Over Memorial Day, I took a road trip to Pennsylvania, and someplace between Bird-In-Hand and Harrisburg, we drove through a little town along the Susquehanna River called Marietta.  And all of a sudden, I heard bagpipes - a lot of bagpipes and drums.  And I realized that we were about to witness Marietta, Pennsylvania's Memorial Day Parade.  Of course, the guys with the bagpipes had great kilts and funny hats - they looked very Scottish.  I guess that was the idea.  And what fun!  There was a Turkey Hill Ice Cream truck pulling a float with a giant Holstein cow on the back.  The Donegal High School Marching Band lead in the local fire department, the EMT's, a couple of antique cars - a scene that reminded me of a favorite movie, Doc Hollywood. And it seemed that the the everyone in th... 05/27/2014

Price has been reduced another $6,000! Now priced at $129,900!! 606 W Market Street, Marietta PA 17547FANTASTICALLY REMODELED HOME WITH OLD WORLD CHARM; SPACIOUS FAMILY ROOM AND FORMAL DINING ROOM; FRESH PAINT, CARPET, AND FLOORING THROUGHOUT; EXPANDED MASTER SUITE; THIS HOME IS IN MOVE-IN CONDITION! 06/15/2010

Back in the 1980s, I was restoring two homes in Marietta, PA.  One was an 18th century log & stone home, and the other was a Federal mansion that had been cut into apartments, sustained a fire, lost its roof and been condemned.  As the Christmas season approached, I thought it would be good publicity to put them both on the annual Marietta Candlelight Tour of historic homes, even though they were far from finished.   As rough as they still were inside at the time of the tour, I decorated them with greenery and a tree.  I had a display inside the stone & log house showing some of the things I had dug up under the floor, which had needed to be replaced.  There were hand-blown bottles, shards of crockery, and even a rusty Derringer pistol! We received many positive comments from the visito... 12/23/2009

I have written a number of posts about Historic Marietta, PA, including the Christmas Candlelight Tour and the scenic Breezy View Overlook.  One of the reasons Marietta is such a treasure is its remarkably diverse historic architecture. This is a log and stone home I restored in the early 1980s.  The upper log portion of the home is dated 1801.  The earlier stone part of the house was originally a one story building dating from the 1700s, before records were kept in the borough.    The restored Old Town Hall Museum with its working clock tower.  The original jail is underneath the first floor.                                               The restored Union Meeting Hall, built in 1818. Marietta's Center Square.  Formerly the home of Mary Creswell, a member of the Marietta Restoration As... 01/09/2008

On Sunday, December 2, 2007, the 42nd Annual Marietta Candlelight Tour of Homes took place. All week the Borough of Marietta held its breath for the weather report, which had for the previous four or five days been predicting a wintry mix of snow, sleet, ice and and rain.The advance purchase tickets were probably not affected too much, but the on-site day of sale tickets definitely were down due to the dreary start of the day's weather.  As it  turned out, the temperature stayed just above freezing all day, so the on-and-off precipation was all rain - which failed to dampen the spirits of those who came out to appreciate the history and architecture of Marietta! At the Pioneer Fire Company, an antiques show was held.  Refreshments were also available.  The English Presbyterian Church he... 12/03/2007

Vesta Furnace Office, Marietta, PA Marietta, PA has a long and distinguished history going back to the earliest 1800s, when lumber from the north was floated down the Susquehanna River and sawed in its lumber mills.  A good portion of its wealth, reflected even today in its many preserved homes, derived from the iron furnaces that bought the industrial age to our area. The Vesta Furnace, built in 1868, was the last of eight coal-fired blast iron furnaces constructed in the river floodplain between Columbia and Marietta, and the last complete blast furnace built in Lancaster County.  Ore for the furnace came from Cornwall (Lebanon County) and local mines, as well as from Maryland and West Virginia.  The iron produced was shipped to factories in Pittsburgh, Coatesville, and Youngstown, Oh... 09/02/2007

Fabulous 4th Fridays in the Rivertownes - Columbia, Marietta, Wrightsville The Rivertownes of the Susquehanna Valley and Lancaster County PA have been celebrating their heritages this summer during their Fabulous Fourth Friday in the Rivertownes events - held every fourth friday of each month through September 28th.This Friday, July 27th, enjoy a viewing of the movie "Kate and Leopold" will be offered at the National Watch & Clock Museum at 514 Poplar Street in Columbia, PA, in Lancaster County.  Movie night is FREE and OPEN to the public.  There is free popcorn offered!  Seating is limited, so get there early.  Rivertownes PA consists of Columbia and Marietta in Lancaster PA and Wrightsville in York County PA - who have banded together to form an organization dedicated to: "promoting, ... 07/27/2007

The Linden House, Marietta PA: In 1983 I purchased the Linden House in Marietta, PA.  Built ca. 1805 by lumber magnate Henry Cassel, the 6,000 SF mansion had fallen on hard times.  After being unceremoniously chopped up into ten low rent apartments, the roof had been burned off and the house condemned.  The mansion had 606 window panes (yes, I counted them), most of which were broken.  It also had three center halls, fifteen fireplaces including a walk-in fireplace in the summer kitchen, and an ornate fanlight over the front door. Linden House Antiques was just one of the plans I had for the Linden House.  I envisioned an antique dealer cooperative.   My ultimate plan was to restore the mansion and live there in historic Marietta PA, but my ex-wife could not be convinced to give up her ... 06/08/2007

Historic Marietta, PA Marietta, PA started out in colonial days as Anderson's Ferry after a service established in the late 1720s by James Anderson, crossing the Susquehanna river to York County.  Marietta got its name from Anderson's two daughters, Mary and Henrietta.  After the Erie Canal was built between 1825 and 1830 along the river, a thriving lumber trade from the virgin forests of north central Pennsylvania brought wealth to Marietta, and many fine architectural specimens of the homes built during that period still remain. A combination of lumber, lumber mills, and iron furnaces fueled the Marietta economy through the Victorian era, aided by the golden age of the railroad that went along the river.  Until the 1930s, the town thrived.  After the depression of 1929, Marietta was a... 05/12/2007