Columbia: Museums, History and River Access

When looking for a hotel in Columbia, it helps to start by asking what you want your stay to focus on: the town’s history, the development of timekeeping, or access to the Susquehanna. The museums cover different topics, and Columbia River Park offers water access. Columbia Crossing complements these themes with exhibits, programs and its role as the southern trailhead of a biking and hiking trail.

Historic Houses and the History of Timekeeping

Wright’s Ferry Mansion is a historic house museum dating from 1738 in Columbia. It showcases notable examples of fine and decorative arts, as well as architecture, from before 1750. The restoration of the house aims to depict the years 1700 to 1750 as accurately as possible. This makes a specific historical period the focus, rather than the entire history of Columbia. Visits are available as professionally guided tours, with each tour limited to no more than ten participants. If you plan to visit the house, keep this group size in mind and check the latest visitor information before your visit.

The National Watch & Clock Museum in Columbia has a different focus in terms of both time period and technology. Its collection includes more than 13,000 timepieces from around the world. More than 20 galleries span centuries and display a range of timepieces, from sundials to atomic clocks. The exhibits also cover the development of timekeeping technology, from early nonmechanical devices to modern atomic and radio-controlled clocks. When choosing what to see, you can therefore distinguish between a historical perspective on a house and the arts, and a wide-ranging history of timekeeping.

Columbia’s History and Architectural Heritage

The Columbia Historic Preservation Society and Museum is located in the original English Evangelical Lutheran Church. It houses a model railroad as well as artifacts and publications about Columbia’s history. The HO-scale layout covers 1,000 square feet and depicts Columbia from 1920 to 1940. It offers a different perspective on the town than Wright’s Ferry Mansion: the mansion focuses on depicting the period from 1700 to 1750, while the model railroad shows Columbia during a clearly defined period of the 20th century.

The Columbia Market House is also a historic landmark: it is one of the oldest market houses in Pennsylvania. The Farmers’ Market in the Market House offers freshly prepared meals, fresh farm produce, baked goods, meat, sweets and crafts. The selection therefore extends beyond food. If you also want to shape your trip around local history and market offerings, these places add more specific Columbia themes to the museums.

Visitor Information and Routes Along the Susquehanna

Columbia Crossing is the main visitor information and education center for exploring the Susquehanna Riverlands. It offers exhibits and programs. Columbia Crossing is also the southern trailhead of the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail. For planning your visit, it is worth distinguishing this connection to the trail from the water access at Columbia River Park: these relate to different offerings and routes.

Columbia River Park has a canoe launch, a kayak launch and a boat ramp. The park’s water access is part of the 53-mile lower section of the Susquehanna Water Trail, which is designated a National Recreation Trail. The 53-mile length refers to this lower section of the Water Trail. Together with Columbia Crossing’s information and education offerings, this provides another possible focus besides museums and local history: getting oriented along the Susquehanna and using the designated water access points in the park.

The themes are easy to distinguish when planning your visit: Wright’s Ferry Mansion represents the period from 1700 to 1750, the model railroad depicts Columbia from 1920 to 1940, and the clock museum covers the history of timekeeping over the centuries. This can help you decide whether your interests lie more in architecture and art, local history, timepieces, or access to the Susquehanna.

Discover more destinations: Reinholds, Bird In Hand, Elizabethtown, New Holland, Mt Joy, Smoketown, Lancaster, Mountville.

Go to the main travel overview: Lancaster.