City of Lancaster, PA history

In 1802, an application was made for a charter for the village of Lancaster.

In 1803 Lancaster got its first bank.

In 1810, the Farmers Bank of Lancaster commenced operations, and it survives today as a component of the First Union-Core States Bank.

It was National Capital of the American colonies on September 27, 1777, when the Continental Congress was fleeing British forces (who had captured Philadelphia). From 1799 to 1812, Lancaster was the capital of Pennsylvania.

Lancaster is the oldest inland city in the United States, and served as the capital city of Pennsylvania from 1799 until 1813, until it was replaced by Harrisburg.

The region was settled by the German immigrants known as Pennsylvania Dutch—including Mennonites, Amish, Dunkers, and Moravians—who established such religious societies as the Ephrata Community (1732–1814). The county was created in 1728 and named for Lancaster, England.

Lancaster elected its first mayor, John Passmore, in 1818.

It’s name was changed to Lancaster Intelligencer in 1821.

The Quaker Schism of 1827 resulted in the majority of Lancaster County Friends siding with the Hicksite movement.

President James Buchanan lived in Lancaster, and his home, Wheatland (1828), has been restored; he is buried in Woodward Hill Cemetery.

In December 1830, by Act of the South Carolina State Legislature, the Town of Lancaster was incorporated and provision was made for the election of town officials.

The first election was held on the first Monday in March 1831 and Andrew Mayer was elected as Mayor.

In 1834, the Columbia and Philadelphia Railroad section of the State Works was built through Lancaster, joining the Susquehanna River to the port city.

John Wise of Lancaster was a pioneer in ballooning, beginning in 1835.

The Lancaster City Water Works reported that there were nine bathtubs in Lancaster in 1839, supplied by the Conestoga Creek.

Certainly he was a "political boss" of Pennsylvania, and quite influential in the USA. Thaddeus Stevens was not a native of Lancaster County, but he moved here in 1842 to practice law, and to become our congressman during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.

In 1846, the nation’s first commercial telegraph provided service between Lancaster and Harrisburg.

Franklin and Marshall College was founded in 1787 with financial assistance from Benjamin Franklin making it one of the oldest in America – the result of a merger between Lancaster’s Franklin College and Mercersburg’s Marshall College in 1849.

The Lancaster jail, completed in 1851 on E. King St, was designed just like the old Lancaster Castle in Lancaster, England.

Franklin College, begun in 1787 as a preparatory school for young German men, merged with Marshall College in 1853 to become a four-year degree-granting liberal arts college under the auspices of the German Reformed Church.

Started in 1855 as a teacher-training institute, and the first state normal school, Millersville University of the Pennsylvania System of Higher Education has earned deservedly a reputation as one of the Commonwealth's foremost centers of higher education.

The soldiers looted the town and stabled their horses in the sanctuary of the Presbyterian Church, which had been built in 1862.

On a wager in 1873, the Benjamin Mishler house on S. Prince Street was built by a small army of men in just 10 hours.

It was in Lancaster that F.W. Woolworth opened (1879–80) his first successful “5-and-10 cent” store.

In 1886, after returning to Lancaster, Milton Hershey established the Lancaster Caramel Company with two employees - his mother and aunt.

In 1890 there were 79 butchers operating at Lancaster’s Central Market.

Hamilton Watch was established in 1892 in Lancaster.

Leroy Springs founded Springs Cotton Mill in 1895, an industrial enterprise that grew to become the “largest textile plant in the world.” Global in scope, Springs Industries shaped the fortunes of Lancaster and its citizens for more than 100 years.

It was the world’s largest flooring manufacturer and the city’s largest employer for most of the 1900’s.

In 1902 a Unitarian church was founded in Lancaster, with its 700-plus members numbered among the area's activists for religious freedom and social justice.

In 1903 The Safety Buggy Works, located on N. Plum St, was the first company in America to build an automobile.

The Serta Mattress Company started in downtown Lancaster in 1907 by John Herr, Sr.

Lancaster’s last execution was in 1912.

In 1913 he built the world’s tallest building in New York City—the Woolworth Building.

Franklin and Marshall College was founded in 1787, and Lancaster Bible College was founded in 1933.

Lancaster’s Barney Ewell, a sprinter, won one gold and two silver medals at the 1948 summer Olympics in London.

In 1957 they created the world’s first electric (battery powered) watch.

Questions, comments, and suggestions regarding this web site may be submitted to: reference@lancasterhistory.org. © 2000 Lancaster County Historical Society

Lancaster’s National Register Historic District, recognized by the National Park Service in 2001, covers approximately three square miles and contains over 14,000 buildings – making it one of the largest urban historic districts in the United States.