The following information regarding Lancaster
County was obtained by permission of Gerald S. Lestz and comes from a publication of the
above title and has been directly quoted. Information regarding obtaining a copy of this
informative booklet is located at the bottom of the page. |
To those who love Lancaster County, it is a province in itself-a storied land with its own capital, Lancaster City, busy industries and stores; fertile
productive farms; cliffs and rivers; historic buildings and giant modern power
installations; rugged woodland and verdant meadows; the Pennsylvania Dutch and all the
many other people who have moved in to make their homes here; myriad wildflowers and
multitudes of birds-something for everyone who lives in it, passes through, or comes to
visit.
This small history is prepared in an effort to tell something of the
county, a primer as it were for those who wish an introduction.
The first known residents of Lancaster
County were American Indians, making little change in the woodlands
that had stood for centuries, but inhabiting villages and leaving some examples of their
civilization in their burial mounds.
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The Susquehannocks, later to be known as the Conestogas, gave their name
to rivers. The Shawnees were here; so were the Gawanese, Delawares and Nanticokes. They
were not stay-at-homes; they traveled into the Midwest; they fought in fierce battles. Capt. John Smith, of Virginia, exploring northward in 1608, came upon
Susquehannocks in what is now Maryland. He described them as giants.
One of the principal Indian Stages was south of what is now Lancaster City -, early settlers called it Indian Town, and it became a
site for conferences between representatives of William Penn and Indian chieftains. Along
the Susquehanna, at Washington Boro, was another Indian site, where many graves have been
uncovered. |
William Penn was granted Pennsylvania -"Penns Woods" in 1681.
The first persons to live in this particular part of the New World were fur traders.
Martin Chartier, a Frenchman, was living along the Susquehanna in 1687. His son Peter also
became a trader. Others who made their homes on or near the river included James
Patterson, James LeTort and Peter Bezallion.
John Kennerly was the first person to receive a Penn deed for land that
is now in Lancaster County. This was in the
eastern section, in 1691.
The first permanent settlement, in 1710, was made by a
group of Mennonites fleeing from persecution to find the religious freedom which Penn had
promised them. They settled trading posts east of Willow Street, near the Conestoga Indian
Town.
Hans Herr was the bishop who led this group. His home, built in 1719,
is still standing. It is the oldest building in the county, on Hans Herr Road, near Route
222.
The Amish, a more conservative group of Mennonites, came into the
county some years later.
Penn originally set up three counties - Philadelphia,
Bucks and Chester, but residents in the western section of Chester County, away from the
seaboard, made formal protest. They were not getting enough protection from lawbreakers,
and it took too long to get to courts upland.
Hence in 1729 the provincial government set up the County of Lancaster, fourth in the state, taking the land
from Chester. Lancaster was much bigger then
than it is now, for it was later whittled away for formation of other counties.
The county was given its name by John Wright, a leading citizen, in
honor of his home in England. The county seat was also named Lancaster. It was placed in 1730 at what had formerly been known as Gibsons Pasture, or
Hickorytown.
Laid out on a tract owned by James Hamilton, the
settlement at Lancaster showed steady growth.
It became America’s largest inland town, and held that distinction for many years.
An English county, Lancaster drew a large German population as the tide of freedom-seeking immigrants grew.
Most of the settlers arrived at the port of Philadelphia, after long and frequently
terrifying ocean voyages, and made their way overland sixty miles to Lancaster
County.
Penn management saw to it that the fierce Scotch-Irish Presbyterians
were on the borders, in Donegal to the north and in other areas to the south in this
county. Welshmen settled at Churchtown about 1722, setting up what is now the Episcopalian
Church.
French Huguenots, such as Mme. Ferree, settled in the
eastern end of the county about 1710. German Baptists, led by Conrad Beissel, set up a
community at Ephrata in the 1730s. Count Count Zinzendorf, Moravian leader, visited in
1742, he brought about the founding of the Lancaster congregation, & of the group which made Lititz a Moravian community.
Lutherans organized their first church, Trinity, in Lancaster in 1729. The Reformed Church, a predecessor of
the United Church of Christ, had its first congregation, Salem, at Hellers, in 1722. The
first Catholic mission was St. Marys, Lancaster,
1741. Donegal was the first Presbyterian Church, 1720. Methodists built their first church
in 1791 near Willow Street. Jews settled at Schaefferstown, which was part of Lancaster County, in 1729.
Lancaster attracted an interesting
assortment of professional persons-lawyers, doctors, ministers; craftsmen, skilled with
metal, wood and other materials; fur traders, merchants and innkeepers. It became the
"jumping off place" for those who wished to travel to the 'Western wilderness.
One of the best known fur trading partnerships was that of Joseph Simon
and Alexander Lowery. Their far-flung ventures extended in the Midwest. Simorfs
granddaughter, Rebecca Gratz, who lived in Philadelphia but visited here often, won fame
as the model for "Rebecca" in Scott's Ivanhoe. She was a friend of Washington
Irving, who described her to Scott.
One of the oddest border conflicts in early America was
that which became known as "Cresap's War" a border dispute fought on the Lancaster and York County shores of the Susquehanna. It was
named in "honor" of Thomas Cresap, an agent of Lord Baltimore, who fought for
land claimed by Pennsylvania. Maryland claimed its northern border was the Susquehanna;
Pennsylvania disputed this.
There was bloodshed and hair-raising adventure. Cresap once led an
attack on the Lancaster jail and liberated
some of his men who were held prisoner. Cresap, later a prisoner himself, told his captors
that Philadelphia was the "fairest city in Maryland." The contention, caused by
muddy writing in the grants to Penn and Baltimore, was ended only by the completion of the
Mason-Dixon Line in 1767.
Early governors representing William Penn made numerous
visits to the Indian Town south of Lancaster
to make pacts with the Indians. Penn himself made a visit to Indians at Gap.
The most important Indian treaty signed at Lancaster was that of 1744. The negotiations were held in the first Court House, in the
center of Penn Square. Attending were the governor of Pennsylvania and commissioners from
Maryland and Virginia.
This treaty was of tremendous importance in assuring the British of
allies among the Indians, in the contest against France for domination of the continent.
Wilhelm Stiegel, who was to become one of Lancaster
County’s most colorful figures, arrived at Philadelphia in
1750. He began his local career in 1752 at Elizabeth Furnace, now on Route 501 north of
the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and in 1762 laid out the borough of Mannheim. He became known
as "Baron" Stipple, and his iron and glassware won quick-and lasting-renown.
By the time of the French and lndian War, 1754, Lancaster was a thriving center of trade, but residents in outlying areas still lived
under threat of Indian attacks. The farmlands were being busily tilled, and Lancaster's crops were well known. The villages around the
city were growing and thriving.
Benjamin Franklin was no stranger to Lancaster. As he later recalled in his autobiography, he was requested to muster wagons
for General Braddock's expedition, and obtained these in the Pennsylvania Dutch country. Lancaster County waggoners made the trek with Braddock's
ill-fated troops, and conducted themselves well.
The Paxtang Boys took part in a grisly attack when they
massacred the remnants of the Conestoga tribe who had been quartered in the old Lancaster Prison at King and Water Streets, in 1763. These
were bitter times, and the white men justified their bloody deed on the ground that it was
reprisal for Indian slayings on the frontier.
Fears of further killings rose as the Paxtang Boys headed toward
Germantown and Philadelphia, but the excursion ended with no further violence. The
massacre at Lancaster set off a great
controversy in the colony.
| In the years just prior to the Revolution, Lancastrians took prominent
roles as leaders in the emerging movement from Colonial status. Taking part in Lancaster meetings, as well as in statewide councils, were
such men as George Ross, who was later to sign the Declaration of Independence; Jasper
Yeates, who was to become a justice of the State Supreme Court; Edward Shippen, a former
mayor of Philadelphia whose granddaughter, Peggy, was one day to marry Benedict Arnold;
and members of the Atlee, Slaymaker and other families still prominent in Lancaster today. |
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During the Revolution, Lancaster played important roles in many ways. Her men carried on their tradition
of military service from the French and Indian Wars. Some won distinction for bravery and
rose to high ranks.
General Edward Hand, physician, became George Washington's adjutant
general. Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg was a member of Continental Congress, and later
became Speaker of the first U.S. Congress.
William Henry was the armorer for the Continental Army. It was up to
him to see that there was a supply of Lancaster
rifles, which won acclaim for their deadly accuracy of fire. Henry was a genius, the first
person in the world to propose powering of ships by steam instead of sails. He also helped
the young painter, Benjamin West.
This county, along with others nearby, served as the breadbasket of the
Continental Army. Farm crops helped feed the fighters, and were of great aid to Washington
and his troops when they were quartered not far away at Valley Forge during the bitter
winter of 1777-1778.
Lancaster held another distinction
during the Revolution. When Lord Howe entered Philadelphia, which had until then been the
capital of the young nation, many notable residents fled westward for haven in Lancaster, which became state capital.
Capital of
the Nation
Continental Congress also vacated Philadelphia, on the day Howe
entered. The Congressmen, all with prices on their heads, made their first stop at
Lancaster, where they held a session in the old Court House
on September 27, 1777. This made Lancaster
capital of the United States for a day. The Congressmen could find no lodging in
refugee-crowded Lancaster, and left the next
day for York.
Conestoga
Wagon
|
| The Conestoga Wagon, which had been evolving since 1716 in
the Conestoga Valley of Lancaster County,
began to come into its own as a basic transportation in the post- Revolutionary period.
Thousands of these canopied "ships of inland commerce" carried crops,
merchandise and passengers on many roads, as well as on pioneer trails west. |
Lancaster figured again with a
first in transportation when the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike was completed in 1794. This was the first macadamized turnpike in
America, and was soon a busy thoroughfare. Its success encouraged the building of other
pikes to form the first major network of Atlantic seaboard roads in the U.S.A. Lancaster was a central point for new roads leading in all
directions.
Franklin College, founded in 1787, a prep school for German-speaking boys, was combined
with Marshall College in 1853, becoming Franklin and Marshall.
|
Capital of
Pennsylvania
New honor came to the city when it became peacetime
capital of Pennsylvania in 1799. The state
government operated in the old Court House, and in the building now the Heritage Center
Museum. Thomas Mifflin was governor when the transition was made from Philadelphia.
Thomas McKean, a signer of the Declaration and long time a friend of
George Washington, became governor shortly after the capital was situated at Lancaster. Former Governor Mifflin died here in 1800 and
was buried at Trinity Lutheran Church. McKean was re-elected for two terms, and was
succeeded by Simon Snyder, a native of Lancaster, in 1808. Snyder was re-elected in 1811. The
following year, Harrisburg became the capital.
Lancaster troops were mustered
again for the War of 1812. Among them was a young lawyer named James Buchanan.
"Fulton's
Folly"
| In 1807 Robert Fulton, a Lancaster County
native who was then 42, opened another great
transportation chapter when he sailed his Clermont up the Hudson. Scoffers called his boat
"Fulton's Folly," but it made navigation by steam a fact. |
 
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Lafayette's
Visit
The Marquis de Lafayette provided a memorable occasion for Lancaster and
its citizens when he made his triumphal return visit to the U.S. to greet his former
comrades in arms in 1825. He was warmly
greeted and copiously toasted. He, in turn, responded with toasts reaching a climax with
one to: "Our Fair Countrywomen":
Woman, the
happiest pledge of Heaven's good will;
Woman, the perfect picture of its skill;
Woman, whom our noblest thoughts employs;
Woman, the center of all earthly joys. |
Canals and Railroads
| Lancaster County was among the first
in the Canal Era, & later in railroads. The Susquehanna state canal, with a terminus at Columbia, was opened in 1830. Later a canal was built on the Conestoga. Canals in
general thrived, until the coming of the railroads. |
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Rail transportation did in the Conestoga wagon trade as well as the
canals. One of the first railroads in the nation, the Columbia and Philadelphia (later
known as the Pennsylvania), was chartered by the state in
1823 to operate between Philadelphia, Lancaster and Columbia. On March 31, 1834, the first passengers arrived at Columbia, on
three horse-drawn trains. Two days later, a locomotive was in use.
Opposition to Slavery
In the early and middle
1800s, opposition to slavery found some of its most vocal expression in Lancaster County. The Underground Railroad, through which
sympathetic whites helped Negroes to flee to freedom north of the Mason-Dixon Line, had
numerous "stations" in Lancaster County.
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An event which some scholars call the opening of the Civil War occurred at
Christiana in 1851, when a Southern landowner tried to recapture runaway slaves. The
"Christiana Riot" ensued, bringing death to the pursuer, and leading to the
trial of scores of Negroes and half a dozen sympathetic Quakers for treason at
Philadelphia. All were acquitted. |
But, said one writer, the "Riot" drew national attention,
determined the election of a Pennsylvania governor, & affected state politics for some
years to come.
Thaddeus Stevens
 |
Thaddeus Stevens, Lancaster attorney and legislator, had already
distinguished himself as the leader in the fight to establish public schools in the state.
In 1850, he was known as a fierce Abolitionist, championing the cause of the Negro. |
Thomas H. Burrowes, a native of Strasburg, rose to prominence in
education as the man who organized the state school system and made it run.
James P. Wickersham organized the first teachers' college in the state,
Millersville Normal School, in 1855. It is now Millersville University.
The
1850s were years of
growth for Lancaster. The second Court House,
in Penn Square, was taken down as outmoded, and the present structure at East King and
Duke Streets was erected, designed by Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan.
The old prison, at King &Water Streets, was replaced by the present
prison on East King Street, designed by John Haviland, also a Philadelphia architect.
Fulton Hall was constructed on North Prince Street, by Christopher
Hager. As the Fulton Opera House, it became an outstanding theater drawing top stars of
the 19th and 20th centuries.
Pre-Civil War
For a city of a population of 17,000, Lancaster
had an impressive collection of nationally prominent citizens in the Civil War period.
James Buchanan, already nationally prominent, was elected President on
the Democratic ticket in 1856.
Thaddeus Stevens, a fiery Congressman, was one of the organizers of the
Republican party, whose first candidate, Gen. James C. Fremont, Buchanan defeated.
Simon Cameron was U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, and was the state
Republicans' choice for the presidential nomination in 1860. He made way for Abraham
Lincoln and is credited with paving the way for Lincoln's nomination. Highly
controversial, Cameron was Lincoln's first Secretary of War, being deposed after a year,
but continuing in the national limelight nevertheless.
Buchanan and Lincoln
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Lancaster figured
in an interesting coincidence in the careers of Buchanan & Lincoln, President-elect
and Mrs. Lincoln stopped here enroute to this inaugural in Washington, and he made a short
speech on February 22, 1861.
A few days later, on March 4, as
the two men parted at the White House after the official ceremonies, Buchanan told
Lincoln: "If you are as happy, my dear sire, on entering this house as I am leaving
it and returning home, you are the happiest man in the country." |
Heroes of the Civil
War
| Lancaster Countians responded early
and in great numbers to the Union call to arms after Sumter. Gen. John F. Reynolds, a West
Point graduate, chose the site for the Battle of Gettysburg & was killed leading a
Union charge on the battle's opening day. Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman, of Manheim, also a
West Pointer, fought with distinction throughout the war. |
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Me Ladies, Bless Them!
The role of women in the life of
Lancaster was never more touchingly exemplified than during the Civil War period. Lancaster women formed what was probably the first women's
relief corps in the nation, on April 22, 1861, ten days after Sumter was attacked.
Women from this county were among the first to reach the battlefield at
Gettysburg, ripping their petticoats to make bandages for the wounded and bringing comfort
to the dying. Women, banded together as the Patriot Daughters, raised the funds for the
erection of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument as a Civil War memorial in Penn Square in
1874.
Post-War Era, 1870
In 1870, Lancaster County was No. 1 in the nation in value of farm products. In this period, the Lancaster Board of Trade, organized in 1872, sparked a move
to attract new industry. Manufacturing increasingly became a pillar of the economy.
Business was good here for alert merchants, as could be attested by
Frank W. Woolworth, an enterprising young man who made his first success in Lancaster, after failing elsewhere. The store opened in
1879 on North Queen Street and the term "5 & 10" became part of the American
lexicon. The store closed in 1997 - no more Woolworth.
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Milton S. Hershey was another who could recommend Lancaster
as a place in which to get started. Hershey too had his troubles until he hit the road to
success in Lancaster. He left here only because he was founding his
own community, to which he gave his name, a short distance away. |
The third college in the county, Elizabethtown College, was founded by
the Church of the Brethren in 1898. Lancaster became one of the few counties in the U.S.
with three colleges within its borders.
Charles Demuth, a member of the family operating the oldest tobacco
store in America (founded 1770) at the same location, became an internationally famous
watercolorist.
World War I
| During World War 1, the county's young men and women responded to their
country's call. Daniel B. Strickler, of Lancaster, already a young veteran of the Mexican Border, became the youngest Captain in
the war. He later fought in World War 11 and held numerous important state and
international posts. He retired as a lieutenant general, resuming an active role in Lancaster community life. |
 Lieutenant General Daniel B. Strickler |
The 1920s were years of tremendous growth for
Lancaster City and County. Some of the outstanding industries of the
times operated here.
The Griest Building,
Lancaster's first and only "skyscraper," was erected at Penn Square and named in
honor of W. W. Griest, Congressman and Republican party leader. George W. Hensel, of
Quarryville, a Democrat known as a wit and a raconteur, made national headlines as he led
the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge members, attired in top hats and white robes, bearing
shepherd's crooks, in search of a shadow-casting groundhog each February 2.
Lancaster was the center of 183
miles of trolley lines, connecting with all the principal county towns. Rail and air
transportation gave a national access.
The Depression hit Lancaster County, but not as hard as it hit many other places. The conservative nature of the
community was one buffer. Another was the importance of farming in the economy.
World War ll
The tradition of service in all the nation's wars, dating back to the
beginning, echoed again as thousands of young men and women went into World War 11.
Col. John H. Michaelis, West Pointer, became an outstanding hero of the
war. He later became "Fire Chief Mike" in the Korean War, scoring notable
successes when the war was at its gloomiest for the U.S. By 1966, he was a 3-star general.
Postwar Expansion
Lancaster County, having mustered its industrial
strength and agricultural strength to civilian contributions during the war, entered a
broad expansion after the war ended.
Population grew steadily. New industries moved in; existing industrtries increased
capacity and employment. Shopping centers began to make their appearance. New homes,
schools, churches and service buildings multiplied. Lancaster,
always known for its economic strength, became recognized nationally as a "hot
spot" for business.
As it's 300th anniversary in 2029 approaches, Lancaster
County is a leading growth area in Pennsylvania, basing its economic
strength on farming, manufacturing and commerce, service industries and tourism.
Lancaster continues as the number
one farm county of Pennsylvania, and first nationally among all non-irrigated counties.
Major efforts are underway to save the soil--one of the three best in the world-and to
maintain the entity of the beautiful farmland. In Lancaster City, citizens seek to renew its viability as the county seat, and save its valuable
architecture dating back to the 1700s.
Employment is high, furnished by Fortune 500 firms, as well as
thousands of smaller employers ranging from several hundred employees to "mom and
pop" and single operator sizes. Products and services cover an astounding array for
world, national and local trade.
The cultural life of the community is outstanding for art, concerts,
plays and museum exhibitions, surpassing all Pennsylvania counties except those based in
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
In a word, "Lancaster"
is recognized near and far for excellence, superb quality of life and long-lasting values.
Many persons who come as visitors are so entranced that they return to
live here. The county is known for its healthful physical and moral environment; its very
low crime rate; the high quality of medical and 'general health care; the good neighbor
spirit which prevails; its broadening diversity; its natural beauties; the ease of getting
from one area of the community to another, and convenience for travel to larger urban
centers for education, special facilities and unusual events.
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Art by
Andrew Jarvis |
Want to know More??? Watch for regular updates or obtain the
booklet
A Brief History of Lancaster County from: |
John Baer’s Sons
Box 328
Lancaster, PA 17603 |