Lancaster, PA

Headnote
LANCASTER, city, seat of justice of Lancaster co., Pa., is situated 36 miles southeast of Harrisburgh, and 62 miles west of Philadelphia. In 1812, the state government was transferred from this place to Harrisburgh. In the midst of the beautiful and fertile valley of Conestoga creek, it constitutes the centre of an extensive trade with the surrounding region, and a thoroughfare between Philadelphia and the west. This is one of those towns which are interesting for both age and prosperity. (Fanning's, 1853)
Place Unit Type
City or Town
Containing Unit
Lancaster County, PA

Lancaster, Pennsylvania (Fanning's, 1853)

Gazetteer/Almanac
LANCASTER, city, seat of justice of Lancaster co., Pa., is situated 36 miles southeast of Harrisburgh, and 62 miles west of Philadelphia. In 1812, the state government was transferred from this place to Harrisburgh. In the midst of the beautiful and fertile valley of Conestoga creek, it constitutes the centre of an extensive trade with the surrounding region, and a thoroughfare between Philadelphia and the west. This is one of those towns which are interesting for both age and prosperity. Some of its buildings are antiquated; others are modern; but generally all are neat and pleasant. By a series of dams and locks, forming the Conestoga canal, the navigation of the creek has been improved to the Susquehanna, a distance of 18 miles.

The manufacturing establishments are various and flourishing.

The Columbia and Philadelphia railroad communicates with Lancaster, and leads toward Harrisburgh; and here, the Westchester branch diverges toward York.

The population in 1810, was 5,405; in 1820, 6,633; in 1830, 7,704; in 1840, 8,417; in 1850, 8,811.
Fanning's Illustrated Gazetteer of the United States.... (New York: Phelps, Fanning & Co., 1853), 184.
Date Type
Abraham Lincoln visits Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and from there secretly travels directly to Washington Campaigns/Elections
Abraham Lincoln's funeral train leaves Harrisburg and rolls across the Pennsylvania countryside to Philadelphia Personal
Democrats increase their majority in Lancaster, Pennsylvania municipal elections Campaigns/Elections
James Buchanan is admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar Personal
John W. Forney is born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Personal
Outgoing president James Buchanan leaves Washington for his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Personal
Birthplace of
Burial Place of
Name Type
Lititz, PA City or Town
Stevens Greenland Cemetery, Lancaster, PA Location or Site
Thaddeus Stevens Law Office and Home, Lancaster, PA Location or Site
Woodward Hill Cemetery, Lancaster, PA Location or Site
Date Title
Thaddeus Stevens to John McClintock, July 20, 1847
Thaddeus Stevens to John McClintock, August 2, 1847
Carlisle (PA) Herald and Expositor, "James Buchanan at Home," September 8, 1847
New York Times, "Kansas Affairs," January 3, 1857
Washington (DC) National Era, “James Buchanan a Mystery to Himself,” October 29, 1857
Abraham Lincoln's Remarks at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1861
James Buchanan to James Gordon Bennett, March 11, 1861
Cincinnati (OH) Gazette, “Excitement in Lancaster,” July 2, 1863
Daniel Bonsall to William Still, 1872
Lancaster’s Star-Cross’d Lovers
Meeting Held in Lancaster to Nominate Buchanan for Vice-President of the United States
Thaddeus Stevens as a Lancaster Politician, 1842-1868
John and Mary; or, The Fugitive Slaves, A Tale of South-Eastern Pennsylvania
How to Cite This Page: "Lancaster, PA," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/12312.