Dallastown Historical Cutouts Tour

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Dallastown Historical Society 118 East Main Street Dallastown PA
Prepared for the 2024 York History Center Passport to History Program
Dallastown Collectible Cutouts Walking Tour

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Visit each of the eight sites in order.
• Start at 118 East Main Street for Site 1. Travel east to Pleasant Avenue and cross Main Street for Site 2. Travel west for Sites 3 and 4. Cross Main Street and travel east for the remaining sites.
• Read about the building’s history as you arrive at each site.
• Record the letter for each site you visit under Passport Instructions on the back of this sheet.

1. DALLASTOWN FIRE ENGINE HOUSE at 118 East Main Street

This two-story brick building was constructed beginning in 1913 and dedicated in June, 1914. Dallastown Rescue Fire Company #1 used the Engine House from 1914-1981. The first floor was used to house the company’s trucks and fire-fighting equipment. A sizable kitchen was located at the rear of the first floor. The second floor had several meeting rooms, a recreation room, Chief Burgess’ office and restrooms. Since 1982, the building has been used as Dallastown Borough Hall. The Dallastown Area Historical Society began its residence in this historically important structure in 2000.

2. MINNICH HOUSE at 157 E. Main Street

This Second Empire style home was built for John W. Minnich in the 1880s. This beautifully ornate wooden home had additions of an arts & crafts library and a kitchen added in the 1900s, giving it an irregular floor plan. A carriage house is also on the property. It contained two horse stalls and was also used to store carriages, sleighs, hay, straw and grain. At various times some of the servants also lived in the carriage house. John W. Minnich was the president of the First National Bank in Dallastown and the owner of Minnich’s Cigar Factory. The home was occupied continuously by the Minnich Family until 1998. The current owners are lovingly restoring the home to its former glory. Their progress is reported on The Minnich House Facebook page.

3. FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF DALLASTOWN at 45 East Main Street

The first stockholders meeting of the First National Bank of Dallastown on January 29, 1903, elected J. W. Minnich as president. The bank opened March 17, 1903, operating out of two rented rooms in the home of Dr. A.M. Grove. Construction of the new brick building with white marble front at this location was completed in 1904. In 1925, a one story addition was built onto the rear of the bank and a modern vault was installed with the safe door purchased from York Safe and Lock. In 1927, the name was changed to the First National Bank and Trust Company of Dallastown. Bank ownership changed four times since then: in 1942 to the First National Bank of York, in 1969 to Commonwealth National Bank, in 1985 to Mellon Bank, and in 2003 to Citizens Financial Group. In 2009, Citizens closed the bank. The bank’s façade was changed numerous times during its years of its service to the community. Currently, Krua Thai Café occupies this site. This cutout image is circa 1903-1924.

4. COMMERCIAL HOTEL at 1 East Main Street

This three story brick structure once known as the Commercial Hotel, was built in 1843 by Simon Plymire. In itsearly days, the hotel provided a pool room, restaurant, and wet bar for lodgers and a livery stable to the rear fortravelers’ horses. It also originally had a front porch and a pantry attached to the building’s rear. Ed Wagmanpurchased the building in 1925 from George Jacobs. During this period the hotel had a pool hall, cigar store, andrestaurant on the first floor. It also housed a shoe repair shop owned by Tony DiLeo. After the Wagman family soldthe building to Philip and Diva Rojahn, in the late 1950’s, the pool hall closed and the upper floors were made intoapartments. Thereafter, Mervin Shue had a drugstore and card shop on the first floor of the building. The Rojahn’salso had a music store on the first floor. The card shop was later sold and became Charles Snyder’s Dallas Cut-Rate. After Snyder’s death in the mid 1980’s, the entire building became apartments.

5. FIFE’S GROCERY STORE at 2 East Main Street

The original building on this site was built in the late 19th century by Jacob and Ben Spatz as a family home. At theturn of the 20th century the family moved to the second floor and the first floor of the building began to be used forvarious businesses. Over the years, Jacob and Nettie Eberly had a restaurant there; Lee Warner ran a pool hall; LeeWarner and Arthur Lecrone had an ice cream parlor; and Tony DiLeo had a shoemaker shop. The property waspurchased in 1940 by Winfield R. Fife to be used as a grocery store. New additions to the building were added to theback in 1953, and the front in 1954, as Fife’s Food Market expanded its business space. The Fife family ran thegrocery store business from the 1940’s until 1978. Although the grocery store changed hands several times, Fife’sGrocery store remained a staple of Dallastown business until 1986 when the doors closed for good. At that time,the first floor of the building became a hair salon for a few years. It began its current incarnation as Roma’s Pizza in 1995.

6. DALLAS THEATRE at 16 East Main Street

The Dallas Theatre was built in 1927 by Augustus Wagman. Silent movies were originally shown there,accompanied by a pianist positioned in an orchestra pit. Wagman sold the theatre to Louis Appell after talkingfilms came into vogue and he couldn’t afford to convert the projection room to accommodate the new technology.Turned into a bowling alley in the late 1930s, the building was closed during World War II. It reopened as a movietheatre by 1946. Robert Good purchased the theatre in 1960 from Mark Rubinsky. In 1974 Barry Hivner leased thetheatre and began showing films on weekends. Mike Delone purchased it in 1998 and James Ahonen in 2003. Thetheater was sold to Calvin Weary, CEO of Weary Arts Group in 2021 for use as a live performance venue. The Dallasis depicted in this cutout as it appeared during the late 1940s.

7. SECHRIST BROTHERS, INC. at 32 East Main Street

A butcher shop has been in business at this site since Jacob Sechrist founded the company in 1877. In 1899,Jacob sold the business to two of his sons, Harry and William, at which time the business became H.S. Sechrist &Brother. In 1921, Harry and William took younger brother George into the firm and changed the company’s name tothe present Sechrist Brothers. George Sechrist, Jr. became the owner in 1950. Since 2000, George III and Jacob IIhave run the company. The firm’s variety of franks, sausage and bologna are sold in stores throughout theSusquehanna Valley. Sechrist Brothers won Grand Champion Honors for their franks in 1993 and 1995 at theAmerican Cured Meats Competition. The Sechrist family has operated Sechrist Brothers in Dallastown for over146 consecutive years. The cutout image of the Sechrist Brothers store depicted here is from 1949.

8. GLATFELTER FURNITURE at 84 East Main Street

This three story brick structure was built by Wilson F. Glatfelter in 1884. In 1899, a substantial addition wasconstructed on the front of the store. On February 2, 1940, the original or rear portion of the store, which was offrame construction, was entirely destroyed by fire. The front portion survived due to metal fire doors that had beenplaced between the old and new sections of the building. Shortly after the fire, a new masonry building waserected in its place. The store remained in the Glatfelter family until 1953, when it was sold to John A. Waltersdorfand Daniel S. Smyser, then to Donald K. Smyser and Leon Livingston in 1978. Since the 1950’s, Santa Claus hadbeen displayed in the front store window at Christmastime. On May 11, 2006 the building again was the victim of afire. Smoke damage caused a complete loss of all displayed furniture. The building was thereafter restored andwas again opened for business. Upon its closing in 2023, it was one of the oldest continually operated furniturestores in Pennsylvania. In 2024, the building was sold to Ilyes Holdings LLC to be made into apartments.