With an abundance of raw materials, readily available sources of power, a willing work force, and advantageous location for commerce, York County was destined to become a center of business and industry. The York County Heritage Trust Library/Archives collection includes many original records of local businesses, organizations, and professional people. A grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission made it possible to survey the records, and to identify, arrange and describe them. The project also included the preparation of finding aids, including a database which is available for patron use and summarized here.

The 1999 merger of the Agricultural and Industrial Museum of York County with the Historical Society of York County, forming York County Heritage Trust, made the identification, cataloging, and creation of finding aids of these business records even more imperative. They joined the masses of records already residing in the Historical Society collections. In addition, the machines, from gristmills to wire cloth (screen) looms that go with the records are now on exhibit at the Industrial Museum. More records were acquired through a merger with the Fire Museum of York County. This project made it possible to preserve the correspondence, ledgers, daybooks and sundry materials that document York County's rich history.