York County
York, York County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Formed August 19, 1749 from Lancaster County, it was Pennsylvania's fifth to be established. York, the county seat, was laid out in 1741. Continental Congress met in York, 1777-78. Here it adopted Articles of Confederation; ratified treaties with France.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
York County was Pennsylvania's fifth county when it was formed from Lancaster County in 1749, with its seat laid out eight years earlier. During the Revolution, the Continental Congress fled here and met in York from 1777 to 1778 while the British held Philadelphia. In that interval Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation and ratified the crucial treaties of alliance with France.
Why it matters
For nine months York served as the effective capital of a nation fighting for its life, the place where America drafted its first framework of government and secured the French alliance that helped win independence.
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Related events
- · Continental Congress
- · Articles of Confederation
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Gen. Horatio Gates
York, PA · est. 1949
In 1778, while the Continental Congress sat in nearby York, General Horatio Gates—hero of the American victory at Saratoga and then President of the Board of War—kept his residence here. It was a fraught moment: the so-called "Conway Cabal," a murky swirl of criticism aimed at General Washington's leadership, was said to have unraveled in these rooms, thwarted in part by the young Marquis de Lafayette's steadfast loyalty to the commander-in-chief.
Major John Clark
York, PA · est. 1949
When the Continental Congress fled to York in the fall of 1777, this quiet Pennsylvania town briefly served as the seat of a young nation at war. Major John Clark, who lived on this site, was a trusted Revolutionary officer who served as aide-de-camp to General Nathanael Greene and later as an auditor of the Continental Army — one of the many soldiers and administrators whose unglamorous labor kept Washington's army supplied and solvent.
Hall & Sellers Press
York, PA · est. 1949
On this site stood the first printing press west of the Susquehanna River, operated by the firm of Hall and Sellers. When the Continental Congress fled to York from September 1777 to June 1778, this press turned out government publications and Continental currency for the struggling revolutionary cause. It was during Congress's stay here that the Articles of Confederation were adopted, making York briefly the seat of the young nation.
Gen. Wayne Headquarters
York, PA · est. 1949
This colonial-era building served as the headquarters of General "Mad" Anthony Wayne from February to May of 1781, as his troops waited in York for orders. Those orders would soon send him south to join Lafayette in the Virginia campaign that culminated in the decisive siege of Yorktown. Wayne, a fiery Pennsylvania soldier, was among the most aggressive field commanders of the Continental Army.