Old Courthouse

Completed in 1739, the small brick courthouse of old Lancaster, one of the first in America, stood in the center of the square with a courtroom on the first floor, a council chamber and small storage rooms on the second, leaded glass windows, and a steeple and belfry atop its shingled roof. Every fall for 45 years, English and German churchmen, Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, and Quakers gathered there to elect local officials. On June 15, 1774, citizens met there to protest Parliament's act against Boston and declared that importing and exporting with Great Britain should be halted, and at a public meeting on July 9 they passed eleven resolutions against British oppression. On July 7, 1776, news of the Declaration of Independence reached Lancaster, and the next day it was publicly read from the courthouse steps as local magistrates rushed there, surrendered their commissions, refused to recognize the King, and ordered the royal coat of arms removed from the courtroom. On September 27, 1777, Lancaster became the nation's capital for a day as leaders of the rebellion against England met there to discuss the nation's business while fleeing the British advance to Philadelphia. In June 1784, the courthouse was entirely consumed by fire.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania · United States