Charlie Smithgall, the contentious and sometimes polarizing former mayor of Lancaster, well-known local businessman and artillery collector, passed away early Tuesday morning, according to his family.
Smithgall’s daughter, Allison, posted a message on social media about his death, saying he had been in and out of hospitals since September with heart problems and other health issues. He was 77 years old.
“He loved his family, he loved his farm and loved his cannons,” Allison said in the social media post. “He loved being the mayor of Lancaster. He was an encyclopedia of knowledge and humor. If you knew him, you were a lucky person because he always cared about others more than he did himself.”
Smithgall served as mayor of Lancaster for two terms, taking office in January of 1998 and holding the position until Rick Gray took over in 2006. Smithgall ran two more times against Gray for the mayoral position, losing by just over 300 votes in 2009, and lost to current State Sen. Scott Martin for the Republican nomination as county commissioner in 2007.
During his tenure as Lancaster mayor, Smithgall oversaw major changes in the city, including the building of a new police station on West Chestnut Street. Smithgall was regarded as a tough-on-crime mayor in the city, but his governing style angered some members of City Council and other city officials.
Smithgall was also one of the major proponents of the controversial Lancaster County Convention Center built in the footprint of the former Watt & Shand department store building and several other downtown buildings.
A 1963 graduate of McCaskey High School, Smithgall later attended and graduated from the former Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, going on to work in his family’s business, Smithgall’s Pharmacy on West Lemon Street. The local family-owned pharmacy celebrated its 106th anniversary in June.
Smithgall made national headlines in the pharmacy in 2018 when he stopped a robbery attempt by two individuals, shooting and wounding one of the armed men who were allegedly attempting to steal Oxycodone pills from the store.
Well known for his military and artillery collection, Smithgall owned dozens of cannons that he kept at his personal museum at his farm in Drumore Township, considered to be the largest privately held collection of Civil War cannons in the U.S. He served as an artillery consultant for several Hollywood movies, including “Gettysburg” and “Lincoln,” and was an extra in “Gettysburg” as an artillery commander.
One of the highlights of the Long’s Park Amphitheater Summer Music Series every year was a rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” in which Smithgall would set off some of his cannons to go along with the music during the 4th of July celebrations. Smithgall last participated in the Long’s Park concert in 2015.
Smithgall celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary in August with his wife, Debbie.
Rest in peace, Charlie. You will be missed.
This life is only one step in our eternal lives and we all must pass to the next level at one point or another. That being said, it is always sad to loose a patriot like Charlie Smithgall. My thoughts and prayers are with the Smithgall family.
Charlie was a humanitarian, not sure what you mean by Patriot.