The "A Visit To Lancaster In The Sixties: Part II - the 1860s, 1760s & 1660s" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sorting through my photographs and my mind, trying to approach today's story in a logical direction.  

Entrance into the display

Yesterday I shared with you information about Lancaster in the 1960s as shown in the exhibition at the Lancaster Historical Society along President Ave. in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  The exhibit is called "LANCASTER in the SIXTIES" and has hundreds of documents, posters, photographs and visual memories which tells what life was like in the 1660s, 1760s, 1860s and 1960s.  I chose to start yesterday with the 1960s, since there wee many more pieces of history to show from that time period.  Today I will show you what Lancaster was like in the other three hundred years...beginning with the 1860s.  Follow along as I take you on a journey back in time to when life was more simple and less frantic as it perhaps is today.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The 1860s

This map of Lancaster is hand colored showing townships, city and borough boundaries, many which still remain today.  A few buildings are noted such as Wheatland, home of James Buchanan.  Click on images to enlarge them.

General John Reynold's gauntlets and sash dated 1861-1863 can be seen here.
John Reynolds graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point as an officer in 1841 and served in the American Civil War playing a key roll in sending the Army of the Potomac to the Battle of Gettysburg and was killed at the start of the battle.  He was buried in Lancaster Cemetery on July 4, 1863.

This is a tin type of James Flagg who was a soldier in the Civil War.
Many tin types such as this still exist and are collectibles for historians as well as family members.

This is a map from the Underground Railroad from "Slavery to Freedom".  The map highlights the paths taken by people escaping slavery.  These freedom seekers stopped in Lancaster City at points of safety, such as the home of Thaddeus Stevens or perhaps in the farmhouse owned by Daniel and Hannah Gibbons on the east end of the city.

Thaddeus Stevens' chair that he brought with him from his iron furnace in Caledonia which was between Gettysburg and Chambersburg.  On their way north the Confederate soldiers burned the furnace complex.  It was said Mr. Stevens was a target since he was a known sympathizer to the slaves.  Also can be seen is the boot that was worn by Thaddeus Stevens for his deformed leg.  Physical deformity was seen as a sign from God that the family had committed some serious sins. Such a deformity was called the mark of the devil, and as a consequence, the family was ridiculed and shunned.  By wearing this boot, it was less noticeable that Thaddeus had a club foot.

This painting, dated 1867, is of James Buchanan and was painted at Wheatland. the home of James.  This was painted 15 months before his death on June 1, 1868.

This slant-tool desk was owned by James Buchanan.  The desk has a top of green felt to provide a smooth writing surface.  It was said to have been in his library at Wheatland.  President Buchanan retired to Wheatland in 1861 and used this desk to write the drafts of his book, "Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion."

With 14 breweries manufacturing 775,000 gallons of beer annually, Lancaster earned the nickname of  "Little Munich" in 1868.  The four largest breweries were Haefner Empire, Wacker Eagle, Sprenger Excelsior and Rieker's Star Brewery.

Tobacco jar from Demuth Tobacco Shop.  Tobacco became a major cash crop in Lancaster County in the 1860s. The Demuth family opened its shop in the city in 1770 and continued operations until 2010.  It was America's oldest tobacco store. 

The 1760s

This is a 1767 blanket chest, maker unknown.  It was made for Johan Philip Greenawalt.  Pennsylvania Germans often ornamented objects used in daily life with bright colors, images from nature and depictions of Biblical stories.  Did you notice the "1  7  6  7" across the top to the chest?

This lithograph tells the story of the 1763 attack by the Paxton Gang against the  local tribe of Susquehannock peoples, called "Conestogas" by the English.  This print was created 78 years after the fact, demonstrating the lasting effect the event had on future generations.

This is the lock and key for the jail where the massacre occurred as pictured above.   Lancaster's Fulton Theatre and Opera House now occupies the spot where the violence took place.  

This desk and bookcase was made in 1755 by an unknown maker.    It belongs to the Jenkins family who were owners of Windsor Forge in Churchtown.  They prospered through the iron trade and lived comfortably as demonstrated by this handsome desk/bookcase.

The stove plate was made at Elizabeth Furnace in Lancaster County.  Forges relied on the labor of enslaved people to produce pig iron and other products.

This is a silhouette of Joseph Simon who was a Jewish pioneer and merchant.  He participated in expeditions as far as the Mississippi and helped establish Lancaster as a center for exploration, trade and settlement.  Mr. Simon supplied the Continental Army with arms and equipment.  He did direct that after his death that his Torah scrolls and silver ceremonial objects be given to the "Synagogue of the Jews in Philadelphia."  Perhaps the Jewish community in Lancaster was too small to make good use of the items.

The 1660s

Sitting below the grinding stone are two projectile points the are sometimes called arrowheads.  They were found on the property known as White Chimneys in western Lancaster County.  The projects would have been used for hunting while nuts and seeds would have been ground in the stone.  

This is the Eby Family Bible.  the Bible was already 125 years old when the Eby family arrived in Lancaster in 1715.  Theodorus Eby, born in 1663, fled his Mennonite family in Switzerland and when William Penn offered land to persons of all religious denominations, Theodorus and his family emigrated to America along with this Bible.  They settled in Mill Creek, Lancaster County, at a place known as Roland's Mill near New Holland, PA. 

This is a legal book from Jasper Yeates Law Library.  This early law volumn contains important components of English laws.  A law book such as this helped attorneys such as Mr. Yeates craft the laws of the new nation.  These books also revealed a great deal about life and justice in 1660s England.

Martyr's Mirror of Defenseless Christians is from the time of Christ to the year 1660.  It was printed for Jacobus Savry in 1660.  The columns describe the persecution and execution of Christians from New Testament times through the time of its publication in 1660.  Aside from the Bible, it is the most important religious book found in Anabaptist and Mennonite homes throughout the world.

These are a bowl, paint cup and cook pot.  They are from 1620-1680 era and from the Susquehannock or Lenape tribes.  Few pieces survive which makes these rather rare.  The large grinding bowl is a good example of pre-European technology in North America.

This print is titled "The Massacre of Huguenots" by the Catholic Population at Sea in 1562.  It is an etching that depicts the violence endured by Protestats in Continental Europe an the hands of Catholic neighbors.  The time period would be before and after the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648).  Moravians, Mennonites, Peitists, Baptists, Huguenots and German Quakers left France and Germany when those states demanded participation in a state religion