LancasterHistory
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LancasterHistory is a non-profit history organization in Lancaster, PA. We're also known as LancasterHistory.org though the ".org" was dropped in 2019.
Also developing the Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy, set to open Spring 2026. This is the official page of LancasterHistory, formerly known as Lancaster County's Historical Society.
09/29/2026
In 1856, James Buchanan ran his presidential campaign from his Lancaster home, using Wheatland as his campaign headquarters in an era before television, radio, social media, or even the modern campaign trail.
On Saturday, October 10, step inside that history with “Wheatland to Washington: The 1856 Presidential Campaign of James Buchanan” - a special guided tour exploring how Buchanan used Wheatland to promote his candidacy for the presidency.
The experience begins with a curator’s talk where visitors can explore a display of campaign artifacts in Groff Gallery before continuing to Wheatland itself.
📅 Saturday, October 10
🕥 Tours at 10:30am & 11:30am
📍 LancasterHistory Museum & Research Center
🎟️ $20 adults | Free for LancasterHistory members
Advance reservations are highly recommended, as tours may sell out. Members receive complimentary admission but should reserve their preferred tour time in advance. Register now on our website!
Please note this is a special topic-focused tour and differs from our regular General Admission tours of Wheatland.
09/28/2026
🏆 A major honor for LancasterHistory’s Randy Harris!
We’re thrilled to celebrate Randy Harris, who has been named the recipient of Preservation Pennsylvania’s prestigious F. Otto Haas Award for his outstanding achievements in historic preservation.
For decades, Randy has championed the idea that preservation is about more than protecting buildings - it’s about uncovering stories, understanding the people who shaped our communities, and ensuring those stories aren’t lost.
His work has helped historic sites and landscapes across Pennsylvania gain recognition and protection, including more than 20 resources recognized through the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Today, at LancasterHistory, Randy continues that work through research, tours, educational programs, and his dedication to recovering the stories of African Americans, abolitionists, freedom seekers, and others too often overlooked in the historical record.
We’re incredibly proud to have Randy as part of the LancasterHistory team, and delighted to see decades of scholarship, advocacy, and service recognized with this well-deserved honor.
Congratulations, Randy! 👏🏆
09/28/2026
Every family has a story. Where do you begin uncovering yours? 🔎
Join us for Genealogy 101, a beginner-friendly workshop led by Aimee Caya, LancasterHistory’s Director of Collections & Research. You’ll learn essential tools and techniques for tracing your family history and discover how to make the most of LancasterHistory’s extensive collections and online resources.
Whether you’re starting with a box of old family photos, a name passed down through generations, or simply a curiosity about where you came from, you’ll leave with practical strategies and a clearer path toward your next discovery.
📅 Saturday, October 17 at 10am
📍 LancasterHistory Museum & Research Center
230 N. President Avenue, Lancaster
Book your spot today at our website! LancasterHistory members receive a discounted registration.
09/25/2026
🎃 Past, Present, Pumpkins!
Celebrate the season and learn about the autumnal icon, the pumpkin! Discover the surprising history behind our love of pumpkins, set off on a pumpkin hunt across the grounds, and decorate your own pumpkin to take home!
A fun autumn adventure for the whole family! 🍂
📅 Saturday, October 17
⏰ 10–11:30am
📍 LancasterHistory Museum & Research Center at
230 North President Avenue
Now THAT’S how you close out a season. 🎶🌳
Last Saturday, we welcomed LancasterHistory members to the Carriage House patio for a special reception before our final Music on the Lawn concert of the year. It was a wonderful chance to gather, enjoy a beautiful late-summer afternoon on the Campus of History, and introduce members to our new Membership Coordinator, Holland Baldrige!
Then, we headed to the Wheatland lawn, where local favorite Matt Hostetter helped us send off another season of Music on the Lawn with a fantastic evening of live music in James Buchanan’s backyard.
To everyone who joined us throughout the summer - and especially to the members whose support helps make evenings like these possible - thank you for being part of the LancasterHistory community. ❤️
And thank you to Matt Hostetter for giving us an amazing finale! 🎸
09/17/2026
The forecast for Saturday is perfect for the final Music on the Lawn of the season!
LancasterHistory members are invited early at 4pm for a special reception, but the concert is open to the public. Registration is open on our website.
We’ll see you on Saturday for music by Matt Hostetter!
LancasterHistory members, come early and join us for something special!
Before our final Music on the Lawn concert of the season on Saturday, September 19, we’re inviting LancasterHistory members and friends to a special reception on the Carriage House patio beginning at 4pm.
Enjoy cool drinks and light bites, take in the beautiful surroundings of the Tanger Arboretum, explore the beautiful new informational signage across the Campus of History, and mix and mingle with fellow members and friends. You’ll also have a chance to meet Holland Baldrige, LancasterHistory’s new Membership Coordinator!
Then, stick around as Music on the Lawn closes out the season with local favorite Matt Hostetter. Bring a picnic, grab a spot on the lawn, and settle in for an evening of live music in James Buchanan’s backyard.
Know someone who might enjoy being part of LancasterHistory? Bring them along! This is a great opportunity to introduce a friend to our community and all that membership has to offer.
The member reception begins at 4pm, followed by Music on the Lawn, which is open to the public. Register today on our website!
09/16/2026
Did you know many Lancaster County residents can trace their family history back to Germanic origins? You can too! Join LancasterHistory Reference Librarian Jessica Barbera on Saturday, September 26, for a new workshop on how you can research your German ancestors, including what resources are available at LancasterHistory and how to navigate the research process.
🎟️ Tickets are $20 for LancasterHistory Members and $25 for non-members. To register, click here: https://buff.ly/SU6YRj3 or call 717-392-4633. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of their own photograph collections for discussions.
A lot of helping hands in the Tanger Arboretum today! 🌳💚
As part of the United Way’s Week of Caring, nearly 40 volunteers from Fulton Bank joined us at LancasterHistory for a morning of hard work across our campus. Volunteers tended trees throughout the Arboretum, created tree rings, and tackled invasive ivy in the Beech Grove - all helping care for this beautiful, historic landscape we’re fortunate to call home.
And the work didn’t stop outside! More Fulton Bank volunteers lent a hand indoors, helping our Development team tackle a major stuffing project.
We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who spent their morning with us - and to Fulton Bank and United Way for bringing so many helping hands together, for us and for our community. Thank you! 🌿👏
Fulton Bank United Way of Lancaster County
History Happy Hour sure lived up to its name. 🍻
LancasterHistory historian and curator Stephanie Townrow took a sold-out crowd at The Exchange on a trip through the history hiding all around us in downtown Lancaster - and somehow turned it into a cross between “history evangelism” and a stand-up comedy routine.
The audience was captivated one minute and rolling with laughter the next. We learned about the streets and buildings just outside the windows of The Exchange, enjoyed some fantastic food and drinks, and were reminded that history is a whole lot of fun when you know where to look.
Did you know that in the early days of the Lancaster Central Market, vendors used to…let’s just say: get creative…to skirt having to pay rent for a market stall? Or that Thaddeus Stevens’ and James Buchanan’s law offices were once within a stone’s throw of one another?
Thank you to everyone who spent the evening with us, and to our generous sponsors, Henrietta Heisler Interiors and Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, for making History Happy Hour possible.
We’ll raise a glass to that. 🍻
Sponsored by: Lancaster Marriott Penn Square • Henrietta Heisler Interiors Inc.
Hosted at the beautiful The Exchange (Lancaster, PA)
09/14/2026
LancasterHistory members, come early and join us for something special!
Before our final Music on the Lawn concert of the season on Saturday, September 19, we’re inviting LancasterHistory members and friends to a special reception on the Carriage House patio beginning at 4pm.
Enjoy cool drinks and light bites, take in the beautiful surroundings of the Tanger Arboretum, explore the beautiful new informational signage across the Campus of History, and mix and mingle with fellow members and friends. You’ll also have a chance to meet Holland Baldrige, LancasterHistory’s new Membership Coordinator!
Then, stick around as Music on the Lawn closes out the season with local favorite Matt Hostetter. Bring a picnic, grab a spot on the lawn, and settle in for an evening of live music in James Buchanan’s backyard.
Know someone who might enjoy being part of LancasterHistory? Bring them along! This is a great opportunity to introduce a friend to our community and all that membership has to offer.
The member reception begins at 4pm, followed by Music on the Lawn, which is open to the public. Register today on our website!
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Telephone
Address
230 N President Avenue
Lancaster, PA
17603
Opening Hours
| Monday | 9:30am - 5pm |
| Tuesday | 9:30am - 5pm |
| Wednesday | 9:30am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 9:30am - 5pm |
| Friday | 9:30am - 5pm |
| Saturday | 9:30am - 5pm |
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