The Woodward Hill Cemetery Collection contains records of the cemetery from 1851-1997, such as the charter and by-laws, board minutes, lot holder records, plans, programs, financial documents, and grant proposals. The records include the names of thousands of people who were employed by, buried at, served on the cemetery board, or were otherwise associated with the cemetery.
Admin/Biographical History
For more than 150 years, Woodward Hill Cemetery has been one of Lancaster’s most significant historic sites. As the final resting place of numerous prominent citizens including President James Buchanan, with a layout reflecting Victorian ideals of landscape design and containing fine examples of funerary monuments, Woodward Hill’s national significance was recognized in 2005 when the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Woodward Hill was the largest and most elaborate of the new rural cemeteries established in Lancaster during the mid-nineteenth century. Rural cemeteries were designed as vital open spaces or public parks for the community; they provided a place for recreation as well as veneration of the dead. As a final resting place for illustrious citizens, Woodward Hill is a “museum” of notable clergy, educators, civic leaders, and veterans. Today the cemetery occupies 32 acres and contains approximately 13,750 grave markers ranging in date from the late eighteenth century to the present day. They illustrate the 200-year evolution of funerary art, sculpture and associated symbolism. In addition to tombstones, there are numerous obelisks and mausoleums representing Victorian, neoclassical, and early modern architectural styles. Founded in 1852 by Trinity Lutheran Church, Woodward Hill Cemetery is one of Lancaster's significant historic sites. The cemetery was the largest and most elaborate of the new "rural" cemeteries established in the mid- nineteenth century. It was designed as vital open space, allowing for recreation as well as veneration of the dead. The final resting place of many notable clergy, veterans, education, civic and business leaders, Woodward Hill's best known grave site belongs to James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States http://www.woodwardhillcemetery.com/ 8/11/17
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Woodward Hill Cemetery Collection (MG0264), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Folders 11-15 contain restricted materials.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org. Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
The Active Fire Company Records contain a minute book for the Active Fire Company of Lancaster, a partial transcription of the minutes, and an announcement for a meeting.
Admin/Biographical History
The Active Fire Company was established in 1791 or 1792. (Ellis and Evans, History of Lancaster County, pp. 388-389)
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Active Fire Company Records (MG0518), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Accession Number
Unknown.MG0518
Other Numbers
MG-518
Classification
MG0518
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
These volumes were transferred from MG-266 Daybook and Ledger Collection, Series 4 Fire Companies on 10 March 2009. Added to database 1 August 2022.
The Friendship Fire Company Records contain the constitution and by-laws, minutes, partial transcription of the minutes, and an account book for the Friendship Fire Company of Lancaster.
Admin/Biographical History
The Friendship Fire Company began in 1763. It was out of existence from 1768 until 1791 and then reorganized. The company ended its active service in 1882 when the paid City Fire Department came into existence. (Ellis & Evans, page 384)
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Friendship Fire Company Records (MG0523), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Other Numbers
MG-523
Classification
MG0523
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
These volumes were transferred from MG0266 Daybook and Ledger Collection, Series 4 on 10 March 2009. Added to database 10 August 2022.
The Sun Fire Company Records contain the minutes, constitution and by-laws, and an account book for the Sun Fire Company of Lancaster.
Admin/Biographical History
The Sun Fire Company was organized by 1763. The Company ended its active service in 1882 when the paid City Fire Department came into existence. (Ellis & Evans, pages 384-386)
Demuth, Ferdinand A. "The Sun Fire Company," Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society. Volume 16, number 6 (1912), p. 153-162. https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo403
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, Series 2 (MG0545_Series02)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Sun Fire Company Records (MG0525), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Please request at the Reference Desk or contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
This collection contains minute books of the Lancaster City & County Medical Society.
Admin/Biographical History
The Lancaster City & County Medical Society, which was established in 1844, is a professional association for physicians in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Collection at Lancaster Medical Heritage Museum https://lancastermedicalheritagemuseum.org/
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Series #, Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Original documents may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied, but pages may be photographed without flash. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-373
Classification
MG0373
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
The volumes in Folders 1-7 were transferred from MG-266 Daybook and Ledger Collection, Series 1 on 3 March 2009.
The Transportation Collection contains documents regarding turnpikes, railroads, Conestoga Traction Co., Conestoga Transportation Co., and the Red Rose Transit Authority. The types of items include correspondence, financial papers, business papers, stock certificates, tickets, schedules, maps of routes, and a blueprint.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Transportation Collection (MG0123), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions are noted at the item level.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The Frank R. Diffenderffer Collection contains documents collected by Mr. Diffenderffer. These documents are primarily from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and include letters, legal and court papers, indentures, receipts, property and probate records, and financial and military papers. The people and businesses represented include George Ross, Jasper Yeates, A. Herr Smith, Timothy Matlack, Mount Hope Furnace, and the Lancaster, Elizabethtown & Middletown Turnpike Road Company.
The Temperance Collection includes convention programs of the Lancaster County Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.); a history of the group from 1884-1959; Pennsylvania State W.C.T.U. function programs; and a minute book from the Bart Chapter. Included are handwritten notes on some of the conventions, pro-temperance booklets and newspapers (Moral Reformer and American Reformer), and miscellaneous addresses and articles. Of special interest is a booklet "Operation Interview" in which 36 prominent Lancastrians comment on the question, "Is social drinking necessary for success?", and a newspaper article reminiscing on the temperance movement in Columbia, Pennsylvania.
The Survivors' Club collection contains dinner banquet programs for the Survivors' Club annual dinner held in February of each year between 1871 and 1914. While the club met between 1868 and 1921, this collection only includes banquet programs from 1871 and 1914, with years missing. Each program includes the living and deceased members and the dinner menu, unless otherwise noted below. The minute book begins in 1867 and ends with an entry from the last surviving member in 1921.
Admin/Biographical History
The Survivors' Club, which consisted of 20+ prominent Lancaster Civil War veterans from the 79th Pennsylvania Volunteers, was organized on 29 September 1867 at the Leopard Hotel in Lancaster. The first annual dinner banquet was held on 22 February 1868 and the members met annually on George Washington's birthday through 1921. Over the years, the plate of each deceased member would be draped in mourning, until only one member remained. P. L. Sprecher, the last member of the Survivors' Club, wrote the last entry in the minute book on 22 February 1921. After his death, each member's dinner plate and the punch bowl were donated to the Lancaster County Historical Society. The historical society later acquired the Survivors' Club minute book and the dinner banquet programs.
The Survivors' Club included the following members:
Charles D. Rupley; John Johns; John K. Rutter; Edgar C. Reed; Samuel E. Leaman; Jonathan Sprecher; Eli Landis; Dr. William M. Whiteside; Charles H. Sprecher; Edward A. Sener; John James McGrann; George F. Sprenger; A. S. Landis; John Copland; Jacob K. Barr; John D. Skiles; William S. Shirk; W. D. Stauffer; Isaac W. Slokom; J. C. Muhlenberg; P. L. Sprecher; Milton Weidler
Survivors' Club plates, saucers, and cups in the Curatorial Collection (1926.033)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Survivors' Club Collection (MG0316), Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-316
Other Number
MG-316
Classification
MG0316
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
This collection was cataloged and the finding aid was prepared by MEB, Spring 2006. Added to database 1 October 2021.
The items were donated with the Survivors' Club plates, saucers, and cups, 1926.033. The programs and minute book were transferred to the Archives in 2005.
The Shiffler Fire Company Records contain minutes for the Conestoga Hose Company and Shiffler Fire Company, both in Lancaster.
Admin/Biographical History
The Shiffler Fire Company, No. 7 was organized in 1852. It soon became The Independent Fire Co. and then the Fulton Fire Co. The name changed again in 1854 to the Conestoga Fire Company. Shiffler Fire Company was readopted in 1855 and Thaddeus Stevens was elected president in 1856. (Ellis & Evans, History of Lancaster County, p.391)
Invitation to First Grand Picnic of Shiffler Fire Company, 1871 (MG0180_Ser05_F026_I04)
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, Series 2 (MG0545_Series02)
Commemorative ribbon (2003.081)
Fire ax (1927.005.1)
Fire helmet (1924.008.9)
Helmet plate (1935.013.2)
Parade belt (1924.008.10)
Parade belt (1924.008.12)
Parade belt (1924.008.16)
Parade belt (1954.002.1)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Shiffler Fire Company Records (MG0524), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Folder 4, Insert 1 was a gift of Mr. Louis H. Stroeble from the belongings of Jacob Goodman, 5 February 1954. (Accession # 1954.MG0524.F4_I1)
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Please request at the Reference Desk or contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.