The Pennsylvania collection
York County
18 places. A county full of stories.
Discover local legends, historic places and the stories of sites you can explore virtually.
Explore this county on the map →
OutdoorsCamp Security Preservation Area
Camp Security, east of York, held British prisoners of war from 1781 to 1783. Men captured at Saratoga and Yorktown spent the closing years of the…
Inns & businessesCapitol Theatre
York’s Capitol Theatre began as a one-story dance hall in 1906. A balcony was added in 1917 as the building was adapted for showing films, and the…
OutdoorsCodorus Furnace
Codorus Furnace in York County preserves the remains of an ironworking site whose history began with a forge in 1765. The surviving furnace masonry…
Elmwood Mansion
Richard Kraus and his family lived at Elmwood Mansion in York before selling it in 1986. His son Adrian recalled an encounter there when he was seven…
Former Kunkle’s Mansion area
Kunkle's Mansion was an abandoned house in the woods outside Goldsboro, York County. Local young people said an unseen presence might follow visitors…
OutdoorsFormer Lafayette Club
York’s former Lafayette Club occupied the Small family house at 59 East Market Street. The club used its upper floors for a library, private dining…
Historic homes · Historical imageFormer York County Courthouse
York’s former county courthouse on Market Street hosted the January 1929 trial of John Blymire, one of the men charged in the killing of Nelson…
Former York County Prison
The former York County Prison on Chestnut Street has accounts involving both its entrance and its cell blocks. On May 26, 2016, a photographer named…
CemeteriesPenn Park
P. T. Barnum’s circus brought a troupe of Fijian performers to York’s Penn Park in 1872. A local newspaper reported that one performer became ill and…
Outdoors · Historical imagePenn Park (Penn Common)
In 1903, the York Daily reported encounters with a veiled woman in Penn Park, also known as Penn Common. She approached people after dark, asked…
Pleasant View Road at Wyndamere Road (PA 177)
Near Lewisberry, Pleasant View Road meets Wyndamere Road, Route 177, at the site known as Gravity Hill. The surrounding landscape makes the road…
OutdoorsRehmeyer Hollow Road
Nelson Rehmeyer’s farmhouse in York County became known as the Hex House after his murder in November 1928. John Blymire believed Rehmeyer had placed…
Inns & businesses · Historical imageThe Accomac Inn
The former Accomac Inn stands beside the Susquehanna River at an old ferry crossing in Hellam Township. Its best-known ghost story is associated with…
Inns & businesses · Aerial viewThe Belmont Theatre
The Belmont Theatre in York was known as York Little Theatre when its staff described the building’s ghosts in a 2013 BroadwayWorld interview. Two…
OutdoorsThe Imp of Clark Alley
In January 1880, York’s Clark Alley acquired a reputation for a spirit that could change its shape. The alley ran between Beaver and George streets.…
OutdoorsTrout Run Road corridor
The Seven Gates of Hell is a legend attached to the Trout Run Road area of Hellam Township. Its rules are simple: the first gate can be seen in…
Bridges & railwaysWilliam C. Goodridge Freedom Center and Underground Railroad Museum
William C. Goodridge’s house on East Philadelphia Street in York was a station on the Underground Railroad. Born into slavery and later freed,…
OutdoorsYork State Fairgrounds
Stories about a woman in white at the York fairgrounds began circulating after a fatal shooting nearby in August 1924. Peggy Larue was killed and two…