Famous Lancaster

America & Lancaster – Two Intertwined Histories

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Pictured: LancasterHistory/Wheatland

Credit: Gabe McMullen

Lancaster Central Market in Lancaster City is the nation’s oldest continuously-operating farmers market, established in 1730. In Lancaster, it’s where city and county meet!

And just ‘round the corner from Market is the Fulton Theatre, which is the nation's oldest continuously-operating theater, dating from 1852. Spectacular in-house productions in a space that was superbly renovated & enlarged in 2020-21.

Take in beautiful Amish farmlands on a 45-minute ride to Paradise (Township) and back on the Strasburg Rail Road in Ronks – America’s oldest short-line railroad, founded in 1832.

In Lititz, you can tour the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery – the country’s first commercial pretzel bakery in 1861 – and even learn how to roll one yourself!

The Conestoga Wagon (used to travel across America’s prairie) and the Pennsylvania Long Rifle (later known as the Kentucky Rifle and used by pioneers like Davy Crockett & Daniel Boone) were created in Lancaster County – as the area was America’s western border in the early 1700s. Learn about these stories and more at Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum.

With 27 of them, Lancaster County has the most covered bridges in Pennsylvania. We’ve got several great routes to explore these picturesque “kissing bridges,” and the towns & villages in between.

Founded in 1730, historic yet hip Lancaster City is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States.

Lititz is home to one of the country’s oldest continuous Fourth of July celebrations, since 1818. It’s a full day of activities, including the evening’s unique Grand Illumination of Candles along the Lititz Run creek that incorporates over 5,000 candles of varying size, followed by an amazing fireworks & laser display; truly the essence of small town America.

The area around Adamstown is known as “Antiques Capital USA” for its dozens of shops & thousands of dealers along a seven-mile stretch of Route 272. It’s considered by many to be the single best year-round destination in the USA for antique shopping.

Dating to 1876, Bube’s Brewery in Mount Joy is the only 19th-century U.S. lager brewery complex still intact. And still a great place for brews, food, entertainment, & relaxation!

Wheatland Mansion – the home of Pennsylvania’s only U.S. President, James Buchanan – is located just outside Lancaster City’s downtown and open for tours year-round.

Lancaster served as the nation's capital for one day when the Second Continental Congress met in the city on September 27, 1777 – a unique honor that we commemorate every year with our Capital Day Celebration!

Robert Fulton, who helped revolutionize steamboat travel in the early 1800s, was born in southern Lancaster County in 1765. Guided tours of his birthplace take place on weekends from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Our annual Riverfest in Columbia commemorates the burning of the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge over the Susquehanna River during the Civil War. On the last Sunday in June 1863, locals prevented Confederate troops from crossing the river and moving toward Harrisburg or Philadelphia. Those troops were forced to turn back west and just three days later, the Battle of Gettysburg erupted.

Before embarking on the Lewis & Clark Expedition in 1804 to map the Louisiana Purchase territory, Meriwether Lewis visited Lancaster to receive crucial instruction & training in surveying from city resident Andrew Ellicott, a prominent American astronomer and surveyor of the period. Today, his house serves as the office of the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County.

Milton Hershey’s first successful candy business was the Lancaster Caramel Company, operating in the city from 1886 to 1900.