Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Infobox U.S. County
county = Lancaster County
state = Pennsylvania




map size = 225
founded = May 10,1729
seat = Lancaster | largest city = Lancaster
area_total_sq_mi =984
area_land_sq_mi =949
area_water_sq_mi =35
area percentage = 3.53%
census yr = 2000
pop = 470,658
density_km2 =191
web = www.co.lancaster.pa.us
|

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, known as "the Garden Spot of America" since the 18th century, is located in the southeastern part of the state of Pennsylvania, in the United States.cite book |last= Walbert |first= David J.|authorlink= |title= Garden Spot: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the Old Order Amish, and the Selling of Rural America|origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= http://www.newagrarian.com/gardenspot/index.html |accessdate= 2006-08-21|date= 2002|publisher= Oxford University Press |id= ISBN 0-19-514844-4|pages= 272 pages] With an estimated 2005 population of 490,562 Lancastrians, Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the 99th largest of 361 MSAs in the U.S. [http://www.bea.gov/bea/regional/bearfacts/action.cfm?yearin=2004&areatype=MSA&fips=29540 Bureau of Economic Analysis] ] The city of LancasterGR|6 is the county seat.

Lancaster County is a popular tourist destination, due mostly to the many plain sect residents, known as the Amish or Pennsylvania Dutch. [ [http://www.religioustolerance.org/amish.htm The Amish: history, beliefs, conflicts] ] The term 'Pennsylvania Dutch' comes from the earlier use of "Dutch" to apply to all immigrants from middle Europe. They are the descendants of Germans who immigrated in the 18th and 19th centuries for the freedom of religion offered by William Penn, [ [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PENN/pnintro.html William Penn, proprietor] ] and were attracted by the rich soil and mild climate of the area. [ [http://www.students.bucknell.edu/hyeo/ Agriculture in Lancaster, Pennsylvania] ]

Lancastrians can easily spot a visitor to the area by how they pronounce the word Lancaster. Locals and people from nearby counties in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware pronounce Lancaster as "LANK-ister". This is unusual as most Lancasters in the United States are pronounced as "LAN-cast-er", though Lancashire, England, and Lancasters in Texas, Ohio, and South Carolina also use the "LANK-ister" pronunciation.

History

Indigenous Peoples

The first recorded inhabitants of the Susquehanna River valley were the Iroquoian speaking Susquehannocks, whose name meant "people of the muddy river" in Algonquin. They were also known as the Conestoga, from their principal village, "Kanestoge", known to the English as Indiantown. They were viewed by European settlers as a friendly tribe, converted to Christianity, who made brooms and baskets for sale, and named children after their favorite neighbors. [http://www.hsp.org/files/barberpaxtonexcerpt.pdf#search=%22paxton%20boys%22 Recollections written in 1830 of life in Lancaster County 1726-1782 and a History of settlement at Wright’s Ferry, on Susquehanna River] ]

However, the outbreak of Pontiac's War in the summer of 1763, coupled with the conciliatory but militarily ineffective policies of the provincial government, aroused widespread suspicion and hatred against all Indians in the frontier counties of the state. Rumors spread that the Conestoga were harboring strange and hostile Indians in their village. On December 14 1763, the Paxton Boys, led by Matthew Smith and Capt. Lazarus Stewart, descended upon the village, slaughtered the six Indians present at the time, and burned their houses. The fourteen survivors of the tribe were placed in protective custody in the county workhouse, but the Paxton Boys returned on December 27, broke into the workhouse, and butchered the remaining Susquehannocks. The widespread sympathy in the frontier counties for the perpetrators of these acts made their discovery and arrest futile.cite journal | title=The March of the Paxton Boys | last=Hindle | first=Brooke | journal=The William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Ser. | volume=3 | number=4 | month=October | year=1946 |pages=461–486 | url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-5597%28194610%293%3A3%3A4%3C461%3ATMOTPB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9 | accessdate=2006-09-30 | doi=10.2307/1921899]

Other tribes in the area included the Shawnee, Gawanese, Lenape (or Delaware), and Nanticokes. [http://web.archive.org/web/19990203143240/http://www.willowvalley.com/wvlancasterinfo.htm A Brief History of Lancaster County] , Retrieved on 2006-10-01]

Boundaries

The area that became Lancaster County was part of William Penn's 1681 charter, [ [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/pa01.htm Charter of Pennsylvania Province] ] and John Kennerly received the first recorded deed from Penn in 1691. [http://www.padutchcountry.com/our_world/lancaster_county_history.asp Lancaster County FAQs] ] Although Matthias Kreider was said to have been in the area as early as 1691, there is no evidence that anyone actually settled in Lancaster County before 1710. [http://www.horseshoe.cc/pennadutch/places/pennsylvania/lancasterco/townships/marticprov/martic.htm Martic township] ]

Lancaster County was part of Chester County, Pennsylvania until May 10 1729 when it became the fourth county in the state.cite web | url = http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/county.asp?secid=31 | title = Counties of Pennsylvania | accessdate = 2006-10-04 | format = Index of 67 Pennsylvania County Histories | publisher = Pennsylvania State Archives ] Lancaster County was named after the city of Lancaster in the county of Lancashire in England, the native home of John Wright, one of the early settlers. [ [http://www.docheritage.state.pa.us/documents/lancasterpetition.asp Petition for the Establishment of Lancaster County, February 6, 1728/9] ] Six other counties were subsequently formed from territory directly taken, in all or in part, from Lancaster County: Berks (1752), Cumberland (1750), Dauphin (1785), Lebanon (1813), Northumberland (1772), and York (1749). Many other counties were in turn formed from these six.

The southern boundary of Pennsylvania, and thus of Lancaster County, was in dispute for years. Lord Baltimore believed that his grant [ [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/ma01.htm Charter of Maryland] ] to Maryland extended to the 40th parallel [http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~amxroads/Homelands/cecil.html Cecil county history] ] — about halfway between Lancaster and Willow Street. Starting in 1730, Thomas Cresap started Cresap's War by confiscating farms near Peach Bottom and Wrightsville, establishing ferries there. He started vandalizing farms, killing livestock and driving away settlers in southern York and Lancaster counties, giving those lands to his followers. When a follower was arrested, the Marylanders broke him out of the Lancaster lockup. Lord Baltimore negotiated a compromise in 1733, but Cresap ignored it, and continued his raids. When an attempt was made to arrest him in 1734, he killed a deputy at his door. The Pennsylvania governor demanded Maryland arrest Cresap for murder; the Maryland governor named him a captain in their militia instead. In 1736, he was finally arrested, and jailed until 1737 when the King intervened. In 1750, a court decided that Lord Baltimore had forfeited his rights to a twenty-mile swath of land. The new Pennsylvania-Maryland border was properly established by the Mason-Dixon line in 1767.

The names of the original Lancaster County townships reflect the diverse array of settlers in the new county: [http://www.pa-roots.com/~lancaster/maps/townships.html Lancaster County Townships] ] two had Welsh names (Caernarvon and Lampeter), three had Native American names (Cocalico, Conestoga and Peshtank or Paxton), six were English (Warwick, Lancaster, Martic, Sadsbury, Salisbury and Hempfield); four were Irish (Donegal, Drumore, Derry, and Leacock), Manheim was German, Lebanon came from the Bible, and Earl the anglicization of the German surname of Graf or Groff. [http://www.lancasterhistory.org/education/lancastercounty.html Lancaster History] ]

19th century statesmen

Lancaster County's native son James Buchanan, a Democrat, was elected as the 15th President of the United States in 1856, [ [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jb15.html White House biography of James Buchanan] ] the only Pennsylvanian to hold the presidency. His home, Wheatland, is now a museum in Lancaster. [ [http://wheatland.org/ Wheatland estate] ] Thaddeus Stevens, the noted Radical Republican, served Lancaster County in the United States House of Representatives from 1849-1853 and from 1859 until his death in 1868. [ [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000887 Congrssional Biography] ] Stevens left a $50,000 bequest to start an orphanage [ [http://www.stevenstech.org/services/library/Pathfinder%20Stevens.htm Stevens bequest] ] that eventually became the state-owned Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. Both men are buried in Lancaster.Fact|date=January 2008

lavery and the Christiana incident

Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1780, although in a slow manner. [http://www.millersville.edu/~ugrr/christiana/introduction.html Introduction ] ] The existing 6000 slaves in Pennsylvania remained slaves, and the registered children of those slaves were slaves until their 28th birthday. The last slave child registered in Pennsylvania was Haley, born in 1811, and a freedman no later than 1839. [http://www.slavenorth.com/pennsylvania.htm Slavery in Pennsylvania] ] Thus Pennsylvania was legally a free state when the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850.

Being immediately north of the Mason-Dixon line, Lancaster County was an important stop on the Underground Railway. Charles Spotts found 17 stations; [ [http://muweb.millersville.edu/~twstproj/HIST272/1999F/pilpath.html Pilgrim's Pathway] ] including ones with trap doors, hidden vaults, an underground cave and one with a brick tunnel leading to Octorara Creek.

As slaveowners go, 51-year-old Edward Gorsuch was probably one of the best. He did not beat his slaves, and as a rich Maryland wheat farmer, he could afford to manumit slaves in their 20s. He allowed his slaves to work for cash elsewhere during the slow season. There was wheat missing, though, sold to a local farmer by his slaves, and he thought a former slave was responsible for this dishonesty. As he had a bad temper, slaves Noah Buley, Nelson Ford, George Ford, and Joshua Hammond became afraid, and fled to the farm of William Parker, a mulatto who lived in Christiana, Pennsylvania. Parker, 29, was a member of the Lancaster Black Self-Protection Society, and known to use violence.

Honor was at stake. Having slaves run away made him look disreputable, so Gorsuch obtained four warrants, and organized four parties which set out separately to recover his property. He died in the attempt, though, and others were wounded. Although Gorsuch was legally entitled to recover his slaves, it is not clear who precipitated the violence. The incident — variously called the "Christiana Riot", the "Christiana Outrage", and the "Christiana Tragedy", depending on one's political and religious leanings — became a national controversy. In September, 1851, the grand jury returned a true bill against 38 individuals who were then held in Moyamensing Prison in Philadelphia to await trial. The only one who was ever tried was Castner Hanway.

It's not clear that Castner Hanway was responsible in any way for what happened. He was a white man, one of the first on the scene. On the other hand, Hanway and his horse provided cover for Joshua Gorsuch and Dr. Pearce, who were wounded. Hanway was tried in federal court in Philadelphia on November 15 1851 for liberating slaves taken into custody by US Marshal Kline, for resisting arrest, for conspiracy, and for treason. The jury returned a "Not Guilty" verdict in only 15 minutes. Among the five defense lawyers was congressman Thaddeus Stevens.

(For further reading, see "Resistance at Christiana: The Fugitive Slave Rebellion, Christiana, Pennsylvania, 1851", by Jonathan Ned Katz, T.Y. Crowell, New York, 1974.) also 'Treason at Christiana: September 11, 1851' by L.D. "Bud" Rettew, 2006

Religious history

Not only did religious differences spur early growth of Pennsylvania and Lancaster County, but Lancaster County gave birth to many religious bodies as well. The oldest surviving dwelling for European immigrants in the county [ [http://www.hansherr.org/ Hans Herr house and museum] ] is that of Bishop Hans Herr, a Mennonite. In 1989, Donald Kraybill counted 37 distinct religious bodies/organizations, with 289 congregations and 41,600 baptized members, among the plain sects who are descendents of the Anabaptist Mennonite immigrants to Lancaster County. [ [http://www.adherents.com/adhloc/Wh_274.html The Riddle of the Amish Culture] ] The Mennonite Central Committee in Akron is often among the first to arrive at a disaster scene, [ [http://www.mcc.org/news/ Mennonite Central Committee news] ] quietly providing manpower and materiel to local organizations that better understand where relief should be directed. [ [http://www.mcc.org/about/what/ What MCC does] ]

The town of Lititz is a planned community built by members of the Moravian Church beginning in the 1740s. Linden Hall school there is one of the earliest educational institutions for girls in the country.

In addition to the Ephrata Cloister, the United Brethren in Christ and the Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) trace their beginnings to a 1767 meeting [ [http://www.mcusa-archives.org/historicalmarkers/1767_Issac_Long_Barn.html Isaac Long barn] ] at the Isaac Long barn, near the hamlet of Oregon, in West Lampeter Township. [ [http://www.topozone.com/viewmaps.asp?method=place&placename=oregon&statefips=42 www.topozone.com showing Oregon, Pennsylvania] ] The EUB, a German methodist church, merged with the traditionally-English Methodist church to become the United Methodist Church in 1968, [ [http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=346 Evangelical United Brethren] ]

Innovations

Lancaster County's innovators have given the world:
* Fraktur, the artistic and elaborate 18th century and 19th century hand-illuminated folk art inspired by German blackface type, originated at Johann Conrad Beissel's cloister of German 7th-day Baptists in Ephrata. [ [http://antiquesandthearts.com/archive/frak.htm Fraktur] ]
* The first battery-powered watch, the Hamilton Electric 500, was released in 1957 by the Hamilton Watch Company. [ [http://www.thewatchguy.com/pages/HAMILTONELECT.html Hamilton Electric Watch] ]
* The Pennsylvania Long Rifle, [ [http://ourancestry.com/rifle.html Martin Meylin longrifle] ] sometimes mistakenly called the Kentucky Long Rifle.
* The Conestoga wagon, [ [http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=362 Conestoga Wagon] ] which started the practice of driving right-of-center.
* The Stogie cigar [ [http://www.pa-roots.com/~westmoreland/historyproject/vol1/chap18.html History of Westmoreland County] ] The word Stogie is a shortened form of Conestoga.
* The Amish quilt, a highly utilitarian art form, dates to 1849 in Lancaster County. [ [http://www.amishloft.com/amishloft/Lancaster_County_Amish_quilts.html Amish Quilts] ]

Government and Politics

Lancaster County is represented nationally by U.S. Senators Arlen Specter (R) and Bob Casey, Jr. (D), and by U.S. Congressman Joe Pitts (R) of Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district. [http://www.goplancaster.com/www_Endorsed_Candidates.asp Lancaster County GOP] ]

State Senators Gibson E. Armstrong 13th District, Michael W. Brubaker 36th District, and Mike Folmer, 48th District are all Republican. [http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/senators_alpha.cfm State Senators] ]

Lancaster Airport is the only airport in the county with scheduled service, though Smoketown Airport also serves general aviation.

Population

The population density is 495 persons per square mile (versus 79.6 for the U.S. as a whole). In 2000, the average commute for adults was 21.7 minutes, compared to a national average of 25.5 minutes.

As of 2005, there were 490,562 residents in Lancaster County, representing 4.2% growth since 2000 and 11.3% growth since 1990. The population is all-American: 25.3% under 18 (compared to 25.0% nationally), 14.2% over 65 (12.4% nationally), and 51% female (50.8% nationally).

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 5.58% of the population report speaking Pennsylvania German, German, or Dutch at home, while a further 4.97% speak Spanish. [ [http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=42&county_id=71&mode=geographic&zip=&place_id=&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r MLA Data Center] ] 39.8% were of German, 11.8% United States or American, 7.2% Irish and 5.7% English ancestry according to the United States Census, 2000.

Dialect

The inhabitants of Lancaster County speak with the Susquehanna dialect. [ [http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/dialectsofenglish.html Susquehanna dialect] ] The Susquehanna dialect is most commonly used in the Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg areas, and incorporates influences from the Philadelphia accent and that of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Here is a list of common words and phrases unique to the Susquehanna dialect:

* Red up- to straighten up, ("I red up the house yesterday.")

* Macadam- asphalt, influenced by the original macadam roads in Pennsylvania, ("Jason scraped his knee on the macadam.")

* Dippy eggs- fried eggs

* ..awhile- used at the end of a sentence, ("Can I get you a glass of tea, awhile?")

* Outen the lights- turning the lights off, ("You need to outen the lights, John.")

* It's all- it is all gone, ("the coffee is all.")

* Furhuddled- disheveled, ("Patrick appeared furhuddled at his job interview.")

Economy

In 2004, the county had a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $30,790, only 93% of the national average. This reflects a growth of 4.5% from the prior year, versus a 5.0% growth for the nation as a whole. Despite the lower income, the county poverty rate in 2003 was just 8.3% compared to a national rate of 12.5%. In 2004, federal spending in Lancaster County was $4,199 per resident, versus a national average of $7,232.

In 2005, Lancaster County was 10th of all counties in Pennsylvania with 17.7% of its workforce employed in manufacturing; the state averages 13.7%, and the leader, Crawford County, has only 25.1%. [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2404_ST2&-CONTEXT=gct&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=true&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en GCT2404. Percent of Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over in the Manufacturing Industry: 2005] ]

Lancaster County lags in information workers, despite being the corporate headquarters of MapQuest. [ [http://company.mapquest.com/corporate/2.html MapQuest history] ] It ranks 31st in the state with only 1.3% of the workforce; the state as a whole employs 2.1% in information technology. [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2405_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en GCT2405. Percent of Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over in the Information Industry: 2005] ]

The county ranks 11th in the state in managerial and financial workers, despite having only 12.5% of the workforce in those occupations (versus the state average of 12.8%). The state leaders are Chester County with 20.5% and Montgomery County with 18.5%. [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2401_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en GCT2401. Percent of Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over in Management, Business, and Financial Occupations: 2005] ]

With only 17.3% working in the professions, Lancaster County is 31st in Pennsylvania, compared to a state average of 21.5%. Centre County leads with 31.8%, undoubtedly due to Penn State's giant footprint in an otherwise rural county, but the upscale Philadelphia suburbs of Montgomery County give them 27.2%. [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2402_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en GCT2402. Percent of Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over in Professional and Related Occupations: 2005] ]

Lancaster County ranks even lower, 34th, in service workers, with 13.3% of the workforce, compared to a state average of 15.8%. Philadelphia County, the cheesesteak capital of the world, leads with 20.5%. [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2403_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en GCT2403. Percent of Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over in Service Occupations: 2005] ]

There are 11,000 companies in Lancaster County. [http://www.edclancaster.com/demo_employment.htm Economic Development Corporation] ] The county's largest manufacturing and distributing employers at the end of 2003 were Acme Markets, Alumax Mill Products, Anvil International, Armstrong World Industries, Bollman Hat, CNH Global, Conestoga Wood Specialties, Dart Container, High Industries, Lancaster Laboratories, Pepperidge Farm, R R Donnelley & Sons, The Hershey Company, Tyco Electronics, Tyson Foods, Warner-Lambert, and Yellow Transportation. [ [http://www.edclancaster.com/images/Topemployers.pdf Economic Development Corporation: Top Employers] ]

Auntie Anne's, Clipper Magazine, Lancaster Farming, MapQuest, Turkey Hill Dairy, and Wilbur Chocolate Company are Lancaster County-based organizations with an economic footprint of regional or national significance.

Herley Industries is the third local defense contractor to face federal fraud charges in 20 years. [ [http://news.pajamasmedia.com/united_states/2006/06/08/9112877_Local_defense_fi.shtml Local defense firm, chairman accused of cheating military with inflated bills] ]

Agriculture

With some of the most fertile soil in the U.S., Lancaster County has a strong farming industry. [ [http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/watermgt/wc/subjects/wsnotebks/WRAS-07J.htm Watershed Restoration Action Strategy] ] [ [http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/lib/lanco/revprogguidelines_finalfinal_(2).pdf Agricultural Preserve Board] ] Lancaster County's 5293 farms, generating $800 million in food, feed and fiber, are responsible for nearly a fifth of the state's agricultural output. [http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/profiles/pa/cp42071.PDF#search=%22census%20of%20agriculture%20lancaster%20county%20pa%22 2002 NASS Agricultural Census] ] Chester County, with their high-value mushroom farms, is second, with $375 million. [http://www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/PA.htm USDA Factsheet] ]

Livestock-raising is responsible for $710 million of that $800 million, with dairy accounting for $266 million, poultry and eggs accounting for $258 million. Cattle and swine each account for about $90 million.

Agriculture is likely to remain an important part of Lancaster County: almost exactly half of Lancaster County's land - 320,000 acres - is zoned for agriculture, and 276,000 of those acres are "effective agricultural zoning", requiring at least 20 acres per residence. [ [http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/lib/lanco/revprogguidelines_finalfinal_(2).pdf Program Guidelines] ]

Tourism

Tourism is a significant industry in Lancaster County, employing 47,000. [http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:8zl_9ClZpnYJ:www.strasburgrailroad.com/Press_Releases/Paradise_back.doc+lancaster+county+tourism+board&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10&client=mozilla To Paradise and Back] September 5, 2005 Lancaster New Era] In the 1860s, articles in the "Atlantic Monthly" and "Lippincott’s Magazine" started tourism in Lancaster County right after the Civil War, but it didn't really take off until the 1920s, when the Lincoln Highway was built. A New York Times travel article in 1952 brought 25,000 visitors, and the 1955 Broadway musical Plain and Fancy brought even more, but tourism tapered off, after the 1974 gas rationing and the Three Mile Island incident led to five years of stagnation.

Local tourism officials viewed it as deus ex machina when Hollywood stepped in to rescue their industry. Harrison Ford, in the popular 1985 movie "Witness", played John Book, a Philadelphia detective who in turn played "Plain" in order to protect Samuel Lapp, an Old Order Amish boy who has witnessed a murder. Predictably, John Book falls in love with Rachel Lapp, the boy's widowed mother; the movie is less a thriller than a romance about the difficulties faced by an English man in love with a Plain widow. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090329/ IMDb: Witness] ] The film was nominated for eight Oscars, and won two. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090329/awards Oscars for "Witness"] ] However, the real winner was Lancaster County tourism, as movie-goers found themselves intrigued by the Plain.

Once again, especially after the 9/11 attacks, tourism in Lancaster County has shifted. Instead of families arriving for a 3-4 day stay for a general visit, now tourists arrive for a specific event, whether it be the rhubarb festival, the "maize maze", to see Thomas the Tank Engine, for Sertoma's annual "World's Largest Chicken Barbecue" or for the latest show at Sight & Sound Theatres. The tourism industry is discouraged by this change, but not despondent:

29 covered bridges in Lancaster County.The county also promotes tourist visits to the county's numerous historic and picturesque covered bridges by publishing driving tours of the bridges.cite web
title = The Covered Bridges of Lancaster County
work = Lancaster County, PA Government Portal
publisher = County of Lancaster, Pennsylvania
date = 2001-12-10
url = http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/cwp/view.asp?a=15&q=257148&lancoNav=|5722|5789
accessdate = 2006-09-26 ] At over 200 bridges still in existence, Pennsylvania has more covered bridges than anywhere else in the world, and at 29 covered bridges, Lancaster County has the largest share.cite web
title = Covered Bridges
work = Pennsylvania Dutch Country Welcome Center
publisher = Action Video, Inc.
date = 2005
url = http://www.padutch.com/covbrdg.shtml
accessdate = 2006-09-26 ]

The Lancaster County Convention Center Authority [http://www.lccca.com/] is building a controversial $170 million [http://www.lancasterfirst.org/FinancingPlan_121306.pdf] convention center in downtown Lancaster on the site of the former Watt & Shand building. The project's supporters believe it would promote the revitalization of the city's center. Its opponents, however, feel it poses an unacceptable risk to taxpayers [http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/cwp/view.asp?A=15&Q=559590] .

Other tourist attractions include the American Music Theatre, Dutch Wonderland, Ephrata Cloister, Ephrata Fair, Hans Herr House, Landis Valley Museum, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Rock Ford plantation, Robert Fulton Birthplace, Sight & Sound Theatres, Strasburg Railroad, and Sturgis Pretzel House. There are many tours of this historic area including the Downtown Lancaster Walking Tour [http://www.padutchcountry.com/member_pages/Historic_Lancaster_Walking_Tour.asp] .

Municipalities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, , and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Lancaster County:

Cities

Lancaster is the only incorporated city in Lancaster County.

Boroughs

There are 18 boroughs in Lancaster County: Adamstown, Akron, Christiana, Columbia, Denver, East Petersburg, Elizabethtown, Ephrata, Lititz, Manheim, Marietta, Millersville, Mount Joy, Mountville, New Holland, Quarryville, Strasburg, and Terre Hill.

Townships

There are 41 townships in Lancaster County: Bart, Brecknock, Caernarvon, Clay, Colerain, Conestoga, Conoy, Drumore, Earl, East Cocalico, East Donegal, East Drumore, East Earl, East Hempfield, East Lampeter, Eden, Elizabeth, Ephrata, Fulton, Lancaster, Leacock, Little Britain, Manheim, Manor, Martic, Mount Joy, Paradise, Penn, Pequea, Providence, Rapho, Sadsbury, Salisbury, Strasburg, Upper Leacock, Warwick, West Cocalico, West Donegal, West Earl, West Hempfield, and West Lampeter.

Unincorporated communities and census-designated places

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

Bareville, Bird-in-Hand, Brickerville, Brownstown, East Earl, Elm, Farmersville, Gap, Georgetown, Gordonville, Hempfield, Holtwood, Intercourse, Lampeter, Landisville, Lawn, Leacock, Leacock-Leola-Bareville, Leola, Maytown, Neffsville, Nickel Mines, Paradise, Reamstown, Reinholds, Rheems, Rothsville, Ronks, Salunga, Salunga-Landisville, Schoeneck, Silver Spring, Smoketown, Talmage, Washington Boro and Willow Street.

Education

The colleges of Lancaster County are Elizabethtown College, Franklin & Marshall College, Harrisburg Area Community College, Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster Theological Seminary, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, [Pennsylvania College of Art and Design] and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology

There are 16 public school districts in the county: Cocalico, Columbia Borough, Conestoga Valley, Donegal, Eastern Lancaster County, Elizabethtown Area, Ephrata Area, Hempfield, Lampeter-Strasburg, Lancaster, Manheim Central, Manheim Township, Penn Manor, Pequea Valley, Solanco, and Warwick. There is also one charter school, the La Academia Charter School.

ports

Before the Barnstormers, Lancaster was the home of the Lancaster Red Roses, which played from 1906 to about 1930, and from 1932 to 1961. [ [http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball5.htm 140 Years of Lancaster County Baseball] ] In 2005, the Lancaster Barnstormers joined the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The Barnstormers are named after the "barnstorming" players who played exhibition games in the county. Their official colors are red, navy blue, and khaki, the same as those of the Red Roses. This franchise won their first league championship in 2006, only their second season. They have revived the old baseball rivalry between Lancaster and nearby York, called the War of the Roses, when the York Revolution started their inaugural season in 2007. [ [http://www.yorkrevolution.com/news.cfm?newsID=457] Retrieved December 15, 2007]

Both the National Premier Soccer League and Women's Premier Soccer League expanded to Lancaster for the 2008 season, with both teams known as the Lancaster Inferno. The NPSL and WPSL are FIFA-recognized Division IV leagues, and are also included in the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Inferno are owned by the Pennsylvania Classics organization and play their home games at the Hempfield High School stadium in Landisville. The Inferno's colors are orange and black.

Amateur teams

Since 2004, the amateur Lancaster Lightning football team of the North American Football League has played at Pequea Valley High School's football stadium in Kinzers. [ [http://www.lancasterlightning.com/ Lancaster Lightning] Accessed September 30, 2006]

Former teams

From 1946 to 1980, a professional basketball team known as the Lancaster Red Roses (as well as the Lancaster Rockets and the Lancaster Lightning). played in the Continental Basketball Association. [ [http://www.cbamuseum.com/teams/lancroses.html Lancaster Red Roses Basketball] Retrieved October 1, 2006]

See also

* List of Pennsylvania films and television shows
* List of people from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
* List of Lancaster County covered bridges
* [ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/lancaster_GHSN.PDF Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Map of Lancaster County showing city, boroughs, townships, and unincorporated villages (PDF)]

References

External links

* [http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us County of Lancaster, Pennsylvania]
* [http://www.padutchcountry.com Lancaster County Tourism]