Lancaster is in danger of invasion! Alarming news has reached Wheatland in Lancaster that the Confederate Army has invaded Pennsylvania! The Rebels have been seen near the bridge at Wrightsville, PA. As you step back to 1863 at Wheatland, you may be stopped by a member of Masonic Lodge 43. Be sure to show him your calling card, tell him you are a friend of the former President, and find out how those at Wheatland are handling this shocking news.

Tours will be offered:

Saturday, September 24

• Standard Tour of Wheatland at 10am and 11am
• Living History Tour at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm

Sunday, September 25

• Living History Tours at 12, 1, 2, and 3pm

We strongly advise making reservations in advance for your tour since tours do fill up and walk-in space is not guaranteed. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your tour so you may use the facilities and check in.

Visit http://www.LancasterHistory.org/events or call 717-392-4633 to purchase your tickets.

Civil War re-enactors from across the region will set up camp, relive, and remember the Burning of the Wrightsville Bridge and the ensuing Battle of Gettysburg. More than a dozen military and civilian tents will dot the landscape as soldiers and civilians display the equipment and accoutrements of a Federal Union Camp. There will be music, food, and plenty of educational displays.

On Saturday evening at 6:30pm, visitors can experience the camps at dusk as you wind through the grounds lit by luminaries and listen to the voices from the past capture life in the camps through story and song. Good walking shoes recommended.

Living History Encampment Hours:

• September 24, 2016 from 10am-8pm  |  Torchlight Tours begin at 6:30pm
• September 25, 2016 from 10am-4pm

This is a free event and open to the public.

Paul Finkelman, Ph.D. will return to LancasterHistory.org to discuss his research on The Pennsylvania Connection: Black Freedom, Reconstruction, & Keystone State Leadership. This year we celebrate the sesquicentennial of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the passage by Congress of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which revolutionized citizenship in America, put the final nail in the coffin of American slavery, and set the stage (ultimately) for the Civil Rights Revolution of the 1960s. With the second largest delegation in the House of Representatives, Pennsylvanians played a major role in Congress during the 1860s. The key player in the struggle to create meaningful civil rights in America was Thaddeus Stevens, who represented Lancaster County in the House of Representatives. Few members of the House are more important in our history—and more controversial—than Stevens.

Learn more about Stevens and why he helped to strengthen America by implementing Lincoln’s call for “A New Birth of Freedom.” Hated by former slave owners, adored by advocates of freedom, and feared by even his colleagues, this lecture argues that he was Lancaster’s greatest contribution to American history.

The Presidential Lecture The Pennsylvania Connection will take place on Thursday, September 8 in Ryder Hall at LancasterHistory.org, 230 N President Avenue. A social gathering with refreshments will begin at 4pm, followed by the lecture at 4:30pm. This event is free and open to the public.

On Saturday night, join us to Celebrate the USO at LHO! Get ready for the big USO Show—a new performance created in partnership with the Ware Center’s Laura Kendall. Starring Jeremy “Bob Hope” Kendall and Robert “Bing Crosby” Bigley, and featuring three of Lancaster’s most talented musical ensembles—the Prima Sisters, Second Hand Suits and Temple Avenue—Celebrate the USO at LHO invites you to relive the magic of USO shows of the past when great entertainers like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and the Andrews Sisters brought joy and humor to our troops around the globe. Cash bar provided by Tellus 360. 

Come early and enjoy a picnic on the lawn before the show. Burgers, hot dogs, and ice cream vendors will be onsite. Tellus 360’s bar opens at 7pm. 

Tickets for the show are $10 per person. Children 10 and under are free to the show. 

Tickets will also be available at door for cash or credit. Please present advance tickets at ticket booth in order to be checked in and receive a wrist band.

The World War II Encampment returns for 2016 with tanks, trucks, tents and troops to recreate the camps of WWII. Explore vintage military vehicles, inspect the weapons, talk with the troops and tour our “Homefront” trailer. A special exhibition of Lancaster WWII artifacts and photographs will be on display in the Stauffer Wing in the main building of LancasterHistory.org.

Hours:

• Saturday, May 21 from 10am – 10pm
• Sunday, May 22 from 10am – 4pm

The Encampment is free and open to all ages. Parking is available on-site for free as well.

The 225th anniversary of President James Buchanan’s birth will be commemorated on April 23, 2016 and will feature the annual presentation of the White House wreath for the President’s grave site at Woodward Hill Cemetery starting at 10 a.m. followed by a Birthday Celebration at Wheatland starting at noon and lasting till 2 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.

The day’s events begin at 10 a.m. at Woodward Hill Cemetery for the Presidential Wreath-Laying Ceremony. The Ceremony includes a historical view about James Buchanan by Brigadier General Timothy J. Hilty. Another special guest is the 15th President’s historic guards, the Lancaster Fencibles; they will present a black powder-gun salute at the Cemetery. The Ceremony concludes with the Presidential Wreath being placed at James Buchanan’s tomb by Brigadier General Timothy J. Hilty with assistance from two Buchanan Elementary School students.

Following the Ceremony the public is invited by the students and PTO of James Buchanan Elementary School to President James Buchanan’s Wheatland for a 225th Birthday Celebration. Free tours of the President’s beloved home, Wheatland, are available from noon until 2 p.m. with a tour beginning every 15 minutes and the last free tour beginning at 1:45. These tours will be led by the Buchanan Elementary School students as they interpret the history of Wheatland, James Buchanan, his family and his life. Enjoy a slice of James Buchanan’s birthday cake with some punch provided through the generosity of the James Buchanan Elementary Parent Teacher Organization (PTO.)