Philadelphia and meet at Lancaster, which they did on 27 September 1777. Their paths thither took a northern route, arching through Berks and Northampton counties to avoid any British patrols that might be lurking in central Chester County. Upon reaching Lancaster, members of the Congress discovered the town

, and lesser felonies were heard by the justices of the peace, but the justices were given administrative duties such as overseeing the opening of roads and bridges, care of the poor, and supervision of the constables. They were responsible for county property and buildings.' The first justices of the

government in the 1730s was quite primitive. The only officials were constables, overseers of the poor, and supervisors of highways. In practice, Lancaster County's magistrates (or lay justices) were the only local government. With Lancaster being chosen for the county seat as anticipated by James Hamilton

free from the cancer of vice and sin, the records of the Lancaster County Court state otherwise. Upright gentlemen of Lancaster could visit the towns along the Susquehanna River, but bawdyhouses were to be found scattered throughout the county. During the 1880s an effort was made in Lancaster to form a

Tuesday, November 16, 1886, at 10 o'clock, a.m. in the hall of the Young Men's Christian Association, on South Queen Street, Lancaster, Pa., to consider the propriety of forming such a society. �14 JOURNAL OF THE LANCASTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Inasmuch as the weather was inclement only a few persons

building was near the Memorial Hall or Art Gallery, and it attracted many visitors. The exhibits consisted of the work of kindergartens, systems of graded schools, county schools, academies and seminaries, universities and colleges, technical schools and teacher preparation schools then known as "normal