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Collection
Bridge Records
Title
Act concerning bridge
Object ID
Bridge F0425 I012
Date Range
1812
Collection
Bridge Records
Title
Act concerning bridge
Description
[Witmer's Bridge]
[Lampeter Twp. and Lancaster Twp.]
Location: Over Conestoga Creek.
Document type: Act concerning bridge
System of Arrangement
Records are arranged by township, then chronologically within each township.
Date Range
1812
Year
1812
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives West
Storage Container
Box 0006
Subcategory
Documentary Artifact
Search Terms
Acts, Legislative
Bridges
Conestoga Creek
Creeks
Lampeter Twp.
Lancaster Twp.
Witmer's Bridge
Place
Lampeter Twp. and Lancaster Twp.
Extent
1 item, 1 piece
Object Name
Act
Language
English
Condition
Fair
Object ID
Bridge F0425 I012
Box Number
006
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at Reference Desk; photocopy made by staff member.
Classification
RG 02-00 0324
Description Level
Item
Less detail
Collection
Heritage Center Collection
Object ID
P.00.34.1
Date Range
c. 1805
Collection
Heritage Center Collection
Description
Communion altar from Brickerville United Lutheran Church (originally Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church). Rectangular altar of painted softwood, panelled construction all four sides with pegged mortise and tenon joints. Small panels over large. Door in the back with a recessed panel and knob handle. Molding around base, the edge of the top, and framing the recessed panels.
Modification to altar in 1947 by Bob Helman (signature underneath when removed 10-17-00) was a long platform shelf covering the back 2/5 of the top, with holes at the back, including an electrical outlet. Entire altar has been given a new coat of paint, a light chocolate brown on top and white on the sides. The unpainted interior has one shelf with a vertical divider.
Altar has been used since circa 1800 to serve communion, using the Brickerville United Lutheran Church's ten-piece pewter communion service which is also in collections (P97.08.01-10).
Perhaps made by Emanuel Dyer of Manheim or Mr. Zartman of Brickerville.
Provenance
Purchased directly from the church.
Date Range
c. 1805
Year Range From
1790
Year Range To
1815
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Groff Gallery
Subcategory
Ceremonial Artifact
Object Name
Altar
Oither Names
Altar, Communion
Material
Wood
Height (in)
45.25
Length (in)
49
Width (in)
33.5
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2016-04-15
Condition Notes
Large crack on top, approx. 4" from front, running halfway across top. Recently painted. Some separation at moldings. Large hole bored in altar top (for electric wire) underneath the added platform, now removed. The modern base molding also removed. Repainted top with brown and attached molding at ends of top to secure plexi top. Paint removed on door.
Object ID
P.00.34.1
Place of Origin
Lancaster County
Credit
Heritage Center Collection, acquired through generosity of James Hale Steinman Foundation and V. Ronald Smith
Accession Number
P.00.34
Less detail
Collection
Bridge Records
Title
Notice of meeting to estimate cost of bridge
Object ID
Bridge F0430 I001
Date Range
1812
Collection
Bridge Records
Title
Notice of meeting to estimate cost of bridge
Description
[Witmer's Bridge]
[Lampeter Twp. and Lancaster Twp.]
Location: Over Conestoga Creek.
Document type: Notice of meeting to estimate cost of bridge
System of Arrangement
Records are arranged by township, then chronologically within each township.
Date Range
1812
Year
1812
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives West
Storage Container
Box 0006
Subcategory
Documentary Artifact
Search Terms
Announcements
Bridges
Conestoga Creek
Creeks
Estimates
Lampeter Twp.
Lancaster Twp.
Meetings
Witmer's Bridge
Place
Lampeter Twp. and Lancaster Twp.
Extent
2 items, 2 pieces
Object Name
Announcement
Language
English
Condition
Fair
Object ID
Bridge F0430 I001
Box Number
006
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at Reference Desk; photocopy made by staff member.
Classification
RG 02-00 0324
Description Level
Item
Less detail
Collection
Bridge Records
Title
Notification of appointment of Commissioners on behalf of Abraham Witmer
Object ID
Bridge F0430 I002
Date Range
1812
Collection
Bridge Records
Title
Notification of appointment of Commissioners on behalf of Abraham Witmer
Description
[Witmer's Bridge]
[Lampeter Twp. and Lancaster Twp.]
Location: Over Conestoga Creek.
Document type: Notification of appointment of Commissioners on behalf of Abraham Witmer
System of Arrangement
Records are arranged by township, then chronologically within each township.
Date Range
1812
Year
1812
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives West
Storage Container
Box 0006
People
Witmer, Abraham
Subcategory
Documentary Artifact
Search Terms
Bridges
Conestoga Creek
Creeks
Lampeter Twp.
Lancaster Twp.
Announcements
Witmer's Bridge
Place
Lampeter Twp. and Lancaster Twp.
Extent
1 item, 1 piece
Object Name
Announcement
Language
English
Condition
Fair
Object ID
Bridge F0430 I002
Box Number
006
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at Reference Desk; photocopy made by staff member.
Classification
RG 02-00 0324
Description Level
Item
Less detail
Collection
Transportation Collection
Title
Transportation Collection
Object ID
MG0123
Date Range
1819-1977
Note: The Transportation Collection contains documents regarding turnpikes, railroads, Conestoga Traction Company, Conestoga Transportation Company, and the Red Rose Transit Authority. The types of items include correspondence, financial papers, business papers, stock certificates, tickets, schedules
  1 document  
Collection
Transportation Collection
Title
Transportation Collection
Description
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.
Date Range
1819-1977
Year Range From
1819
Year Range To
1977
Date of Accumulation
1819-1977
Creator
LancasterHistory (Organization)
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 04
People
Bitner, John R.
Boardman, Harris
Bowman, John Jacob
Boyer, Zaccur Prall
Cirt, Anna N.
Griest, William Walton
Hostetter, Albert Keller
Kemrer, Clarence M.
Knapp, Walter
Kreider, Kate
Kriebel, Howard Wiegner
McClellan, Oliver Eldridge
Royer, David
Shuman, James P.
Wohlsen, Anna
Wohlsen, Peter
Subjects
Letters
Minutes (Records)
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co.
Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike (Pa.)
Posters
Railroads
Rates and tolls
Reading & Columbia Railroad Company
Street-railroads
Trolley cars
Search Terms
Adamstown
Bittersville, Lower Windsor Twp., York County, Pennsylvania
Blueprints
Booklets
Brochures
Campbelltown, South Londonderry Twp., Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
Center Square Road Station
Chestnut Street
Christiana
Coatesville, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Columbia
Columbia, Ironville and Mount Joy Railroad
Conestoga Traction Company
Conestoga Transportation Company
Conewago Water and Power Company
Correspondence
Dallastown, York County, Pennsylvania
Drawings
Duke Street
East Belt line
East King Street
East Petersburg, East Hempfield Twp.
Elizabethtown
Engleside, Lancaster Twp.
Ephemera
Ephrata
Express Printing Company
Greeting cards
Hanover, York County, Pennsylvania
Hershey, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Ironville, West Hempfield Twp.
J. G. Brill Company
Kinport Road
Lancaster
Lancaster and York Furnace Street Railway
Lancaster and Columbia Division, Conestoga Transportation Company
Lancaster and Lititz Passenger Railroad Company
Lancaster, Elizabethtown, and Middletown Turnpike
Lebanon, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
Letters
Lititz
Maple Grove
Maps
Marietta Avenue
North Market Street
Mechanicsburg, Upper Leacock Twp.
Mechanicsville, East Hempfield Twp.
Minutes
Mount Joy
Mulberry Street
National Railway Historical Society
Neffsville, Manheim Twp.
North End Photo Finishing House
North Lime Street
North Queen Street
Palmyra, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
Parkesburg, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Penn Square
Pequea Twp.
Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Company
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Photographs
Placards
Substations
President Avenue
Princess Street
Prospect Street
Quarryville
Railroads
Rates and tolls
Reading and Columbia Railroad Company
Receipts
Red Rose Transit Authority
Reports
Roads
Rocky Springs Railroad Company
Schuylkill Navigation Company
Scrapbooks
South Mountain Railroad
South Queen Street
Stock certificates
Susquehanna Railroad
Tickets
Tolls
Trolley car barns
Trolley car yards
Trolley cars
Trolleys
Turnpikes
Walnut Street
WGAL (television station)
Williams Park Station
Willow Street Turnpike
Windsor Twp., York County, Pennsylvania
WLAN (radio station)
Wrightsville, York County, Pennsylvania
York Bus Company
York Fair
York Railway Company
Extent
2 boxes, 31 folders, 1 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0123
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Notes
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.
Other Numbers
MG-123
Classification
MG0123
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Added to database 23 September 2021.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Temperance Collection
Title
Temperance Collection
Object ID
MG0154
Date Range
1815-1959
article reminiscing on the temperance movement in Columbia, Pennsylvania. Creator: LancasterHistory (Organization) Conditions for Access: No restrictions. Conditions Governing Reproductions: Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research
  1 document  
Collection
Temperance Collection
Title
Temperance Collection
Description
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.
Date Range
1815-1959
Year Range From
1815
Year Range To
1959
Date of Accumulation
1815-1959
Creator
LancasterHistory (Organization)
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 04
People
Aikin, Francis
Alexander, Eleanor B.
Brosius, Letitia
Brubaker, George
Eckman, Benjamin F.
Geist, Jacob Miller Willis
Harlan, E. W.
Heiges, George Leonard
Jackson, Josephine
Richardson, Benjamin W.
Rineer, A. Hunter
Rosalind, Countess of Carlisle
Seberry, Cora E.
Thomas, A. Elizabeth
Willard, Frances Elizabeth
Subjects
Associations, institutions, etc.
Minutes (Records)
Pennsylvania Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Programs (Publications)
Temperance
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Search Terms
Associations, institutions, etc.
Bart Society
Business records
Chestnut Level, Drumore Twp.
Christiana
Churches
Coatesville, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Columbia
Conventions
Dauphin County Historical Society
Eastland Female Temperance Society
Finding aids
Friends Academy
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Lancaster
Lancaster County Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Lititz
Locust Valley, Long Island, New York
Manheim
Manuscript groups
Minutes
National Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Pageants
Pennsylvania Senior Loyal Temperance Union
Pennsylvania Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Poetry
Programs
Reports
Songs
Strasburg
Temperance
Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania
Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Extent
1 box, 11 folders, .25 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0154
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Notes
Preferred Citation: Temperance Collection (MG0154), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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-154
Classification
MG0154
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
The collection was cataloged and the finding aid was prepared in 1998-1999. Added to database 29 September 2021.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Columbia Bridge Company Collection
Title
Columbia Bridge Company Collection
Object ID
MG0217
Date Range
1809-1843
Content Note: The Columbia Bridge Company Collection is a valuable source of information concerning construction of bridges in the early 1800s. Documents concern the building of the first two bridges across the Susquehanna River in 1814 and 1832. Items in the collection include minutes, form for stock
  1 document  
Collection
Columbia Bridge Company Collection
Title
Columbia Bridge Company Collection
Description
The Columbia Bridge Company Collection is a valuable source of information concerning construction of bridges in the early 1800s. Documents concern the building of the first two bridges across the Susquehanna River in 1814 and 1832. Items in the collection include minutes, form for stock certificate, invoices, legal papers, proposals, receipts, stockholders, promissory notes, by-laws, settlement of stage tolls with Samuel Slaymaker 1813, salary receipts, circulars and announcements, bridge tolls, orders for payment, correspondence, and a stock certificate from 1842
Admin/Biographical History
First Bridge
Construction of the first Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge was begun in 1812 and completed December 5, 1814, by J. Wolcott, H. Slaymaker, S. Slaymaker at a total cost of $231,771, which was underwritten by the newly formed Columbia Bank and Bridge Company. The bridge was 5,690 feet (1,730 m) long and 30 feet (9.1 m) wide and had 54 piers and twin carriageways. Constructed of wood and stone, the covered bridge also included a wooden roof, a whitewashed interior and openings in its wooden sides to view the river and surrounding areas. It was considered the longest covered bridge in the world at the time. The bridge accommodated east-west traffic across the Susquehanna River for 14 years before being destroyed by ice, high water and severe weather on February 5, 1832.
Second bridge
Construction of the second Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, also covered, started mid-1832 and was completed in 1834 (opening on July 8, 1834) by James Moore and John Evans at a cost of $157,300. It was 5,620 feet (1,710 m) long and 28 feet (8.5 m) wide and also enjoyed the distinction of being the world's longest covered bridge. The wood and stone structure had 27 piers, a carriageway, walkway, and two towpaths to guide canal traffic across the river. Much of the mostly oak timber used in its construction was salvaged from the previous bridge. Its roof was covered with shingles, its sides with weatherboard, and its interior was whitewashed. The structure was modified in 1840 by the Canal Company at a cost of $40,000 concurrent with the construction of the Wrightsville Dam. Towpaths of different levels and with sidewalls were added to prevent horses from falling into river, as happened several times when the river flooded. The roof of the lower path formed the floor of upper path. In this way, canal boats were towed across the river from the Pennsylvania Canal on the Columbia side to the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal at Wrightsville. Sometime after 1846, a double-track railway was added, linking the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad to the Northern Central Railway. Due to fear of fire caused by locomotives, rail cars were pulled across the bridge by teams of mules or horses.
Information from "Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia%E2%80%93Wrightsville_Bridge. Accessed 3 February 2020.
System of Arrangement
The papers of the First Columbia Bridge built in 1814 are filed in folders #1 to 157. The papers of the Second Columbia Bridge built in 1832 are filed in folders #158 to 181.
Date Range
1809-1843
Year Range From
1809
Year Range To
1843
Date of Accumulation
1809-1843
Creator
Goodell, Robert Hilliard, 1899-1992.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 05
People
Albright, William
Chew, Benjamin
Coleman, Robert
Dickson, William
Gilpin, Joshua
Gilpin, Thomas
Grimler, Benjamin
Haldeman, C.
Hamilton, William
Harbaugh, Leonard
Hoff, John
Hopkins, James
Hubley, John
Hubley, Joseph
Lloyd, Evan
Mifflin, Joseph
Poulson, Zachariah
Reynolds, John
Rittenhouse, Joseph
Shaffner, Casper
Slaymaker, Henry
Slaymaker, Samuel
Varle, Charles
Wilson, Edward
Wilson, Thomas A.
Witmer, A.
Wright, William
Wolcott, John
Subjects
Bridges
Business records
Columbia (Pa.)
Letters
Minutes (Records)
Stockholders
Stocks
Susquehanna River
Search Terms
Advertising
Applications
Board of Directors
Bonds
Bridges
Broadsides
Business records
By-laws
Checks
Columbia
Columbia Bridge Company
Construction
Contracts
Correspondence
Farmers Bank of Lancaster
Financial records
Finding aids
Gatekeepers
Invoices
Letters
Loans
Manuscript groups
Minutes
Murray Draper and Company
Promissory notes
Receipts
Reports
Salaries
Stockholders
Stocks
Susquehanna River
Taxes
Tollhouses
Tolls
Extent
5 boxes, 190 folders, 3 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0217
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. The original items in Folder 69 may not be used due to their fragile condition. All other original documents may be used by researchers--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit or request at Reference Desk.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Images have been provided for research purposes only. Please contact Research@LancasterHistory.org with questions or for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
LancasterHistory retains the rights to the digital images and content presented. The doctrine of fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. Fair use includes comment, criticism, teaching, and private scholarship. Any images and data downloaded, printed or photocopied for these purposes should provide a citation. All other uses beyond those allowed by fair use require written permission.
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-217
Classification
MG0217
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Added to database 13 January 2022.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Robert H. Goodell Family Papers
Title
Robert H. Goodell Family Papers
Object ID
MG0548
Date Range
1810-1949
Note: The Robert H. Goodell Family Papers contain documents, ephemera and family papers of Robert H. Goodell, his father, Joseph E. Goodell and their Hilliard, Sener and Zahm antecedents. Creator: Goodell, Robert Hilliard, 1899-1992. Conditions for Access: Restrictions are noted at the item level. For
  1 document  
Collection
Robert H. Goodell Family Papers
Title
Robert H. Goodell Family Papers
Description
The Robert H. Goodell Family Papers contain documents, ephemera and family papers of Robert H. Goodell, his father, Joseph E. Goodell and their Hilliard, Sener and Zahm antecedents.
Date Range
1810-1949
Year Range From
1810
Year Range To
1949
Date of Accumulation
1810-1949
Creator
Goodell, Robert Hilliard, 1899-1992
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 11
People
Albraith, George
Albraith, John
Eberman, Jacob
Gignilliat, Leigh Robinson
Goodell, J. R.
Goodell, Joseph Edward
Goodell, Robert Hilliard
Miller, Eliza Sehner
Sener, Godlieb
Sener, Samuel Miller
Sehner, Gotlieb
Steinman, John Friedrick
Yeates, Jasper
Zahm, Godfried
Zahm, Matthias
Subjects
Ephemera
Family archives
Genealogy
Search Terms
Articles
Bonds
Cards
Chemists
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Columbia Bridge Company
Culver Military Academy
Diplomas
Ephemera
Family archives
Family crests
Finding aids
First Presbyterian Church, Lancaster
Fort Sheridan, Illinois
Genealogy
Lancaster Country Club
Manuscript groups
Obituaries
Officers' Reserve Corps
Pecano, The
Pennsylvania Serenaders
Programs
Receipts
Rotary International
Schwaigaru, Wurtenberg, Germany
Student Army Training Corps
Taxes
United States Army
Extent
1 box, 3 folders, .25 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0548
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
Goodell, Robert H. 1942. "The First Columbia Bridge." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, v. 46, no. 4-5. https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo2270
Goodell, Robert H. 1943. "John L. Boswell and The Columbia Spy." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, v. 47, no. 2. https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo589
Goodell, Robert H. 1943. "Matthias Zahm's Diary." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, v. 47, no. 4. https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo616
Goodell, Robert H. 1953. "The Second Columbia Bridge." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, v. 57, no. 1.
Photograph of H. S. Wolfe and Robert Hilliard Goodell (3-18-01-02)
Photographs of Goodell family members (2-16-11-09)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions are noted at the item level.
For original items that may be used by researchers, contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit or request at Reference Desk.
Copyright
Collection items 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 collection 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-548
Classification
MG0548
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Added to database 19 January 2022.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Lloyd Mifflin Collection
Title
Lloyd Mifflin Collection
Object ID
MG0059
Collection
Lloyd Mifflin Collection
Title
Lloyd Mifflin Collection
Description
This collection contains the papers of Lloyd Mifflin, including diaries, his poetry, typescripts, galleys with marginal notes, Mifflin family material, and a scrapbook of newspaper clippings. Lloyd Mifflin was a poet and painter from Columbia, Pa. He is best known as a writer of sonnets, publishing over 500.
Admin/Biographical History
Lloyd Mifflin (1846-1921), artist of landscape and portraiture, was also "America's greatest sonneteer." He was born and lived much of his life in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where he was free to wander the banks of the Susquehanna River and its tributaries.
His father, J. Houston Mifflin, of English Quaker descent, was Lloyd's first teacher in drawing and sketching. His mother, Elizabeth A. Heise, came from German heritage. She was born in Columbia and died when Lloyd was very young. His father, a kind and patient man, noted that Lloyd was a rather weak child and provided equestrian and water sports to improve his health.
Lloyd was taught in the public schools in Columbia, including the Washington Classical Institute. The Mifflin family supported local education by bequeathing two houses from their estate, the cottage known as "Norwood" and the grand house, "Cloverton," as well as the estate itself. The school district annually planted a flower on his birthday, September 15, and read one of his sonnets, "A Picture of My Mother."
At the age of 14, Lloyd undertook drawing and sketching with his father. He also had Thomas Moran as an instructor in painting and worked with Isaac Williams of Philadelphia for a short time. In 1869, he traveled to Europe where he studied with Henry Herzog at Dusseldorf, Germany. His adventures also took him to Italy, France, England, and Scotland. He returned to Columbia from Europe and continued painting scenes from along the Susquehanna-from Cooperstown, NY to the Chesapeake Bay. As did most other painters of the time, he earned money from portraiture.
In his paintings, he captured the natural with refined color and light, which yielded firm and balanced forms. He preferred to capture the peacefulness of a woodland path or other quiet spots, rather than the noise of an industrial area. Later in his life he liked seasonal paintings, since they gave him a chance to probe deeper into a philosophical spirit.
Mifflin turned to poetry at the age of 51. According to what he wrote in The Hills, his first volume of poetry (1896), he claimed that the fumes of the paint made him sick. In his lifetime he filled twelve books of verse with two hundred poems and more than six hundred sonnets. He wrote more sonnets than William Shakespeare, John Milton, and William Wordworth. John Keats, however, was his favorite. He preferred Keats for his expression regarding the love of beauty, both real and ideal; his forms were always poised and dignified. During this time he also taught himself the art of etching, using this technique to illustrate The Hills.
Mifflin stressed a strong love of beauty in his poetry as he did in his painting. His imagination and beautiful sense of harmony characterize his verse. The main source of his ambition, inspiration and consolation are clearly seen in The Invocation.
He devoted his greatest efforts to the category of the sonnet, considering it the most distinguished and exalted of all forms of English poetry. He enjoyed the structure, the metrical and rhythmic beauty, the plan of metrical rhyme and diction. Mifflin found it much like a musical composition.
Sonnets bipartite in structure usually have a combination of eight lines followed by six. The rhyme schemes and diction include many metaphors and an extensive vocabulary. His one hundred and fifty nature sonnets emphasize the descriptive, not the intuitional. To sample his poetic styles, one should turn to his three hundred and fifty collected sonnets, published in 1905 with a second edition in 1907. A large number came from earlier books.
As a poet, Mifflin was an idealist and respected the ideal of Greek mythological beauty. In the Echoes of the Greek Idylls and Slopes of Helicon, we find no roughness of spirit. There was a conscience of a spiritual presence. His religious sonnets were grounded in the faith of a personal God which related more to his aesthetic feelings than to traditional Christianity. Themes of life and death occur in many sonnets. His poetry inspired faith, hope and deep emotion. These sonnets were more descriptive than philosophical.
Mifflin's personal ambition was to excel; he wanted to write the perfect sonnet. Like the classical Greeks, he hoped his poetry would obtain an immortality. Mifflin thought the world had largely ignored him, even though his poetry received high praise. At his life's end he changed his opinion and credited his readers with more accolades than he had earlier thought. Perhaps he was too hard on himself. Lloyd Mifflin carried the name "Hermit of the hills" who walked the 'world as one entranced' and 'in life's turbid wave', dropped ' the crown-jewel of his melody.'"
E. Hershey Sneath. America's Greatest Sonneteer. The Clover Press (Geo. D. Hall): Columbia, PA.,1928.
Year Range From
1751
Year Range To
1965
Creator
Mifflin, Lloyd, 1846-1921
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 02
People
Howarth, Shirley
Mifflin, Houston
Mifflin, Lloyd
Stauffer, Nevin A.
Subjects
Artists
Painters
Search Terms
Artists
Columbia
Diaries
Illustrations
Painters
Poetry
Poets
Press reviews
Scrapbooks
Sonnets
Susquehanna River
University of Pennsylvania
Wills
Extent
2 box, 26 folders, 1 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0059
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
J. Houston Mifflin Collection, MG-150
Lloyd Mifflin paintings and other items in the Curatorial Collection
Photograph Collection
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please contact Research Staff or Archives Staff with questions.
Credit
Lloyd Mifflin Collection (MG-59), Folder #, LancasterHistory.org
Classification
MG0059
Description Level
Fonds
Less detail
Collection
J. Houston Mifflin Collection
Title
J. Houston Mifflin Collection
Object ID
MG0150
Date Range
1754-1881
  1 document  
Collection
J. Houston Mifflin Collection
Title
J. Houston Mifflin Collection
Description
Collection consists of personal, legal, and business-related letters and documents concerning the life and affairs of J. Houston Mifflin. Also, similar documents to, from, and about other members of the extended Houston and Mifflin families. Contains typed copies of two letters from J. Houston Mifflin to his son, Lloyd Mifflin, containing an eye-witness account of the June 1863 Confederate advance into Wrightsville. Also, a legal document signed by John Passmore.
Date Range
1754-1881
Year Range From
1754
Year Range To
1881
Date of Accumulation
1754-1881
Creator
Mifflin, J. Houston, 1807-1888
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 04
People
Archer, H. W.
Bayard, A. C.
Cowen, John F.
Fisher, J. N.
Franklin, Thomas E.
Gamble, J. A.
Grier, David
Grisein, David J.
Houston, Anna S.
Houston, Henry H.
Houston, J. W.
Houston, John J.
Houston, Robert W.
Houston, Susanna
Houston, William F.
Howell, C. M.
Jenkins, William
Jordan, John
Kerbaugh, Francis
Lane, J.
Marshall, William
Mattack, Thomas
Mifflin, Ann
Mifflin, Elizabeth A. B.
Mifflin, James E.
Mifflin, John Houston
Mifflin, Joseph
Mifflin, Lloyd
Mifflin, Samuel W.
Neagle, J.
Nunemacher, John R.
Plant, Augusta Mifflin
Plant, T. H.
Reynolds, James L.
Rogers, Anna R.
Wilson, Benjamin
Other Creators
Mifflin family
Subjects
Artists
Business records
Family records
Legal instruments
Real property
Letters
Photographers
Search Terms
Artists
Bank of Pennsylvania
Business records
Charlton and Ward
Columbia Bank and Bridge Company
Correspondence
Family records
Finding aids
Land records
Legal documents
Letters
Manuscript groups
Mifflin and Houston Company
P. Malcolm and Company
Photographers
Real estate
Tilford and Samuel
Wills
Extent
1 box, 11 folders, .25 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0150
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
Photograph Collection
Curatorial Collection
Lloyd Mifflin Collection, 1751-1965, MG0059
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-150
Other Number
MG-150
Classification
MG0150
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Folders 1-10 processed and finding aid prepared by DT, 1998-1999. Folder 11 was cataloged in 2011. Added to the database 28 September 2017.
Documents
Less detail

10 records – page 1 of 1.