While we have limited our operations to do our part to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we are still here for you, to enrich your life through the saving and sharing of York history.
We are pleased to bring you a selection of digital resources, which we will continue to expand and update so long as we are able.
Educators, Parents and Kids: Check out our expanded York History at Home for Kids page!
Where Women Made History: Trailblazing Black Women from across the country
Exploring York’s Latino History with Jim McClure
Exploring York’s Black History with Jim McClure
More Resources to Learn about Black History in York
Want to know more about how to properly handle and store your family treasures? Click on this handy guide!
Virtual Tours & Videos
You can still spend the day at the museum with our virtual museum tours and story maps! Virtually walk through our exhibitions to learn more about York History stories by visiting our YouTube Channel
Needle and Thread: A video series reconstructing a historic garment from the History Center’s collection.
Over the next several weeks, the History Center will be releasing videos taking a closer look at one piece from our collection and what we can learn from it as Christine Cooper, Manager of Public Programs, recreates a dress using period appropriate techniques and materials.
Webinar Recordings
Miss one of the York County History Center’s webinars? Access the recordings here!
May 1: Lunch with the Librarian with Assistant Director of the Library and Archives Dr. Adam Bentz (video begins @4:15 min mark)
May 1: Justice Bell Book Reading with Manager of School Programs Bart Stump (video begins @6:30 min mark)
May 1: Cocktails and Continental Currency with Bart Stump
May 9: Ask a Curator with Director of Collections Rachel Warner
June 17: York Civil War Roundtable w/Jim McClure “The Civil War’s Impact on Civilian Life in York County”
Download our Zoom Backgrounds
Share Your History
These are extraordinary times! We are now witnessing a unique historical moment as we respond as a state, nation, and world to a pandemic. The York County History Center wants to add your story of how you and your family are understanding and experiencing the current “new normal.” Take a moment to tell us YOUR story!
Share Your COVID-19 Story Here
Want to get started with your own genealogy? These guides will help you collect your family history!
Resources from Smithsonian: Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide
Family Search Website with Free Resources and Activities
Internet Archive: Digital Library This site includes links to the History of York County by Gibson (1886) and by Prowell (1907), York County and the World War (1920), an autobiography by Yorker Amanda Berry Smith, plus many other early publications and audio and video links:
Prowell: History of York County Pennsylvania Vol. 1 (1907)
Prowell: History of York County Pennsylvania Vol. 2 (1907)
Gibson: History of York County Pennsylvania (1886)
York County and the World War (1920)
Mrs. Amanda Smith, The Colored Evangelist (1921)
Guide to Special Collections: African American Collections, Almanacs and more
Even though you are unable to visit right now, you can still access photographs, databases and finding aids to our Library & Archives collections. Thanks to the work of Ophelia Chambliss and others, we now have a guide to our current African American collections in the Library & Archives. We will continue to add collections and finding aids from the Library & Archives as we are able to and as new items are donated.
Check Out Our Collections Online
Please enjoy a look back in time with photos from the York County History Center collection. This is just a sampling over the over 100,000 photographs currently housed in our Library and Archives including York Streets and Alleys, one-room-schools, the Grant Voaden Mills collection, the Ness gas stations collection, Dempwolf architectural drawings, bible collection images, and York County postcards.
Read Past Journals of York County Heritage by accessing our online bookshelf here
The History Center is now offering free digital access to all published Journals of York County Heritage. Originally created in 2010 to celebrate York County history, material culture, cultural heritage, and people, the Journal is published annually as a benefit of membership and packed with scholarly articles on local history topics.
2020- The Year of the Woman
Our Blog Focused on the Year of the Woman
We feature a few of the extraordinary women who have made York history. Follow our blog for the latest story about these inspirational women.
American Revolution put pressure on York County women
Remembering Jeanette Zinn, the only York woman to die in Word War I
How Suffragists Used Cookbooks as a Recipe for Subversion
Have you encountered a place where women made history? They can be famous or unknown, protected or threatened, existing or lost. No matter their condition or status, these places matter, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation wants to know. Help us share the women in York County’s history with the world!
Perspectives in History
During times like these, we tend to reflect on lessons learned from our past. Follow our local historians and others as they remind us how those who came before us persevered during challenging times.
Jim McClure: York County has seen it all before: war, disasters, epidemics
Jamie Kinsley: York Fairgrounds as a makeshift hospital
Lessons Learned from a York County Farmer
Scott Mingus: 1918 Spanish Flu ravaged York
More from the York Blog and Others
Lessons from York’s past lead to this conclusion: We can do better during this pandemic
York’s Black Community Suffered during the Spanish Flu Outbreak
Celebrating York County Nurses
America’s first White House gardens: Getting ready for spring plantings
York City Health Director Fought Politics and Polio
Journal of the American Revolution
Looking for a podcast with some historical context? Try NPR’s Hidden Brain!
Check this out! National Trust for Historic Preservation: Its Virtual Preservation Month
Just for Fun!
Play Bingo using our online resources!
Save this bingo card and once you complete a row of 5, send us the completed card to be entered for a chance to win a prize! We will select a few random winners at the end of April to win either an individual membership or gift card to our museum shop. We look forward to seeing what squares you complete. Feel free to complete more than one row or card! Email to info@yorkhistorycenter.org
