Transportation In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
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Transportation in Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
has a long and variegated history. An early-settled part of the
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, and lying on the route between
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
and
Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
, it has been the site of early experiments in canals, railroads, and highways. Before all these, at least ten Native American paths crossed parts of the county, many connecting with the
Susquehannock The Susquehannock, also known as the Conestoga, Minquas, and Andaste, were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian people who lived in the lower Susquehanna River watershed in what is now Pennsylvania. Their name means “people of the muddy river.” T ...
village of Conestoga.


Canals

The principal waterway in Lancaster County is the Susquehanna River, which forms its western border. However, its many rocks and rapids made it difficult for navigation. An attempt was made in 1820 by James Hopkins to dig a canal to bypass the Conewago Falls, already bypassed in 1797 by the
Conewago Canal The Conewago Canal, on the west bank of the Susquehanna River below York Haven, Pennsylvania, south of Harrisburg in York County, enabled late 18th and early 19th century rivercraft to safely bypass rapids at Conewago Falls. Work on the canal of ...
in York County on the opposite side of the river. However, the Hopkins Canal was poorly laid out and not useful for navigation. He was then authorized by the legislature to build a canal along the
Conestoga River The Conestoga River (), also referred to as Conestoga Creek (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through t ...
to
Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...
to connect that city with the Susquehanna, but abandoned it after building one lock. On March 3, 1825, the Conestoga Navigation Company was incorporated to make a second attempt at improving the Conestoga River. It was placed into operation in 1826. The Conestoga Navigation was 18 miles (29 km) long, with nine locks and dams, between Safe Harbor, at the mouth of the creek, and Lancaster. Interest in improving the Susquehanna continued. Surveys were made along the east bank from Chickies Rock to the Maryland state line in 1827; the extension of the Eastern Division of the
Pennsylvania Canal The Pennsylvania Canal, sometimes known as the Pennsylvania Canal system, was a complex system of transportation infrastructure improvements, including canals, dams, Lock (water transport), locks, tow paths, Navigable aqueduct, aqueducts, and vi ...
to Columbia was authorized on March 24, 1828 and again on March 21, 1831, and was completed on December 4, 1832. Revenue service began on April 9, 1833. The construction of the
Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad (P&CR) (1834) was one of the earliest commercial railroads in the United States, running from Philadelphia to Columbia, Pennsylvania, Columbia, Pennsylvania, it was built by the Pennsylvania Canal Commission in l ...
(''vide infra'') placed Columbia on the route from Philadelphia into the western parts of the state, via the canal. The
Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal The Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal between Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, and Havre de Grace, Maryland, at the head of Chesapeake Bay, provided an interstate shipping alternative to 19th-century arks, rafts, and boats plying the difficult waters o ...
to Baltimore was ultimately opened in 1840 on the west side of the river, canal boats crossing at Columbia to reach the Pennsylvania Canal. By this time, the Conestoga Navigation was already in financial difficulties, and was sold to the Lancaster & Susquehanna Slack-water Navigation Company. The newly built (1838) rail line from Harrisburg to Lancaster allowed westward trade to bypass the canals, and by 1849, the Eastern Division was entirely paralleled by rail. The state sold the
Main Line of Public Works The Main Line of Public Works was a package of legislation passed by the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1826 to establish a means of transporting freight between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It funded the construction of various lon ...
to the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
in 1857, which kept the canals in desultory operation. The former Columbia Navigation last collected lock fees in 1872; its dams were later used for
hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
in the early 20th century. The last operating segment of the Pennsylvania Canal, from Columbia northward to Nanticoke, was abandoned on April 11, 1901. Of the nine original Conestoga Navigation locks between Lancaster and the Susquehanna River, Lock 6 is the only survivor. Maintained by the Safe Harbor Water Power Corporation, it can be seen at Conestoga Creek Park near Safe Harbor. Railroad fill and construction has essentially obliterated the Pennsylvania Canal within the county.


Railroads


Railroad history

The first railroad to pass through Lancaster County was the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, opened through Lancaster to the canal port of Columbia on March 31 or April 1, 1834. It was constructed by the state as part of the Main Line of Public Works, a combined rail and canal system connecting Philadelphia and
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. In these early days, it was looked upon as a sort of public highway, and private horses and wagons that fit the gauge could be used on the line until 1844. Today this might be called
open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...
. The Philadelphia and Columbia quickly inspired connecting lines. In 1836, the
Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mount Joy and Lancaster Railroad The Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mountjoy & Lancaster Rail-Road (HPMtJ&L) was an early American railroad built to connect three main population centers in east-central Pennsylvania. History In 1834, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania chartered the Port ...
(HPMt.J&L RR) built a connecting line from Dillerville, just west of Lancaster, to Mount Joy. Building from both ends, the line was completed from Dillerville to Harrisburg in 1838. This bypassed the canal between Harrisburg and Columbia. The P&C also encouraged the businessmen of Strasburg, who built the
Strasburg Railroad The Strasburg Rail Road is a Heritage railway, heritage railroad and the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, as well as the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 183 ...
from the Philadelphia and Columbia at Leaman Place to Strasburg in 1837. Transformed from a freight line to a
tourist railroad A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...
in the 1950s, it is now one of the county's most popular tourist attractions. In 1849, the HPMt.J&L RR was taken over by the Pennsylvania Railroad, then constructing an all-rail route across the state. It also bought the
Marietta and Portsmouth Railroad Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta * Marietta, Illinois * Marietta, Indiana * Marietta, Kansas * Marietta, Minnesota * Marietta, Mississippi ...
, under whose charter it built a branch, paralleling the river and canal, from Royalton to Columbia. Besides the canal, the Philadelphia and Columbia (and the new branch from Royalton) connected to the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, which provided rail access to the
Northern Central Railway The Northern Central Railway (NCRY) was a Class I Railroad in the United States connecting Baltimore, Maryland, with Sunbury, Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania R ...
via the Wrightsville, York and Gettysburg Railroad. The PRR was forced to use the Philadelphia and Columbia between Dillerville and Philadelphia, and the sometimes lackadaisical operation of the state-run railroad proved burdensome and a bottleneck to traffic. In 1853, the PRR arranged to lease the Lancaster, Lebanon and Pine Grove Railroad, an as-yet unbuilt line from Philadelphia to Salunga via
Phoenixville Phoenixville is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia at the junction of French Creek (Schuylkill River tributary), French Creek an ...
, and threatened to bypass the State line entirely. The threat, and intensive lobbying, was ultimately successful in persuading the Commonwealth to sell the entire Main Line of Public Works to the PRR in 1857. The PRR sold its interest in the LL&PG the following year, and the line would never be built. The PRR also formally leased the HPMt.J&L RR in 1861, giving it complete control over its line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. This line would provide valuable service during the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, particularly when the
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) was an American railroad, headquartered in Philadelphia, that operated in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland from 1836 to 1902. It was part of an 1838 merger of four state-chartered railr ...
came under attack from Confederates and saboteurs or was simply jammed with traffic. Troops could be sent via the PRR to Columbia, cross the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, and ride down the Northern Central to Baltimore. However, Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania forced the state militia to retreat across the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge and burn it behind them on June 28, 1863. While the destruction of the bridge saved the county from a Confederate invasion, it cut off access to the markets of York County, and it was not replaced until several years after the war. During the Civil War, a new railroad appeared on the scene in Lancaster County. Controlled by the
Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railro ...
, the Reading and Columbia Railroad built down from the
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
area to reach Columbia, crossing the PRR at Landisville, with a branch from Lancaster Jct. to Lancaster. The
Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad The Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad (C&PD) was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It operated a main line between Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Port Deposit, Maryland, generally along th ...
also proposed to enter the county from the south, following the Susquehanna, but its construction was long stalled by inadequate funds and the difficult, rocky bluffs along the river. While the principal arteries of the Lancaster County railroads had mostly been completed by this time, the
Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...
witnessed a period of independent railroad construction, speculation, and financial maneuvers. The Lancaster and Reading Narrow Gauge Railroad was chartered in 1871 to build a gauge route from Safe Harbor to Lancaster to Reading, with a branch from Lancaster to Quarryville, competing with the Reading & Columbia. Construction began on the branch line to Quarryville, but was quickly changed to standard gauge. Hindered by the
Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...
, the company struck a deal with the Philadelphia & Reading to complete the line from Lancaster to Quarryville in return for control of the company, which it did in the following year. It thus became an extension of the Reading's Lancaster Branch. In 1876, the East Brandywine and Waynesburg Railroad built into the county from the east to reach the prosperous agricultural town of New Holland, and was promptly leased by the PRR. In 1877, the Columbia and Port Deposit, under control of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, finally finished its line into Columbia. 1878 saw the construction of one of the more implausible railroads of the area, the Peach Bottom Railway. Born of the "narrow-gauge fever" then sweeping the country, it was conceived as a gauge line from Philadelphia to the Broad Top coal fields. Surprisingly, the Eastern Division of the line was constructed from
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
into Lancaster County, ending on the banks of the Susquehanna at Peach Bottom; no bridge was ever built to the Middle Division across the river, which would become the
Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad The Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad , colloquially known as the "Ma and Pa", was an American short-line railroad between York, Pennsylvania, York and Hanover, Pennsylvania, formerly operating passenger and freight trains on its original line be ...
. Subsisting on sparse local traffic, the Eastern Division was sold at a bankruptcy auction in September 1881 and reorganized as the Peach Bottom Railroad. Another chimerical dream of this period was the Hanover Junction and Susquehanna Railroad. Intended to run from Landisville across the river to Hanover Junction on the Northern Central, it was reorganized in 1881 as the Reading, Marietta and Hanover Railroad, under the control of the Reading and Columbia, and produced only a short line built in 1883 from Marietta Jct. to the PRR's Columbia Branch at the foot of Chickies Rock and the dying iron furnaces there. A more substantial result was achieved by the construction, in the same year, of the Cornwall and Mount Hope Railroad from the massive iron ore pits at
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, in
Lebanon County Lebanon County ( ; ) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 143,257. Its county seat is the city of Lebanon. It lies 72 miles northwest of Philadelphia, which is the nearest m ...
, to Mount Hope and a connection with the Reading & Columbia (which had built a spur there from Manheim a few years previous). It was controlled by the Cornwall Railroad, one of two competing lines from Cornwall to
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
; the other was the Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad, which set about its own southward extension at the same time. Its subsidiary, the Colebrook Valley Railroad completed a line from Cornwall to Conewago Jct., on the PRR main line, the following year. It was merged into the Cornwall & Lebanon in 1886. In 1888, the East Brandywine & Waynesburg was foreclosed and reorganized as the Downingtown and Lancaster Railroad, still controlled by the PRR. It extended from New Holland into Lancaster in 1890, creating a rural bypass of the main line from Downingtown to Lancaster. About this time, the PRR faced a threat to its relative dominance in Lancaster County. The Peach Bottom was sold to a group of Lancaster businessmen and reorganized in 1890 as the Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railroad. The new owners hoped to use it as part of a bridge line which would allow the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...
to enter Lancaster. The B&O would build north from Childs to reach the Peach Bottom at Oxford. The Peach Bottom would be converted to standard gauge and build a branch from Fairmont to Quarryville. From there, B&O trains would travel over the Lancaster & Reading Narrow Gauge to reach Lancaster. However, the plan was foiled by the poor financial state of the companies involved. At the beginning of 1900, the PRR was able to gain control of the L&RNG from the Reading, scotching the plan. Despite the failure of the grand scheme, the LO&S built the Quarryville branch anyway in 1905. This ill-advised maneuver plunged it into debt from which it would never recover. The B&O completed its portion of the LO&S line to Providence, Maryland, where it served a paper plant. The line was removed in 1977. One of the smaller lines in the county was built in 1902, when the Champion Iron and Separating Company built a spur from the Columbia and Port Deposit (by now a PRR branch) at Safe Harbor to reach their ore banks and concentrating mill near Marticville. Never successful, the company struggled along through foreclosures and reorganizations for a decade before abandonment in 1912. The turn of the century, however, was principally marked by the construction of the PRR's
Atglen and Susquehanna Branch The Atglen and Susquehanna Branch is an abandoned branch line of the Pennsylvania Railroad that ran between Lemoyne, Pennsylvania, Lemoyne and Atglen, Pennsylvania. A portion of the line is now the Enola Low Grade Trail. History The Atglen and ...
. This was part of the PRR's "Low-Grade Lines" project, which aimed to provide low-
grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...
(slope) routes for freight which would bypass the congestion of major cities and the steeper grades of the Main Line. It was an engineering effort which would literally change the face of Lancaster County. With the goal of low grades always in mind, the new branch was surveyed through an empty area of southern Lancaster County, without significant industries. While it did pass near Quarryville, it did so on a high fill and did not descend to serve the town. Turning to parallel the Susquehanna River, the new route descended to join the Columbia and Port Deposit Branch at Creswell. At Columbia, the routes diverged again, with the new line following a parallel route straighter and closer to the river than the old line. At Marietta, the new line (under the York Haven and Rowenna Railroad charter) left the old line and the county, crossing the Susquehanna on the way to Enola. Construction of this branch required massive cuts and fills and two high bridges at Martic Forge and Safe Harbor. Most of the work, which took several years, was performed by H.S. Kerbaugh, an important PRR contractor. The line north of Marietta was opened first, on January 1, 1905, crossing Shocks Mills Bridge. The rest of the line opened on August 10, 1906, and the York Haven & Rowenna was merged into the PRR in the same year. It rapidly became a major freight route for the PRR. This marked the high-water mark of railroading in Lancaster County. Consolidation and abandonment would soon ensure. The PRR bought up the Cornwall & Lebanon in 1913, and it was merged into the PRR in 1918, becoming the Lebanon Branch. The hapless Lancaster, Oxford & Southern, in and out of bankruptcy since 1910, scrapped its Quarryville branch in 1917. The rest of the railroad ceased operation in 1918, and the equipment was sold the next year. One oddity did appear in 1923: Samuel Strause opened a gauge logging operation at Penryn Park, a short portion of which extended into Lancaster County to transfer timber to the Cornwall & Mount Hope RR for shipment. This was Lancaster County's only logging line, and was sporadically active until 1936, being scrapped in 1941. In 1930, with the iron industry at Chickies long played out, the Reading's Marietta Branch was abandoned. However, the railroad network in Lancaster County thereafter remained relatively stable until the general decline of the Northeastern railroads in the 1960s. The Cornwall & Mount Hope, long out of use, was abandoned in 1964, and part of the Mount Hope spur followed in 1971. With the formation of
Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...
in 1976 and the transfer of the PRR Main Line to
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
, major abandonments of little-used lines began. The Lebanon Branch and the Quarryville Branch both went at its formation, although a steep spur was built off the Atglen & Susquehanna Branch at Quarryville to reach a stub of the old branch to
New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in The Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. On the eastern side of the island is the national capital, national capital city of Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau; it had a population of 246 ...
. The remainder of the Mount Hope spur soon followed, as did the remaining stub of the Quarryville Branch, the New Holland Branch east of East Earl, and the Reading and Columbia from Lancaster Jct. to Columbia and from Lititz to
Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...
, all by 1982. The Reading and Columbia from Landisville to Bruckarts did survive, being sold to the Landisville Terminal and Transfer Company, operating off a new connection with the Amtrak line at Landisville. In 1984, the Reading and Columbia was further trimmed back from Akron to Stevens, near Ephrata. The final, major abandonment of the Conrail years was that of the Atglen & Susquehanna Branch from Safe Harbor to Lenover in 1989. Conrail's decision to divert Philadelphia-bound freight over the former
Lebanon Valley Branch The Lebanon Valley Branch was a railway line in Pennsylvania. Built between 1857–1858, it linked the cities of Harrisburg and Reading. It was part of the Reading Company system from its completion until 1976, when it was conveyed to Conrail. Un ...
and Reading Company main line (to avoid interference with Amtrak) had left it with little or no traffic.


Current railroads

, passenger service in Lancaster County is provided by
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
, whose ''
Keystone Corridor The Keystone Corridor is a 349-mile (562 km) railroad corridor between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that consists of two rail lines: Amtrak and SEPTA's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line, Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg main li ...
'' passes through the county, with stops at
Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...
, Mount Joy and Elizabethtown. A station has been discussed for the town of
Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...
to provide connecting service with the
Strasburg Railroad The Strasburg Rail Road is a Heritage railway, heritage railroad and the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, as well as the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 183 ...
, which runs passenger excursions from nearby Leaman Place to Strasburg, but this is no longer being planned as of 2021. The principal freight operator in the county is
Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
(NS), as successor to Conrail in 1999. The NS main line follows the Susquehanna River (with
trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...
for
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
(CPR)), and leaves the county by crossing the river on Shocks Mills Bridge near Marietta. NS also has trackage rights over the Keystone Corridor, to which it is connected by the ''Royalton Branch'', which runs north along the river from the main line at Marietta, and the ''Columbia Branch'', which runs from the Corridor at Dillerville to the main line at Columbia. Two other NS branches originate on the Corridor: the ''Lititz Secondary'', which runs from Dillerville to Manheim and ends at
Lititz Lititz is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Lancaster. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 9,370. History Lititz was ...
, and the ''New Holland Industrial'', which leaves the Corridor around the east end of Lancaster to run east to New Holland and ends at East Earl. Several short lines also operate in the county. With the exception of the Strasburg Railroad, all are freight railroads. The
East Penn Railroad The East Penn Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates a number of mostly-unconnected lines in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Except for two industrial park switching railroad, switching operations, all are former Pennsylvania Railroad or Re ...
(ESPN) operates on a spur off the NS branch to Manheim, and on a longer line in the northeast corner of Lancaster County into Berks County. Landisville Terminal and Transfer Company (LNTV) operates on a spur off the Amtrak line at Landisville. The Tyburn Railroad (TYBR) operates some trackage around Dillerville. Most recently, the Columbia and Reading Railway (CORY) began operating on of track in Columbia in January 2010. Excepting the Tyburn Railroad, all of these lines operated over former Reading & Columbia trackage.


Trolleys

The principal trolley company in Lancaster County was the Conestoga Traction Company. Conestoga Traction was an interurban trolley system that operated seven country routes radiating spoke-like from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to numerous villages and towns. It ran side-of-road trolleys through Amish farm country to Coatesville, Strasburg/Quarryville, Pequea, Columbia/Marietta, Elizabethtown, Manheim/Lititz, and Ephrata/Adamstown/Terre Hill. By its connections to adjacent interurban trolley companies such as Philadelphia and West Chester (later Red Arrow and now today's SEPTA route 101), West Chester Street Railway, Schuylkill Valley Traction, Reading Transit, Hershey Transit, and Harrisburg Railways, one could ride trolleys from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, although slowly. This could be accomplished by two circuitous routes. The southern route went via West Chester-Coatesville-Lancaster-Hershey and the northern route via Norristown-Pottstown-Reading-Ephrata-Lebanon-Hershey. In the early part of the 1900s, Conestoga Traction was relatively fast and reliable transportation between towns in the days of horse-drawn wagons and buggies using rutted and muddy dirt roads. CT also transported products such as milk and produce from farm to town. With its connection to Hershey Transit, milk was shipped by trolley to the Hershey chocolate factory. Most interurbans like CT did not survive paved highways and the Great Depression. The Conestoga Traction Manheim line, for example, was abandoned in 1932. City service in Lancaster continued until 1947. A single CT car is preserved in working condition by the Manheim Historical Society, who operate it on a short stretch of track in their parking lot.


Bus transit

The Red Rose Transit Authority is a transit agency operating buses serving Lancaster County, and is headquartered in downtown Lancaster. York County's Rabbit Transit connects Columbia with the East York Mall Monday through Friday. A Saturday-only bus run by Lebanon Transit connects Park City Mall with the nearby city of Lebanon. Intercity bus service to New York is provided by
OurBus OurBus is an intercity bus network in the United States and Canada. The company serves as a broker between passengers and charter bus operators, marketing bus routes under its brand. Its intercity and commuter bus routes serve cities in New York, ...
on select days.


Native American paths

Ten or more Native American paths (or
trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...
) are known to have passed through what is today Lancaster County. While none of these paths are still in existence, the routes they took were often followed by later roads, canals, and railroads.


Conestoga paths

Many of these paths were connected with the
Susquehannock The Susquehannock, also known as the Conestoga, Minquas, and Andaste, were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian people who lived in the lower Susquehanna River watershed in what is now Pennsylvania. Their name means “people of the muddy river.” T ...
people, whose main village was ''Conestoga'' (meaning ''at the place of the immersed pole''), in what is now Manor Township in Lancaster County. The village of Conestoga thrived from 1690 to 1740, and was a center of trade with
settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
s as early as 1696.
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...
, James Logan, and four colonial governors of Pennsylvania visited Conestoga. Conestoga is another name used for the Susquehannocks (primarily in Pennsylvania), while Susquehannock is used more in Maryland and points south. Conestoga was located north of the
Conestoga River The Conestoga River (), also referred to as Conestoga Creek (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through t ...
and east of the
Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...
, about 4 miles (6 km) southwest of the
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
of Millersville. Washington Boro to the northwest is the closest modern
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
to the location of Conestoga, while the village of Safe Harbor lies to the south (at the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of the Conestoga River with the Susquehanna). Today the
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of Indiantown is probably at the actual location of Conestoga. From the village of Conestoga, six or seven paths led in several directions. The
Great Minquas Path ''Great Minquas Path'', or ''The Great Trail'', was a 17th-century trade route that ran through southeastern Pennsylvania from the Susquehanna River, near Conestoga, to the Schuylkill River, opposite Philadelphia. The 80-mile (130 km) east-w ...
went east from Conestoga to the
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
,
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
, and later
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
settlements in the
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
and
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
area. ''Minquas'' is the Dutch name for the Susquehannocks (from the
Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...
for ''treacherous''). The path went east by way of Rockhill (at the
ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
of the Conestoga River) to Willow Street, Strasburg, and Gap, then entered
Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States ** Chester County Council, boy scout council in Pennsylvania. * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire ...
. There it continued east via Atglen, Parkesburg, Mortonville, and Gradyville, crossed into Delaware County and there led through Morton and
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
, where it could go south to Chester or east to Darby, and finally to Philadelphia. Parts of U.S. Route 222 and
Pennsylvania Route 741 Pennsylvania Route 741 (PA 741) is a state highway that runs through western and southern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Lancaster County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The western terminus is along Rohrerstown Road north of an intersectio ...
follow the path in Lancaster County. At its eastern end, numerous branches of the path led to Chester, Philadelphia and other nearby destinations. This path was also sometimes known as the ''Conestoga Path''. The Conestoga - Newport Path followed the ''Great Minquas Path'' to Gap, where it branched off and led southeast to
Newport, Delaware Newport is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is on the Christina River. It is best known for being the home of colonial inventor Oliver Evans. The population was 1,055 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. Four li ...
(on the
Christina River The Christina River is a tributary of the Delaware River, approximately 35 miles (56 km) long, in northern Delaware. It also flows through small areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland. Near its mouth, the river ...
).
Pennsylvania Route 41 Pennsylvania Route 41 (PA 41) is a state highway located in southeastern Pennsylvania, United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the Delaware state line in Kennett Township, Pennsylvania, Kennett Township, where the road continues ...
and State Route 41 (Delaware) follow the route of the path from Gap southeast to Newport today. The French Creek Path led northeast from Conestoga along the Conestoga River to
Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...
, then east to
Phoenixville Phoenixville is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia at the junction of French Creek (Schuylkill River tributary), French Creek an ...
in Chester County. From Lancaster the path followed the Conestoga River to Eden then left the river and went east through New Holland and Blue Ball, before entering
Berks County Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading, the fourth-most populous city in the state. The ...
, where it passed through Morgantown. It then entered Chester County and went through Elverson and Warwick to French Creek, which it followed to Bucktown and finally Phoenixville (on the
Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...
). Pennsylvania Route 999 follows the course of this path to Lancaster, and
Pennsylvania Route 23 Pennsylvania Route 23 (PA 23) is an state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. The route begins at PA 441 in Marietta and heads east to U.S. Route 1 (US 1) at City Avenue on the border of Lower Merion Township and Philadelphia. PA 23 begin ...
continues from there to Phoenixville. As much of this path follows the Conestoga River and French Creek, it is possible it paralleled a canoe path with a portage between these two streams. The Blue Rock Path, according to a separate tradition, followed the ''French Creek Path'' closely from Phoenixville west to Conestoga (and may be the same path). From Conestoga, the Blue Rock Path went west to the Susquehanna River and crossed it at a
ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
south of modern Washington Boro, going west to York County. The Monocacy Path led west from Conestoga across the Susquehanna River to
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, then southwest to
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
, then into
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
and
Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...
there (on the
Monocacy River The Monocacy River () is a free-flowing left tributary to the Potomac River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay. The river is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data ...
). From Frederick one could continue southwest to the
Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a Mountain pass, pass in the Eastern United States, eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains and near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At&n ...
and
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
or into
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. This path was also sometimes known as the ''Conestoga Path'' in Pennsylvania and the ''Susquehanna Path'' in Maryland. The ''Blue Rock Path'' was either a connector to, or extension of this path.
U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route of the United States Numbered Highway System, with the highway traveling across the Northern U.S. With a length of , it is the third-longest U.S. Highway, afte ...
to York,
Pennsylvania Route 116 Pennsylvania Route 116 (PA 116) is an east–west route located Adams and York counties in southern Pennsylvania. The route begins at PA 16 in Carroll Valley in Adams County, heading northeast through rural areas and passing through Fairf ...
to Hanover, and
Pennsylvania Route 194 Pennsylvania Route 194 (PA 194) is a north–south state highway located in south-central Pennsylvania. The southern end is at the Maryland state line, where it continues south as Maryland Route 194 (MD 194), and the northern terminus is a ...
to the Maryland State line follow the Monocacy Path in Pennsylvania today. The Paxtang Path went north from Conestoga along the Susquehanna River to Paxtang (modern
Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
), then mostly followed the river north to the village of Shamokin at modern Sunbury. In Lancaster County it went through Washington Boro and Columbia, past Chickies Rock, through Marietta, Bainbridge (and the Native American village of Conoy there), and Falmouth, before entering
Dauphin County Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth-most populous city. ...
and continuing on to Paxtang. The Pennsylvania Canal and
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
ran along the river here, and the
Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
rail line still does. In Lancaster County today,
Pennsylvania Route 441 Pennsylvania Route 441 (PA 441) is a state route that is located in central Pennsylvania in the United States. It primarily parallels the Susquehanna River through Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Lancaster and Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Daup ...
leads to
Royalton, Pennsylvania Royalton is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census the borough population was 1,134. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. It shares its ZIP code with neighboring M ...
in Dauphin County along the path's route and from Royalton
Pennsylvania Route 230 Pennsylvania Route 230 (PA 230) is a long state route in central Pennsylvania. Its western terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Route 22 in Pennsylvania, U.S. Route 22 (US 22) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. Its eastern terminus is ...
leads to Harrisburg (formerly Paxtang). Heading north from Paxtang, the path ended at the village of Shamokin, where the Susquehanna River forks. The
Great Shamokin Path The Great Shamokin Path (also known as the "Shamokin Path") was a major Native American trail in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania that ran from the native village of Shamokin (modern-day Sunbury) along the left bank of the West Branch Susqueha ...
along the
West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the ex ...
led to western Pennsylvania, the
Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...
, and eventually
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. The ''Great Warriors Path'' followed the main or North Branch of the Susquehanna River north to modern day
Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...
and
Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
, then north to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
state and the Five (later Six) Nations of the
Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
there.


Peach Bottom paths

An unnamed path led south from Conestoga along the Susquehanna River to a Native American village at modern Peach Bottom in the southwest corner of Lancaster County. Peach Bottom is in Fulton Township, on the Susquehanna River just north of Maryland and the
Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...
. In addition to the path south from Conestoga, two other paths met here. The Peach Bottom Path led west and slightly north from Peach Bottom to the village of Hayesville, in Chester County. From Peach Bottom the path went through Wakefield, Oakryn, Little Britain, Oak Hill, Tayloria, and crossed Octoraro Creek into Chester County at Pine Grove. From there it continued west via Tweedale to Hayesville, where it connected to the ''Nanticoke Path'' running north from
Calvert, Maryland Calvert is an unincorporated community in Cecil County, Maryland, United States, approximately six miles east of Rising Sun. History The community was named for George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore. The center of the village is the Cross Keys ...
to
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania Nanticoke is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,628, making it the third largest city in Luzerne County. It occupies of land. Nanticoke is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The ...
.
Pennsylvania Route 272 Pennsylvania Route 272 (PA 272) is a highway in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Lancaster area. The southern terminus of the route is at the Mason–Dixon line southeast of Nottingham, Pennsylvania, Nottingham, where ...
follows the path from Wakefield to Oak Hill. The New Castle Path ran from Peach Bottom east to
New Castle, Delaware New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Cast ...
, and was sometimes known as the ''Susquehanna Path''. James Logan traveled this path in 1705 to Peach Bottom and north to Conestoga on his first visit there, as did Governor John Evans.


Conoy paths

From circa 1718 to 1743 there was a Native American village called Conoy (at the modern village of Bainbridge) in Conoy Township. The village was at the mouth of Conoy Creek on the Susquehanna River in the northwest corner of Lancaster County. The ''Paxtang Path'' ran through here, and two other paths met at Conoy as well. Old Peter's Road went from the village of Conoy (modern Bainbridge) east to the village of Downington in Chester County. The name comes from Peter Bezaillon, who had a trading post and at Conoy by 1719. The road was laid out in 1718 on Bezaillon's
bridle path A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider ...
, which followed an old Native American path. From Bainbridge, the path went northeast through Donegal Springs and Mount Joy to Lancaster Junction, where it forded
Chiques Creek Chiques Creek (known as ''Chickies Creek'' until 2002) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in Lebanon and Lancaster c ...
. Continuing east, it formed the boundary between the following sets of townships: Penn and East Hempfield,
Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...
and Manheim, and West Earl and Upper Leacock. Fording
Conestoga River The Conestoga River (), also referred to as Conestoga Creek (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through t ...
just south of the mouth of
Cocalico Creek Cocalico Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Conestoga River in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, Lebanon and Lancaster County, Pennsy ...
, the path led east to Center Square, Springville, and White Horse. Crossing into Chester County, it passed through Compass, Wagontown, Siousca, and Thorndale, and reached Downington on the East Branch of Brandywine Creek.
U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route of the United States Numbered Highway System, with the highway traveling across the Northern U.S. With a length of , it is the third-longest U.S. Highway, afte ...
,
Pennsylvania Route 340 Pennsylvania Route 340 (PA 340) is a state highway located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Lancaster and Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester counties in Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 462, PA 462 in L ...
,
Pennsylvania Route 897 Pennsylvania Route 897 (PA 897) is a north–south route in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The southern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania, U.S. Route 30 (US 30) in Gap, Pennsylvania, Gap. The northern t ...
,
Pennsylvania Route 283 Pennsylvania Route 283 (PA 283), officially State Route 0300 or SR 0300 due to the presence of Interstate 283 (I-283), is a Controlled-access highway, freeway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It connects Harrisburg ...
, and
Pennsylvania Route 230 Pennsylvania Route 230 (PA 230) is a long state route in central Pennsylvania. Its western terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Route 22 in Pennsylvania, U.S. Route 22 (US 22) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. Its eastern terminus is ...
all follow parts of Old Peter's Road. For a time it was "the main artery between Philadelphia and the west". The Conoy Path led west from modern Bainbridge across the Susquehanna River to modern
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
in
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...
. From Conoy the path followed the ''Paxtang Path'' north to a ford at the Conewago Falls in the Susquehanna River, where it crossed west to York Haven at the mouth of Conewago Creek in York County. There it headed west and slightly north, through Newberrytown, fording
Yellow Breeches Creek Yellow Breeches Creek, also known as Callapatscink Creek, Callapatschink Creek (Lenape for "where it returns") or Shawnee Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed Au ...
into Cumberland County near Lisburn. There it led west through Bowmansdale to the village of Letort's Spring, modern Carlisle. There was a connection there to the east-west ''Allegheny Path'' from Harrisburg to
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. The path is sometimes also known as the ''Conewago Path'' and the part in Lancaster County is sometimes seen as an extension of ''Old Peter's Road''.


Highways


Historical roads


Current highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
PA 741 Truck * * * * *


Airports

The Lancaster Airport was opened on August 17, 1935, with commercial service beginning on March 28, 1949 via All American Airways, now known as
US Airways Express US Airways Express was the brand name for the regional affiliate of US Airways, under which a number of individually owned commuter air carriers and regional airlines operate short and medium haul routes. This code sharing service was previously ...
. Currently operated by The Lancaster Airport Authority, the facility can be found at 500 Airport Road in
Lititz Lititz is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Lancaster. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 9,370. History Lititz was ...
. The airport has had difficulty maintaining commercial service, due to low passenger volume. As of September 2007 commercial flights accounted for only 1 percent of traffic and less than 3 percent of revenue. An 18-month lapse in service occurred in 2003 and 2004. In 2007, the federal government awarded $1.37 million in subsidies (via the
Essential Air Service Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintain commercial service. Its aim is ...
program) to
Air Midwest Air Midwest, Inc., was a Federal Aviation Administration Part 121 certificated air carrier that operated under air carrier certificate number AMWA510A issued on May 15, 1965. It was headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, Wichita, Kansas, United Sta ...
, in an attempt to maintain service. Despite the heavy subsidies,
Air Midwest Air Midwest, Inc., was a Federal Aviation Administration Part 121 certificated air carrier that operated under air carrier certificate number AMWA510A issued on May 15, 1965. It was headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, Wichita, Kansas, United Sta ...
ended service on September 30, 2007, the day that its contract with the Lancaster Airport expired.LancasterOnline.com:News:Local airport commercial flights ending
Smoketown Airport Smoketown Airport is an airport open to the public, located in Smoketown, Pennsylvania, Smoketown, east of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Lancaster, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, USA. The airport ...
, a public airport which serves
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
traffic, is located 6.3 miles (10.1 km) east of Lancaster. Larger and better served airports are within a short distance of Lancaster.
Harrisburg International Airport Harrisburg International Airport is a public airport in Middletown, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Harrisburg. It is owned by the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority., effective September 16, 2022 The airport code MDT r ...
is within a 30-minute Amtrak train ride or a 45-minute drive of the city of Lancaster.
Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary international airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It served 30.8 million passengers annually in 2024, making it the busiest airport in Pennsylvania and the 21st-busies ...
is within a 60-minute Amtrak train ride or a 1-hour, 30 minute drive of the city of Lancaster.


See also

*
List of canals in the United States The following is a list of canals in the United States: Transportation canals in operation This list includes active canals and artificial waterways that are maintained for use by boats. Although some abandoned canals and drainage canals have s ...
*
Transportation in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania has a long and varied history. The area was settled in the mid 1700s. Transportation was mostly using the Susquehanna River and railroad as Williamsport was a travel hub or center for Central Pennsylv ...


References


External links


Pennsylvania Canal SocietyAmerican Canal Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transportation In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Canals in Pennsylvania