ON THE GROUNDS

Featuring the late-Georgian, circa 1794 General Edward Hand Mansion and the John J. Snyder Jr., Gallery of Early Lancaster County Decorative Arts, Historic Rock Ford is a bucolic, 33-acre estate located along the Conestoga River in the southeast corner of Lancaster City and is surrounded by Lancaster County Central Park.  During your visit, be sure to set aside some time to explore its gated period Kitchen Garden, to view its re-constructed 18th Century stone bank barn and clapboard tenant house, to walk its paths and carefully groomed lawns past the foundation of the old spring house to the upper hill for a great view of the Mansion and grounds.  Be sure to look for monuments both to the farmers and laborers who once worked on the property, to General Hand, and to Robert Fulton, who experimented with prototype models of steamboats in the river at the edge of the grounds.  All the while, keep an eye out for the herds of deer that regularly venture from their home in the woods.   

Although Historic Rock Ford is only minutes away from downtown Lancaster, it allows visitors to enjoy a tranquil journey to a place from both long ago and far away.