About Town — May 17, 2026

This week's photos of Columbia 

Click on photos to see larger, sharper images. 

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY 

Salem United Church of Christ at 324 Walnut St., believed to be the oldest church in Columbia, will close its doors after 220 years, the result of declining membership and attendance. 

The congregation was founded by German immigrants in 1803 on land donated by one of the town's founders, with the current brick building completed in 1860. Once drawing 75 to 100 worshippers on Sundays in its 1970s and '80s heyday, with the final service on May 24, Pentecost Sunday, which fittingly symbolizes new beginnings.

The property will transfer to the Keystone Conference UCC, which will determine next steps, and congregants are welcome to join Trinity Reformed United Church of Christ in Mountville, about 10 minutes away. 

Salem served the Columbia community through food distribution, free dinners, and hosting organizations including Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Rivertown Pride Center, and 12-step programs. The church was also notably Open and Affirming, welcoming LGBTQ+ members. Pastor Mark Harris, who has led the congregation for nine years, reflected that Salem's blend of tradition, history, and inclusivity is "rare in churches today." [Source:LNP/LancasterOnline]

This would be a good time to reinstate the name of this armory to the "Gen. Edw. C. Shannon Armory," considering it's Wrights Ferry/Columbia's 300th anniversary, and the town's in a "history mood."

The first two blocks of Walnut Street will be closed for a few months, just in time for the 300th anniversary celebration and the Chip Factory hotel opening. Couldn't the construction have waited a while?

Here's a celebratory banner at the Columbia Historic Preservation Society on the first block of North 2nd. Across the street is the new hotel. This block will be affected — indirectly — by the Walnut Street closure.

Meanwhile, on the 200 block of Locust 

You gotta act right. 

Students' Arbor Day art

A juvenile mourning dove in the morning 

It's not mourning, though. Just taking a bath 

What's that price again?

Peonies galore . . .

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The Daniel Bus at Tollbooth Antiques . . .

Also at Tollbooth: part of a lift (?)

Sparrow, apparently content 

This tree grate on Locust has become a tripping hazard.

There were free pony rides at the Market House on Saturday. 

And there are the ponies.

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A road crew fixed that nasty pothole on the 100 block of North 5th Street (Route 462) after a resident reported it to PennDOT.

What happened at McGinness?

A rolled grass seed mat was added to the dirt piles from last week.

Then, one day, everything was gone.

The apartment building project on South 9th is going full force.

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Parking restrictions are coming up at River Park. 

Birdwatchers were at River Park the other day, no doubt watching for falcons under the bridge. While there, they couldn't have missed . . .

a goose invasion . . . !

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Columbia Curiosities always has a unique window display. 

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