Smyser-Bair House is a

Victorian building Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...

and

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

of the York Historic District in

York, Pennsylvania York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

. The house was built in the 1830s as a private home and was purchased by Henry Smyser in the mid 19th century. Smyser-Bair House was owned by the Smyser-Bair family from the mid 19th century to 1979. The house was acquired by the Historical Society of York in 1979. It is part of the York Historical Walking Tour.

History

Smyser-Bair House was constructed during the third decade of the 19th century and was purchased by Dr. Henry Smyser in the mid 1850s. Henry Smyser was a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

German descent , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

who used the house as his private home and office. Smyser was born in York Borough, on 8 December 1825, to Eliza and Michael Smyser. He attended

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

where he graduated in 1847. John Gibson, an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

, stated in 1886 that Smyser was a representative of the first families of

York County, Pennsylvania York County ( Pennsylvania Dutch: Yarrick Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 456,438. Its county seat is York. The county was created on August 19, 1749, from part of Lancaster ...

. Smyser was one of the original Forty-niners and has spent two years in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He joined the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

migration and went on an expedition during the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

where he stuck it rich. In 1855, Smyser signed up as a Surgeon Major in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. For his service during wartime, Smyser was invited to

Catherine Palace The Catherine Palace (russian: Екатерининский дворец, ) is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 30 km south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The Palace is part of the ...

in Tsarskoye Selo, Russia by

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...

. Smyser was one of the few Americans to set foot in Catherine Palace's

Amber Room The Amber Room ( rus, Янтарная комната, r=Yantarnaya Komnata, german: Bernsteinzimmer, pl, Bursztynowa komnata) was a chamber decorated in amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors, located in the Catherine Palace of Tsar ...

. There, he was presented with two medals by the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

. A year after Smyser's meeting at Amber Room, he purchased Smyser-Bair House. In 1860, Smyser married Emma Reiman, daughter of John Reiman. They had two children: Ella Nora and John Reiman Smyser. In 1862, Henry Smyser was enlisted in the

War of the Rebellion The most common name for the American Civil War in modern American usage is simply "The Civil War". Although rarely used during the war, the term "War Between the States" became widespread afterward in the Southern United States. During and immedia ...

, known today as the Civil War. Smyser was posted at a makeshift tent hospital in Penn Park, down the street from Smyser-Bair House, where he treated injured soldiers from the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. During those times,

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

, the commander of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, visited Smyser-Bair House as a guest of Henry Smyser.

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

, an English writer, also visited Smyser-Bair House to meet Henry Smyser in the late 1860s. Robert C Bair

Smyser's son, John Reiman Smyser, moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

where he became a

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

and his daughter, Ella, married Robert C. Bair, a lawyer and son of a local judge. Smyser-Bair House was passed on to Ella and Robert C. Bair after the death of Emma and Henry Smyser. Bair was involved in politics and served as the Director of Historical Society of York County. He also taught

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

at the

Lutheran church Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

near Smyser-Bair House. Ella and Robert Bair had one child, Smyser Henry Bair. Smyser Henry Bair, married Alma Quickel, a school teacher. The couple moved into Smyser-Bair House to live with Ella Bair after the death of Robert Bair. Smyser Henry Bair became the President of a local gas company. He replaced steam heating system of the house with

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

heating system. The old steam heating system remains as a

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

in the basement of Smyser-Bair House today. Smyser and Alma Bair had no children and Alma Bair was the last member of Smyser-Bair family to live in the Smyser-Bair House. Alma Bair lived in the house till her death in 1979. After Alma Bair's death, the house was left to the York's Historical Society. Smyser-Bair House remained under the possession of Historical Society until the King family purchased the house in the 1980s. Tom, Nancy, Bob and Hilda King restored the house to its original appearance during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

and opened the house for public as the Smyser-Bair House Bed and Breakfast. Between the 1980s and 2000s, Smyser-Bair House operated as a bed and breakfast. Smyser-Bair House was purchased by Pam Hartle of the Hartle family in the early 2000s and became their private residence until Nataliya and Eric D. Goodman purchased the house in 2007. The Goodman family owned and operated the Smyser-Bair House as The Historic York Inn/Smyser-Bair House from 2007 to 2019. The current owners, Colonel (Retired) Gary A. Robinson II and his wife Yeon Kyung Chung, continue to run the home as an extended stay inn as the York Inn (Smyser - Bair House Bed & Breakfast). The house has been featured on the

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...

series, ''If Walls Could Talk'' in the years 2007 and 2008. It has also been a subject of a dissertation at the

. In 2005, Smyser-Bair House was opened up for the victims of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. In 2008,

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

visited the house during her

Presidential Campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. The New York Times Bestseller author, Steve Berry donated a signed copy of his novel, '' The Amber Room'' for display in the Amber Room of the house. Smyser-Bair House is also on the list of York Historical Walking Tour.

Description

Smyser-Bair House was constructed during the 1830s. The house is notable for its historic preservation and ornate details. The structure of the building follows

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...

. Smyser-Bair House was never converted into apartments or changed by large scale renovation. As per ''

York Daily Record The ''York Daily Record'' is a newspaper and news publisher serving York, Pennsylvania, United States, and the surrounding region. Its news publications are the ''York Daily Record'' and ''York Sunday News''. The newspaper's circulation is 37,32 ...

'', Smyser-Bair House stands mostly as it was seen in the late 19th century. The house retains many of the details that it became known in the 1800s and is recognized for its historical preservation. Smyser-Bair House's ornate features include handcrafted pier mirrors covered with gold from Henry Smyser's

expedition. The expedition is demonstrated in an illustration in the main hall of the house. Smyser-Bair House also houses Robert C. Bair's original

lesson books, complete with his handwritten notes. Bair's photograph collection is archived at the York County Historical Trust Library with a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The photograph collection includes 721 photos from 1906 to 1928 including the photos of civil war veterans from the 1913 Gettysburg battlefield reunion.

References

External links

* {{Commons category, Smyser-Bair House Buildings and structures in York, Pennsylvania Victorian architecture in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures completed in the 19th century Houses completed in the 19th century