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Western All the attractions of Pennsylvania Dutch Country are at hand from a base in western Lancaster County. The tour buses head to Bird-in-Hand, Paradise, Intercourse and such; we prefer the more staid, picturesque towns of Ephrata and Lititz. Hershey and Gettysburg attractions are nearby. A new heritage tour and map, called River Towns and Roadside Stops, suggests a sightseeing route to some of this area’s historical sites. The map is available at most inns and attractions. The recommended route provides an overview of western Lancaster County as well as a close-up look at specific points of interest. The Watch and Clock Museum, 514 Poplar St., Columbia. Wright's Ferry Mansion, 38 South Second St., Columbia. Chickies Rock County Park, Route 441, Chickies. Good hiking trails lead to the edge of the cliffs and what one enthusiast advises are a couple of the best overlooks in the East, high above the Susquehanna. Named for a native tribe that once lived here, the park won the award for "best view" in a Lancaster County magazine poll. In 1997, the fledgling Starview Brewing Co., brewers of Chickies Rock Cream Ale, bought the old iron furnace along Furnace Road beneath Chickies Rock and planned to open a brew pub and restaurant. Walking Tour of Marietta. Two and a half miles long and three blocks wide, this town of 2,700 grew up along the Susquehanna River. Basically unchanged from the 18th century, its eight-block center representing nearly half the town was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a well-preserved example of a 19th-century industrial town. In 1997, the town received honorable mention for "exceptional aesthetic merit" in a Prettiest Painted Places in America contest. Two of the oldest-looking buildings we’ve seen, early log structures, stand out along East and West Market streets. A map with a detailed guide to 90 historic places is published by the Marietta Restoration Associates, which sponsors a popular candlelight house tour the first Sunday in December. There's also a walking path along the river. One of the nation's largest Wurlitzer pipe organs is played for concerts prior to film showings at the movie theater in Marietta. Nissley Vineyards, 140 Vintage Drive, Bainbridge. Shopping. For real Pennsylvania Dutch flavor, you need head no farther than The Country Store, 906 Mount Joy-Manheim Road, Mount Joy. The Mennonites run – and also patronize – this place, where you'll find all kinds of bulk foods, cheeses, luncheon meats, pretzels, apple butter and Martin's handcooked potato chips, which we hear are the very best. Oh yes, you’ll also find baseball cards and inspirational music tapes. Otherwise, western Lancaster County is not prime shopping territory, the eastern part of the county having cornered the market. Mount Joy’s strung-out downtown includes Room with a View, an interiors and gift shop, and Elizabeth’s, an upscale women’s apparel store. We liked all the handmade dolls and wreaths among the gifts and collectibles offered by Althea Johnson at her large Country Haus Gift Shop, located in her home at 558 East High St., Elizabethtown. In Columbia, Hinkle’s combines a pharmacy, restaurant and gift shop of the old school. C.A. Herr Family Hardware is a three-story jumble where the basic hardware has been supplemented by household goods, work clothes and even a toy train display. It's been augmented by the C.A. Herr Annex, a co-op space that spreads antiques and collectibles through three buildings. The Susquehanna Glass outlet store also has a clearance center for extra savings; area innkeepers have had their B&B glasses engraved with their logo here. The Poplar Street School for the Arts includes an emerging crafts co-op and gallery. Across the Susquehanna River in Wrightsville is the John Wright Warehouse, host to changing enterprises, among them the large Country Store and the Riverside Foundry restaurant, a casual place for breakfast or lunch on a canopied terrace beside the river. Farmers’ Markets. Shopping for local foods and crafts is usually best at farmers’ markets, and Lancaster County markets are some of the best. Locals tout the Columbia Market House at Third and Locust Streets, built in 1869 and operating continuously since. Visitors can tour the dungeon underneath, originally storage space for farmers and the borough's lockup for drunks and felons during the Gay 90s. Also worth a look is the old opera house next door, newly restored as a municipal building. The market here operates Fridays from 7 to 4 and Saturdays from 7 to noon. Columbia’s market was surprisingly empty the Friday morning we were there, and seemed to stress crafts more than food. For the real thing, we headed to our favorite Central Market, a fixture on downtown Lancaster’s Penn Square. The nation's oldest publicly owned, continuously operating farmers market is a wonderful sight to behold, smell and taste. The Amish and Mennonites are much in evidence. So are such other local luminaries as a bake shop once owned by a fancy Lancaster restaurant, whose luscious-looking fruit tarts were sandwiched between Mumms hand-rolled and twisted pretzels and Amos M. Barr produce. We picked up salads, breads and cheeses for a ready-made picnic from Plum Street Gourmet, the Baker’s Corner and Marion Cheese. Open Tuesday and Friday 6 to 4:30, Saturday 6 to 2. Extra-Special Le Petit Museum of Musical Boxes, 255 West Market St., Marietta. After David Thompson and George Haddad sold their gift shop and old country store in northern New Jersey and retired to Marietta, they found they missed their customers. Their trim green brick Federal townhouse also was overflowing with antique treasures they wanted to share. So in 1994 they opened a museum in their home. The name is a bit of a misnomer. The museum is not particularly petite and the 76 music boxes represent only the tip of the iceberg. Visitors will find such remarkable collections of New England art glass, clocks, Bennington pottery, baskets, toys, china and more tastefully displayed throughout the main floor that a special exhibit is mounted for each collection once a month. "Visitors are stunned – they're not ready for so much," says David. In the library he points out a rare American horse trough basket and a painting of Westminster Abbey that chimes. The largest Swiss 1896 disc musical box resides in the living room next to the museum's smallest music box, hidden in an album on a table. Lift the bread basket on the dining room table and it plays. Ditto for the seat on a child’s chair and the statue of an inebriated man leaning against a lamp post, whistling "Show me the way to go home." The star of the collection is now a seven-foot-high Regina music box, the largest ever made in America. There's so much in this fascinating house museum that David guides up to eight people through on hourly tours, while George is at work downstairs producing their own antique music boxes for sale. (717) 426-1154. Open March-December, Saturday and Monday 10 to 4, Sunday noon to 4. Adults, $4. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places / Mid-Atlantic, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2003. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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