Hidden Histories
Hidden Histories sheds light on the stories of York’s people that may have been forgotten, lost or cast aside. We will be telling these stories at different locations around York County. Whose hidden past would you like our community to know? Join us as we uncover Hidden Histories.Learn more>
Historical Society Museum
Located at 250 East Market Street is the headquarters of the History Center. The museum features some of the History Center’s diverse exhibits housed in a building that is itself a historical artifact.
Agricultural & Industrial Museum
Explore York County’s vast contributions to the progress of agricultural and industry at the History Center’s Agricultural & Industrial Museum. The museum highlights over 300 years of transportation and agriculture.
Seasonal Sites
The Golden Plough Tavern, the General Horatio Gates House, the Colonial Courthouse, and the Fire Museum are all located along West Market Street and are open seasonally April through November.
Library & Archives
The Library & Archives, located on East Market Street, houses an extensive collection, including genealogy and family history, decorative arts, community organizations, and more.
Blog: History Uncovered
In our History Uncovered blog, we make the past come alive by telling stories about the people, places and things that shaped the York County of yesterday and help us understand who we are today..
Historical Society Museum
Located at 250 East Market Street is the headquarters of the History Center. The museum features some of the History Center’s diverse exhibits housed in a building that is itself a historical artifact.
Agricultural & Industrial Museum
Explore York County’s vast contributions to the progress of agricultural and industry at the History Center’s Agricultural & Industrial Museum. The museum highlights over 300 years of transportation and agriculture.
Seasonal Sites
The Golden Plough Tavern, the General Horatio Gates House, the Colonial Courthouse, and the Fire Museum are all located along West Market Street and are open seasonally April through November.
Library & Archives
The Library & Archives, located on East Market Street, houses an extensive collection, including genealogy and family history, decorative arts, community organizations, and more.
Blog: History Uncovered
In our History Uncovered blog, we make the past come alive by telling stories about the people, places and things that shaped the York County of yesterday and help us understand who we are today.
The difference YOU make
The York County History Center is grateful for your support and commitment to this very special place. As a member, supporter or volunteer, you make history come alive.
The difference YOU make
The York County History Center is grateful for your support and commitment to this very special place. As a member, supporter or volunteer, you make history come alive.
Events & Programs
The Other Side of the River: The similarities that York and Lancaster share
06-08-2023
06-08-2023
Presented by York County History Center at York County Historical Society Museum, YorkWhen local historians from bordering counties get together, great things happen!
This program will discuss some of the many similarities that both the White Rose and the Red Rose counties have in common including architecture, industry, religion,...
[more+]When local historians from bordering counties get together, great things happen!
This program will discuss some of the many similarities that both the White Rose and the Red Rose counties have in common including architecture, industry, religion, entertainment, and much more! From their founding until now, York and Lancaster have shared a storied history, divided only by the Susquehanna River.
Learn more about our presenters here.
[less-]Tags: History & Heritage, Online/Streaming, Free Events
Second Saturday Series
06-10-2023
06-10-2023
Presented by York County History Center at York County Historical Society Museum, YorkThe Second Saturday Series is presented on the second Saturday of each month. Speakers present on a wide variety of topics from York County’s 270 years of history including people, places, and events that have had local, regional, or national...
[more+]The Second Saturday Series is presented on the second Saturday of each month. Speakers present on a wide variety of topics from York County’s 270 years of history including people, places, and events that have had local, regional, or national impact. Most programs are held in the Meeting Hall at the Historical Society Museum and begin at 10:30. If any program is at a different location or time that will be noted under the title of the program. Attending any of these presentations is free and open to the public.
June’s speaker will be Jaime Noerpel. After earning a B.A. in history and secondary education from York College in 2012, Jamie Noerpel landed her dream job at Milton Hershey School where she teaches history to 9th and 10th graders. Since then, she’s earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in American studies from Penn State with a focus on agriculture, environmental studies, African American literature, and folklore. In her free time, she builds on the public history of YoCo. She co-founded a website called Witnessing York, writes a local history blog for YDR called Wandering in York County, films videos through a series called Hometown History, and launched Project Penny Heaven – an initiative to install a permanent monument in York’s potter’s field.
Close to 800 bodies rest under the surface of a grassy field in North York— a cemetery for the unknown or poor people. When the deceased had no family, no financial means, or were unidentified, they would be interred in the City Cemetery, also known as potter’s field and Penny Heaven. Their names meant little, buried anonymously in a remote area and segregated from people who paid for their plots, save Clashay Johnson, the only name on the only gravestone. In this presentation, Jamie Noerpel will teach you about the history of Penny Heaven, including the stories of people interred there such as P.T. Barnum’s Figi cannibal. Her talk will dive deeper into conversations surrounding the intersection of class and race, as well as current efforts to raise money for a permanent monument to recognize those previously unrecognized.
[less-]Tags: Free Events, History & Heritage, Online/Streaming, Community
The Other Side of the River: The similarities that York and Lancaster share
06-08-2023
06-08-2023
Presented by York County History Center at York County Historical Society Museum, YorkWhen local historians from bordering counties get together, great things happen!
This program will discuss some of the many similarities that both the White Rose and the Red Rose counties have in common including architecture, industry, religion,...
[more+]When local historians from bordering counties get together, great things happen!
This program will discuss some of the many similarities that both the White Rose and the Red Rose counties have in common including architecture, industry, religion, entertainment, and much more! From their founding until now, York and Lancaster have shared a storied history, divided only by the Susquehanna River.
Learn more about our presenters here.
[less-]Tags: History & Heritage, Online/Streaming, Free Events
Second Saturday Series
06-10-2023
06-10-2023
Presented by York County History Center at York County Historical Society Museum, YorkThe Second Saturday Series is presented on the second Saturday of each month. Speakers present on a wide variety of topics from York County’s 270 years of history including people, places, and events that have had local, regional, or national...
[more+]The Second Saturday Series is presented on the second Saturday of each month. Speakers present on a wide variety of topics from York County’s 270 years of history including people, places, and events that have had local, regional, or national impact. Most programs are held in the Meeting Hall at the Historical Society Museum and begin at 10:30. If any program is at a different location or time that will be noted under the title of the program. Attending any of these presentations is free and open to the public.
June’s speaker will be Jaime Noerpel. After earning a B.A. in history and secondary education from York College in 2012, Jamie Noerpel landed her dream job at Milton Hershey School where she teaches history to 9th and 10th graders. Since then, she’s earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in American studies from Penn State with a focus on agriculture, environmental studies, African American literature, and folklore. In her free time, she builds on the public history of YoCo. She co-founded a website called Witnessing York, writes a local history blog for YDR called Wandering in York County, films videos through a series called Hometown History, and launched Project Penny Heaven – an initiative to install a permanent monument in York’s potter’s field.
Close to 800 bodies rest under the surface of a grassy field in North York— a cemetery for the unknown or poor people. When the deceased had no family, no financial means, or were unidentified, they would be interred in the City Cemetery, also known as potter’s field and Penny Heaven. Their names meant little, buried anonymously in a remote area and segregated from people who paid for their plots, save Clashay Johnson, the only name on the only gravestone. In this presentation, Jamie Noerpel will teach you about the history of Penny Heaven, including the stories of people interred there such as P.T. Barnum’s Figi cannibal. Her talk will dive deeper into conversations surrounding the intersection of class and race, as well as current efforts to raise money for a permanent monument to recognize those previously unrecognized.
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