in the United States. Started with pathways that connected the Susquehannock Indians whose main village was Conestoga in what is now Manor Township, Lancaster County. The village thrived from about 1690 to 1740 and was the center of trade with settlers as early as 1696 when William Penn, James Logan and four colonial governors of Pennsylvania visited Conestoga. Today the hamlet of Indiantown is probably the actual site of the original Conestoga. From Conestoga there were about six or seven paths that led in different directions.
These pathways eventually became roads such as U.S. Route 222, PA Route 741 and current routes to Philadel- phia, Willow Street, Strasburg and Gap. The eastern-most route led to Chester, PA and was known as the Conestoga Path. Naturally, walking, horseback riding and small utility wagons were the earliest means of transportation along these paths. Then, in the mid-to-late 18th century, Conestoga Wagons, with their distinct curved floors and canvas covers arched over wooden hoops became a common sight on these pathways. They carried farm products and goods from cities to rural communities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and Virginia. The wagon got its name being it was made in towns along the Susquehanna River where Native Americans using the Iroquois language lived. "Conestoga" is the word to describe "people of the "cabin pole", thus the Conestoga Wagon.
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| The Susquehanna Canal in Columbia can be seen here. |
These wagons eventually turned into stage coaches and other types of animal-drawn means of transpor- tation. Also during this time was water and canal transpor-
tation with boats and barges that carried goods along a variety of canals. The Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal to Baltimore was opened in 1840 on the west side of the Susquehanna that had canal boats going north to south near Columbia, Pennsylvania.
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| Early railroad train crossing the Conestoga River in Lancaster. |
The first railroad to pass through Lancaster County was the Philadel- phia and Columbia Railroad that opened on March 31, 1834. It was constructed by the state as part of the Main Line of Public Works, a rail and canal system to connect Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.
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| Lancaster trolley line. |
The principal trolley company in Lancaster County was the Conestoga Traction Company that started in the early 1900s and continued into the late 1940s. The first vehicle, or automobile, was built in 1769 by Frenchman Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, with the first American car built by Oliver Evans in 1805. Henry Ford launched his motor company in 1901 with the sale of the mass-produced Model T. They naturally were found all over Lancaster County. Well, I'm sure I must have missed some type of travel in Lancaster, but I believe my story today will give you a fairly good look at travel in Lancaster through the ages. It was another extraordinary day in the life of any ordinary guy.
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| The Strasburg Railroad passes a young Amish boy in this photograph. Click to enlarge. |
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| A Lancastrian shows off his 1940s Cadilac |
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| Two Amish boys demonstrate their transportation with this gas-powered wagon. |
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