Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad Bridge at Pine Creek, Circa 1830

Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad Bridge at Pine Creek, Circa 1830. . 1827 -- Land is surveyed between Philadelphia and Columbia, Lancaster County for a new transportation system to open the state's interior to settlement and commerce. The goal is to link Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and compete with New York's Erie Canal., 1828 -- Pennsylvania legislature abandons plans for a canal on advice of surveyors John A. Wilson, his son W. Hassell Wilson and J. Edgar Thomson, later president of Pennsylvania Railroad, chartering what becomes the second railroad line in the United States: the 82-mile Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad., 1831 to 1834 -- Skilled masons quarry stone nearby to build this bridge over Pine Creek dividing Lancaster and Chester counties., 1833 -- Entrepreneur William Noble builds a foundry here. The stone arch partially dams the creek, so the waterflow powers his works. The bridge appears in the factory illustration here at right. It remains as one of the last spans of its kind from this era., April 16, 1834 -- Locomotive "Black Hawk" is the first locomotive engine to cross this bridge: leaving Lancaster at 8 AM with state legislators and others, arriving in Philadelphia at 4:30 PM., 1838 -- Black business owners Stephen Smith and William Whipper of Columbia, Lancaster County modify their lumber freight cars with secret compartments to transport formerly enslaved Africans to Philadelphia, making this rail line a fast and relatively safe route on what has become known as The Underground Railroad., 1846 -- P&CRR reorganizes into Pennsylvania Railroad, prioritizing speed and efficiency., 1854 -- Track is removed from the bridge and the line shifted to the current right of way., 2010 -- National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom recognizes the present Amtrak line from Lancaster to Philadelphia as a mid-19th century pathway of the Underground Railroad., For more information and source citations https://nrhs.com/chapters/pennsylvania/lancaster/ or....[pattern], [Upper left] , John A. Wilson , 1789-1833, [Center bottom] , Christiana Machine Company Works, 1880, This commemorative marker sponsored by the Lancaster Chapter---National Railway Historical Society. Dedicated September, 2020. , Installation site courtesy of Charles Bond Co., oldest continually-operating manufacturing business in Lancaster County. Research and design by Randolph Harris and Joshua Sholt/ Lancaster, PA.