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York, Pennsylvania
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York, known as the White Rose City (after the Wars of the Roses), is a city located in South Central Pennsylvania. The population was 40,862 at the 2000 census. York is the county seat of York County, and is located at .
was founded in 1741 by settlers from the Philadelphia region, and named for the English city of the same name. It was incorporated as a borough on September 24, 1787, and as a city on January 11, 1887.
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Encyclopedia
York, known as the White Rose City (after the Wars of the Roses), is a city located in South Central Pennsylvania. The population was 40,862 at the 2000 census. York is the county seat of York County, and is located at .
History
18th century
York was founded in 1741 by settlers from the Philadelphia region, and named for the English city of the same name. It was incorporated as a borough on September 24, 1787, and as a city on January 11, 1887. During the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), York served as the temporary capital of the Continental Congress. The Articles of Confederation were drafted and adopted in York, though they would not be ratified until March of 1781.
York is one of many cities that lay claim to the title of First Capital of the United States, although historians generally consider it to be the fourth capital, after Philadelphia, Baltimore and Lancaster. The claim arises from the assertion that the Articles of Confederation was the first legal document to refer to the colonies as "the United States of America". The argument depends on whether the Declaration of Independence, which also uses the term, would be considered a true legal document of the United States, being drafted under and in opposition to British rule. This does not, however, prevent modern businesses and organizations in the York area, such as the , and from using the name.
The Conway Cabal, a political intrigue against General George Washington, had its origins in the Golden Plough Tavern in York.
19th century
According to U.S. census reports from 1800 through 1840, York ranked within the nation's top 100 most populous urban areas.
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), York became the largest Northern town to be occupied by the Confederate army when the division of Major General Jubal Anderson Early spent June 28–30, 1863, in and around the town while the brigade of John B. Gordon marched to the Susquehanna River at Wrightsville and back. Early laid York under tribute and collected food, supplies, clothing, shoes, and $28,000 in cash from citizens and merchants before departing westward obeying the revised orders of Robert E. Lee. The sprawling York U.S. Army Hospital on Penn Commons served thousands of Union soldiers wounded at the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg.
In the Postbellum era (1865–1877), York remained a regional center for local agriculture, but increasingly became an important industrial center, with such industries as steam engines, railroad manufacturing, and papermaking coming to the forefront. York also features some unique architecture ranging from colonial era buildings to large gothic churches.
20th century
The York Motor Car Co. built Pullman automobiles on South George St. from 1905 thorough 1917. An early and unique six-wheeled prototype was involved in one of the city's first known automobile accidents. Another model was driven to San Francisco and back over about one month to prove its reliability several years before the creation of the Lincoln Highway which ran through town, connecting New York and San Francisco.
The York area had also been home for more than 100 years to the Pfaltzgraff company, which built its first pottery factory in the area in 1895 and continued manufacturing in York until 2005. Though now produced by The Hershey Company, the York Peppermint Pattie was created in York in 1940.
In 2001, York mayor Charles H. Robertson was arrested in connection with the 1969 York Race Riot murder of Lillie Belle Allen, a young black woman.
Witnesses at the trial testified that Mr. Robertson, then a police officer, handed out ammunition to whites and exhorted them to kill blacks. Robertson was acquitted of those charges in October 2002.
Historic architecture
The city has been called an "architectural museum," because the downtown features numerous well-preserved historic structures, such as the 1907, Moorish Revival Temple Beth Israel.
Local corporations and industry
York Barbell is a reseller of barbells and other equipment for weight training and bodybuilding, and is the home of the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame. A large Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory, which employs roughly half of Harley's production workforce, is located in York.
York is home to two major manufacturers of modern hydro-power water turbines, Voith Siemens Hydro and American Hydro, both of which manufacture enormous parts in their plants.
York is headquarters to York International, a Johnson Controls Company and one of the largest suppliers of HVAC systems in the United States. On February 2, 1998, a massive explosion occurred at the York International plant. A spark had set off a leak in the nearby propane storage house. The blast was felt up to 25 miles away, and blew out windows nearby as well as knocking down doors. About 20 people were injured in the blast but only one person was killed, as the explosion fortunately occurred during a shift change.
The Stauffer Biscuit Company (owned by Meiji Seika of Japan since February 2004) is rooted in York and has produced animal crackers since 1871. A major regional department store, The Bon-Ton, is headquartered in York. Just north of York is one of only four Starbucks roasting facilities in the world. York also boasts a BAE Systems facility which assembles various military tanks and equipment.
Geography
York is located at (39.962692, -76.728043).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.6 km²), of which, 5.2 square miles (13.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (1.14%) is water.
Demographics
York is the largest principal city of the York-Hanover-Gettysburg CSA, a Combined Statistical Area that includes the York-Hanover metropolitan area (York County) and the Gettysburg micropolitan area (Adams County), which had a combined population of 473,043 at the 2000 census.
As of the census of 2000, there were 40,862 people, 16,137 households, and 9,246 families residing in the city. The population density was 7,852.2 people per square mile (3,034.0/km²). There were 18,534 housing units at an average density of 3,561.6/sq mi (1,376.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.75% White, 25.13% African American, 0.42% Native American, 1.40% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 9.40% from other races, and 3.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.19% of the population.
There were 16,137 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.0% were married couples living together, 20.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,475, and the median income for a family was $30,762. Males had a median income of $26,792 versus $20,612 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,439. About 20.0% of families and 23.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.8% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.
Culture
York is home to the , which brings many nationally acclaimed acts to the York area. Performers here have included Kenny G, Bill Cosby, BB King, Béla Fleck, and George Carlin. The historic Capitol Theatre also features many independent and foreign films, making it the only venue in York (and sometimes the entire Susquehanna Valley) to feature some rare, yet critically acclaimed films. The Strand Studio has also branched out from the recently Renovated Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center. The Studio offers live music, usually jazz & acoustic, for the community.
The historic York Fair, which claims to be the country's oldest, traces its roots to 1765. It runs every year in September for 10 days, encompassing an entire week and two weekends. In addition to typical fair attractions, such as rides, games and contests, it also wins regional recognition for hosting many (usually country) musical artists, such as Alabama, Gretchen Wilson, Carrie Underwood, Toby Keith, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
An incomplete list of featured York Fair entertainers, by year:
- 2007
- Daughtry
- Carrie Underwood
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Hinder
The fairgrounds, branded the York Expo Center, also hosts the annual National Street Rod Association Street Rod Nationals East, the largest annual street rod event in the Eastern US. The event brings thousands of street rods into the city for a few days in June. On Friday afternoon the city holds a parade through the center of the city for participating vehicles.
The York County Heritage Trust (YCHT) is a not-for-profit educational institution that preserves and uses its collections, historic sites and museums to inspire people to explore the history and culture of York County, Pennsylvania. YCHT maintains eight historical sites that preserve and present 300 years of York County's rich and diverse history. The YCHT was founded in 1999 after a merger of the Historical Society of York County and the Agricultural and Industrial Museum of York County (AIM). Currently, the YCHT historical sites include the Worker's House (c. 1875), Golden Plough Tavern (c.1741), the Barnett Bobb Log House (1812), the Bonham House (c.1885) and old Eastern Market House (c.1886). In 1992, AIM acquired an industrial complex consisting of six buildings (c.1874 to 1955); three of the buildings were renovated and now house the industrial portion of the collection. The YCHT also hosts a variety of events throughout the year.
York City Recreation and Parks helps sponsor the Olde York Street Fair each year on Mothers Day, the second Sunday of May — a tradition since the early 1980s. In recent years more than 150 art, craft and food vendors have lined Market and George streets. Average attendance was 60,000 people as of 2004, according to city officials.
The New York Wire Company, located in York, holds the world record for the loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument. Every Christmas Eve the company uses a boiler to create pressure then releases it through a series of tubes using a device much like a slide whistle. The music is 140 dB loud and can be heard 10 to 12 miles away with proper weather conditions. Various Christmas music is played for a short time around midnight. It is thought that the tradition was started around 1925.
The alternative rock band Live is from York. The song "Shit Towne," from Live's album Throwing Copper is about York, and does not portray it in a positive light.
Education
York and the surrounding area are served by the York City, Dallastown, Eastern York, West York, Central York, York Suburban, Southern York County, and Red Lion public school districts. Of the several private Christian schools in the area, the largest is the Christian School of York on Greenbriar Road, which serves all of York County.
The city is home to York College of Pennsylvania, which was originally founded in 1787; Penn State York; YTI Career Institute (YTI), which hosts many technology and businessed based accredited majors; York Business Institute (YBI); York Culinary Institute (YCI); HACC's York Campus; and The Art Institute of York-Pennsylvania, formerly Bradley Academy for the Visual Arts.
Sports
Baseball
The city of York has only one professional sports team, the York Revolution, who play in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. After 36 years without professional baseball, the Revolution arrived in 2007 to fill the void left by the departed York White Roses. The Revolution are named after the city's colonial past, when the Continental Congress met in York and passed the Articles of Confederation during the Revolutionary War. The Revolution continue the old baseball rivalry between York and the nearby city of Lancaster. The Revolution play at Sovereign Bank Stadium in York's Arch Street neighborhood. The stadium features a plaza and statue in honor of MLB Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, a one-time member of the aforementioned White Roses, with whom he made his professional baseball debut in 1955. Robinson currently serves as a special assistant and advisor to Opening Day Partners, the group largely responsible for bringing professional baseball back to York.
Sovereign Bank Stadium has the distinction of having the tallest wall in baseball. At 37 feet, 8 inches, the left field wall of York's ballpark surpasses the height of the Green Monster at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox.
Football
The people of York (the White Rose City) and the similar city of Lancaster (the Red Rose City) across the Susquehanna River often engage in rivalry and competition that has its roots in the Wars of the Roses. Both cities take their names from the English cities, York and Lancaster, that were home to the opposing houses in the 15th century wars.
The War of the Roses All-Star Game is played in York every year over the weekend of Thanksgiving. The game pits the best high school football players in their senior seasons from the York-Adams League against a similar team from the Lancaster-Lebanon League. As the game only involves seniors and occurs during the first weekend of the PIAA District 3 football playoffs (players on teams which qualify for the playoffs do not participate), it is the final high school football game for each of the participants.
Former Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, and San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Chris Doleman graduated from York's William Penn High School. York was the birthplace of former New York Giants Linebacker Andre Powell, former Miami Dolphins Running Back Woodrow (Woody) Bennett, former Los Angeles Raiders and Atlanta Falcons Tackle/Guard Lincoln Kennedy and former Atlanta Falcons Safety Omar Brown.
Other sports
York is home to the "Plywood Hoods", a group of BMX freestylers, including Kevin Jones, who gained broad acclaim in the 1980s and 1990s.
York is also the home of the York Silver Bullets semiprofessional football team (Colonial Football Alliance). In their inaugural season they had a record of 5 and 5, gaining a playoff berth only to lose in the first round.
"The Pogo Squad", a group of about twelve extreme pogo performers, is located in York. They participate in area events, including the York St. Patrick's Day Parade, and perform shows. A photo of one member's pogo stunt against a sunset background won first place out of over 800 entries in a 2007 York newspaper photo contest.
York is home to Addison Humbert, the goalie of the University of Richmond Spiders ice hockey team.
York was home to the Thunderdome Skatepark, now defunct. There are plans to build a new park to be entitled "Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark", named for a York Catholic High School student who was killed riding a skateboard like a streetluge.
York US30 was a drag strip just outside of York. It held the 1965 Super Stock championships – "the largest one day drag race" in the United States. An annual Musclecar Madness event is held in York to commemorate the defunct strip.
Media
York is unusual in that it supports two daily newspapers, despite its relatively small size. The York Daily Record/Sunday News is published mornings, seven days a week, and The York Dispatch is published Monday through Friday afternoons. The Daily Record/Sunday News currently has the lead in terms of circulations of the daily newspapers.
The York area is part of the Susquehanna Valley (Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York) media market. Of the major television network affiliates in this media market, only one, the Fox affiliate WPMT, has its base of operations in York. Other stations in the market include NBC Affiliate WGAL, from Lancaster, ABC affiliate WHTM-TV, CBS Affiliate WHP-TV, CW Affiliate WLYH, and PBS member WITF-TV, all from Harrisburg. It is also not uncommon for York residents to receive some stations from the Baltimore, Maryland media market, due to its proximity to the south of York.
York has a community-access television station called WRCT (White Rose Community Television) which used to be YCAT (York Community Access Television).
The pop music radio station, WSBA AM 910, achieved high ratings in not only York, but also in nearby Harrisburg and Lancaster, during the 1960s and 1970s. WSBA, now a news-talk station, was well-known for being the flagship station of Susquehanna Broadcasting, which had its corporate offices in York, as well.
York's "98 YCR" was once a very popular pop music station with DJ Captain Connors. The radio station has since switched formats to classic 60s, 70s, and 80s music. Now calling itself "The Peak" 98.5 "York's Classic Hits", WYCR remains popular, but with older generations.
Other radio stations in York include WVYC, WARM FM, WQXA FM, and WOYK.
FM stations in the greater York, Pennsylvania metropolitan area include:
| Callsign | MHz | Band | "Name" Format, Owner | City of license | HD-Radio | Multicasting |
|---|
| WDCV | 88.3 | FM | Indie/College Rock, Dickinson College | Carlisle | - | - | | WXPH | 88.7 | FM | WXPN relay, University of Pennsylvania | Harrisburg | - | - | | WSYC | 88.7 | FM | Alternative, Shippensburg University | Shippensburg | - | - | | WITF-FM | 89.5 | FM | NPR | Harrisburg | Yes | Yes | | WJTL | 90.3 | FM | Christian | Lancaster | - | - | | WVMM | 90.7 | FM | Indie/College Rock, Messiah College | Grantham | No | - | | WJAZ | 91.7 | FM | WRTI relay, Classical/Jazz, Temple University | Harrisburg | No | - | | WWKL | 92.1 | FM | "Hot 92", Rhythmic/CHR | Palmyra | Yes | No | | WSJW | 92.7 | FM | Smooth Jazz | Starview | No | - | | WPOC | 93.1 | FM | Country | Baltimore, MD | Yes | Yes | | WTPA | 93.5 | FM | Classic Rock | Mechanicsburg | Yes | No | | WDAC | 94.5 | FM | Christan | Lancaster | Yes | Yes | | WRBT | 94.9 | FM | "Bob" Country | Harrisburg | Yes | Yes | | WSOX | 96.1 | FM | Oldies | York | Yes | No | | WLAN | 96.9 | FM | "FM 97" Top 40 | Lancaster | No | - | | WRVV | 97.3 | FM | "The River" Classic Hits and the Best of Today's Rock | Harrisburg | Yes | Yes | | WIYY | 97.9 | FM | "98 Rock" Rock | Baltimore, MD | Yes | Yes | | WYCR | 98.5 | FM | 98.5 The Peak | York | No | - | | WQLV | 98.9 | FM | "Love 99" Adult Contemporary | Millersburg | No | - | | WHKF | 99.3 | FM | "Kiss-FM" CHR | Harrisburg | Yes | Yes | | WVYC | 99.7 | FM | Indie/College Rock, York College | York, PA | No | Yes | | WFRE | 99.9 | FM | "Free Country" | Frederick, MD | Yes | Yes | | WQIC | 100.1 | FM | Adult Contemporary | Lebanon | - | - | | WROZ | 101.3 | FM | "The Rose" Adult Contemporary | Lancaster | Yes | No | | WARM | 103.3 | FM | "Warm 103" Adult Contemporary | York | Yes | No | | WNNK | 104.1 | FM | "Wink 104" Hot AC | Harrisburg | Yes | No | | WAYZ | 104.7 | FM | Country | Hagerstown, MD | No | - | | WQXA | 105.7 | FM | "105.7 The X" Hard Rock | York | No | - | | WMHX | 106.7 | FM | "Mix" Adult Hits | Hershey | No | - | | WGTY | 107.7 | FM | "Great Country" | Gettysburg | No | - | |
Twinned cities
York is officially twinned
with:
- Arles, France — since 1954
- Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany — since 1981
Transportation
York is served, through public transportation, by Rabbit Transit, which operates multiple bus routes in the city and the surrounding suburbs. In 2006 a rabbitEXPRESS bus route was established to transport commuters to Harrisburg and back, making six round trips weekdays. Rabbit Transit introduced a new route on February 2, 2009 that provides three daily round trips between York and Timonium, Maryland.
In addition to Rabbit Transit the city has a Greyhound/Trailways bus depot where service through Harrisburg to Syracuse, or to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. is provided by Greyhound Lines. Service through Lancaster to Philadelphia and New York City is provided by Capitol Trailways.
A Rabbit Transit bus line, which would link York with Hunt Valley, Maryland, has been proposed. A fare of $5 could take passengers each way and cover 80% of the operating cost according to planners. Rail enthusiasts have suggested commuter rail service could be started between York and Maryland with much of the necessary infrastructure already in place, though transportation planners say this is too expensive, with bus and van services more feasible.
York does not have any commercial airports, though the small York Airport (THV) is located 7 miles southwest in Thomasville. Many residents use either Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) or Harrisburg International Airport (MDT).
Lancaster, 24 miles to the east, has frequent Amtrak train service to Philadelphia.
See also
External links
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