William G. Payne was a well-known African-American restaurateur and caterer who was born a slave in Virginia and moved to Lancaster from Philadelphia. In Lancaster, William began a restaurant and catering business at 27 East Orange Street. As his reputation spread, William was hired as Caterer and Steward for the Hamilton Club, a position he managed for about five years. During the year 1906, William leased the property at 135 East Grant Street and opened the Lancaster Kitchen &amp; Caterers’ Supply Company, which he owned and operated from 1906 to about 1914 when he retired from the catering business.The Lancaster Kitchen and Caterers’ Supply Co. was highlighted in the 1910 Pennsylvania Negro Business Directory where it is stated that William served many of the wealthy throughout the country. William also made an impact on the community when he helped found the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

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This tour stop highlights the important contributions of African Americans to the economy of a community.  As an established businessman with a reputation for hard work, William Payne contributed to the quality of life across the spectrum of society in Lancaster.  William Payne's and Thaddeus Henry's successes were  important indicators of the economic advances being made by African Americans in the region.  

Lancaster Kitchen and Caterers Supply Company

This short tour makes a loop around several blocks within the heart of Lancaster with stops at a variety of monuments and buildings in the center of the city that date back to Lancaster's beginnings.

Thomas Mifflin was born in Philadelphia in 1744 to&nbsp;John Mifflin and Elizabeth Bagnall. For generations Thomas and his family were all Quakers. He eventually attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated from it in 1760. Afterwards, Mifflin&nbsp;became a merchant and got&nbsp;married to Sarah Morris in 1765.&nbsp; Early in the Revolutionary War, Mifflin left his post in the Continental Congress to join the war. He was however expelled from the Quakers because of their pacifist ways. He was initially&nbsp;commissioned&nbsp;as a major, but moved up in rank to Quartermaster General for the army. It is important to note that Thomas Mifflin has the honor of the being the United State's first quartermaster general. It is said that Mifflin was a good quartermaster, but failed to properly supply the Continental Army stationed at Valley Forge. It is also said that Mifflin would have rather been on the front lines than supplying the army. He was eventually promoted to major general for his leadership skills in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. After his promotion Mifflin, was commissioned&nbsp;to join the&nbsp;Congressional Board of War because of his military service. He spent from 1777 to 1778 on the board until he eventually rejoined the army. Mifflin didn't have much of an active role in the army at this point and eventually resigned mainly due to accusations about him during his time as quartermaster. Thomas Mifflin played a pretty major role in politics for both the United States and for Pennsylvania. He was a member&nbsp;of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from 1772 to 1776. The assembly possessed the role of&nbsp;state government for the colony of Pennsylvania. Mifflin was also a member of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1775. It is important to note that he left in 1775 to fight the British. Mifflin also served as part of the Continental Congress from 1782 to 1784. For seven months, around the end of his time in congress, he became president of the Continental Congress. After the war, as president, Mifflin had trouble getting enough delegates from the now states to be in congress. He was eventually able to ratify the Treaty of Paris which was the official peace treaty between the United States and Great Britain. Afterwards, Mifflin became the first president of congress to be officially recognized by Britain. In 1787 Mifflin had the honor of being a delegate in the Constitutional Convention. His signature is on the constitution along with most of the other delegates. After leaving the Continental Congress, Thomas Mifflin, spent the rest of his life serving in the Pennsylvania state government. He was Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from&nbsp;1785 to 1787. Not to mention, he was also a member&nbsp;Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and served as the 7th President of Pennsylvania for two terms from 1788 to 1789. In 1790, Mifflin presided over the committee that wrote the 1790 Pennsylvania state constitution. The constitution removed the Supreme Executive Council and replaced it with the position of&nbsp;Governor of Pennsylvania. Mifflin had the honor of being the last President of Pennsylvania and the&nbsp;first Governor of Pennsylvania. He presided as governor&nbsp;from 1790 to 1799.&nbsp;After his run as Governor, Mifflin, rejoined the Pennsylvania State Legislator for a month before his death. Thomas Mifflin lived a full life that seems full of adventure and politics. Mifflin helped establish documents from the U.S. Constitution to the 1790 Pennsylvania Constitution. Not to mention, he holds many honors such as first P.A. governor and the first United Stated Army Quartermaster General. Mifflin is buried in&nbsp;Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster. The cemetery and church are very old and finished completion in 1766. Mifflin is buried in the same cemetery as Thomas Wharton, the first President of Pennsylvania.&nbsp;There is a marker on Duke Street in Lancaster&nbsp;commemorating the two.

Thomas Mifflin (1744-1800) will always go down as an important man in Pennsylvania's history. Mifflin starts his career serving on the Continental Congress before and after the Revolutionary War. At one point he was also the presiding officer of the Continental Congress and the first president of it to be officially recognized by Great Britain. Thomas Mifflin also played a role in the Revolutionary War. He was the army's first Quartermaster General and was eventually promoted to the rank of Major General. Perhaps his most memorable posts include the 7th and final President of Pennsylvania and the distinction of being the first Governor of Pennsylvania. Thomas Mifflin now rests as marked on the map at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster City.

Grave of Govenor Thomas Mifflin

Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania was built from 1761-1766, with the parsonage constructed in 1853, but its congregation remains as the oldest church in Lancaster and one of the oldest in the state. The church began when, in the 1700s, German-speaking Lutherans began building houses in and around the town that would become Lancaster. Prior, it was an American Indian (Native American) village. In 1729, the church was officially established when a visiting German clergyman baptized Anna Maria Lien and Frederick Lingelberger. Revered John Casper Stoever became the first permanent pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, making initial entries in a “Church Record for the Town of Lancaster” in 1733, just four years after the first ceremonies took place. Upon choosing a permanent pastor and creating records, the congregation became focused on funding a church building. By 1738, the church was completed on the southeast corner of South Duke Street and Mifflin Street, with finishing touches coming from donations of town residents. Landholder and local doctor Adam Simon Kuhn donated a red satin cloth to cover the communion elements, while Anna Elizabeth Scheutz, the wife of a “very wealthy saddler,” contributed an embroidered napkin for the baptismal table. Soon, the congregation required more space, and in 1761, laid the cornerstone for a larger house of worship on the northeast corner of the same streets as the first church. By 1766, that new building was completed in a red brick Georgian style. Not long after the church’s founding, it became a prominent place for the borough’s activities. Between 1730 and 1763, treaty talks were typically held in the courthouse in Penn Square. However, on August 11, 1762, dignitaries from at least 10 Native American communities and the Pennsylvania colonial government convened a session at Trinity Lutheran Church. By 1785, the church became so popular that hundreds of people were part of the congregation, with Reverend Doctor Gotthilf Henry Ernestus Muhlenberg, youngest son of the Trinity Lutheran Church patriarch Reverend Henry Muhlenberg, writing that he baptized 179 people, confirmed 72, administered the Lord’s Supper to 627, and buried 48 just that year. The same year, construction also began on the church’s 195-foot steeple, which made it the tallest structure in Lancaster. Around 1825, people of the expanding congregation began asking for regular English worship services; however, many members of the church opposed the loss of German. Those opposing members formed their own congregation and built Zion Church, where they could continue to worship as they pleased. In May of 1862, the General Synod of the Lutheran Church met at Trinity to take a public stance denouncing slavery for the first time. While Trinity Lutheran Church continued to make modern changes, it was not until about 100 years later that it suspended the pew rental system, in which members of the congregation had to pay to worship at the church. In 1853, a parsonage was built on the former site of the old church, and the interior of the Georgian-style church was renovated. The two-story church is around 60 by 80 feet with a four-story tower. It contains an original 1771 organ case by David Tannenberg, and its four statues of Saints Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, which were replaced in 1949, are considered prominent pieces of the architecture. In 1876, a Sunday school was built across from the church, but was later dismantled in 1954. In 1955 a parish was dedicated on the site of the former Sunday school chapel.

The present Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania was constructed from 1761-1766, and was the tallest structure in the city at the time and remains the oldest church in Lancaster and one of the oldest in the state. Its beginnings date back to 1729, when a German congregation started building houses around the Native American village that would become Lancaster. The first church was completed in 1738, but by the 1760s, the congregation required more room. By 1785, hundreds of members were being confirmed, baptized, and attending mass at the church. In 1853, minor renovations were made to the new church, and a parsonage was constructed adjacent to it, on the site of the former church’s construction.

Trinity Lutheran Church

Thaddeus Stevens&nbsp;(April 4, 1792&nbsp;– August 11, 1868) was a member of the&nbsp;United States House of Representatives&nbsp;from Pennsylvania and one of the leaders of the&nbsp;"Radical Republican"&nbsp;faction of the&nbsp;Republican Party&nbsp;during the 1860s. A fierce opponent of slavery and discrimination against&nbsp;African-Americans, Stevens sought to secure their rights during&nbsp;Reconstruction, in opposition to President&nbsp;Andrew Johnson. As chairman of the&nbsp;House Ways and Means Committee&nbsp;during the&nbsp;American Civil War, he played a major part in the war's financing.Stevens was born in rural Vermont, in poverty, and with a&nbsp;club foot, giving him a limp he kept his entire life. He moved to Pennsylvania as a young man, and quickly became a successful lawyer in&nbsp;Gettysburg. He interested himself in municipal affairs, and then in politics. He was elected to the&nbsp;Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he became a strong advocate of free public education. Financial setbacks in 1842 caused him to move his home and practice to the larger city of&nbsp;Lancaster. There, he joined the&nbsp;Whig Party, and was elected to Congress in 1848. His activities as a lawyer and politician in opposition to slavery cost him votes and he did not seek reelection in 1852. After a brief flirtation with the&nbsp;Know-Nothing Party, Stevens joined the newly formed Republican Party, and was elected to Congress again in 1858. There, with fellow radicals such as Massachusetts Senator&nbsp;Charles Sumner, he opposed the expansion of slavery and concessions to the South as war came. Stevens was also active on the Underground Railroad using his Lancaster home as a "station" for fugitive slaves.&nbsp;Recent excavation of the house unearthed a cistern with a passageway to a nearby tavern, as well as a spittoon inside, which some historians think was used to shelter escaping slave.Stevens argued that slavery should not survive the war; he was frustrated by the slowness of President&nbsp;Abraham Lincoln&nbsp;to support his position. He guided the government's financial legislation through the House as Ways and Means chairman. As the war progressed towards a northern victory, Stevens came to believe that not only should slavery be abolished, but that African-Americans should be given a stake in the South's future through the confiscation of land from planters to be&nbsp;distributed to the freedmen. His plans went too far for the Moderate Republicans, and were not enacted.After&nbsp;Lincoln's assassination&nbsp;in April 1865, Stevens came into conflict with the new president, Andrew Johnson, who sought rapid restoration of the seceded states without guarantees for freedmen. The difference in views caused an ongoing battle between Johnson and Congress, with Stevens leading the Radical Republicans. After gains in the 1866 election the radicals took control of Reconstruction away from Johnson. Stevens's last great battle was to secure&nbsp;articles of impeachment&nbsp;in the House against Johnson, though the Senate did not convict the President.Lydia Hamilton Smith&nbsp;(February 14, 1813 – February 14, 1884) was Steven's long-time housekeeper / confidant&nbsp;and a prominent African-American businesswoman after Steven's&nbsp;death in 1868. While no evidence of their exact relationship exists, historians have speculated that Smith was Steven's mistress or "common law wife"&nbsp;due to her privileged status in the Steven's home, her closeness to Stevens, and the large lump sum left to her and her sons from a previous marriage&nbsp;in Steven's will as well as ownership of the Steven's Lancaster property.&nbsp;Smith also operated a prosperous boarding house across from the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., as well as invested in real estate and other business ventures.

The unsung hero of the 1860s was Thaddeus Stevens (1792 -1868) of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Congressman Stevens, chairman of the powerful House of Representative’s Ways and Means Committee, made it possible for President Abraham Lincoln to win the uphill struggle of passing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, ending slavery. A native of Vermont, he chose Lancaster in 1842 as the place for his law practice. He would use this building at 45 South Queen Street as his main residence / law office until his death in 1868. Another resident of the property was Stevens' live-in housekeeper and confidant, Lydia Hamilton Smith, and her children. The Historic Preservation Trust led the initiative to save and restore the Thaddeus Stevens house as part of the new Lancaster County Convention Center. Sadly, since 2009, the restoration efforts of the Stevens / Smith House have been put on hold due to lack of funds. LancasterHistory.org has now taken over the efforts to restore and save the property.

The Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Historic Site

Thaddeus S. Henry was a well-known Black barber in Lancaster, PA. By 1873, Thaddeus' barber shop occupied the first floor of a three-story brick building at 15 East King Street, the present site of Fulton Bank; the site is marked with a historical marker about Henry. Thaddeus Henry’s uncle, Thomas Simmons, taught him the trade and brought him to Lancaster in 1831, where Simmons bought a shop in town. When his uncle decided to move back to Philadelphia, Henry’s friends bought the barber shop for him so he could stay and continue his work. His services were sought by the most prominent men of the day, among them President Buchanan and Hon. Thaddeus Stevens. At one point, Henry was claimed to be the oldest barber still working his trade in Pennsylvania in a Lancaster newspaper. He first saw Thaddeus Stevens when he came to Lancaster from Gettysburg in the late 30’s for an anti-Masonic speech. Stevens went into the barber shop, which was crowded, he picked up a razor and shaved himself. In 1842 Stevens moved to Lancaster and became a regular customer.

A necessary service in the life of most male members of society, regardless of race,  was a haircut, and sometimes a shave.  This stop on the tour recognizes that there were some equalizing factors that helped integrate African Americans into the fabric of society as a whole.  Thaddeus Henry's Barbershop was one such business that capitalized on the need for this basic service.

Thaddeus S. Henry Barber Shop

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;This monument stands in a historical location. The 1744 Treaty of Lancaster between the British and Iroquois was signed in the Lancaster courthouse. This is the exact spot where the monument was built. Another historical spot that was once here, is the where the Second Continental Congress met during the Revolutionary War on September 27, 1777.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Sitting on top of the 43 foot tall monument is a statue of a robed woman. She is known as the "Genius of Liberty". The woman is holding a sword and shield. On her head is a crown of stars, she's facing North, allowing her to turn her back on the former Confederate states. Surrounding the bottom of the monument is statues of four men representing the four branches of American armed services.The U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, Artillery, and the U.S. Cavalry.&nbsp;The names of the Civil War battles are carved on the central granite pillar. There are also bronze plaques that commemorates the role of African-Americans in the military. Other plaques commemorates those killed in WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;It wasn't until the end of hostilities in 1865, when the idea for the memorial was created. The organization called Patriot Daughters of Lancaster by women funded the monument. On November 4, 1872 the monument was commissioned, and on July 4th, 1874 it was unveiled. The base of the monument is carved with the inscription "Erected by the people of Lancaster County/To the memory of their fellow citizens who fell/in defense of the Union/In the war of the rebellion/1861-1865.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

     The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is located in Fulton Bank quadrant of Penn Square in Lancaster, PA. It pays tribute to the Lancastrian Union soldiers killed in the Civil War. It also pays tribute to the men and women that served in America military conflicts. Created on July 4th, 1874, the monument is a 43 foot tall Gothic revival memorial.  

Soldiers and Sailors Monument 

Lancaster Central Market was established in 1730 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and remains the nation’s oldest continuously operating market, with the building completed over 100 years later in 1889. In 1730, while city planners were designing Lancaster, 120 square feet were designated in the center of town as a lot to be used as a public market. In 1818 until after World War I, several “curb markets” were established around the town. At the curb markets, local farmers and merchants set up their wagons on the curb of streets to sell produce. During the 1800s, there were around eight markets throughout the city. The present structure in the market was built by English architect James Warner in 1889 in the Romanesque Revival style. Within five months, the building was completed. It rests on a base of red sandstone and has twin 72-foot towers at the front corners. The inner cathedral-like space opens to the outside via 13 sets of double doors, and the roof is constructed of timber and iron trusses on 20 columns. The floor encompasses around 20,000 square feet. 22 dormer windows near the roof were created as a natural ventilation system meant to draw stale air and odors up from the floor and out of the building. Since the time of its construction, the building in Lancaster Central Market has only had slight alterations and appears much like the original. In 1960, asphalt shingles replaced the original slate roof, and then again in 1974, during which time interior vestibules were also built around the doorways. During the 1980s, guidelines were enforced for the design of market stands, but were later abandoned in favor of unregulated designs. Many of the stands in Central Market have been part of the same families for generations, descending from the “Plain Sects,” Amish and Mennonite farmers who were once part of a large agricultural community in the city. However, that agricultural market has changed due to modern developments. Originally, the market was home to an array of fresh produce, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses, dairy, breads and baked goods, ice cream, soups, sandwiches, salads, coffees and teas, crafts, ethnic food, and more. Yet since 1959, over 92,500 acres of farmland in Lancaster have been paved over for retail development and suburban housing. As of 2000, the region was ranked second in the nation in terms of most endangered prime farmland, which was furthered with the increase of large supermarket chains. In the 70s and 80s, Lancaster Central Market stands somewhat shifted away from fresh food and seasonal, regionally grown produce, with some of the families who have owned stands for 50-90 years leaving the market. The change was supplemented by candy, gourmet food, and flower stands. Nevertheless, the market remains in operation, and in 1995 was designated as one of the “Great Public Places” in America.

The Lancaster Central Market in Lancaster, Pennsylvania was established in 1730 during the time of the city’s planning, and is the country’s oldest continually operating market. The structure on the site was built in 1889 and has had few alterations since that time. Many of the stands in the market are operated by the same families who have been in the market for generations, although in the 70s and 80s, many left due to the loss of agricultural regions to retail and housing development. In 1995, Lancaster Central Market was designated as one of the “Great Public Places” in America.

Lancaster Central Market

Fulton Opera House, located on 12 North Prince Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was built in 1852 by Christopher Hager, a town merchant and civic leader. The Italianate-style building got its name from Robert Fulton, the county’s steam engine pioneer, and became the center for numerous community gatherings in Lancaster, from theatrical performances and concerts to mass services and public lectures.Before it became the theatre it is today, however, it was first the location of Lancaster’s pre-Revolutionary jail, which was erected in 1737. The jail itself, and therefore the foundation on which today’s theatre lies, had a noteworthy history of its own. On the Christmas of 1763, a group of rangers forming a vigilante gang called the “Paxton Boys” massacred numerous Conestoga (also known as “Susquehannock”) Indians who were being held at the jail for their own protection. It was a period of strained tensions between the colonists and the natives, and while the town magistrates were away attending a church service at local St. James Church, believing them to be safe, the boys broke in and killed as many Conestogas as they could.From such tragedy, though, two of the first ever American plays was written -- A Dialogue Between Andrew Trueman and Thomas Zealot About the Killing the Indians at Cannestogoe and Lancaster and The Paxton Boys, a Farce -- and from the foundation upon which it occurred, the Fulton rose like a phoenix. One week after the theatre’s opening, on October 21, 1852, famous Norwegian violinist Ole Bull as well as nine-year-old soprano Adelina Patti. Also, in years to come, lectures from Mark Twain and Horace Greeley, theatrical performances of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Shakespeare’s Othello, and theatrical performances by the Barrymores and the Drews, Edwin and John Wilkes Booth, and Maude Adams, as well as many others, occurred at the Fulton.Until the late 1860s, aside from musical and dramatic performances, the theatre also served as a town hall for Lancaster. During the ‘50s and ‘60s, it held a vibrant political presence. In fact, in May 1856 the Republican Party of Lancaster County emerged on the Fulton’s stage. Also, during the Civil War, benefit performances were given in order to raise money for Lancaster’s soldiers as well as to later erect the monument in the city’s Penn Square.Moving into the 20th century, under new ownership, the theatre was redesigned with a neo-classical interior, put on top of the numerous other adjustments it had endured since its conception. Along with a new-century look, though, the theatre also faced new-century competition. After 1910, with the emergence of movies began to tug away the audiences who once bought tickets for live theatre performances. In an attempt to draw some of those audience members back in, and since there was a slimming variety of traveling shows going around, then-owner Charles Yecker instituted his own stock company. Within ten years, this company included shows such as burlesque, which got Yecker arrested by the Law and Order Society for displaying immoral shows. This lead to the theatre being turned over to Ralph W. Coho, who introduced movies to the Fulton, playing films including The Sound of Music and Thunderball.Today, Fulton Opera House is one of just eight theatres in the United States to be recognized as a National Historic Landmark. Through its years of renovations, including the $9.5 million spent in 1995 to expand it for modern audiences and install new facilities, the theatre is well-equipped for the 21st century while still maintaining its Victorian charm. It houses numerous performances each year, from orchestras, to plays, to musicals, and is still, to this day, Lancaster’s “jewel of the performing arts.”

Fulton Opera House, located on 12 North Prince Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was built in 1852 by Christopher Hager, a town merchant and civic leader. The Italianate-style building got its name from Robert Fulton, the county’s steam engine pioneer, and became the center for numerous community gatherings in Lancaster, from theatrical performances and concerts to mass services and public lectures. Before it became the theatre it is today, it was first the location of Lancaster’s pre-Revolutionary jail: the location of the 1763 Conestoga Indian massacre. Today, it is one of just eight theatres in the United States to be recognized as a National Historic Landmark, and houses numerous performances each year.

Fulton Opera House

The present Lancaster County Courthouse in Pennsylvania was constructed around 1852-1853 and was the last of several courthouse buildings, with the first meetings held in a local tavern. In 1729, Lancaster was a wilderness known as “backcountry.” The population in surrounding areas began expanding with English, German, and Scots-Irish settlers, and residents were spread far from the existing county seat. Petitioners were complaining of a lack of public officials to maintain laws, poor roadways, few bridges, and undivided townships, thus requiring a new county to be created. Lancaster County was officially formed on May 10, 1729, and was the first county created from William Penn’s original three counties: Bucks, Chester, and Philadelphia. The Lancaster court began with William Penn, drafted the Frames of Government. The English system of government was adopted in the state, and after the establishment of Lancaster County, the court held its first session in a local tavern in Conestoga in August of 1729. Around 1737-1738, Lancaster’s first courthouse was officially built at the center of Penn Square. In that building, lawyers such as Thaddeus Stevens, 15th President James Buchanan, and Jasper Yeates first made history. After 1765, residents of Lancaster supported protests against Great Britain, and mobilized for war when hostilities broke out with England in 1775. During what was known as Pennsylvania’s “invasion year” from 1777-1778, Philadelphians and rural refugees moved west, including the Continental Congress and Pennsylvania’s General Assembly. On September 27, 1777, the Continental Congress met in the courthouse on the way to New York, soon followed by the General Assembly. Because of the large influx of people in the city, Lancaster’s public buildings had to accommodate them by moving governmental functions to storerooms, rooming houses, taverns, and domestic quarters. In 1784, the courthouse was destroyed by fire, and a new one was built in its place in 1787, which became known as the “State House,” since Lancaster operated as the capitol from 1799-1812.  However, by the mid-19th century, the old courthouse at Penn Square could not accommodate the expanding population and court demands, and around 1852-1853, a new one was built at its present location at North Duke and East King Streets. The new building was designed by Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan, with later additions from 1896-1898 and 1926-1927 designed by Lancaster architects James H. Warner and C. Emlen Urban. The first time local courts were required to have a presiding judge “learned in the law” was after the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1790, during which time William Augustus Atlee was appointed as the first judge of the Lancaster County Courthouse. The first session was held in the second courthouse structure built in Penn Square, and lasted four days beginning on October 31, 1971. In 1838, a new constitution allowed for 10-year judicial appointments with senate approval, but in 1850, an amendment removed all sitting judges and replaced them with judges elected by popular vote. In 1874, that term was set at 10 years, and in 1968, an amendment allowed judges to be chosen in the same manner for their initial 10-year term, but then be eligible for election or retention. In 1978, the Lancaster County Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On June 11, 1951, a historical marker was erected in honor of the courthouse. Today, the archives hold over 275 years of history. Over time, some improvements were required of the courthouse, such as a renovation of the dome on top. The project took 10-12 months at a cost of $500,000, and required the removal of the copper Lady Justice statue for the restoration.

Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County Courthouse was built 1852-1853, with the court first being established in 1729, the same year the county was formed. Originally, court proceedings were heard in a local tavern, before the first courthouse was built in Penn Square 1737-1738. That first courthouse was home to prominent men and meetings such as 15th President James Buchanan, the Continental Congress, and Pennsylvania’s General Assembly. When the building burned down in 1784, a new one was built in 1787, but soon became too small for a growing population in Lancaster. The present location was chosen for the courthouse upon its construction around 1852-1853, and still remains standing as the location of the city’s court today. In 1978, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Lancaster County Courthouse

Born in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, Burrowes never got a college degree, even though he had a good academic education. He took a year of law at Yale and had been admitted to the Lancaster bar in 1829, even though he never practiced law extensively. He then went on to farm in Lancaster County. He was the ninth Mayor of Lancaster from 1835-39. He founded and published the Pennsylvania School Journal and served at the state superintendent of common schools from 1860-63 and superintendent of the soldiers orphan schools from 1863-68. Burrowes served as the fourth President of Pennsylvania State University from 1968 until 1871, where he died in office at the age of 65.

Thomas Henry Burrowes was trusted by the public and served as the fourth president of the Pennsylvania State University and served as Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He also was the State Chairman of the Anti-Masonic Party. There is a road going through State College that is named after him because he was well admired by the students that he taught at the Pennsylvania State University. 

Thomas Henry Burrowes

The present St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania was built in 1820, but was originally created in 1744 as an extension of the Church of England in the “New World.” At the time, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) was meant to provide Christian ministry to British people overseas. Reverend Richard Locke, a circuit-riding priest from England funded by the SPG, was given 20 pounds by King George II to assist in financing his transportation to the New World as a missionary. Locke gathered members of the Church of England together with a small group of influential colonists, such as signer of the Declaration of Independence George Ross, and established a congregation on land donated by James Hamilton, who was known as the “Father of Lancaster.” The congregation of the Church of England later became known as St. James Episcopal Church. Difficulty surrounded funding the new church due to German and Swiss settlers outnumbering British settlers. Initially, the congregation met in the first county courthouse, which at the time was located in Penn Square. Soon, wealthy members of the congregation helped fund a stone church on the corner of Duke and Orange Streets, which was constructed in 1753. By 1761, two lotteries had raised money to pay for a steeple. Because there were no bishops in the colonies prior to the American Revolution, the St. James clergy were SPG missionaries who had to travel to Britain to be ordained, and each priest served in multiple churches in the state. After the singing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the church was forced to close due to conflicts between a rector who was loyal to the Church of England and a congregation of prominent patriots. The church remained closed throughout the Revolutionary War, resuming services in 1783. After the war, the church wanted to become a separate American branch of the Anglican Communion (English Church). Though it still had a relationship with its “mother” church in England, St. James was self-governing by 1789, with its own bishops and Book of Common Prayer. Although African American members of the congregation had always worshipped at St. James, seating in the church was segregated. Around 1820, members of the Black community helped establish a separate church, which was known as the St. James African Church until the late 1840s, before adopting the name Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. That same year, a new St. James building was constructed using the old steeple. Since the church’s founding, members were also required to pay a pew rent to worship there. Although the first “free” church in the Diocese of Pennsylvania was founded in 1853, it was not until 1929 that services at St. James became free as well. Many clergy and parishioners from St. James Episcopal Church have had prominent roles in religion and education during its time. 11 former rectors and members of the parish have become bishops, and Bishop Charles Inglis became the first colonial bishop of the Church of England as bishop of Nova Scotia in 1787. In 1977, Elizabeth W. Myers was the first women to be ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. Additionally, William Augustus Muhlenberg was credited for Lancaster establishing the second public school district in the state, as well as being the founder of the church school movement that created many Episcopal boarding schools. The movement for state teacher training colleges was also headed by a parishioner, Dr. Thomas Burrowes. In the 19th century, the church established a home for the elderly and an orphanage, and also had a breakfast program that fed the hungry for over 30 years. The church now remains on the corner of Duke and Orange Streets, and is home to a cemetery with over 200 years of history.

Lancaster's St. James Episcopal Church was built in 1820 for a congregation that was founded in 1744 by missionaries from the Church of England. During the Revolutionary War, the church was closed because of its loyalty to the Church of England and reopened after the war as a separate American branch of the English Church. In the early years of the congregation, services were held at the old county courthouse. In the same year that this building was completed, Black members of the congregation left to establish their own church. In addition to the separation of races, members of the congregation were required to pay a “pew rent” to worship at the church, a practice that was not dropped until 1929. The present church is built with the steeple from the original church’s construction in the 1750s, and since its founding has made history in the state in terms of religion and education via members of the clergy and parishioners. It is also home to a cemetery with over 200 years of history.

St. James Episcopal Church

William G. Payne was a well-known African-American restaurateur and caterer who was born a slave in Virginia and moved to Lancaster from Philadelphia. In Lancaster, William began a restaurant and catering business at 27 East Orange Street.  As his reputation spread, William was hired as Caterer and Steward for the Hamilton Club, a position he managed for about five years. During the year 1906, William leased the property at 135 East Grant Street and opened the Lancaster Kitchen &amp; Caterers’ Supply Company, which he owned and operated from 1906 to about 1914 when he retired from the catering business. The Lancaster Kitchen and Caterers’ Supply Co. was highlighted in the 1910 Pennsylvania Negro Business Directory where it is stated that William served many of the wealthy throughout the country. William also made an impact on the community when he helped found the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Downtown Lancaster Historic Walking Tour

Lancaster Kitchen and Caterers Supply Company

Introduction

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Backstory and Context

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Additional Information