The Three Earl Townships
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~Contents~
Excerpt from the History of Lancaster County by Dr. Frederick Klein, 1924
THE TOWNSHIPS OF EARL, WEST EARL AND EAST EARL.
The townships of Earl, West Earl and East Earl were settled mainly by from the Palatinate, "men of a hardy type, accustomed to toil, and the possessors of many sterling virtues." The pioneer settler was Hans Graaf, a Swiss refugee who arrived in.Penn's colony in 1696, and after spending some years in Philadelphia located in the Pequea Valley, probably in 1708-09. It was not until 1717, however, that settlers entered the territory which became Earl township. The first to enter was Hans Graaf, in pursuit of straying horses. He came into "what is familiarly known as Groff's Thal, within the limits of West Earl township," and was so pleased with the country that "he had his wife, children and chattels conveyed thither, and located on the stream now called Groff's run, where he soon after took up land." The land was surveyed on October 4, 1718, and calls for 1,150 acres. In 1724 he bought a further:250 acres from Martin Kendrick and Hans Herr, who had purchased 5,000 acres from Penn in 1717. Under these two warrants "there were surveyed to him, in a single tract, on a branch of the Conestoga (Groff's run), 1,419 acres, on October 10, 1727, and for which a deed was made to him by Thomas Penn, on November 18, 1737." The price paid for the whole was L 141 18s., "and one English silver shilling quit rent for every one hundred acres, to be paid annually on every first of March, in the city of Lancaster."
As the pioneer settler, Hans Graaf would be expected to attain prominence in the settlement that sprang up around him; but to his industry and to the strength of his character perhaps is due much of the prominence that was his in the affairs of the township. He had established a mill prior to 1729; and just as in these days transportation facilities govern largely the degree of prosperity possible to a community, so in early settlement days accessibility to mill governed the comfort possible in the home of the settler. Inaccessibility to mill would mean that grain grown could not be marketed; hence the settler's operations would be restricted to what could be consumed within his family circle. Therefore it is not surprising that when opportunity came, the settlers were glad to indicate their appreciation of the enterprise of Hans Graaf. Earl township was organized in 1729, and was given that name as the English equivalent of Graaf. Hans Graaf was naturilized with many others, on October 14, 1729, and his name frequently occurs in the Colonial Records. He was one of the persons named to lay out the "King's High Road" from Lancaster to Philadelphia in 1733; and to his death had foremost place in the settlement, one would infer, for he was its wealthiest citizen, though "A true Inventory of all the Goods, Chattels and Credits of Hance Graef of Earltown in the County of Lancaster and Province of Pennsilvania, late Deceased, made & approved the fifth day,of May, 1746," declared his estate to be worth only L 648 3s. 10d. The most valuable asset included in this appraisal was "The Plantation, L 300."
Other settlers located on Mill creek, southwesterly from Groff's Date, in 1721. They probably were in what became Leacock township, but, with new arrivals and settlement along the stream eastward, the township line into Earl was soon crossed. Swiss and Palatines began another settlement in 1724; it became known as "Weber's Thal," later "Weaverland," in East Earl. They were chiefly Mennonites, the family names including Weber, Guth or Good, Martin, Schneder, Miller and Zimmerman. Their nearest neighbors were colonists of Welsh origin who had settled in Chester county in 1722, but who had extended their settlement as far westward as where Churchtown, in what became Caernarvon township of Lancaster county, later developed. Patronyinics included Morgan, Edwards, Jenkins, Davis, Jones, and Evans. And by 1734 "the springs along the northern and southern slopes of the Welsh Mountains had owners."
The first settlement in what became the ultimate bounds of Earl township was not however made until 1728. The ship "William and Sarah" had sailed from Rotterdam in the summer of 1727 with ninety families of Palatines, in all 400 emigrants. Among them were, the brothers, Alexander and John Diffenderfer. From Philadelphia, Alexander Diffenderfer went into Berks county, where he settled; John Diffenderfer, however, "in 1728 loaded his family and household goods on a wagon owned by one Martin, of Weaverland, and at length came to a halt beneath a spreading oak in the near vicinity of the present New Holland." He was welcomed by the settlers of Groff's Dale, and Weber's Dale; and with their aid a log cabin was soon raised, and the newcomers provided with what food they needed, the neighborly solicitude even extending to the gift of a cow to the Diffenderfer family. Thus that family bec ame settled in the vicinity of the later metropolis of the Earls, New Holland, the history of which is separately reviewed elsewhere.
Earl township was one of the seventeen established on June 9, 1729; and at the same meeting of magistrates and citizens township officers were appointed. No supervisors appear to have been appointed for Earl township; indeed, the first township officers of whom there is record were Martin Grove, who was appointed constable in 1729, and Edward Edwards, who was appointed pound-keeper in 1739. The next known record of Earl township constables is that which begins with 1762, and lists Henry Stouffer and Peter Baker as constables. The record is consecutive up to 1774, when William Reynolds was constable. He probably was the last to hold office in Earl township under the Crown.
John Diffenderfer and his family were not destined long to be without near neighbors, for within a
few years many other German families settled in the vicinity. Among the family names were Stone, Brimmer, Diller, Brubaker, Koch, Roland, Sprecher, Mentzer, Kinzer, Ranck, Weidler, Becher, Luther, Bitzer, Schultz. It is not possible to give year of settlement, as in many cases the families merely "squatted," taking up land in later years when better circumstanced. Indeed, such was the state of the emigrants from the Palatinate that many were insolvent when they landed in America, and had to bind themselves to labor for others for, in some cases, years, to pay for their passage to America. This condition was more general among those who came in the first and second decades of the eighteenth century than among those who came later. But they would probably have assumed even greater obligations to escape from the persecution to which they had been subjected in their own land. One of the settlers near Diffenderfer was Johan Ulrich Huber (Hoover). He had been among the 33,000 refugees who crossed from Germany io England, in 1708-09, at the invitation of Queen Anne; had seen pestilence and privation reduce that number by io,om while in England, dependent on the bounty of the citizens of London; he had been among the 4,000 who were shipped in ten vessels to New York, on Christmas Day of 1709; he was one of the 2,300 who survived the voyage of six months, and who "were under bonds to serve the Queen faithfully, to manufacture tar and other naval stores, in order to repay the charges of their transportation and subsistence;" and ten years later, when he reached the bounds of Lancaster county Pennsylvania, he had to realize that he was still a pauper, ten years of industry in the crown colony on the Hudson going for nought. However, "quiet and prosperity at length rewarded him" in Lancaster county.
The experiences of other German settlers were somewhat similar, though few left their life-story to posterity; in the main, they were more intent on rising above insolvency than on recording their experiences. This may be the main reason why the settlement records of Lancaster county are so incomplete. Shipping records help us somewhat; they give the year of sea-passage of many of the emigrants who settled in Hart township; but it is by no means certain that the year of settlement was the same as that of emigration. It appears that: "The Zimmermans, Rudys, Wolffs, Witmers, Smiths, Stauf- fers, Millers, Seigles, Shultzes, Styers, Hoffmans, Keysers, Wengers, Kochs, Schmidts, all came over in 1727; the Shirks, Eshlemans, Rancks, Stoufers, Seylers, in 1728; the Reifs, Bowmans, Keisers, Kochs, in 1729; the Nagels, Hesses, Meyers, Oberholsers, Bears, Kilians, in 1730; the Eckerts,. Mummas, Mulls, Freys in 1731; the Musselmans, Holls, Stegers, Rudys, Benders, Schlaughs, Sprechers in 1732; the Winters, Wanners, Brimmers, Summys, in 1733." In some cases, "as many as a dozen persons bearing the same name came in the same year, and each succeeding year brought more of the same name." So one encounters difficulty and uncertainty in trying to determine year of settlement of some of the early families of Lancaster county.
The German settlers were hard-working thrifty agriculturists, in the main; and eventually hewed for themselves profitable holdings in the virgin lands of Pennsylvania. But their prosperity came mainly by their own industry, notwithstanding that James Logan, for many years Colonial Secretary, said in one of his letters: "The Germans squat on the best tracts of land, and rarely offer to purchase-after a while they pay when challenged." Officialdom, in general, looked askance at the Germans, at their dress, their customs, their clanishness. But at least one governor saw that the colony profited by their presence. Governor Thomas in 1738 said: "This Province has for some years been the asylum of the distressed Protestants of the Palatinate, and other parts of Germany; and I think it may truthfully be said that the flourishing condition of it is in a great measure owing to the industry of these people." An earlier governor, Sir Patrick Gordon, "a man of broad views," felt impelled to encounter a movement hostile to the German colonists by stating his own opinion of them, part of his message to the House in 1730 in this connection pointing out that the Germans "have hitherto behaved themselves well, and have so good a character for honesty and industry, as deserves the esteem of this Government, and a mark of its regard for them." Nevertheless, "the large German immigration" had caused "no little alarm to the colonial authorities" since the first years of the eighteenth century. For some years naturalization was denied them; and to discourage the settlement of Pennsylvania by other than English subjects, a forty-shilling poll-tax was even exacted from all Swiss, French, German, and Dutch immigrants. It availed not, however, for the Germans came in ever-increasing numbers. Its effect on the settlement of Lancaster county, and directly of Earl township, may be judged by one fact. In 1748, twenty years after the first settler, John Diffenderfer, had taken up his abode in the wilderness in the vicinity of the present New Holland, "seventy persons communed with the *Lutheran congregation of this place." Thus, settlers to the number of perhaps 300, had in two decades gathered around him.
Tax lists of the earliest years of Earl township are not available, but in 1754 Earl township had 199 "taxables." The total levy was L 29 16s. The largest tax paid by any one man was seven shillings and four pence, by Emanuel Carpenter, Esq.; the smallest sum paid was one shilling. The taxpayers included seven of the Graaf family, other pioneer names appearing as follows: Davis, 7; Carpenter, 5; Weaver, 5; Martin, 4; Diffenderfer, 3; Hildebrand, 3; Bear, 3; Hoover, 3; Edwards, 3; Ronk, 2; Mumma, 2; Sheaffer, 2; Roland, Smith, Shirk, Kinser, Diller, Kurtz, Greybill, Eby, and others, "only one time each." This tax list would indicate that the population of Earl township in 1754 was about eight hundred. Tax collector was Jacob Roland. Three years later the tax assessment had increased nine hundred per cent. Twenty years later, in 1777, a year of war, the requirements of which had made it necessary to subdivide the population into two classes, "Associators" and "Non-Associators," the latter representing the non-fighting element, such as Quakers, Mennonites, the tax lists of Earl township had 338 names under the "Non-Associators" heading.
In Colonial Times-From a sketch of "The Three Earls," written in 1876 by Frank R. Diffenderfer, whose contributions to the written annals of Lancaster county are probably second to none, one is able to picture condi- tions of living in the Earl townships and in other parts of Lancaster county during the colonial period. His sketch deals mainly with the German settlements. Farming, of course, was the main occupation. Wheat, rye, oats, and barley were the principal crops, and little heed was paid to rotation of crops. Horses were scarce, oxen being generally used. In one instance "nine German settlers united their means to purchase a gray mare, of whose services they availed themselves turn-about." Women customarily worked with the men in the fields, taking a share of the most arduous tasks. Indians were never numerous; "scarcely more than half a dozen families were ever to be found at one place;" yet the Indian custom of burning scrubby Underwood "made it not a difficult matter to drive a cart for long distances through the woods in all directions." Cost of living was low, and wages were proportionate. At about the time of the Revolution, harvest hands earned about two shillings and six pence, or about thirty-three cents, a day. Wheat was worth about sixty-seven cents a bushel.
During the first half of the eighteenth century, bounties were paid for evidence of the destruction of certain animals and birds; blackbirds were paid for at three pence a dozen; wolves at fifteen to twenty shillings; squirrels at three pence a head. The forests abounded with squirrels, bounty being paid on 840,000 in 1749. Few sheep were raised, because of the wolves; very little hay was cut; and it would seem that cattle were of more value as beasts of burden than for provender. Hog-raising was easy and profitable, though bears abounded,- and losses by their raids on the porkers were not infrequent. The principal flesh-food of the pioneer families for many years, however, was found in the deer and turkeys of the forest. A twenty-pound turkey could be had for a shilling, and a fat deer for two shillings, or twenty-five cents. "Mutual assistance was freely extended by the early colonists to each other * * *' A generous hospitality was universally prevalent, and was calculated to promote good fellowship." A favorite sport was korse-racing; "no less than three race courses have existed at different times in the vicinity of New Holland." Fashions were not fickle, or little attention was paid to them; tight-fitting buckskin breeches or coarse homespun was the common wear for men; honest home-made linen covered their brawny arms and broad shoulders. Umbrellas were unknown; and if the settlers sought to protect themselves in rain, a heavy woolen blanket from their couch afforded it. The horses were unshod and the men went barefooted. Boots and spectacles were little less than curiosities in the rural districts before the Revolution. Thomas Edwards, of Earl township, one of the eight justices of the peace appointed when Lancaster county was erected in 1729, was wont to walk barefooted from his home, north of New Holland, to Lancaster, and there sit shoeless, as a member of the justices' court. No calf-skin shoes were worn by the lower ranks in life of either sex. The garb of the women of Earl township was generally a short gown of homespun as an outer garment. "Pull-back skirts were un- heard of; our good old dames consoled themselves instead of wearing half a dozen well-quilted petticoats;" and the old-fashioned bonnet served as head-gear and parasol. Floors were carpetless, walls were unpapered, platters were of wood, and pewter dishes, spoons, and mugs met all table requirements in the average household. "When a bride went any distance to get married, she rode on a pillion before her father, or some kinsman, but after the ceremony she occupied a seat behind her husband." Life was simple, money was scarce; yet there was privation only in seasons of abnormal climatic conditions. Generally, food was present in abundance. Vehicles for purposes of pleasure were rare; a Conestoga wagon was a sufficient evidence of prosperity. The first two-horse carriage owned by Earl township people belonged to John and Thomas Kittera, of East Earl, "who in the year 1783 were taxed L4 State money" for the privilege of owning this "luxury." Squire William Smith, in about 1790, it is believed, also owned a coach; "it was a two-horse affair, and elicited much attention and comment." The only departures from the staid course of thrifty habits were to be found in their extravagant funeral-feasts, and in their favoring of lotteries. It was not uncommon to set such a feast before the friends and relatives after the funeral "as required a large slice of the deceased's estate to pay for." And lotteries were generally resorted to when money was needed in unusual amount for any public purpose, churches even being maintained with the proceeds of a lottery.
Some of the trials experienced by the settlers during the colonial period include destruction of crops by locusts in 1732; a severe earthquake in 1737; heat so excessive in 1738 "as to destroy many birds, while laborers fell exhausted and dead in their harvest fields; cold so extreme in 1740-41 that deer and turkeys, the main flesh-food supply of the colonists, perished in vast numbers. The next winter was even more severe. The years 1750 and 1751 were so lean that a county meeting was called to devise means of relief, the establishment of an almshouse resulting. The harvest of the.next year, 1752, was so bountiful that the wheat was marketless; it was fed to the hogs. Three trying years of drought followed, in 1753-55. Diffenderfer writes: "The earth was parched, and vegetation of all kinds perished for lack of moisture; a fainine seemed impending; to add to these horrors the French war broke out, and the frontier Indian tribes, having nearly all allied themselves with France, began killing and scalping on all sides. Terror and dismay filled all hearts; even after peace was concluded, the Indians continued their hostilities. So great was the danger in 1763 that farmers in the more exposed districts, carried their rifles with them to the fields." A hailstorm on June 17, 1763, left the trees "as destitute of foliage as in midwinter;" hailstones "as large as turkey eggs" fell, and "birds and small quadrupeds were killed in great numbers."
As a class, the settlers were of little education and culture. The Germans were not more illiterate than the British colonists, but they did not help to better their state by their prejudice as to language. English, as one would expect to find prevailing in an English colony, was the official tongue; all legal business was conducted in English; yet, notwithstanding serious material handicaps, the German colonists adhered so closely to their native tongue that they actually resisted the introduction of English in their schools and churches. Indeed, there were instances in Lancaster county, even a century after the coming of Hans Graaf, of village schools being taught by men who could speak little or no English. This was a serious deterrent to Americaniza- tion; yet the German colonists proved to be much stauncher patriots than is generally supposed. The non-combatant Mennonites brought suspicion on the Germans as a whole, but in the French troubles of 1762 nine companies went into service from Lancaster county, Earl township sending its full share and also contributing its quota of horses and wagons to General Braddock's expedition. When the Continental Congress sitting in Philadelphia in No- vember, 1774, requested freeholders to hold elections for representatives to the General Assembly, the testing time had come. There were comparatively few Torys in Lancaster county, though one of the representatives, George Rein, elected in East township on December 15th, is stated to have been a loyalist. The Assemblymen elected on December 15, 1774, were Alexander Martin, Emanuel Carpenter, Anthony Elimaker, William Smith, Zaccheus Davis, George Rein, and John Brubaker. In 1775 the committee men chosen were Gabriel Davis, George Rein, and Jonathan Roland. Gabriel Davis "doubtless came from the Welsh colony at the eastern end of the township;" he was an assessor in 1730, and a juryman in 1733. In 1776 a Provincial Conference was held in Philadelphia, delegates from the ten counties of Pennsylvania attending. State elections were resolved upon, and for this purpose Lancaster county was divided into six districts, the fourth district embracing the townships of Salisbury, Brecknock, Caernarvon, Earl and Cocalico. The poll was opened in New Holland on July 6, 1776, and James McCamant, Gabriel Davis and Michael Whitman were elected. Earl township contributed well in man-power to the nine regiments and battalions raised in Lancaster county during the Revolutionary War. Earl township was also represented in the ranks of the exclusively German regiment raised in Pennsylvania and Maryland in 1776.
Among Earl township citizens who attained prominence in public affairs during the period of colonial government, and in the early Republican years, were many men of strong character. Thomas Edwards, one of the original justices of the peace, of Lancaster county, was a member of the Colonial Assembly for seven years of the period, 1729-39. Zaccheus Davis was county commissioner in 1756, and Assemblyman in 1774-75. Nathaniel Elimaker was elected to the State Senate in 1796; John W. Kittera, a native of Earl, was a congressman for ten years, 1791-1801, and later attained eminence as a jurist in Philadelphia.
There were three prominent highways within the Earl limits prior to the township organization. It is thought that they were originally Indian trails. The highways were: The Horse Shoe road, running cast and west, upon which New Holland is built, and upon whose course part of the New Holland turnpike later rested; the Paxton road, later known as the Harrisburg & Downingtown turnpike; and Peter's road, leading from the Conestoga to Pequea, to which road and to Peter Bezelion (Bazaillon, Bezellion, Bizaillon), the French-Canadian fur trader who traversed the route in pre-settlement days, several other references are made in other chapters. As settlement progressed, other roads became necessary; and those laid out between 1740 and 1775 had mills as objective points, and were from the early roads to certain mills. Of these mills, "quite a number were in existence as early as 1760;" among them were Rein's mill, Henry Weaver's, Greybill's, Carpenter's, Peter Light's and William Douglass's. In November, 1733, the "King's High Road" from Philadelphia to Lancaster was ordered to be laid out, Hans Graaf of Earl township being one of those who had charge of the work; the road was thirty feet wide. The first macadamized road built in the United States was it seems the Lancaster and Philadelphia turnpike, commenced in 1792 and finished in i794. The New Holland turnpike was projected in 1810, but the road was not completed until 1825 (see Borough of New Holland).
West and East Earl Townships--One hundred and four years were destined to elapse before the settlement of Earl township had reached such a point that it was deemed advisable to change its boundaries. The century of settlement had almost been reached before the inhabitants of the western part of the township petitioned the county authorities to divide the township. The peti- tion was acted upon on August 18, 1828, viewers being then appointed. These viewers, William Gibbons Adam Reigart and Christian H. Rauch, reported in favor of a division. Accordingly, the Court of Quarter Sessions on November 18, 1833, ordered that a new township be erected out of parts of Cocalico and Earl townships, and be known as West Earl township. The new township as defined was to have an area of 11,390 acres, and in that territory at that time were 345 taxables. The remainder of the old township of Earl was thereafter to be known as East Earl township. A further subdivision of the original Earl township was made eighteen years later. Then, acting upon a petition signed by freeholders and taxpayers resident in the eastern part of East Earl township, viewers were appointed by the court. These men, Samuel Eberly, John L. Sharp, and Adam Keller, on July 23, 1851, recommended a division; therefore on November 20, 1851, Earl township became the central portion of the original Earl, and thereafter East Earl township was to be as still bounded. At the time of the division, there were 756 taxables resident within the borders of the newly created East Earl township; and the valuation was $1,760,636.
It would seem that the first Lutheran congregation organized in Earl township was that at New Holland, the register of which church dates back to 1730. Another congregation was at Muddy Creek in, or perhaps before, the forties, but the principal Lutheran church centered in New Holland. Zeltenriech's Kirche," the German Reformed church at New Holland, has written record from 1746, and had a settled pastor in 1748.
In 1876 there were ten churches in Earl township-two at Vogansville, one Union and one Evangelical; one at Hinkletown, a Union church; two Men- nonite churches, one at Stauffer's and the other at Fairview, near Martin's store; four at New Holland; and one at Seldonridge's, a Union. There are still four at New Holland, as well as a Roman Catholic charge, and the others include the Vogansville Church of Brethren, the Mt. Tabor U. B., the Martindale United Evangelical; the Red Well Mennonite; and the Vogansville Mennonite.
On April 29, 1848, a public meeting was held in Vogansville to consider the question of building a meeting-house. Resolution was passed to erect "The Vogansville Union Meeting-House," open to all Christian denominations. The building was completed that summer, and thereafter was used by all village classes for many years. Formerly church societies had worshipped in the village schoolhouse. In about 1848, a congregation of the Reformed church was organized in Vogansville, and the Lutherans and D'unkers also had classes, comparatively active. The Church of the Evangelical Association at Vogansville was erected in about 1873. The Union Church at Hinkletown was built in about 1851, through the instrumentality of Sr. Isaac Winters, Sr., and the Rev. John Stamm. Lutheran, German Reformed and United Brethren congregations used the building, but two decades or so later one society only, the United Brethren, was using it.
There were four churches in West Earl township in 1876; one Evangelical church at Brownstown; one Union church at Carpenter's, Earlville; and two Mennonite meeting-houses, one at Metzler's and the other at Groff's Dale. There are now two churches at Brownstown-the Emanuel Evangelical Association and the United Evangelical; the Mennonite churches are unchanged, but the Earlsville church is of the Brethren in Christ denomination. It appears that camp meetings were held in a grove belonging to the Evangelical Association at Brownstown, fifty years ago. The meeting-house of that denomination in Brownstown was built in the 'sixties.
Carpenter's Church at Earisville is historically interesting. Henry Zimmerman, or Carpenter, was second only to Hans Graaf in settlement in West Earl. He was an early miller, and built a large stone house, which was standing and in good state of repair one hundred and fifty years later. Three or four generations of Carpenters and of their neighbors had lived in the village before the church was built, of stone, northeastward of Carpenter's house, in 1824. The church was probably erected on that site, because it was already consecrated ground, a graveyard having been laid out and used at that point very much earlier, the donor of the land, a Mr. Casson, having stipulated that the burial-place be made free to all denominations. The graveyard at Groff's Dale was used for many years before the conveyance of a deed of trust executed by Henry Landis, son-in-law of Hans Graaf, on January 17, 1775. Its one acre was conveyed in trust for the use of the neighborhood forever.
There were six churches in East Earl township in 1876-a Presbyterian at Cedar Grove; an Evangelical and a Union at Fairville; a Mennonite at Weaverland; a United Brethren at Ranck's, commonly known as the "Brick Church;" and a Lutheran and Reformed at Center, known as Center Church also as "St. John's." The churches of the present in East Earl include the Goodville Union, the Cedar Grove Presbyterian, the Center Reformed, the Center Lutheran, Ranck's United Brethren, the Goodville Mennonite, and Weaverland Mennonite. The Presbyterian Church at Cedar Grove was origi- nally organized at Blue Ball in 1775, and for twelve years thereafter services were held in a grove. In 1787, a lot at Cedar Grove was bought for $13.33, and a church built. The building served the congregation until 1853 unchanged; it was then remodeled. The first Centre Church was built in 1819. It was torn down in 1872, and the new edifice erected upon its site was named St. John's. The building was used by both the German Reformed and Lutheran congregations.
The Evangelical Association organized in Fairville (Terre Hill) in thethirties, and in 1838 built a church. The building was used until i882, when lightning caused its destruction. A new church was built without delay; it was dedicated on August 5, 1883, by Bishop Thomas Bowman.
Under the Constitution of 1839 each township became a separate district; therefore from that time the justices of the peace can with more certainty be localized. Roland Diller and Peter Ranck were the justices appointed on April 14, 1840, for Earl township, or East Earl, as it then was; and Samuel W. Groff and George Reed took offices at same time for West Earl township. The first justice of the peace in the recreated East Earl township (of 1851) was Daniel S. Geist, who took office on April 15, 1852.
Hamlets, Villages, Boroughs--The history of the townships would be incomplete were brief mention not made of some of the principal communities. New Holland will be reviewed separately, but other long-established places such as Vogansville, Hinkletown, in Earl township; Fairville (Terre Hill), Goodville, Blue Ball, in East Earl; and Brownstown, Farinersville, Eariville, and West Earl, in West Earl township, must be mentioned, though space for extensive review is lacking.
Vogansville was founded by John Vogan, who erected the first house on the site of the present town in 1839. He was of the third American generation, his grandfather, William Vogan, having emigrated from Ireland. James Vogan, father of John, founder of Vogansville, was a soldier of the Revolution. It was upon part of his father's farm that John Vogan laid out the village of Vogansville, in 1839. Post-office was established in 1845, C. S. Hoffman being first postmaster. School was early established; and a church of union character organized in 1848, another church being built in 1873. The population was about 134 in 1880; in 1920 it was about 300.
Hinkletown grew mainly by reason of the mill and inn conducted by the Hinckle family at that point for many decades. In 1767 the regularly licensed innkeepers in Earl township were George Hinckle, George Staley, Abraham Forney, Christian Schwartzwelder, Martin Soyer, and Conrad Bartling. At least one other than Hinckle, Abraham Forney, long an innkeeper, was looked upon as the founder of a village. George Hinckle died comparatively wealthy, and after his death his widow, presumably Ann Hinckle, is recorded as the licensed innkeeper. They had four sons. Hinkletown lies along what was once known as the Paxton road, and later as the Harrrisburg and Downingtown turnpike. In 1876 the place contained two hotels (one had been recently closed), two stores, two blacksmith shops, two harnessmakers, one coachmaker, one carpenter, one stone mason, one tailor, one dentist, two physicians, a watchmaker, one schoolhouse, one union church, and one resident clergyman; also there was a grist and saw mill. The population is still about the same as it then was, about 200; there are still two stores, a hotel and a restaurant; and the Hinkletown Milling Company still operates the mill. The church and school have been mentioned earlier in this article. Postoffice was established in or before 1840; at that time John Wickel was postmaster. Part of the village lies east of the Conestoga bridge, and was formerly known as Swopestown, the unusual name being derived from the number of Suabians who had settled there, principal among them being Johan Barnhard Frank, who erected the first house. The first tavern was kept by a widow, Elizabeth Rhine, who died in 1807.
Terre Hill, the youngest borough of, Lancaster countv, was begun as the village of Fairville in 1840. Abner Clime is looked upon as the founder of the village, and the Clime family is still prominently identified with Terre Hill. The land upon which part of Terre Hill lies originally belonged to the Oberholser family, who were Mennonites, or with inclinations thereto. Martin Oberholzer was in the neighborhood, farming a large acreage, some years before Clime came. Oberholzer's sons were John, Isaac and Jacob; and his daughters were Mrs. Hetzel Stirk and Mrs. Samuel Watts. The family lived about half a mile south of where Fairville later developed. A schoolhouse was built near their farm in about 1835. It therefore seems possible that a community had grown up in the vicinity prior to Abner Clime's founding of Fairville in 1840, or that the schoolhouse was centrally situated in a comparatively thickly settled rural district. At all events, itinerant preachers were in the habit of using the schoolhouse for preaching services in the 'thirties. Some were of the Christian or so-called Albright Methodist denomination which eventually became the Evangelical Association; and in 1835 a local church society was organized. In 1838 (or 1841) a church was built, Jacob and Isaac Oberholser and their sisters, Mrs. Hetzel Stirk and Mrs. Samuel Watts, with their fami- lies, being among the most active members. Isaac Oberholser became a well-known local preacher and served as such usefully until his death in 1875. His brother John was a distiller as well as a farmer. He seems also to have kept a tavern, for the following incident is narrated of him: " * * * Mr. Oberholser * * * pursued the calling of a distiller, (and) had for a customer a neighbor who often drank immoderately, and who when overtaken in his cups, illtreated and abused his own family. After one of these drunken debauches, the ill-used wife took her way to Mr. Oberholser's house, exhibited the plainly visible marks and stripes receives at her husband's hands, and told him such were the results of his supplying her husband with liquor. Mr. Oberholser was so wrought upon by the poor wife's story that he resolved at once to quit the business, and did so forthwith."
From this John Oberholser, Abner Clime in 1840 purchased a small frame house, for the sum of one hundred dollars. It stood on Oberholser's place, half a mile south of the present town, and Clime planned to move it onto his own plot of eleven acres. He was a hardworking man, in regular employment, and had to carry through this house-moving by night, after the labors of the day were over. He completed it eventually, almost without help, refracting the house on the northwestern corner of the Reamstown road and the public street. This it seems was the first house built in Fairville. But others were soon built nearby, on parts of his eleven acres, which he had sold to advantage. Abner Clime was "the fourth in descent from George Clime, who was a German emigrant;" and he lived in Terre Hill until his death. Until 1961 he lived in the Oberholser house above described; it was then destroyed by fire, but he built another without delay. He owned a cigar manufactory that found constant employment for from twelve to twenty persons; and the present Terre Hill firm of W. F. Clime & Brother is probably a continuation of the enterprise of Abner Clime. Henry Haller in about the year 1845 opened a store a short distance east of the village, on the road leading to the Dry Tavern. A year or two later the road from Haller's store east was laid out. In 1848 Haller sold to Levi Klauser, who in a short time sold to his Brother Simon, who built a stone storehouse opposite the church, and opened a large general store.
Movement to secure the establishment of a postoffice in the village was pro- jected in about i848. One was established, but not under the village name, for it was found that another Fairville post-office existed in Pennsylvania, in Ches- ter county. Fairville being situated on the southern slope of a moderately conspicuous elevation which had formerly been known as "The Hill," that name was suggested for postoffice purposes; and to designate it more particularly "Terre" was prefixed. Simon N. Klauser was the first postmaster, and his large general store was the first postoffice.
Forty years ago the main industry of Fairville was cigar manufacturing; it still is, for there are at least a dozen factories in Terre Hill. Frank R. Diffenderfer, writing of Fairville in i876, summed it up thus: "The distinguishing industry of Fairville is the cigar business. There are no less than twelve establishments where this branch of trade is carried on, exceeding in this particular every other town of equal size in the county. It also has two churches, one Evangelical and one Union--two smith shops, two shoe-making shops, one wagon factory, one saddle and harnessmaker, one tinsmith, one merchant tailor, one coach factory, two cabinet-making and furniture establishments, one undertaker, one refreshment saloon, two stores, one brass band, two phy- sicians, and one resident clergyman. Population about 300." Terre Hill's industries have since grown proportionately with its population; the last census-taking, 1920, showed that Terre Hill then had 840 inhabitants; and its industries include a knitting mill, and some shirt factories. The Evangelical Association Church built in 1882-83, to replace the original church which was struck by lightning and burnt, in 1882, is an imposing structure of red sand- stone. The Evangelical Mennonite church edifice, a short distance westward of Fairville, was also in existence in the 'eighties.
Terre Hill is a banking town, the Terre Hill National Bank having a capital of $40,000, and almost as great a surplus. The officers are F. S. Stover, presi- dent; William H. Martin, vice-president; Levi F. Talley, cashier. There was a newspaper in Fairville fifty years ago, the "Terre Hill Standard," an eight- page weekly, handsomely printed, with able editorials and choice selections. J. J. Sprenger was editor and proprietor, and J. C. Martin associate. The successor to the "Standard" is the "Terre Hill Times," the owners of which had leading part in the incorporation of the borough.
Goodville, in East Earl township, about eighteen miles from Lancaster, and two and one-half miles from Churchtown, equidistant from Blue Ball and Churchtown, had its beginning in the tavern erected by John Weaver at that point in 1815. His tavern was known as the Red Lion, and stood alone for some years. But as it began to be more and more frequented, Jacob Shultz erected a store nearby, his business partner being Betsey Kibler. Peter Good not long afterwards came and also entered into mercantile business, whether in succession to Jacob Shultz or in opposition is not known; but it is known that Peter Good later took as partner John S. Weaver, and that the firm of John S. Weaver & Son was in possession of the original store of Jacob Shultz sixty years after it was erected by him, although the building was not then on its original site but stood on the opposite side of the street. In about 1845 a post-office was established in the village of Goodville, at first being known as Old Earl post-office. One of the earliest Sabbath schools in the eastern part of these townships was organized near Goodville in about 1820, by Miss Betsey Kibler. For many years the school was conducted in private houses later in the Red schoolhouse, near Goodville. Somewhat later the Sabbath school was organized as Cedar Grove Church, and Miss Kibler was the teacher there for many years. Goodville had about twenty-five dwelling houses in 1876. The population then was about 130. It is now about 200, and some of the old business houses are still being conducted. There is a large hardware establishment, a drug store, an implement house, a general store, a hotel, and two garage stations.
Spring Grove, near Goodville, was the site of the Spring Grove furnace, built after the Revolutionary War by Cyrus Jacobs, who came from Wales, and at first worked at Windsor Forge. He married the daughter of Ironmaster Old, and soon after the latter's death erected the Spring Grove forge. The village was of some importance during the operation of the forge, but with its closing, the place declined.
Blueball, at the junction of the old Paxtang and Horseshoe roads, is a banking town of 300 population. Its history covers a period of more than 150 years, its site having been part of the original tract of the Weavers. On August 27, 1766, Robert Wallace bought twelve acres from Jacob Weaver, and became a storekeeper at the junction of the roads. Soon he erected a tavern and opened it "At the Sign of the Blue Ball." In November, 1778, he sold to Peter Grim. The tavern for many years was a noted crossroads hostelry. John Grim, son of Peter, became prominent in mercantile, agricultural, and church activities, for thirty-two years being a ruling elder in Cedar Grove Presbyterian Church. Blue Ball of today in business activity consists of a shirt fac- tory, two tobacco factories, a large machine shop, a large general store, and other retail places, and of course the Blue Ball If otel. In addition there is the Blue Ball National Bank, the capital of which is $50,000, and the surplus about $30,000.
Farmersville, a village in West Earl township, situated (In the Lancaster and Hinkletown road, was founded by Eckert Myers, who erected the first house in it in 1843. Thirty years later the population was about 300. Since then the increase has been slight. A post-office established in the village in 1855 as Farmersville gave the place its name. Some representatives of the pioneer families are still in the village, among them being Burkholders, Rupps, Seldomridges, Rudys. Dr. C. H. Graft was the first postmaster, being succeeded in 186o by S. M. Seldomridge. Two or three newspapers have been published from Farmersville, the Burkholders having a printing plant in operation for several decades from the forties.
Brownstown, in West Earl township, was made a post-office in about 1860, A. K. Homberger being first postmaster. The village is probably as old as Farmersville, and grew more rapidly. In 1876 the village possessed two dry goods stores, two smithies, one hotel, one cigar factory, two schoolhouses, one church. The population then was about 200. Brownstown is now a banking town of 500 population, has an electric light, heat and power plant's knitting mill, a flouring mill, about half a dozen cigar factories, a printery, two hotels, a lumber yard, and the usual retail establishments. The Brownstown National Bank has a capital Of $25,000, and surplus of about one-fourth its capital; president is Dr. A. V. Walter. The Evangelical church was erected in the 'sixties. The Brownstown United Evangelical church is an offshoot of the other, and is now almost, if not quite, as strong.
Earlville, about a mile south of Brownstown, developed around a flouring mill erected at that point several years before 1800. The mill was later owned by Peter Kafroth. The pioneer family of the district was the Zimmerman or Carpenter family. Christian Carpenter, who was sheriff of the county in 1797, built the first store. Isaac Carpenter was an innkeeper in Earlville in 1826, and for about a decade thereafter. When West Earl township was formed in 1833, the village took the name of Earlville. The Carpenter Union Church, elsewhere referred to, was built in 1824.
West Earl, near Brownstown, was originally known as Forney's Tavern, from the hostelry around which the hamlet grew. The inn became the West Earl Inn, and the village name was likewise changed. The West Earl Inn was kept by Jacob L. Erb in 1884; in 1767 Abraham Forney was the inn- keeper.
Of those citizens resident within the townships of Earl, West and East Earl, who came notably into Lancaster county public affairs from the time of the establishment of the Republic, might be mentioned: Jacob Ringwalt, State legislator in 1811; Amos Ellmaker, lawyer, legislator, jurist, Anti-Masonic candidate for United States Vice-Presidency in 1832, and opponent of James Buchanan for U. S. Senatorship in 1834; Gen. Henry Hambright, soldier of the Revolution, and State legislator for four terms; Hy. Shirk (1810), Henry Roland (1821), Adam Bare (1834), Anthony E. Roberts (1839), William Duchman (1845), David Shultz (1847-51), county officials; William Heister, Congressman, 1830-37, and unsuccessful Anti-Masonic candidate for Congress against James Buchanan, in 1828; Anthony E. Roberts, county sheriff in 1839, and United States marshal, 1849-53, and twice afterwards Congressman; Isaac E. Hiester, Congressman in 1852; Soloman Diller, State Representative, 1836-39.
The census figures for the last three decadat takings are as follows: Earl township, 1900, 2,327;
1910, 2,280; 1920, 2,282. West Earl township, 1900, 2,275; 1910, 2,265; 1920, 2,204. east Earl township 1900 3,360; 1910, 2,487; 1920, 2,437. The boroughs(New Holland 1,463 in 1920, and Terre hill, 840 in 1920), are additional to the township figures.
Excerpted from Conestoga Valley Bicentennial, 1776-1976,Conestoga valley Chapter of the Lancaster County Bicentennial Committee
WEST EARL TOWNSHIP
In 1729, Lancaster County, named after Lancashire, England, was organized as a county and, also, the townships within it were established. Among those townships was Earl, named after Hans Graf, a Swiss Mennonite. "Earl" is the English name for "Graf" or "Groff".
Earl Township was settled mainly by Germans from the Palatinate area in Europe. Coming for religious and economic reasons, these German-speaking people rejoiced at the naturally endowed area to which they had come. These pioneers, who were mainly farmers, have handed down their rich farmland through generations maintaining an unswerving fidelity to the soil.
Earl Township originally encompassed part of present day West Earl Township, and all of present day Earl and East Earl Townshipp. As this area prospered, the need to split Earl Township became apparent. Accordingly, on November 18, 1833, West Earl Township was formed by taking part of Cocalico Township and part of Earl Township. This new township possessed 11,390 acres and 345 taxables or heads of households.
Of the present day villages, Talmage evolved first. Originally called Earlville, Talmage began in conjunction with a gristmill which was built before 1800. Brownstown and Farmersville were both started in 1843. In 1876, four churches existed in West Earl Township and are still active today.
Hans Graf
in 1661 Hans Graf was born in Switzerland. He was a refugee who first came to Philadelphia in 1695. Traveling westward, he came to the Swiss Mennonite settlement of Pequea in southern Lancaster County. While chasing stray horses Graf discovered a beautiful wooded plain which he decided to purchase. In 1717, he and his family moved to "Graf's Thal" (Groff's Run or Plain). At the head of Groff's Run, Graf built his first home, a log cabin. (1) He had the area surveyed and purchased 1,150 acres on October 4, 1718 from William Penn. In 1724, Hans Graf purchased 250 acres from Martin Kendrick and Hans Herr. This acreage was a part of the 5,000 acres which Kendrick and Herr had bought from Penn in 1717. On November 18, 1737, J. Richard Penn and Thomas Penn, sons of William Penn, deeded a total of 1419 acres to Hans Graf for 141L.18S. and I English silver shilling per 100 acres as quit rent to be paid annually on March I in,the City of Lancaster. Graf purchased an additional 91 acres in 1742. (2) Prior to 1729, Graf built his first gristmill at the confluence of the Cocalico and Conestoga Creeks. (3) A later mill was located near his original dwelling. (4) This building is still standing. A fulling mill, which processed raw wool into finished cloth, stood a little farther downstream. (5) Historian Rupp wrote that Graf was a friend of the Indians, had fine horses, and traded blankets bought in Philadelphia all along the Susquehanna with his six sons. "Perhaps there is no family in the county, more numerous, respectable and useful citizens than the Grafs" - a quote from Rupp's History of Lancaster County, 1844.
In 1733, Hans Graf was one of the men appointed to lay out the "King's Highway", the Old Philadelphia Pike. He was in charge of this road's construction. Also, Graf and five others from Lancaster County along with six men from Chester County were appointed on October 7, 1737, to lay out the Horseshoe Road, Pa. Rt. 23. On January 4, 1738, this group gave their recommendations and construction was begun. The purpose of the Horseshoe Road was to connect Lancaster with the Coventry Iron Works in Chester County.
Upon his death in 1746, Graf's land was divided among his children. Those sharing the land were Peter, Samuel, Marcus, Daniel, David, John and Fronick and her husband, Henry Landis. The Graf's other children were Jacob, Hannah, and Mary.
Hans Graf's Grave
Inscription on Tombstone:
First Settler - came from Switzerland A.D. 1696. Settlement was made at the head of Groff's Run. He purchased 1,419 acres of land from John Richard and Thomas Penn for 141L 18 Shillings, equal to $686.80, along Groff's Run. He built a log cabin on the old Groff farm A.D. 1717. His purchase in- cluded the land on which the Groffdale Meeting House is built.
Died A.D. 1746. The tombstone was erected by those wishing to identify Graf's grave and make note of his importance. The original stone marker is immediately behind the tombstone.
Groffdale Mennonite Church
1755 - The first known house of worship was constructed of logs and mortar on part of Hans Graf's land.
1823 - A stone building replaced the first one which had fallen into disrepair.
Late 1860's - A frame addition added.
1909 - The whole building was torn down and the present brick church erected. This building measures 501 by 801 and has a slate roof and a large basement for special meetings. The first worship service in the new building was held on February 10, 1910.
The church's cemetery was started as a family burial plot by the early settlers and has now been enlarged several times. !he graves of Hans Graf and another pioneer Hans Huber are in the center section of the cemetery.
Groffdale Old Mennonite Church
This meeting house was built of frame and constructed during the summer of 1895. The first public worship service was held in the fall of 1895. Two congregations use this church by alternating Sundays One group drives horse and carriages; while the second group drives black cars with black bumpers. There is a well-graded cemetery adjoining this meetinghouse where many families of both wings of the Weaverland Conference inter their dead.
Cooper's Blacksmith Shop and Charcoal Pit
This blacksmith shop, like many others in the area, conducted its daily business of shoeing horses and making a myriad of iron articles for homes and businesses.
The fuel used to produce heat to make the iron malleable was charcoal. Charcoal is produced by burning wood into coals which are then burned in the forge of the smith's shop. The charcoal pit, actually on ground level, measured from 301 to 401 in diameter and about 12 feet high. It took approximately two weeks to turn wood into charcoal. Evidence of the pit is still visible within 150 feet of the building.
Fiandt's Covered Bridge
This covered bridge was built in 1804 by local farmers. During flooding conditions in 1846, the bridge was washed off its foundation. The farmers assembled and pulled it back into its proper place before the waters had subsided. It is the only covered bridge in Pennsylvania located on a state road.
Fiandt's Gristmill
A Mr. Bitzer originally built a water-powered gristmill in 1802. Mr. Piandt later bought it
and continued its normal operation of grinding grain into flour and maize into corn meal.
Metzler Mennonite Church
May 26, 1827 - Jacob Metzler and his wife, Barbara, sold 60 perches (acres) of land to the trustees and to the preachers, ministers, and members of the congregation of Old Mennonites, and their successors of Metzler's meeting house in West Earl Township. The first meetinghouse was then built.
1864 - The first frame meetinghouse was greatly enlarged when Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Metzler sold 85 perches to the trustees on August 29, 1864
1896 - The first Sunday School was organized in the old meetinghouse.
1897 - The old meetinghouse was torn down and a large, 401 by 621 brick meetinghouse was built with more horse sheds and graveyard.
Conestoga Mennonite Church
The land for the church was donated by David Hoover. was built about 1930.
Wenger's Gristmill
The church building The earliest mill on this site, built in the early 1800's, burned down sometime before 1856. In that year Jacob and Levina Wolf built the existing gristmill. The next owners were the Wengers who bought it about 1900. Until about 1920, the mill housed a water-driven generator which supplied electrical service to the village of Brownstown.
Carpenter's Union Church
September 28, 1821 - Christian and Henry Carpenter, descendants of Dr. Heinrich Zimmerman (Carpenter), were authorized to build the meetinghouse now known as Carpenter's Church.
It was used as a Union Church by a number of denominations; namely, The Reformed Mennonites, The Evangelicals, and the Brethren.
1943 - The Mennonites formed a new congregation which met here.
1948 - The status of the church changed from a Union Church to a Mennonite denomination church.
The cemetery was established on April 21, 1789.
Shirk's Church and Cemetery
A Mr. Shirk donated the land on which the church was built in 1889. was remodeled in 1934 and torn down in 1969
The cemetery has very early beginnings with the earliest grave markers no longer legible. One early one reads: Susanne Braun 1752-1825
Zook's Covered Bridge In 1849 this was erected for the fantastic sum of $700. Having had no major repairs it looks now just as it did then. The shingle roof is there and the old floor boards, generally made of oak, 6 to 8 inches wide. The wood in the sides runs horizontally like a clapboard house. Usually the weight limit, posted at each end, is 5 tons but here it is 7 tons.
"Agnes" dealt harshly with this old span and it's a wonder it wasn't washed away. The water filled the bridge to a depth of 6k feet, 5 feet higher than any previous flood. Water alone wouldn't have been so bad, but the creek was full of debris. Afterwards they had to shovel out mud, tree limbs, fence posts, etc., just to make a path wide enough to walk through. A tree, rammed against it, damaged some siding.
Some of the heavy stone slabs on top of the wingwalls were lifted off as though they were made of cork and on the southeast side the current even ate away part of the road. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Before they filled in the gully with cement, some of the bridge's supporting timbers, now exposed were seen to be rotting with age. They were replaced pronto. Above these you can see some new floor boards. (You can also see the one place where a wingwall stone was never recovered; the white cement sticks out like a sore thumb.)
With all this pressure the bridge moved only a few inches - few enough that it didn't need to be moved back.
Zook's Fulling Mill
Site where Mr. Zook's Fulling Mill once stood. raw wood into finished cloth. A fulling mill processed raw wood into finished cloth.
Rupp's Grist Mill
This gristmill was built by Isaac Burkholder during the 1800's for approxi- mately $11,000. About 1900, it was taken over by Samuel Rupp who operated it for a number of years. After standing vacant for a time, it was torn down in 1975.
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