🦃 Did you know? York, Pennsylvania, holds the honor of being the birthplace of the first…
Category: History
A Brief History of Candy Corn
With its iconic tri-colored, cone-shaped appearance, Candy corn has become a staple of Halloween and fall…
Glow from the Past: The Radiant World of ☢️ Uranium Glass
On a recent trip to Columbia, PA, at Bootleg Antiques, I purchased some uranium—not weapons-grade, just…
A penny saved is $3,500 earned. Meet the 1787 Benjamin Franklin designed Fugio cent
You can add coin designer to Benjamin Franklin's MASSIVE resume. In fact, his 1787 Fugio cent…
Why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky?
It's Friday the 13th! A day full of dread and possible horror. But have you ever…
River Guide: Mouth of the Conestoga
Ponder this for a moment. Millions of years ago, an enormous lake once existed at what…
Grave Money: Why do some tombstones have coins on them?
Discover why do some tombstones have coins on them.
Would you believe cowboys fought in the American Revolution…and on the side of the British?
The American Revolution produced the first "cowboys." But these hard riding, clever guerrilla fighters worked for…
Race Against Time! Exploring the abandoned Kingsley Tower before its destruction
A Fourth of July weekend road trip turned into a race against time as I attempt…
The busybody: Benjamin Franklin’s greatest “invention”?
Is the busybody Benjamin Franklin's greatest invention? Perhaps not, but the story behind it is.
Side Quest: Visit the Grave of former President James Buchanan
On this Presidents’ Day, I visited the grave of Commander in Chief, James Buchanan. Born on…
Lancaster’s surprising royal connection
Pop Quiz: What connection does King George, Queen Caroline, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke…
Lititz answers the call of freedom; becomes a hospital town for Revolutionary War wounded
For eight months in 1778, the town of Lititz served as a hospital caring for hundreds…
A brief history of booze and the origins of other alcoholic terms
As with other American pastimes, alcohol and related activities developed colorful terms each with fascinating etymologies.
America’s first documented Christmas tree was here in Lancaster
Many of America's Yuletide customs were brought to Pennsylvania by European immigrants. Of them, a various…
The Mystery of Slanted Topped Stone Walls
Pop Quiz: This 100-year-old stone wall once corralled what animal? Click the Start Quiz button below to find out.…
This Lancaster bookworm has been reading the newspaper daily for 40 years
Lancaster's metallic bookworm has been reading the newspaper daily for nearly 40 years. But how much…
Hang’em High! The macabre history of public hangings in Lancaster
Almost as soon as people started living in Pennsylvania, we started executing them. Lancaster's first hanging…
The day Lancaster was the nation’s capital
September 27 On this day in 1777, Lancaster became the nation’s capital when fourteen members of…
The Great Indian Treaty of 1744
In June of 1744, scores of Native Americans began to gather outside of Lancaster in a…