Seniors Explore Historic Lewisburg

This senior enjoys collecting the names of neat cities almost daily from a wide selection of resources. While when it comes time to write a blog on a particular city, I may not remember why it is on my travel bucket list, but I can usually surmise why as soon as I start to explore the city, just as it was for Lewisburg.

Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, 60 miles north of Harrisburg on the beautiful Susquehanna River. Historically it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region.

Today it  is home to Bucknell University and is near the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. Its 19th-century downtown was recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Borough of Lewisburg is what some historians have classified as a “Pennsylvania Town”, a distinct town layout developed in Colonial Pennsylvania.

Seniors Stroll The Downtown Historical District

Senior visitors, plan to stroll around the downtown historical district where you will find specialty shops, bistros, pubs, and restaurants to suit all palates. The historic district has numerous buildings and homes with a Victorian architectural style from times gone by.

Lewisburg’s Historic District was created in 1985. The district encompasses most of the Borough and a large portion of the Bucknell University campus. The District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, consists of 871 contributing historic buildings, structures and sites.

Downtown Lewisburg features six blocks of beautiful, historic, commercial and residential architecture. The Campus Theatre and the Lewisburg Hotel are two stand-out examples. The Theater, located in the heart of downtown Lewisburg, is one of the few remaining single screen Art Deco movie palaces in the country.

Seniors Enjoy Strolling Through The Community

My wife would want to visit the three historic museums: Packwood House, Silfer House and the Engle House. Each is stuffed with history and authenticity. Then she and I would take a stroll through the attractive campus of Bucknell University that is a huge part of the community.

Founded in 1784 by Ludwig Derr, the area was then called Derrstown. Much has been considered regarding ‘how’ the name changed from Derrstown to Lewisburg. The most likely is that Derr’s first name “Ludwig” translated into English as “Louis” but, being of German descent, it was spelled “Lewis”.

Later, after Derr’s death, the traditional germanic “burg” was appended to his first name to create Lewisburg.  I have one video to share with you on Lewisburg. I turned down the sound and enlarged by screen and enjoyed the many views of a fascinating town bursting with old-time charm. I hope that you enjoy the scenes of the borough as well. -jeb