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Founding
Founding of York
city in and county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States
- 1741
- North America
Founding
city in and county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States
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York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the tenth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. The city has an urban area population of 238,549 and has a metropolitan area population of 456,449.
Founded in 1741, York served as the temporary base for the Continental Congress from September 1777 to June 1778, during which the Articles of Confederation were drafted. It is the largest city in the York–Hanover metropolitan area, which is also included in the larger Harrisburg–York–Lebanon combined statistical area of the Susquehanna Valley.
York was also known as Yorktown in the mid-18th to early 19th centuries. It was founded in 1741 by settlers from the Philadelphia region and named for the English city of the same name. By 1777, most of the area residents were of German or Scots-Irish descent. It was incorporated as a borough on September 24, 1787, and as a city on January 11, 1887.
York served as the temporary base for the Continental Congress from September 30, 1777, to June 27, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Congress drafted and adopted the Articles of Confederation in York, though they were not ratified until March 1781. Congress met at the Court House that was built in 1754. It was demolished in 1841 and rebuilt in 1976 as Colonial Court House.
York styles itself the first Capital of the United States, although historians generally consider it to be the fourth capital, after Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Lancaster (for one day). The claim arises from the assertion that the Articles of Confederation was the first legal document to refer to the colonies as "the United States of America". The argument depends on whether the Declaration of Independence would be considered a true legal document of the United States, being drafted under and in opposition to British rule. This does not, however, prevent local businesses and organizations in the York area from using the name, such as First Capital Engineering, First Capital EMS, and First Capital Federal Credit Union.
The Conway Cabal was a political intrigue against General George Washington that originated in the Golden Plough Tavern in York.
According to U.S. census reports from 1800 through 1840, York ranked within the nation's top one hundred most populous urban areas.
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), York became the largest Northern town to be occupied by the Confederate army when the division of Major General Jubal Anderson Early spent June 28–30, 1863 in and around the town while the brigade of John B. Gordon marched to the Susquehanna River at Wrightsville and back. Early placed York under tribute status and collected food, supplies, clothing, shoes, and $28,000 in cash from citizens and merchants before departing westward, obeying the revised orders of Robert E. Lee.
The sprawling York U.S. Army Hospital on Penn Commons served thousands of Union soldiers who had been wounded during the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg.
During the Postbellum era (1865–1877), York remained a regional center for local agriculture, but increasingly became an important industrial center, with such industries as steam engines, railroad manufacturing, and papermaking achieving dominant status.
To this day, York still features unique architecture, ranging from colonial era buildings to large gothic churches.
The York Motor Car Co. built Pullman automobiles on North George St. from 1905 through 1917. An early and unique six-wheeled prototype was involved in one of the city's first known automobile accidents. Another model was driven to San Francisco and back during roughly one month to prove its reliability several years prior to the creation of the Lincoln Highway which ran through town, connecting New York City and San Francisco.
The York area had also been home for more than 100 years to the Pfaltzgraff company, which built its first pottery factory in the area in 1895 and continued manufacturing in York until 2005.
Although currently produced by the Hershey Company, the York Peppermint Pattie was created in York in 1940.
Throughout the middle of the 20th century, several incidents of racial prejudice and social injustices occurred in the city. Between 1955 and 1970 there were several racial disturbances, most notably the 1969 York Race Riot, which resulted in the deaths of Lillie Belle Allen and Henry C. Schaad. These murders were largely left ignored until thirty-one years later, when allegations of murder and racial prejudice were raised against the mayor, Charlie Robertson. Additionally, the city commonly held unopposed Ku Klux Klan rallies and public meetings, fostering further racial tension. Though the murders of Allen and Schaad were solved and the perpetrators were apprehended, the actions, which originated back to the beginnings of the hate group, continue to the present day.
In 2002, the city faced a budget shortfall of $1,000,000 (~$1.71 million in 2025). Mayor John S. Brenner's plan to raise the money by asking York County's 302,000 adult residents to donate $3.32 to the city received national attention. The plan, referred to by some as the "Big Mac" Plan, did not raise all of the funds sought.
After many years of attempting to secure funding for a stadium and a baseball team to play in it, the first decade of the century saw York realize both goals. In 2007, Santander Stadium (now WellSpan Park), home of the York Revolution, opened in the Arch Street neighborhood. The stadium, along with other large projects such as the York County Judicial Center and the Codo luxury apartment lofts, have come to symbolize York's extensive redevelopment efforts.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.3 square miles (14 km2), of which 5.2 square miles (13 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (1.14%) is water.
York has a humid continental climate (Dfa) with hot, humid summers and moderately cold winters. The mean annual precipitation total of 41.1 inches (1,040 millimeters) is fairly evenly spread throughout the year, and falls on an average of 126.6 days per annum. Record temperatures from the York COOP range from 107 °F (42 °C), set on July 2, 1901, down to −21 °F (−29 °C), recorded on January 28, 1925, and January 21, 1994; at York Airport, with a considerably shorter period of record, the range is 100 °F (38 °C), set on July 22, 2011, down to −12 °F (−24 °C) as recently as March 6–7, 2015. The York COOP also holds the official statewide 24-hour precipitation record of 13.5 in (340 mm) set on June 22, 1972, due to the impact of Hurricane Agnes.
York is the largest principal city of the York–Hanover–Gettysburg CSA, a Combined Statistical Area that includes the York–Hanover metropolitan area (York County) and the Gettysburg micropolitan area (Adams County), which had a combined population of 473,043 at the 2000 census.
As of the 2020 census, York had a population of 44,800. 38.1% were Hispanic or Latino, 32.4% were non-Hispanic White, 23.1% were non-Hispanic Black, 0.8% were Asian, 0.2% were Native American or Pacific Islander, and 5.4% were mixed or other.
As of the 2020 census, the median age was 32.7 years, 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18, and 11.5% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.7 males age 18 and over.
As of the 2020 census, 100.0% of residents lived in urban areas while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
As of the 2020 census, there were 16,962 households in York, of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 24.4% were married-couple households, 24.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 39.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
As of the 2020 census, there were 19,017 housing units, of which 10.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%.
As of the 2010 census, the city was 51.2% White, 28.0% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 1.2% Asian, and 6.3% were two or more races. 28.5% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.
As of the census of 2000, there were 40,862 people, 16,137 households, and 9,246 families residing in the city. The population density was 7,852.2 inhabitants per square mile (3,031.8/km2). There were 18,534 housing units at an average density of 3,561.6/sq mi (1,375.1/km2).
The racial makeup of the city was 59.75% White, 25.13% African American, 0.42% Native American, 1.40% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 9.40% from other races, and 3.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.19% of the population.
There were 16,137 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of eighteen living with them; 31.0% were married couples living together, 20.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was sixty-five years of age or older.
The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of eighteen, 11.4% from eighteen to twenty-four, 30.1% from twenty-five to forty-four, 19.1% from forty-five to sixty-four, and 10.9% who were sixty-five years of age or older. The median age was thirty-one years.
For every one hundred females, there were 93.0 males. For every one hundred females who were aged eighteen or older, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,475, and the median income for a family was $30,762. Males had a median income of $26,792 compared with $20,612 for females.
The per capita income for the city was $13,439.
Roughly 20.0% of families and 23.8% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 31.8% of those who were under the age of eighteen and 15.8% of those who were aged sixty-five or older.
York was the home of dental equipment and false teeth giant Dentsply Sirona until the company moved its headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2019. Though founded in New York by four men, the company moved its headquarters to the site of its factory in the 1900s, where it was run by one of the four founders, George H. Whiteley. Dentsply Sirona is a NASDAQ listed company, and internationally known throughout the dentistry business.
York Barbell, which is located in Manchester Township, is a reseller of barbells and other equipment for weight training and bodybuilding, and is the home of the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame.
A large Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory, which employs roughly half of Harley's production workforce, is located just northeast of York in Springettsbury Township.
The York area is also home to two major manufacturers of modern hydro-power water turbines, Voith Hydro in West Manchester Township and American Hydro in Hellam Township, both of which manufacture enormous parts in their plants.
Spring Garden Township, directly south of York, is the headquarters to York International, a Johnson Controls Company and one of the largest suppliers of HVAC systems in the United States. On February 2, 1998, a massive explosion occurred at the York International plant. A spark set off a leak in the nearby propane storage house, causing a blast that was felt up to twenty-five miles away, which blew out nearby windows and knocked down doors. Roughly twenty people were injured, and one person was killed in the explosion, which occurred during a shift change.
The Stauffer Biscuit Company, owned by Meiji Seika of Japan since February 2004, which was previously based in York, has produced animal crackers since 1871; it is currently based in Spring Garden Township.
Just north of York in East Manchester Township is one of only four Starbucks roasting facilities in the world.
The York area also boasts a BAE Systems Inc. facility in West Manchester Township which assembles various military tanks and equipment.
The P.H.Glatfelter paper company, founded in 1864, was headquartered in York until mid-2020 when it relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. Glatfelter had sold its nearby Spring Grove paper mill in 2018. The paper mill is now operated by Pixelle Specialty Solutions.
Text from the Wikipedia article “York, Pennsylvania”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.