Riding of the Rails - York, PA
N 39° 57.672 W 076° 43.928
18S E 352058 N 4424887
This Civil War interpretive is part of a wonderful series called Pennsylvania Civil War Trails. This beautiful interpretive is located on historic Lincoln Highway, in front of the reconstructed Colonial Courthouse (ca 1976).
Waymark Code: WM9C7P
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/30/2010
Views: 5
To learn more about this program and to view the other interpretives go HERE. The sign is bolted on the sidewalk, on an angle, facing the courthouse. It is one foot from the curb and the Lincoln Highway. There are many of these signs and historic events and places featured along the Lincoln Highway. Although the events portrayed in this interpretive predate the Highway by almost fifty years, this events and all the other which occurred on this stretch of road may be part of the reason this street was part of the Lincoln Highway.
This Civil War interpretive tells how the Northern Central Railroad played an important role in the war between the states. To the west of this sign about 25 feet or so and intersecting the Lincoln Highway is the railroad featured in the sign. The tracks are not there in this particular spot but further down the line the tracks are there. Today the site and the rest of the rail line is called the Heritage Rail Trail County Park.
Established in 1992 and covering 176 acres, the Heritage Rail Trail County Park is 21 miles long and runs north from the Mason Dixon line just south of the Borough of New Freedom through Glen Rock, Hanover Junction, and Seven Valleys in the Colonial Courthouse in the City of York. The trail connects to Maryland's 20-mile long Northern Central Railroad Trail. In addition to the Colonial Courthouse ( the site of this waymark), three historic structures are located on the trail; Hanover Junction and New Freedom Train Stations and Howard Tunnel. All of these structures are mentioned in the interpretive.
Railroads, like the Northern Central, were the major conduit for troops and supplies from the North. As such, they made tempting targets for the Confederate cavalry. The sign reads:
The Northern Central Railway was a major conduit for the transportation of troops and supplies from the North to the Virginia Theater. Early in the Civil War, raiding parties destroyed bridges along the Northern Central Railway just south of York County in Maryland. To respond to this threat, the York Rifles and Worth Infantry from York were ordered to Baltimore County and positioned to guard the railroad. Over the next several weeks, thousands of troops arrived in York, many by rail, and were stationed at Camp Scott, located at the York Fairgrounds, southeast of downtown.
In the days leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate cavalry destroyed railroad bridges around York, isolating the community. After the battle, damaged bridges were repaired, and more than 15,580 wounded soldiers were processed through Hanover Junction's rail station, located 10.6 miles south of this point. More than 1,000 wounded were brought to York by the railroad. York County's Heritage Rail-Trail passes through here and extends southward to the Mason-Dixon Line. In addition to hanover Junction, trail users can visit Howard Tunnel, one of the oldest rail tunnels in the world. This tunnel was guarded by the Pennsylvania Militia during the war.
Address
Colonial Courthouse
Heritage Rail-Trail at Codorus Creek
YORK, PA, 17315