White Chimneys Estate celebrates its history with living history event

• Scott LaMar
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Scott LaMar has worked in both radio and television for more than four decades.
  
  Currently, LaMar is the Host and Executive Producer of The Spark program on WITF-FM, 89.5 & 93.3 in Harrisburg, Pa.
  
  Previously, LaMar was WITF TV’s Sr. Public Affairs producer and produced the station’s award-winning weekly public affairs TV program, Smart Talk.
  
  In addition to his on-air duties, LaMar has moderated political candidate debates, including those for candidates running for Pennsylvania governor and the U.S. Senate and was a regular contributor to BBC World News TV before and after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
  
  LaMar often emcees or moderates local events and has gone as far as California to emcee a national event.
  
  The American Society of Civil Engineers honored LaMar with their national Excellence in Journalism award in 2020. He has been nominated for five Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
  
  LaMar and The Spark have been recognized throughout the Central Pennsylvania community including ADVOZ Lancaster’s “Dignity in Dialogue Award”, the South-Central Assembly’s “Regional Citizen Award” and was named a “Humanitarian Hero” by The Humane Society of the United States/Pennsylvania.
  
  A native of Coatesville, Pa., LaMar has also worked as a broadcast news anchor, sports play-by-play announcer and manager.

 Suzette Wenger/LNP/Lancaster OnLine

White Chimneys Estate

Airdate: July 17th, 2023

 

Anyone who travels Route 30 in Gap, Lancaster County has seen the big, beautiful house and farm known as White Chimneys.

One of the most historic structures in south central Pennsylvania, White Chimneys dates back to the early 1700s, when it opened as a tavern.

Jessica Meyer, co-owner of White Chimneys Estate, appeared on The Spark Monday and talked about the estate’s history,”Starting in 1720, the original portion of the house was credited to being built by a gentleman named Francis Jones, who was a Quaker himself and one of William Penn’s purported church members. So he built the first part. And back then taverns were more like (places to) trade. It was where you slept, it was where you got the news, you were safe. So those sorts of things were happening. The next edition on the house was another room, and that was approximately in the 1750s. And at that point, one of Francis Jones’s granddaughters marries a gentleman named Henry Schumacher, which was Anglicized to be Slaymaker. And at that point they took ownership. And it was in the Slaymaker family from 1779 until the year 2000, nine generations and over 200 years.”

Through the years, there have stories that White Chimneys is haunted by ghosts. Meyer takes issue with the word “haunted,” but says,”Whether you call it a heartbeat or a spiritual presence, I can tell you there is a presence here. But we have never had anything negative happen. And it’s not a negative aura or anything like that. We had white smoke at various locations. We often we often hear children playing or we’ll hear some voices and things like that. But I believe that throughout the years, I believe it was a very happy place. And there were many, many great memories that happened here.”

Today’s White Chimney Estates is a wedding and events space as well as a working farm.

This Saturday, White Chimneys will host a living history day that will include a Civil War battle reenactment, house tours, food trucks and fireworks.