In 1738 an English Quaker settler named John Griest built a two-story limestone blockhouse which became the Old York Inn. The Inn stood centrally located between roads south to Maryland and east to Lancaster. It holds a historically significant position as a favorite meeting house for the members of the Continental Congress in 1777-78.
Abraham Hiestand bought the Inn in the 1790's. He used an arched cellar under the oldest part of the building to hide the runaways. There was obviously danger in concealing fugitive slaves in such a public place. The means of entry into the cellar remains a question although, there were air outlets in the walls which may indicate that the cellar once had an exterior entry which was removed by building expansion.
View of the Inn from Route 462.
A curious, older view of the Inn which has been enhanced with cut-outs of a Conestoga
wagon and a cavalry escort.
A view of the cellar of the Inn. In both shape and size (estimated from the size of the
chair at right) the cellar was remarkably similar to the hidden cellar of the
William Goodridge
House Elmwood Mansion Griest/Kirk House Willis House Buttonwood Tree House Old York Valley Inn Wrightsville/Columbia
Bridge Mifflin House
