Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Lancaster is a city located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,348. It is the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is also home of the Lancaster Barnstormers, a minor league baseball team. The city and its county are known for its large population of Amish people.

History

• Land was part of the 1681 Penn's Woods Charter of William Penn
• In 1700 the Swiss Mennonites, led by Hans Herr created the first permanent colony in Lancaster
• The city was founded in 1718, the first city in America that was not located on a waterway
• Named after Lancashire, England by native John Wright. Its symbol, the red rose, is from the house of Lancaster. The Lancaster County Prison, built in the mid-19th century, is supposed to look like the castle in Lancashire.
• The oldest church in the city is the Trinity Lutheran Church founded in 1729
• Lancaster was the United States capital for one day, September 28th, in 1777 when the Continental Congress met while passing from Philadelphia to York to escape the British army after the battle of Brandywine
• In the late 18th century through the early 19th century, Lancaster was the largest inland town in the United States. It is the oldest inland town.
• The Fulton Opera House, finished in October 1852, is the oldest theater give continuous performances in the United States
• President James Buchanan made his home in Lancaster at Wheatland, his mansion
• Milton S. Hershey started the Lancaster Caramel Company and Frank W. Woolworth started Woolworth's in the city