Property Research 

Uncovering the history of your home can be very interesting and rewarding. Determining this story requires detective work and research that can not be taken lightly. The Library & Archives of the York County Heritage Trust has numerous sources that may be used in finding property information. It is first recommended that the researcher develop a lineage of previous owners by researching property deeds. It is important to realize first and foremost that not all deeds have been recorded. However, all recorded deeds beginning in 1749 are found at the York County Archives located at 150 Pleasant Acres Road in York. The grantor and grantee indexes of the York County Deed books from 1749 until 1943 are searchable on their website.

Go to the York County Archives website

The York County Heritage Trust also has copies on microfilm of these deeds from 1749 - 1850 but it may be necessary to begin with recent property transfers and work backwards. It will be these names and dates that will become the "keys" to use with the sources found in the YCHT library & Archives. The Trust staff has a created a guide of the materials available at our facility.

Click here to view guide

For restoration and architectural information contact the experts at Historic York, Inc. Historic York, Inc. is a private non-profit historic preservation organization that services all of York County and the City of York.  Since 1975 the organization's mission has been to preserve the architectural legacy of York County.  HYI offers a variety of services to the York community, many of which are provided free of charge or for minimal cost.  It also operates the Architectural Warehouse, a retail store that recycles old building parts.  Warehouse sales and the fees collected from consulting services allow HYI to retain credentialed staff to help fulfill the organization's important mission. 

Go to the Historic York website