Greater Lancaster City: An Alternate History
I figure since I've been floating around here since 2003, maybe I should start a CJ. Better 13 years late then never huh??
Today I'm going to give a somewhat brief back history on my region. It is based on my hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It will share many similarities of the real area as well as how It might of looked if events had been different. The map and layout share some similarities as well but is noticeably different. For instance, the Allegheny Mountains are further east and my region is at the edge of it's eastern Foothills and Piedmont. The river that flows thru Lancaster, the Conestoga is a lot wider compared to the real one but it maintains its curves quite well.
Lancaster (Lang-kiss-ter) was laid out in March of 1718 by British settlers at the site of Hickory Town, a small trading village. Lancaster at the time was part of Chester County and a year later the County of Lancaster was formed. As the years went by, the settlement and the surrounding countryside steadily grew with British, Scottish, Irish, German, Dutch, and Swiss settlers. Lancaster became a Borough in 1728 and was incorporated into a city in 1742 with a population of 4,219. As the Colonies grew, so did resentment from the Native Indians who felt their land and way of life was being taken from them. Wars broke out through out the century but the Lancaster area experienced relative peace during this time and had a friendly relationship with the local Indians, the Conestoga of the Iroquoian speaking Susquehannock tribe. That all came to an end in December 1763 when a militia from northwest of the county raided their established home, Conestoga Town, killing three quarters of it's population and burned the town to the ground. Those who were able to escape were sheltered at a Quaker meeting house located in the middle of the city. A week later on Sunday December 27th, while the citizens were attending morning church services, the militia returned and massacred the remaining Indians. After that day, residents of the county vowed to protect the good and innocent from those who desire bloodshed to push their agenda. On January 1st 1764, the Lancaster Militia was formed and to this day remain in service as an active duty armored cavalry unit based a mile from the site of the massacre.
During the Revolutionary War, Lancaster was an important manufacturing center for the Continental Army. The Lancaster Barracks north of the city was established after the Battle of Wheatland in October 1777. The post and cemetery where built over the battlefield. The winter of 1777-1778 brought extreme hardship to the Army as they hunkered down in Valley Forge just east of the county. the living conditions were so grim that the Continental Congress ordered General Washington to mobilize his troops to the newly created barracks in Lancaster. Many soldiers did not survive the march, but many more would have fallen if the stayed at Valley Forge. Once in Lancaster, over half of the soldiers were treated at the new Pennsylvania Military Hospital for frostbite, malnourishment, gangrene, and a plethora of diseases. Locals supported the troops by providing food and clothing. By spring the Army was mending and with the arrival of Baron Von Steuben, the Army was a respectable force to be reckoned with. The Army left in the middle of June and the Lancaster Barracks became a center for training soldiers and mending wounds from the battlefield as well as housing prisoners. There would be no further conflicts conflicts in the region.
By the end of the war and Philadelphia being both the newly minted nations capitol and the state capitol, it was decided to vote on moving the state capitol away from the city to a more central location. Lancaster received the most votes due to being the largest inland city in the state (1790 population of 12,454) and quick, relatively easy access from Philadelphia and Baltimore. It had a navigable river which leads to the Chesapeake Bay, and vast resources such as metal/gunsmiths, textiles, agriculture, and higher education. In 1799 the state capital was moved to Lancaster at a site along the Conestoga River on the northern end of the city.
Ok so maybe it's not so brief as I've only gotten to the end of the 18th century. In the next installment I'm going to babble on about Lancaster's place in the 19th century and I'll throw up a bit more pics but for now y'all get just one, the region! I'm pretty well photoshop/gimp illiterate so there probably will be no touchups to the pics besides what Imgur can do. After that it'll be the 20th century and we'll see the city and it's countryside grow big time!
That's about it for now! I hope I didn't bore y'all too much and I'll always be open for advice and critiques!
-
9
6 Comments
Recommended Comments
Sign In or register to comment...
To comment in reply, you must be a community member
Sign In
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In NowCreate an Account
Sign up to join our friendly community. It's easy!
Register a New Account