Where does the name Safe Harbor originate? Believe it or not, but it comes from the…
Category: Local History
‘Spanish Flu’ in Lancaster
COVID-19 isn't the first pandemic to strike Lancaster. In 1918, "Spanish Flu" exacted its toll on…
Art: Smith Tower on the Enola Low Grade
Pennsylvania Railroad's mightly M1 steam locomotive No. 6857 blasting its way westward past Smith Tower.
Armchair Explorer: Make your reservation today for the Pequehanna Inn – Pennsylvania’s Crown Jewel answer to Lake Placid
In an alternate universe, a five-story, 384-room luxury hotel sits high on a hill above the…
Side Quest: Quarryville’s South Fork Big Beaver Creek Culvert
For those brave enough to venture below the Enola Low-Grade, scores of beautiful tunnels and culverts…
America’s first toll road: The Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike
Imagine traveling a road that was so pleasurable you would happily pay to use it? That's…
Side Quest: Waterfall Culvert of Fairview Road
For those brave enough to venture below Enola Low-Grade, scores of beautifully constructed tunnels and culverts…
Armchair Explorer: The Search for Pequea’s Subterranean Lake
In 1870, a Lancaster newspaper reported that a mysterious subterranean lake existed in Pequea Township. Was…
How did ‘Heckel Stettle’ become East Petersburg?
Known initially as Heckel Stettle, the town of Petersburg eventually added East to its name for…
Side Quest: Tour the massive Culvert of Little Beaver Creek
For those brave enough to venture below Enola Low-Grade, scores of beautifully constructed tunnels and culverts…
Side Quest: Why does the Enola Low-Grade have a medieval castle turret?
This isn't a medieval castle turret overlooking the Enola Low-Grade. It's the gatehouse to a 500,000-gallon…
‘Hizzoner’ John Passmore the larger than life first mayor of Lancaster
Unwrap the unique life of ‘Hizzoner’ John Passmore. Lancaster’s eccentric and larger than life first mayor.
The Lower Susquehanna that was! Enjoy this 1951 Safe Harbor / Holtwood visitor’s guide and map
Enjoy this 1951 Visitor's Guide to Safe Harbor & Holtwood plus an annotated map marking areas…
Side Quest: Side-by-Side Culverts of Lakewood Drive
For those brave enough to venture below Enola Low-Grade, scores of beautifully constructed tunnels and culverts…
Join the search for Lancaster County’s oldest tombstone
The question is simple. Where is Lancaster County’s oldest tombstone located? Finding the answer is harder…
Holtwood and Safe Harbor weren’t Lancaster’s only hydroelectric dams. Enter the Colemanville Water & Power Company
In 1905, Holtwood wasn’t the only hydroelectric dam being built. In the sleepy hamlet of Colemanville,…
‘Colonel’ John Mead: the enigmatic ‘Gentleman Bum’ of the River Hills
Discover the mysterious life of "Colonel" John Mead, a man who spent the last 25 years…
Sickman’s Mill: A stone monument to a forgotten time
Sickman's Mill located along the banks of the Pequea Creek is a monument to a forgotten…