The Vegetable and Fruit Canning Industry in York County
Course | Registration opens 8/4/2025 8:00 AM EST
Beginning in the 1870s and rapidly expanding from the 1890s to the World Wars, the vegetable and fruit canning industry is a relatively underappreciated part of York County's industrial and agricultural heritage. This course will examine the events that led to its establishment and explore the growth of this once important, even critical, industry, including its role in bringing women into the work force. We will study the canning process and look at several of the county's canning factories using photographs, artifacts, documents and videos.
Donald Linebaugh
Dr. Donald Linebaugh is Professor of Historic Preservation at the University of Maryland. He directed the graduate preservation program (2004-2018) and served as interim dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (2018-2021). He received a PhD (American Studies, 1996) and MA (Historical Archaeology, 1982) from the College of William and Mary. Dr. Linebaugh's research interests include industrial history/archaeology, plantation history/archaeology, and local history. He has published numerous books and articles and is currently writing a book on vegetable canning in York Co.