East King Street's Aquilla Howard School, named after the early black leader of York, was one of two segregated elementary schools opened in 1931 to educate Southern black people who had come north for jobs in industrial York. Smallwood School was the other. It was sold in 1962 and later demolished. Background posts: A short test of your black history knowledge, Freedman Aquilla Howard kisses earth as canal boat passed Mason-Dixon Line and York, Pa.'s Crispus Attucks Center scores intriguing start.

Shirley Proctor Poindexter, SPPoind1171@aol.com, wrote with questions about Aquilla Howard, the freedman, honored as York's representative to place flowers on the bier of Abraham Lincoln's funeral train, and a longtime superintendent of York's A.M.E. Zion Church.

He came to York in about 1856 and died at the age of 87 in 1923.

Posted in Black history Books & reading Civil War Explanations/controversy Famous York visitors For photo fans Genealogy/research Local journalism & Web Local landmarks Mail bag Nostalgia & memories People Presidential stops School days War York Town Square

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Davy Crockett and other luminaries visited Charles Barnitz's Springdale Mansion after its opening in 1828. Crockett did not impress certain members of the Barnitz household. Background posts: Exploring ornate Springdale Mansion, Imagine: 70-foot boat navigated York County's Codorus Creek and Who were York County's most influential citizens, Part I.

Maureen Beattie of Longmeadow, Mass., found an old letter - and part of a York County legend - at a garage sale.

She e-mailed with these details:

It is addressed to Mary M. Barnitz, c/o Herman Cope Esq., Cincinnatti, Ohio. Handwritten above the addressee is 'free C.A. Barnitz". The body of the letter is in tatters, but there is one whole area that says: ...

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This photo shows the York County Academy, a forerunner to York College of Pennsylvania, in 1922. A recent book about York College is recommended summer reading. (See additional photo of academy's gym below.) Background posts: Two 'connectors' would make list of York County's most influential, Striking architecture lined York's South Duke Street, Cuban expert Jim Higgins: 'He was just another journalist ... with opinions', From Manchester to St. Augustine .

My York Sunday News column dealt with the importance of reading, including reading books that help explain the area in which we live.

I put forth the following titles as possibilities for your summer reading list. See what you think. ...

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A slow-moving tractor tows bales of hay along Grandview Road in Jackson Township in 2007. The township has long been agricultural in nature. "The land of Jackson Township is fertile and productive, and its owners are industrious and prosperous," historian George Prowell wrote in 1907. But the township's location along the turnpike - later the Lincoln Highway and Route 30 - and the Western Maryland Railroad also meant it has played host to its share of industry. Soon, an Arm & Hammer plant is expected to operate there. Background posts: Part of York County's past goes on the auction block, York County railroading: 'Something that gets in your blood' and Old Lincoln Highway pulled 'Americans out of the mud'.

Jackson Township, carved from Paradise Township in 1857, is slated to be home to a new Arm & Hammer laundry detergent plant and distribution center.

Though a longtime farming township with a productive limestone and red shale soil, its position along the former York-Gettysburg Turnpike and the presence of the Western Maryland Railroad meant that businesses have long been operated there... .

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During a visit to the area last week, David Whelchel stopped at the monument to his great-grandfather Lt. Gen. James Longstreet at the battlefield in Gettysburg. Whelchel is married to a York County native. Background links: Local Civil War Roundtable gets new digs, Noted writer to blog on local Civil War scene and Unsung farmhouse loud symbol of a shaping moment for York.

Jubal A. Early commanded the 6,000-plus Confederates who overran the York area and reached the banks of the Susquehanna River in Wrightsville in late June 1863.

He was part of Richard Ewell's corps.

James Longstreet was another of Robert E. Lee's corps commanders (A.P. Hill was the third.)

Longstreet's men never made it farther east than Cemetery Ridge during Pickett's charge, also known as Longstreet's assault, during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Had Longstreet's men broken through and won the battle, they might have kept going east to York County on their way to capture Harrisburg, the prized Northern state capital... .

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Riders on York County's rail trail glide past the venerable Glen Rock Mill Inn. The mill greeted numerous luminaries passing through the southern York County town when the Northern Central Railroad operated. That included Abraham Lincoln on his way to and from Gettysburg and Lincoln's funeral train. Background posts: Parade Music Prince Roland Seitz: From Shrewsbury Township to Friday Night Lights, Is mystery railroad the old Shrewsbury narrow gauge?, 'Rocks in the Glen' turns into town where things happen

But still, Glen Rock was a mill town... .

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The Confederate raid on Chambersburg on July 30, 1864, resulted in the fiery destruction of more than 500 buildings. It was a retaliation, the Confederates argued, for similar Union action on Virginia soil. To celebrate its Civil War heritage, Chambersburg sponsors an annual series of Civil War lectures, including an annual Lincoln Symposium May 16-17. Background posts: Mayor of York, Pa.: 'We are no longer unprotected' , Was York's surrender justified? and Rebel invaders put off by earthy Pennsylvania women.

People sometimes think the Confederate burning of Chambersburg and the rebels' occupation of York happened in the summer of 1863.

The rebels actually torched Chambersburg in the summer of 1864, something they threatened to do in York during their Gettysburg campaign the previous summer.

The same general extorted threatened to burn York and consummated the act in Chambersburg... .

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Dallastown artist Lorann Jacobs' newest sculpture in York shows Brooks Robinson signing autographs on the plaza outside York, Pa.'s, Sovereign Bank Stadium. York is ahead of Baltimore in honoring Brooks. Background posts: Sculptor molds York, Pa.'s past for posterity, Old York, Pa., lefty remembers young Brooks Robinson, and York County sports museum a miniature Cooperstown.

About 8,000 fans have walked across Brooks Robinson Plaza and passed the statue of the O's legend on their way to the two York Revs games this season.

The statue, sculpted by the prolific Lorann Jacobs, reminds fans that Brooks started his professional career in York.

But no such reminder stands in Baltimore, where Brooks spent his entire major league career... .

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Democrat Hillary Clinton won Pennsylvania and York County by about the same 55-45 percent margin in last week's primary. Her York, Pa., headquarters, seen here, were bustling prior to the primary. How she or Barack Obama would fare against John McCain in York County will be a matter of much discussion in upcoming months. Background posts:People still remember Hillary Clinton's visit to York County, Historians, journalists draw on work of forebears and York County historical community to miss Carl Hatch.

A critic of my York Sunday News column "York County: A model of moderation" wrote, "Dig a little deeper, and enough of the Rah, Rah York crap already!" ... .

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Hundreds crowded the intersection of Beaver and West Market streets to see Hillary Clinton the Saturday before the primary. Background posts: Why did JFK lose to Richard Nixon, Historians, journalists benefit from work of their forebears and People still remember Hillary Clinton's first York visit.

What does Democrat Hillary Clinton's win in York County primary voting say about county voters?

If you believe the conclusions of York County researchers, one could contend that Clinton did a better job of seizing the middle in the minds of local voters... .

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