East Petersburg Historical Society

"Did I see a dusting of snow this morning??" It is Easter Sunday tomorrow, right? HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE!!! Cover your sensitive plants!!

Spring is here!!!

I took this photo on Halloween, 2018, when we hosted a pumpkin-carving party at the Wolf House for the East Pete Cub Scouts. We really miss hosting events at EPHS, and hopefully we can reopen soon to our members and visitors, but we remain closed for now, and hope you all are doing well. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have a question, or need assistance with anything related to the history of EP. Just send a message to us via this site, or on our website at www.eastpetehistory.org , and thank you for your continued support during the pandemic.

Oh boy, this photo, found in the book "Lancaster County Postcards, Volume Two", brings back so many happy memories for me! This is my Grandpa Eckert's service s...tation, which was located at the intersection of Pine and State Streets in East Petersburg. The two houses still remain...my grandparents lived in the gold brick house which sits on the corner, and they rented out the adjacent home, where the service station was housed. Note the big tree on the corner, which Grandpa painted white to prevent cars from hitting it!! See more

Aerial shots are great! Jay Parrish sent us this, taken in 1958, over the old Civics Grounds (now the Community Park).

I seem to recall a conversation on East Pete Community Page about an article someone had posted regarding a Wolfe's Tavern?? and the old Plank Road to Manheim. Here's the article on the Plank Road!!

All of us at East Petersburg Historical Society wish all of you a safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving! We also keep those who are suffering through this difficult year in our hearts, and hope that the new year brings better times. And as always, thanks so much for supporting EPHS!!

Thanks so much to our friends, Bev, and her sister, Dot, for picking up my slack at the Wolf House this weekend. Due to a fall and some health issues, I have not been able to get down there recently to do the fall cleanup in the gardens, so their help is greatly appreciated!! Lynn

We just wanted to let our friends know that, although the Wolf House remains closed due to COVID, we are accepting donations for our archives, and we will be happy to set up an appointment time to meet with you to make sure the items you donate to EPHS are well-taken care of! Also, any questions you may have regarding East Pete history may be sent to this page privately, and I will try to answer them, or contact our president and historian, David Johnson for more info. Thanks so much for your continued support of EPHS!!

I found this great old postcard with a photo of our Daniel Wolf House, northeast corner of State and Lemon Streets in East Petersburg. I'm not sure of the date, but if anyone has knowledge of antique cars, we may be able to get close. I've zoomed in on the car traveling west on State St.

Thanks so much to Carolyn Sands for posting this photo of the 3rd grade class of the East Petersburg Elementary School, from November 1st, 1927! Mrs. Myra Geib was the teacher.

Did you know that Lancaster City once had a common, or "the Commons"? It was an open field, opposite the Locomotive Works, in the city's Northeastern Ward, according to an April 27, 1870 article in the Lancaster Daily Evening Press. It is currently the location of Select Security, and the commons operated from the 1860's through the 1880's. One of the largest events was in late April of 1870, to celebrate the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which enfranchised Black men. Two months after the ratification, 300 black residents of Lancaster held a mass parade from Bethel AME Church on East Strawberry Street, to the Commons, where several thousand other residents, mostly white, met them and joined in the celebration!

This small cast iron (I think) plaque has been hanging on the back door jamb of the Wolf House since I've been volunteering there. I thought it may be related to East Pete's race track, but the plaque is dated 1868, and our race track was at the Civics Grounds in the 1930's, so I guess it's just random? I think it's kind of funny!

All of us at EPHS would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Labor Day! Labor Day is the first Monday in September, and is a creation of the labor movement, dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. This year, the Department of Labor is honoring the women who worked as welders, riveters, and other non-traditional jobs during WWII, the "Rosies"...this is Agnes Moore, who worked as a welder, building ships!

I was going through our postcards today and found this old gem from 1910!! It's a photo of the dismantled zinc furnace in Bamford, PA, which is located just east of Landisville.

The July 2020 edition of "Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage", Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society's quarterly magazine, has a wonderful tribute to our Carolyn Charles Wenger, who passed away in April of 2020. She is greatly missed by all of us here at EPHS, and Lancaster County has lost a dedicated historian. Thanks to Bruce Lefever, former EP resident, who so kindly donated his personal copy to us, so it will be available in our archives for future visitors to peruse. We love and miss you, Carolyn!! <3

Hi East Pete! We just wanted to let everyone know, that for the time being, our Daniel Wolf House will remain closed to visitors. We apologize to our friends and supporters, and hope we can open soon. However, we are still available for any East Petersburg history questions you may have...just send me a private message here, and I usually respond within a day or two. Also, If you are looking for information on a specific person/family that may have resided here, or a place or... event, I can check our archives for that information...again, just pm me here. Lastly, should you have any items you wish to donate to our archives, we can set something up for that as well. Thank you for supporting EPHS, and we hope you all are staying healthy and happy!! Lynn PS..please disregard yesterday's post....we are NOT having a work day in September. At least it's not planned as yet, as far as I know! :-) See more

We will be flying our flag at the Wolf House at half mast, in honor of a great man, a pioneer of the civil rights movement..a true American hero...Congressman John Lewis, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer last night at the age of 80. In his lifelong quest for equal rights for ALL Americans, he endured beatings, arrests, but refused to give up his fight for fair treatment of African-Americans.

The East Petersburg Historical Society would like to wish everyone a safe, healthy, and happy Independence Day. We hope to be opening soon, but meanwhile, we are trying to maintain the Wolf House so we can open to visitors in the near future. Thanks to all who support EPHS...and Happy 4th of July to all!!!

OH MY!! I sincerely apologize for the out-of-control garden at the Wolf House. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, and my own situation, I had not been down there to tend to the gardens until Sunday, and what a surprise!! Nothing visible but the huge mass of Russian Sage, even hiding that poor Foxglove. I ripped out and hacked at that stuff for over 3 hours, so there's now room to plant some flowers! The best thing about all that sage? Appears it's the one and only plant I'm allergic to, so 15 minutes in I'm a runny-nosed sneezing mess!! If you see a massive bonfire on the Lemon Street side of the Wolf House, please try to ignore it....that'll be me, finally settling the score with the sage!! ;-)

This is probably my very favorite photo that I've taken at the Wolf House. This was during our 2018 Civil War encampment, and the young man in full attire touched all of our hearts. We here at EPHS miss seeing our friends, and we hope to be able to open to the public again soon.In the mean time, we continue to hope for peace and health for our country and the world. Thanks, as always, for supporting the EPHS!!

The East Petersburg Historical Society would like to wish a safe and pleasant Memorial Day to you all, and we hope that you, your family, and friends are remaining healthy during these difficult times. If you can, please take a moment to honor our fallen Americans, who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and well-being.