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The Power Of Local: Why Lancaster County Is a Model for Practicing Public History

Authors: Eric Schubert, Member of the Board of Directors & Executive Committee of the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County; Evan Hanzelman, Vice President of the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County


Andrew Ellicott House Credit HPT of Lanc Co

As the sixth largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania, Lancaster County is historically significant. This is due, in part, to an endless supply of popular tourist destinations and historic adaptive reuse projects. The city still possesses a walkable urban center which emphasizes the integral mission of public history and historic preservation. It is paramount to how history in the county is shared. The county at-large possesses an incredible amount of grassroots historical associations and preservationist groups that are empowered to maintain the historic atmosphere of the city and its rural areas. 

Lancaster County boasts at least twenty-two official township and borough historic societies/commissions. There is Lancaster History (the county historical society), a historical society solely dedicated to Mennonite history (Mennonite Life), and an organization dedicated to preservation (Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County). Lancaster, its residents, and its scholars ensure that history remains strong at a local level simply by keeping it in the spotlight. This is through events, public-private partnership to sponsor said events, and even the long-running local history column, The Scribbler. The column only recently winded down and brought local history into the spotlight nearly every week. 

Along with various active historical societies that propose speaker series, sponsored events, and county-wide meetings, township libraries also regularly feature history programs and guest speakers from local universities or various experts. These topics included an assortment of historic subjects. No matter your location within the county, you are able to be engaged in local history and gain an appreciation of the county itself through a variety of modalities and groups. Whether it be the public library or one of the many private organizations focused on preservation and public history, there is something to learn!

Striving to keep history in the county not also just alive, but preserved and thriving, includes preservationist groups. They spearhead the difficult trials of protecting historical landmarks in an ever-changing landscape, and encouraging maintenance of historic districts throughout the county. Lancaster has a unique combination of preservation groups, with the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster founded to champion the preservation and integrity of historic homes, along with the Lancaster Farmland Trust to protect the farmland that made Lancaster such a desirable place for early settlers and all residents alike, such as the Scotch-Irish, Amish, Brethren, and Mennonite. The Conestoga-Susquehannock Tribe is also visible more in Lancaster County public history work lately, as they push back on the 1763 “extinction” narrative. It’s part of a broader shift towards incorporating more narratives into how the county interprets its past.

Lancaster City at Central Market. Credit Gabe McMullen.

Paired with the societies and groups are many actual historic sites and popular destinations. Here, not just county residents but tourists can explore them to unravel more about Lancaster’s past. These include historic Wheatland, the home of president James Buchanan, and the soon to be complete Stevens and Smith Center championed by the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County and LancasterHistory where residents downtown can learn more about abolitionist and U.S. senator Thaddeus Stevens. There is even Historic Rock Ford, the home of General Edward Hand of the Continental Army. 

Lancaster city is even home to one of the few markers on the Lewis and Clark Trail east of the Mississippi River at the Andrew Ellicott House. This house is even the current home of the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County. Here, Meriwether Lewis was trained in surveying before departing on his great expedition. With Presidents, Presidential Connections, Revolutionary War connections, America250 connections, Lancaster County is simply chock full of historic structures and places. These are all lucky enough to be championed by individuals passionate about sharing their stories. This combination keeps history alive. 

All of these local organizations guarantee that Lancaster County residents for years to come have the opportunity to always be engaged in local and public history, the opportunity to participate, the opportunity to learn, and promote it. Lancaster County is a model for practicing public history for a variety of reasons. These include active historic review boards, commissions, and historic districts which keep the historic character alive; large-scale adaptive reuse projects promoted throughout the county; preservation of Conestoga-Susquehannock, Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren culture especially which continues to draw tourism;  preservation of the unique landscape and farmland; accessibility of records and interest in genealogy; the ever-changing list of speaker series, presentations, and exhibits; the list goes on. It is an assortment of grassroots groups determined to keep history at the forefront in such a unique and historically important county. Public history works in Lancaster County because many different moving parts bridge together to inform, educate, promote, and preserve.


Eric Schubert is an internationally recognized genealogist and forensic genetic genealogist, and as a White-House Historical Association Next-Gen Leader, his public history work and nationally-featured research focuses on topics like Presidential history as well as local biography of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Elizabethtown College with a B.A. in History and a graduate of Millersville University of Pennsylvania (2026) with an M.A. in History, he is currently on the Board of  Directors and Executive Committee of The Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County and wrote the award-winning documentary The Prospect for Freedom: W. Miller Barbour’s Human Rights Journey.
ESGenealogy.com
espublichistory.wordpress.com/work

Evan Hanzelman is the vice president of the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County. His focus is to promote appreciation of local architecture and historic preservation with the public of Lancaster and Pennsylvania as a whole, while also researching local prominent historical figures with a focus on people during the American Revolution and the Civil War.
Bridging Editor
Bridging Editor
Cassandra is a public historian, artist, and teacher in the History & Classics Department at Dawson College, in Montreal, QC.… Read more

OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Bridging Editor (May 19, 2026). The Power Of Local: Why Lancaster County Is a Model for Practicing Public History. IFPH-FIHP. Retrieved June 9, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/168md


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