LampeterTownships
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Excerpt from the History of Lancaster County by Dr. Frederick Klein, 1924
LAMPETER TOWNSHIPS, EAST AND WEST
The township of Lampeter was one of the ori ginal townships of Laneaste county, its boundaries being clearly defined in the year of county erection 1729. Earlier, from i7i8, it was part of Conestogoe township, which embrace, practically the whole of that part of Chester county taken to form Lancaste county. The very earliest settlement history of Lampeter township is there fore part of that of Conestoga township, and much of interest and information to citizens of the Lampeters will be found to have been recorded in the Cones toga township sketch.
At the August term of court, 1729, which convened at Postlethwaite's Tav ern, in Conestoga township, the township boundaries set in June, 1729, wer approved. The Lampeter township boundary was thus defined: "Larnpete township, beginning at the mouth of Mill creek, at a corner of Conestogo township, thence up the east side of Conestogoe creek to Leacock townshill thence easterly by the said township to Pequea (creek), thence down Pequea (creek) by the said township to Beaver creek, thence by Conestogoe township to the place of beginning." The Lampeters still have those bounds, thougi the original township has been split almost in half, in a straight line from almost southeast to northwest. This was done in 1841, the original township, of Lampeter then passing out of existence, and the townships of East an, West Lampeter being constituted. East Lampeter has the form of a parallels gram, and lies diagonally across the county. It is bounded on the north and northeast by the townships of Upper Leacock and Leacock, east by Leacoct southeast and south by Paradise and Strasburg, southwest by West Lampetel and west by Lancaster and Manheim townships. West Lampeter is bounde, on the north and west by Lancaster, east by East Lampeter, southeast by Strasburg, south by Providence, and southwest by Pequea townships. The townships of Lampeter lie in three valleys, Conestoga, Pequea and Mill creel, The last-named creek approximately runs through the center of East Lampeter, and through the northern part of West Lampeter. Its direction is almost west, and it empties into the Conestoga at the extreme western corne of West Lampeter township. The Conestoga and Pequea creeks form the northwestern and southeastern boundaries. Stauffer's run and Bard's run empty into the Conestoga in East Lampeter. The soil is rich limestone loam, wonderfully fertile and is excellent tobacco land. Some very valuable farms are to be found in the Lampeters.
As to the origin of the township name, there can be no question that its name was suggested by the like name of the Welsh college town Lampeter, which lies on the border of Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire in Wales. One or two Welsh patronymics are among those of the pioneers of Lampeter town- ship, and at least two Welshmen were among the original magistrates and justices of Lancaster county, whose particular duty it was in June and August of 1729 to consider and approve the names and limits of the townships of the new county then established. Lampeter would at once suggest itself to Welshmen as a dignified name, because at the Welsh Lampeter was one of the leading colleges of that principality. To suppose that Lampeter, of Lancaster county, was derived from Peter Yorty, or Yoerdy, an early settler who was lame, is possible, but not probable, for almost all of the original townships, were given place-names, and a name which would give the new townships some reflected dignity. Lampeter, from Lame Peter, may reasonably be dismissed.
Land in Lampeter township was conveyed by William Penn to others as early as 1699. In
that year he gave a syndicate of London merchants the right to survey and hold for colonization 60,000 acres of land in Pennsylvania. The holdings of this syndicate later became known as the London Company's lands. At least two large tracts belonging to this company were within the limits of Lampeter township, and ' in the 'twenties and 'thirties of the eighteenth century many Palatines had settled upon them. Many were squatters, and the London Company had to post notices throughout the region stat- ing their intention to eject these squatters, and to hold them responsible for damage done to trees. The choice lands of Lampeter township were among the first to be sought for by settlers, and their reason for squatting was probably to, as it were, stake a holding until such time as they could get it war- ranted and patented. Among the pioneers who received title to land in Fast Lampeter township were, it is recorded, Philip Ferree, Hans Graaf, Peter Leman, James Smith, John Steer, William McNabb, Joseph Steer, James Gibbons, William Evans, John Hendrickstone, Andraes Soldenrick, Jacob Landis, Joseph Buckwalter, Michael Danner, Felix Landis, Benjamin Witmer, John Hess, Joseph Dawner, John Musgrove, William Willis, Derrick janster, Peter Yorkee (Yorty, Yoerdy), Martin Bare, John Graff, Hans Brand, Jacob Graff, Jacob Mayer. In West Lampeter, the Mennonite settlement in 1710 represented by the Herr, Kendig, Mylin, Bowman, and other families, covered a large tract, beginning near Willow street. The Ferree family is referred to in the Strasburg and Paradise chapters. Philip Ferree and Abraham Dubois, his father-in-law, had land partly in East Lampeter township; and the old Ferree homestead, which was built in 1795, is still tenanted by a descendant. Hans Graaf comes more into Earl township history; he was the pioneer in that township. Peter Leman received a patent for 400 acres in 1723, and his descendants still live in the county; James Smith, an English Quaker, settled on London Company land, and a patent was issued to him in 1723. On adjoining land were other Quakers-Joseph Steer, William McNabb and John Steer, who all received patents in the same year, 1723. On some of the land of McNabb and Steer, the Quaker meeting-house at Bird-in-Hand was built in 1749. Jacob and John Witmer acquired the remainder of their land in 1768. William McNabb had 200 acres, and gave two acres to the Friends' meeting-house in 1749; he and Joseph Steer moved to Virginia before the Revolution. John Steer's land passed to William Hamilton in 1748. James Gibbons bought 1,000 acres of land in 1723 from Elizabeth Wartnaby, of England. He never settled upon it, but his son, Joseph, took the land in about 1724, and a further tract, surveyed from the London Company's land, and received letters patent to these lands in 1732, though they remained in almost the virgin state until James, son of Joseph, married in 1756, and took up the task. It is said that it was not until this year that a member of the Gibbons family came to this county to reside, James then building a log cabin on the banks of Mill creek, north of where the Bushong mill property later stood. But th'ere are other records to show that the Magus of Ephrata, Conrad Beissel, had a log cabin on the Wartnaby estate, prior to the sale of the land to James Gibbons, and that one of his fellow-hermits sold that cabin to James Gibbons in about 1723, or 1724, making it necessary for Beissel to vacate it then. However, it is still possible that the grandson, James Gibbons, with his wife, Deborah Hoopes, was the first of his family to take up residence upon their large tract in Lampeter. In 1757 he built a homestead, and he soon became the leading man in that section of the township, being surveyor, scrivener, justice of the peace, and innkeeper. He conducted a tavern business for some years before and during the Revolutionary War. He was a Quaker, but was offered the coloneley of a regiment. The overseers of the Friends' Meeting and his own family, however, after a determined effort, dissuaded him from accepting. Part of the land is still in the possession of his descendants. William Evans was related to Governor John Evans, and it was the latter who first held title to the land in Lampeter township which William Evans eventually possessed. Patent to 1,000 acres was granted to John Evans in 1726, and in the same year he sold to John Moore. The latter transferred to William Evans in 1730. Col. John Evans was a Calvinist, but William Evans was a Quaker, as were his direct descendants for several generations. The last male of his line to hold the Lampeter land was Aaron S. Evans, who died in i845. Soon afterwards, his heirs sold the land and moved away. But Rebecca Evans, sister of Aaron, held her share of the ancestral estate up to the time of her death, in 1878. Upon it stood three stone houses, the oldest being the original William Evans homestead, still in good state of preservation.
All of these settlers lived in that part of East Lampeter beginning in the eastern part and proceeding westward to Bridgeport on the Conestoga. The settlers on the London Company's land in the central, western and southern sections of the township included: John Hendrickstone, who had ioo acres immediately west of the Evans tract, but who sold almost immediately to the son of the local land agent of the London Company, Benjamin Witmer; Andreas Soldenrich, or Andrew Seldomridge, received land west of Hendrickstone's and east of Landis', his patent being dated March 14, 1722. The tract was of 200 acres, and in 1747 it passed to Louis Boughwalter. Regarding the tract of Jacob Landis, the record reads: "In Taylor's surveys of the old patent tracts, Jacob Landis is said to have taken out the patent for a tract, but in the records of the Landis family, which are very voluminous, the original patentee was Benjamin Landis, a Swiss Mennonite preacher. He came to his country and received a patent for this land in 1718. He had but one son, Benjamin, Jr., who had four sons, one of whom was named Benjamin. In every generation since there has been a Benjamin, and the name of Jacob is less common. From all the records extant there is sufficient proof that the name on the old surveys was a mistake and that Benjamin Landis received the patent from the London Company. A grandson of the original Benjamin moved into Landis Valley, in Manheim township, and is the common ancestor of the Landis family there. Part of this land remains in the possession of the Landis family at present. The original tract contained two hundred and twelve acres." Benjamin Witmer (Weitmer, and later Anglicized even to Whitmore) was, it would seem, of German birth. "The name with all its changes was written with the German character for almost half a century after their coming to this country." Benjamin received a patent for 265 acres from the London Company in 1722, his land bordering both sides of the provincial road. Through it the Horseshoe road was laid out. In 1746 it passed to his son, John Whitmore. John Witmer died in 1790 and bequeathed his real and personal estate to his sons Henry and Abraham. A fine stone house upon the property was built in 1773. Henry sold his share to Abraham in 1806. It was through the enterprise of Abraham Witmer that the Conestoga Bridge came to he built, as will be noticed later in this chapter. When Abraham Witmer died in 1818, his affairs were so involved that the amount realized by the sale of the whole of his real and personal property, excluding his Bridge interest, was not suf- ficient to meet his debts.
Joseph Boughwalter (Buckwalter), a Palatine, was granted patent for a tract of land on Mill creek, lying south of the William Evans tract. Here a mill aud a large log house was erected by Boughwatter and his son, John. In 1798 or 1800 a large stone residence was erected. That is still standing, in good condition, and the log house stood for almost 150 years. The mill passed out of the possession of the Buckwatter family early in the nineteenth century, but the homestead was held. The old house was used as an inn for many years; it was known as "The Running Pump." Felix Landis received title to 400 acres of London Company's land by patent in 1723. Part he transferred to John Binckle (Binckley). The latter died intestate, and at the division by his three sons, who were Felix, Henry and Johnson, the first-named took the water-right and adjoining land. There in 1767 he erected a mill, whish he operated until his death.
Another patentee of London Company's lands was Martin Bare, who in 1723 received letters patents for the land surveyed in the name of Hanse Snider. In 1757, Martin sold to his son Christian. The latter's daughter married Martin Mellinger, a prominent Mennonite. Mellinger's Mennonite church is upon land which was given by Christian Bare to the Mennonite congregation, and Mellinger eventually became the possessor of the original Bare estate, the property being bequeathed to him. His wife, daughter of Christian Bare, probably willed it to him at her demise, and their son, Martin, Jr., also died before the father. In fact, Martin Mellinger, Sr., married again, his second wife being a widow, Elizabeth Denlinger. She had one son, Abraham Denlinger, and to this stepson Mr. Mellinger bequeathed the Bare homestead. It has remained in the Denlinger family, and the residence is still in good repair.
Jacob Graff bought the right of Peter Yorkee (Yorty) in 1722 to a tract of 212 acres of London Company's lands surveyed for the latter, and Graff eventually received patent. The property passed to Theophilus Hartman in 1743, and at his death to his son Christian, who lived there until his death in 1825. He, however, sold part of the land to Henry Yank, a tanner, in 1769, the latter selling to George Shindle in about 1775. It passed by will to his daugh- ter, Mrs. Metzger, in 1820, and from her to Michael S. Metzger. The Christian Hartman portion of the original estate passed to his son-in-law, Jacob Rohrer, and eventually to the latter's son, of same name. On Metzger's. portion is a very old house, thought to have been built by Theophilus Hartman. The Graff tract was north of the provincial road, in the present village of Bridgeport.
During the Revolution, the settlers in the Lampeters had many perplexities. The Mennonites would not fight, but paid their war taxes. The Quakers, however, not only would not fight, but felt that they could not conscien- tiously support a war, by contributing money by way of tax. At least one of the prominent Quaker pioneers of Lampeter was imprisoned because of his (Abraham Gibbons') outspoken opposition to the war. His brother James, however, was ardently in the Revolutionary cause, and so was not considered Ida very strict Friend."
The pioneers of West Larnpeter come prominently into some of the cred- itable history of Lancaster county. The record is chiefly in Mennonite activi- ties. One unique landmark of that township is the house of Hans Herr, the oldest now standing in the county. Until a decade or so ago, another land- mark was the original house of Martin Mylin, which was built in 1740, and so well that when, a century and a half later, it was demolished, the old mortar adhered so firmly to the sandstone walls "that the stone broke where mortar would not yield." Rupp writes regarding the house:
Martin Meylin built (1740) what was then called a palace of sandstone. It was in 1742 one of the most stately mansions of the county; and as the Mennonites were a plain people and Martin Meylin an active member, the house was not only considered too palacelike but the appearance of it might, as they reasoned, strengthen their enemies in prejudicing the Government against them-they had been virtually charged with disloyalty, determined not to obey the lawful authority of government; that they were disposed to organize a government of their own. The bishop, Hans Tschantz, with his elders and assistants, having repaired to the humble log cottage hard by this "stately mansion," and organized a meeting, himself presiding over the deliberations of the assembled, Martin was first questioned, upon conscience to openly declare what his intentions were in erecting so large, so gorgeous, a dwelling-reminding him of the rumor some twelve or thirteen years ago; and lately, of the prejudices excited against the Germans. He stated he consulted only his comfort and that he had no sinister views. Next, he was reminded that, in their view, the house was rather too showy for a Mennonite. The question was whether he deserved severe censure, if not suspension, from church principles, for this oversight. After some concessions and mutual forbearance by the parties, it was resolved that Martin be kindly reprimanded; to which he submitted-and thus the matter was ended, and all parted as brethren.
The older house, and, so far as is knowsi, the oldest of the many substantial stone dwelling-houses one sees in a tour of Lancaster county, stands about a half a mile east of Willow street, in West Lampeter township. It was erected in 1719 by the Rev. Christian Herr, son of Hans Herr, who is the American progenitor of very many branches of that family. Hans Herr and his five sons, John, Rev. Christian, Emanuel, Abraham and Henry, were among the Mennonites who settled in the Conestoga country in 1710. Hans Herr was the Mennonite bishop of the first settlement, and Christian, who built the Herr house in 1719, followed him into the ministry. Carved into a prominent sandstone of one of the walls of that house is to be seen the foundation history of that structure; it reads: "17 C. H.-H. R. 19," proving that it was erected in 1719. Hans He" was "the central figure, so to say," of the original Mennonite settlement in Lancaster county, the central figure, "both spiritually and in purse, around which the men of smaller mind and lighter means revolved who associated with him. * * * In person he was of medium height, with long gray hair curled under at ends and parted in the middle; had heavy brows, dark hazel eyes, aquiline nose, mouth rather small with heavy lips, complexion florid, with full beard covering the face, the whole lighted by a countenance in which sweetness and austerity were gracefully blended." Hans Herr was selected by lot to return to Europe to induce the relatives of settlers to emigrate; "but his flock were so reluctant to spare him that Martin Kendig, who was an influential leader among them, volunteered to go in his place, and made the hard journey, bringing back with him a consid- erable number of immigrants." Hans Herr as bishop was responsible for the erection in 1712, between Lampeter and Willow street, of the first Mennonite meeting-house and school erected in Lancaster county. Regarding the Men- nonite church, H.' W. Miller wrote in 1883: "He (Hans Herr) * * * erected the first Mennonite church, a structure built of sandstone, the ruins of which can still be seen on the farm now owned by David Hoover (Huber), residing near Willow street." The following description of the Lampeters, as seen from a trolley window, was written in igio, based upon an article, "The Picturesque and Historical East End," by Hon. W. U. Hensel, who knew so much of the history of, and saw so much beauty in, Lancaster county:
Descending the long hill which leads to the (Conestoga) Creek, by groups of beautiful suburban homes, an exquisite park to the right of the track is seen extending far to the south. The Conestoga is crossed upon an open bridge of concrete and iron, from which the passenger obtains a view up and down the stream.
During the War of the Revolution, this spot on the river was known as "Deering's Ford," and it was almost continuously thronged by the passage of wagon trains and herds of cattle, destined to the Army Quartermaster, marching and returning troops and other military movements. Here the American Congress forded the water in 1777, when it hastily moved from Philadelphia to York, via Lancaster, holding one session here.
The magnificent nine-arch stone bridge, which carries the turnpike across the stream, was the enterprise of Abraham Witmer, a public-spirited citizen who, in 1795, obtained the Legislative charter, enabling him to erect it and to charge tolls until such time as he was recompensed or the county bought it; which it did in 1817, at a cost of $58,444.41. The beauty and endurance of this structure have conu-nanded encomiums from architects and engineers. It is a monument of solidity, honesty, disinterestedness of the county's earlier citizens. The bridge bears the following inscriptions:
ERECTED BY
ABRAHAM WITMER
MDCCXCIX-MDCCCI.
A LAW OF AN ENLIGHTENED
COMMONWEALTH
THOMAS MIFFLIN, GOVERNOR,
SANCTIONED THIS MONUMENT
OF THE PUBLIC SPIRIT
OF AN INDIVIDUAL
61 M TO P.
THIS BRIDGE WAS BUILT BY
ABR. WITMER AND MARY, HIS WIFE,
AND COMPLETED
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1800.
Abraham Witmer never received proper reward for his public service in building the Conestoga bridge. It seems incredible that along the King's highway, the busiest thoroughfare, no way across the Conestoga river other than by a ford should have been provided even fifty years after 'the road had been opened. The public fording still exists, tbough over part of it the tracks of the Lancaster and Eastern Street Railway Company now lie. Several earlier attempts to carry through, or at least to promote a bridge project, were made by the county authorities, but it remained for a private individual to accomplish out of his own means, and by his own initiative, what the public authorities had failed to do. In 1753 the county commissioners were considering proposals for a stone bridge across the Conestoga on the Provincial road, but in the following year they were of the opinion that this project would be dia great burden on this county, the expense wherof will, by estimation, amount to near two thousand pounds." A little later an attempt was made to raise the money by means of a lottery, but this effort was futile. An Act of the Legislature in 1787 granted Abraham Witmer the privilege of building at his own expense, and of reimbursing himself, if possible, by the exaction of tolls. Under this act, it seems that Abraham Witmer built a wooden bridge, to serve the temporary need, apparently. Judge C. I. Landis writes: "The bridge built by Abraham Witmer under the act of 1787 was not the present bridge. That one was evidently a wooden bridge, and therefore a much lighter structure. When it was erected I cannot exactly say, but in May, 1789, the road leading from the King's Highway northward to what was known to us as Ranck's Mill, and before that as Andrew Graeff's Mill, was laid out, and it began as recited in the Court proceedings 'two perches west of Whitmer's Bridge, nearly opposite the fourth pillar, on the west side of said bridge and on the west side of Conestoga Creek,' etc. This and the former records referred to fix, therefore, the time of its construction as between June 17, 1788, and May, 1789."
Act of April 4, 1798, supplemented the Act of 1787, and encouraged Abraham Witmer to undertake the more permanent work. He went ahead courageously with the construction of the stone bridge; and the "Lancaster journal" of Wednesday, November 12, 1800, issue carried the following notice: "Conestogoe Bridge-It is with great pleasure that Abraham Witmer inform the public that his new bridge will be completed to-morrow, on Which day, at one o'clock, the inscription stone will be fixed in the centre of the north wall of said bridge. The friends of Abraham Witmer and all other citizens desirous to see the same are respectifully informed thereof."
Abraham Witmer was still the owner of the Conestoga bridge twelve years later, though the county was desirous of raising the money, by taxation, with which to acquire it "and make it free." An act was passed on March 27, 1812, entitled "An act to purchase and make free the bridge over the River Conestoga, built bv Abraham Witmer, in the county of Lancaster." The county commissioners met in June with other commissioners appointed by the State, and "made an award that the sum Of $58,444.44 should be paid to Witmer," for the bridge. The county commissioners were, however, dissatisfied, and refused to draw an order for the award. Witmer took the case into the Supreme Court, but the opinion of the court did not altogether favor Witmer. He died in 1818, while the matter was still undecided, died insolvent, if one excludes his Bridge claim. Nine years later, David Witmer, an executor, compromised for less than half the amount of the original award. Judge Landis writes: "I am afraid Abraham Witmer met the fate which falls to the lot of many public-spirited citizens. * * * This magnificent structure yet stands to attest the solidity and completeness with which the work was done. This bridge was one of the first of its kind in the State, and it excites admiration to this day. The man who conceived and completed it is, in my judgment, entitled to be gratefully remembered by our citizens and to have his name perpetuated." Continuing, the Hensel article before-quoted:
Immediately east of the bridge is the Bridgeport Hotel, probably built in 1758-60, once a famous stopping-place for Pittsburg wagons, the center of a land boom in 1819, when lots were laid out and disposed of, but the hopes were blasted. The roads forking here, we follow the turnpike leaving to the left the "Old Philadelphia Road" laid out 1730, the shortest route between Lancaster and Philadelphia, and known for sixty years as the great road of the county, the famous turnpike on which we travel not having been finished until 1794, About two miles cast of Bridgeport there branches off from the Old Philadelphia Road the "Horse Shoe Road," which was laid out in 1738 to connect the town of Lancaster and Coventry Iron Works on French Creek, and along which sprang up Heller's Church, New Holland, Bangor, Churchtown, and Morgantown.
About a mile beyond Bridgeport we get a good view of the County Seat, profiled against the sky, with its steeples, stacks and pipes, and presently pass Mellinger's Meeting-House, a place of public worship since 1757, attached to which is the oldest graveyard in the town- ship, surveyed and reserved as a burial place long before the church was built, the resting place of the remains of pioneer Palatines and their descendants. We now enter East Lampeter, one of the wealthiest and most populous townships of the county, settled about 1720, organized 1841, but originally a part of Lmnpeter laid out 1729, a district without great landscape beauty or rich manufactories, devoted to agriculture, including truck farming.
Just east of the junction with the Strasburg pike, three miles from the city, a stone viaduct carries the roadway over a ravine, which attests the substantial construction of public works years ago. Another strong and handsome arched bridge spans Mill creek at Greenland, and near the breast of the millpond, to the right a group of buildings, formerly known as Eshleman's Mill-the birthplace of Col. B. Frank Eshleman-now houses the Yeates School, a notable Episcopalian academy for boys, founded by Miss Kitty Yeates, a daughter of one of the earlier justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
A half mile beyond there stands an old dwelling-house, on the south side, for many years the Running Pump Hotel, now George Brubaker's property, where man and beast may slake their thirst at the ceaseless fountain. We presently reach the summit of a hill affording a splendid view. It takes in immediately and in the northeast foreground, the splendid "Mill Creek Country," with the stately rows of Lombardy poplars in the centre of the scene, that indicate the way from Gibson's Mill to Bird-in-Hand, and, far away, a road to Rancles. Thence are spread out to the patient tourist's eye, the great expanse of eastern Lancaster county, from the Furnace Hills on the Lebanon corner, far northward, to the Mine Ridge, south, with the Welsh Mountains in the middle distance eastward, and back to the clus- tered spires of Lancaster, forming the western skyline. Chestnut Hilk far on the sunset side, comes into view and frames the western border of the scene. * * * Away to the north and northeast are Witmer, Bird-in-Hand and Ronks, marked by stately trees.
In 1749 Friends reerected in Bird-in-Hand a log meetinghouse which had been originally erected in Leacock township in 1732, and which was displaced by the present brick meeting-house erected in 1790. This was built around and over an old log building, which, upon completion of the new building, was taken out log by log through the door. Migration thinned out this meeting over fifty years ago, and made it the parent of a flourishing Illinois meeting. The Bird-in-Hand Hotel, which has preserved its original name to the present is one of the oldest stands in the county, having been the headquarters of the first surveyers of the old road in 1734. Four buildings have been erected successively upon the same site and the same cellar walls. Prior to 1862, when the Reading and Columbia railroad was built, Bird-in-Hand was the shipping station for the northern section of the county. Not unlike other sections, it has seen business come and go a number of times.
For about a mile we pass through the borders of the Amish section, with its quaint characteristic customs, dress, and colors on buildings. At the Amish schoolhouse, near Soudersburg, one may see the children of these primitive people in their unique uniforms. Half a mile to the north a group of Lombardy poplars mark and hide the old Steele mansion, where George Whitfield, the English evangelist, was a guest one hundred and fifty years ago, and where dwelt the collector of the Port of Philadelphia, under President Madison, Captain John Steele.
We now approach Soudersburg, where Haftel Varman built the first house, 1727, and Friends conducted meetings prior to 1732. We notice to our right a Methodist church of historic significance, as marking one of the earliest Methodist settlements in the county, services being held here as early as 1791, and a house of worship erected in 1802, replaced by a brick building in 1872. Passing a fine brick farmhouse on the hill, near which stands a giant balsam poplar, brought as an ox "wattle" from Virginia in 1812, and the scion of numerous progeny in the neighborhood, we soon cross the Pequea on a fine stone arch bridge and enter Paradise township.
The earliest tavern-keepers in the Conestoga country, part of which Lampeter township was, have been noticed elsewhere, but some of the innkeeping licenses issued in provincial and early-republican times may be noted here. The Quarter Sessions Court in 1765 issued licenses to keep inns in Lampeter to Frederick Larger, Robert Eachus, George Aston, George Diehl, William Christie; in 1766 to Christopher Franciscus, James Gibbons; in 1774 to Timothy McCormick; in 1775 to John Witmer, Jr., Willis Davis, Hannah Hains; in 1778 to James Kerry, John Willson, Wm. Hains; in 1779 to Wm. Hains and Geo. Michael Brecht; in 1780, to Henry Shute, Wm. Hains; in 1781 to George Bressler, Henry Shute, Salome Hains, and John Moore; in 1798 to Jacob Hartman, Gaynor Pierce, Arthur Travers, Henry Kendrick, Jacob Duchman, Adam Pickel. In 1798 Jacob Hartman kept the Bird-in- Hand Hotel; Gaynor Pierce kept the Seven Stars; Arthur Travers had the Lamb; Jacob Duchman the Fountain, and Adam Pickel the Blue Ball Inn.
The Bird-in-Hand Hotel has held that name throughout its nearly two centuries of existence. It was one of the first inns along the road, and was headquarters for the first surveyors of the old road in 1734. Upon the same foundations four hotels have stood, the last having been erected in 1852 by Benjamin Graff. The property was originally warranted to William McNabb, and in 1748 passed to his son, John, by bequest. In 1755, John Steer purchased from John McNabb; in 1768 John Witmer was the landlord. At his death, it passed by decree of the Orphans' Court to John Witmer, Jr., who sold it to George Bressler in 1775. John Bender acquired it in i8o2; six years later John Bender, Jr., inherited the inn, and in 1827 sold to Samuel Rinzer. Benjamin Graff became the owner in 1844. At his death in 1853, the property was sold to John Gyger. In i865 Levi R. Rhoads purchased it.
The Bridgeport Hotel property was in the possession of Roger Hunt and Esther his wife in probably the earliest days. They sold in 1740 to Henry Bostler. Four years later James Webb acquired it. He sold in 1758 to Jacob Shoemaker. But there is a doubt whether the property was ever used for hotel purposes prior to 1766, when Christopher Franciscus purchased it, and in the same year secured license to keep an inn. However, foreclosure sales and deeds to Franciscus seem to indicate that Jacob Shoemaker built the hotel between 1758 and 1766. John Witmer bought the property in 177--. Eleven years later he moved out of the county, and transferred the hotel to Henry Lougher, a tanner of Bridgeport. George Shindle purchased it from Lougher in 1809. The Witmer family seems to have regained posses- sion, for in 1821 the hotel passed from David Witmer to Lemuel Sappington, and twenty years later from the assigness of Sappington to Rudolph Kauffman. Cyrus Miller bought from Kauffman in 1847, Michael Metzgar becoming landlord and owner in 1852. As the Witmer bridge across the Conestoga was so near the Bridgeport Tavern, the place became a stand for Pittsburgh wagons, and at one time an attempt was made to exploit a townsite, by lottery, at that point.
There is another hotel at Bird-in-Hand; it was built in 1834 or 1835 to accommodate the railroad construction gangs, for Abraham Bruner, of Columbia. It passed through several hands before Peter Boffenmyer acquired it, in 1866. It has always been known as the Railroad House.
Bird-in-l-land is one of the oldest villages of East Lampeter township. In the earliest days it seemed to have been a Quaker community, for to it, from Hattil Varman's land in Leacock township, was removed log by log the meeting-house which had been erected on Varman's land in 1732. William McNabb was the original patentee under the London Company at Bird-in-Hand, and he or his son gave the land upon which the Quaker church was reerected in 1749. It served until 1790, when a brick edifice was raised around and over it and completed before the original log church within was razed. Whether William McNabb was the pioneer innkeeper is not clear, but the Bird-in- Hand Hotel property is traced back to him. Bird-in-Hand in 1880 was a place of two inns, the Bird-in-Hand and the Railroad House, one post-office, one railroad station, an express office, a good schoolhouse, several stores, a cigar factory, a wheelwright's shop, and a lumber and coal yard, and a mill. To-day it has two hotels, two general stores, an implement and hardware house, paint shop, smithy, garage, some nurseries, mill, coal, grain and feed establishments. Its population is about 400.
West Enterprise is one and a half miles northwest of Bird-in-Hand. The railroad station and post-office go by the name of Witmer's, or Witmers. The village came into establishment with the coming of the railroad, in 1836, and although until 1873 there was not a passenger station at Witmers, the freight- ing facilities provided from 1836, when a warehouse was built, proved sufficient to bring about a steady growth. The population now is about 250, and it is a center of much business. A large coal and lumber business is done from Witmers.
Smoketown ties upon the original Wartnaby tract, which the Gibbons family acquired. The Gibbons mill was the most important property at that point on Mill creek in provincial days. The Gibbons homestead was an inn for a while during the Revolutionary War. It was destroyed by fire in 1837.
There are several old houses in Smoketown, some now probably more than a hundred years old. The first settlers in the vicinity of Smoketown were English and Welsh immigrants; among them were Peter Ballas, David Harman, William Evans and James Smith, who came into the Conestoga country in 1715-.
Soudersburg has had village existence for more than a hundred years, and the place has been settled for more than two hundred years. The original patentee was Abraham Dubois, the letters patents being dated May, 1717. The tract of one thousand acres patented to him was warranted to others some years earlier. Philip Ferree, son-in-law of Abraham Dubois, was son of Madame Mary (Maria Warenbauer) Ferree, who settled in Strasburg in 1711. Abraham Dubois remained in the Huguenot colony at Esopus, now Kingston, New York State, for some years after crossing to America from England, in 1709 or 1710, and some of Madame Ferree's sons may also have gone to Esopus after landing, instead of going to Philadelphia direct. It was to the New York Colony that Philip Ferree returned to marry Leah Dubois, and it would seem that it was through information conveyed by the Ferrees that Abraham Dubois bought from Hans Graaf in 1716 the latter's one thousand acre tract in the Pequea Valley. Hans Graaf within a year or two went into Earl Township, and there settled. It is doubtful when Dubois settled on his one thousand acres, but it was patented to him in 1717. His name appears among the "non-residents" on the tax-iists of 1718, 1719, 1720, 1721, 1722, 1723. The tax list for 1723-24 is missing, but his name does not appear on the lists for 1724-25. He died in 1731, and by his will his daughter and her husband, Philip Ferree, acquired a life interest in the paternal estate. The next generation in due time divided the estate, their youngest son Joel receiving one-third of the one thousand acres. One hundred acres of his tract he eventually on March 30, 1789, sold to Jacob Souders. Upon this land part of Soudersburg was built. According to Ellis and Evans' "History of Lancaster County" (1883):
The first house built in Soudersburg was erected by Hattil Varrnan, who bought land in Soudersburg in 1727, and as Friends' meetings were held here until 1732, it is to be supposed that the house was built soon after the property was purchased. The next building of authentic date is the Methodist church, which was built in 1802. Whether or not there was an old hotel in this village cannot be ascertained, but, as the turnpike was only finished in 1798, it is not likely that the house of Hattil Varman was an inn in early times. In Soudersburg was one of the earliest toll-gates on the old turnpike, and from that dates the building of this village. It now contains (1883) a post office, a general store, two resident physicians, two blacksmith shops, shoemakers, plasterers, and carpenter shops. There were formerly two hotels here, but now there are none.
Soudersburg is now (1923) a place of about one hundred inhabitants. The general store there has been kept by S. M. Herr for many years, and descendants of the Souders still live in the village, Earl Souder having had a smithy there for many years.
These villages are in East Lampeter. Those of West Lampeter include Lampeter, Willow Street, Wheatland and Lime Valley. There are other smaller places, but these were named post-offices. Williow Street and Lampeter are flourishing villages, and their settlement reaches back two centuries or more. Lampeter had a population of 191 and Willow Street 182 inhabitants in 1880; forty years later they were credited with 368 and 450 residents, respectively. It will therefore be seen that their growth has been appreciable, due mainly, it would seem, to their nearness to the county seat, and to the development of means of transportation. Lampeter is eight miles from Lancaster, has a general store, hotel, some smithies, and two automobile garages and service stations. The general store at Lampeter has been kept by Eli Witmer for many years. Willow Street, six miles from Lancaster, has three general stores, hotel, wheelwright, tinning, blacksmith and nursery establish- ments, and a saw and grist mill. The Hildebrand family kept the hotel for many years, and John M. Eckman is the sawyer and miller. Wheatland Mill, and Eshleman's Mill, the latter now a boarding school, were the business rea- sons for the hamlets of Wheatland and Greenland. The same may be written of Lime Valley, not one of the hamlets having one hundred inhabitants. The post-offices have largely given way to rural routes from Lancaster, Strasburg and elsewhere.
In 1813 the town of Bridgeport, in Lampeter township, on the east bank of the Conestoga, was laid out by Christian Martin, and lots offered by sale. There were 38 lots at $420 each, to be drawn by lottery.
James Black and Michael Good were the last justices of the original Lampeter township. The first justices appointed for the new townships were William Bull, for East Lampeter, and Henry Carpenter for West Lampeter, both taking office in 1842. One of the prominent men of Lampeter township, indeed of Lancaster county, in the first half of the nineteenth century, was David Miller, who was sheriff of Lancaster county in 1834. "He was an eccentric though amiable character, * * * familarly known as 'Devil Dave' Miller. He made return of a bench warrant to judge Lewis on one occasion by riding his horse up the steps of the court-house and through the main aisle of the court room, dismounting in front of the bench. He kept the Washington House on East King street (Lancaster), located next to the Farmers' National Bank, and ran what was known as the Blue Line freight cars on the Pennsylvania railroad." (More is written regarding the State's first and only experiment in railway ownership and operation in the Paradise township chapter).
The early schools of Lampeter township were church schools. Sachse thinks that the first school work done in Lancaster county was that which the hermits of Mill Creek undertook for the children of the settlement in 1721-23. The teachers were Conrad Beissel, and his fellow-anchorites, and they taught in their log cabin on the Wartnaby-Gibbons tract, near Smoketown, in East Lampeter. This, however, was spontaneous, no organized, service. Lampeter township accepted the common school law in 1836. In 1837 there were eleven schoolhouses, 366 scholars, and an expenditure of $2,624.66. Further information is given in the two chapters devoted to school history. The churches of East Lampeter include Mellinger's Mennonite, Soudersburg and Bird-in-Hand Methodist Episcopal, the Witmer Union, and the St. John's United Brethren.
While so many of the townships of Lancaster county show a decreasing population, both East and West Lampeter are maintaining a steady increase. The census of 1900 credited East Lampeter with 2,519 inhabitants; that of 1910 with 2,595 residents; and the last census, 1920 with 2,697 inhabitants. The figures for West Lampeter are: 1900, 1,870 inhabitants; 1910, 1,927; 1920, 2,018 residents.
Excerpted from Conestoga Valley Bicentennial, 1776-1976, Conestoga Valley Chapter, Lancaster county Bicentennial Committee
EAST LAMPETER
Lampeter was one of the townships formed when Lancaster County was organized at the Postlethwaite Tavern in 1729. The township was named for a town in Wales. If one checks an up-to-date map of Wales, the town Lampeter can be found today.
The types of transportation and communication in early 1800's were not adequate to administer the government properly to such a large area. For this reason Lampeter, like Earl, and Leacock Townships, was divided into smaller districts. In 1841 East and West Lampeter Townships were formed.
Much later in the 1950's, the quality of education and schools needed to prepare the students to cope with modern times could not in most cases be financially supported by one township. So, for educational purposes only, the townships again united. In some cases the same two that separated became one again. In our situation, a part of four original townships made up Conestoga Valley. Originally, West Earl obtained a small part of Cocalico Township.
Although we know our Conestoga Valley is drained by the Susquehanna River, we also know that locally it is drained mostly by the Conestoga River. This is true except for a small part of East Lampeter that is drained by the Pequea Creek. Since most of it is in the Conestoga Valley, that name was chosen.
Witmer Bridge at Bridgeport
In 1787 the state of Pennsylvania passed an act for establishing and building a bridge across the Conestoga on the road from Lancaster to Philadelphia. Abram Witmer was authorized to build (erect) this bridge from which he and his heirs should receive the toll. Thus it was called Witmer Bridge. It served the public for 125 years.
The Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first turnpike in the United States. There were three toll gates in East Lampeter on this highway - one on the north side of the highway was dismantled (torn down) when Clarks built Dutch Wonderland, another was in Soudersburg, and a third is still standing at Bridgeport, the last house on the north side of the bridge. It is owned by Mr. Bookman.
Mellinger Church and Cemetery
The Mellinger Mennonite congregation was organized before the first building was erected in 1767. In 1855 a limestone addition was built which is now used as a missionary home. In 1883 the first building was torn down and another erected in 1884. In 1914 this was replaced by the present building which for the most part retains its original appearance although renovated several times. Mellinger Cemetery is officially dated 1776.
Greenland School
Greenland.School is now the home of Mr. and Mrs. Loyal Good who operate a fruit and vegetable stand on the site. It was one of the one-room schools closed in 1937.
The first Greenland School stood and an old Hotel owned by John Echternach stood at this site in 1864.
Bonholtzer's Mill
Bonholtzer's Mill, as it is known today, is owned by Richard Bonholtzer. The original mill was constructed on the other side of the Strasburg Pike at a place known as Fertility. Here was located one of the four East Lampeter post offices as far back as 1864. The other three were at Greenland, Soudersburg along Route #30 and Enterprise (now Bird-in- Hand). The mill no longer operated, was first owned by Abram Binkley then by Henry Groff, Isaac B. Groff, Jacob Mowrer, and finally John Bonholtzer (Richard's father).
One of East Lampeter's covered bridges was also located here.
Toll Gate
The Toll House was located here when the Strasburg Pike was a turnpike The building is now owned and occupied by Joseph Walton.
Pleasant View School
In 1937 the I-room schools of East Lampeter Township were consolidated at Smoketown. Pleasant View is now owned and occupied by the Roth family.
Lancaster Mennonite High School In 1942 the Lancaster Conference Mennonites bought this property and began operating a high school here in September of that year.
It was originally part of the Jacob Buckwalter property whose family operated a mill there for eighty years. The old mill building stood until recently when it was torn down to make way for LMHS expansion. Benjamin Eshleman bought the mill in 1842. From 1907 until 1922 it was the location of Yates Episcopal School for Boys. Between 1922 and its acquisition by the Mennonites it was used by the State Police, for a short time, as a private Boys' School, and as a private home.
Greenland Hotel
At the corner of Harvest Road and Route 30 stands the old Greenland Hotel built in 1853. For a time it was the voting place for East Lampeter. It is now privately owned.
Running Pump Inn
This is the original site of the Running Pump Inn built in 1799. This old Buckwalter stone building stands on the property of Joe Myer's Restaurant. The original owner of the property on which the inn was located was Joseph Buckwalter, a Palatine, who received a patent in 1723 for a tract of land lying on Mill Creek south of the William Evans estate .
Joe Myers paid one dollar (1.00) for the lovely old inn when Mr. Clark built Dutch Wonderland. It cost him close to $50,000 to have it moved to its present site. The moving occurred at the end of February and the beginning of March 1963. Traffic on Route 30 had to be rerouted during the relocation.
Old Hotel
An old hotel, now a dwelling, was east of Wertz's fruit and vegetable stand. In 1864 it was owned by John Geiger.
Peguea School This is the site of the Pequea School (one-room) no longer used after 1937 and now torn down.
A cemetery which dated back to before the Revolutionary War is located here.
Millbridge Museum Millbridge Museum
formerly an old grist mill, is not in East Lampeter but just across the Pequea Creek in Strasburg Township. A covered bridge still standing, connects the two townships at this point.
Fairview School
Fairview School was not closed in 1937 but was used as a public school attended chiefly by Amish children. Mrs. Anna Denlinger taught here for many years. The school was maintained by the township until 1975 when in that summer it was bought by the Amish at a cost of $23,600 for their own private school.
Soudersburg School
Soudersburg one-room school was closed in 1937. Elam Smoker bought the property from East Lampeter Township and finally sold it to the present owner H. Carrozza.
Soudersburg Methodist Episcopal Church
The Soudersburg Methodist Episcopal Church building is on a part of the tract of land owned by Philip and Leah Ferree and sold by Joel Ferree to John Souders in 1789. The first church was built in 1802 and rebuilt in 1873. The church was on the same circuit as the Bird-in-Hand Methodist. It was later closed and some of the members attended the Bird-in-Hand church.
St. John's United Brethren Church
The first St. John's United Brethren Church was a little frame building at the south side of Route 30 just east of the Soudersburg Run. This congregation was organized in 1843 and the building was erected in 1846. In 1877 they relocated to the present site and finally in 1968 it united with the Methodist Church'and became St. John's United Methodist Church.
The Ronks One-room School House
The Ronks one-room school was closed in 1937. t is now owned and used as a residence by Mr. and Mrs. John Buckwalter.
Off the main street in Ronks is a farrier's (blacksmith) shop now being operated by R. J. Charles. Salina Stoltzfus, now 103 years old, says as long as she can remember there has been a blacksmith shop in Ronks.
Other Smithy shops in East Lampeter were in Witmer, Bridgeport owned by Mr. Hoar, Smoketown, and Bird-in-Hand. Frank Paes operated one in the Strasburg Pike at Fertility and later moved it to what is now Alma Bonholtzer's home, farther south on the Strasburg Pike.
The Bird-in-Hand One-room School
The Bird-in-Hand one-room school closed in 1937 and is now owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Yunginger.
The Bird-in-Hand Hotel
The Bird-in-Hand Hotel is now owned and operated by Mrs. Bitzer who with her husband moved there in 1938. The first building was erected in 1734, Levi Rhoades built the present structure in 1864. The original hotel building was the headquarters for the first surveyors of the "Old Road" (now Route 340) in 1734. Bird-in-Hand Quaker Church Located here is Bird-in-Hand Quaker Church and Academy back of it. The Quakers were organized as early as 1732 in the area, but it wasn't until 1749 that their first meeting house was built. In 1889 the present building was erected outside the old building, and when it was finished, the old building was dismantled. Today it is used as a Scout house.
The Academy back of it is being restored by Eber Reese, its present owner.
Bird-in-Hand United Methodist
,p> Church Bird-in-Hand
United Methodist Church was founded in 1840. The first building was what is now a house directly across the highway from the present church building.
Nolt's Mill Nolt's Mill was built in 1770 by James and Deborah Gibbons. This is the only mill still operating in East Lampeter. Previous owners were the Bushong and the Spence families. The bridge here replaced a covered bridge.
This is an old private cemetery of the Groff and Siegrist families. dates back to before the Revolution.
An original Lancaster and Philadelphia milestone is still standing opposite Pietsch's electrical store along Route 340. (30 and 31)
Schools
In 1834 a bill was passed that provided that not only pauper children should be educated at public expense but all children of Pennsylvania.
By June 1868 East Lampeter had ten schools with both male and feinale teachers. The school tax was 2.5 mills and in a year the district spent $3200.50 on schools.
On the school board in 1868 were Samuel Curtis, Daniel Herr, Christ Kendig, Isaac Heller, and David Landis.
In 1907 there was a 2-room building standing. That year in that building it was decided to start a high school in East Lampeter. The freshman class was in the same room with grades 7 and 8 with one teacher, James G. March. The next school year, 1908-09, there would now be that first class and the 1908 freshman. There were too many students for that room so the high school students were moved to Witmer in what was Adam Miller's store room of his furniture and cabinet shop. Jonathan King has a cabinet shop there today.
In 1909 the first class was graduated with two years of high school work, but that year the school board decided to make it a three-year high school. The graduates of the 1909 class were allowed to go another year but did not graduate again. Really this should be called the 1909 and 1910 class. Members of that first class were Jacob B. Lefever, Lloyd Laushey, Elsie Aument, Mabel Steffy, and Anna M. Landis, from whom this information was received, and is the only one now living. The principal when the first class graduated was H. Day Gise who had succeeded H. E. Fenstermacher after Institute week. Mr. Fenstermacher went to Lancaster City where he taught until he retired.
In 1910 a 4-room, 2-story building at Smoketown replaced the old 2-room building erected in 1868. On the school board in 1910 were Martin Brenner, Jacob Meck, William Eckman, Adam Landis, Oscar Kendig, and Harvey Heller.
In August of 1910 the high school students moved to the two upper rooms while grades 1-8 were in the
two lower rooms.
East Lampeter High School was located here until the fall of 1927.
The following is the list of classes with their respective teachers:
1910-Alpheus Becker (no graduation)
1911-Alpheus Becker
1912-C. Reed Alexander
1913-G. Reed Alexander
1914-G. Reed Alexander
1915-G. Reed Alexander (Mr. Alexander served in World War I after which he was appointed Assistant County Superintendent for Superintendent Fleisher.)
1916-John Wimer
1917-Virgil Hosinger
1918-Virgil Hosinger (no class graduated)
1919-Carolyn Wiker Virgil Holsinger
1920-Carolyn Wiker Virgil Holsinger
1921-Carolyn Wiker Lloyd Kline
1922-Carolyn Wiker Charles Uibel
1923-Carolyn Wiker Charles Uibel
1924-Carolyn Wiker Harold Hess
1925-Carolyn Wiker Melvin Brubaker
1926-Carolyn Wiker Melvin Brubaker
1927-Carolyn Wiker David Weber
Smoketown Elementary School
The Smoketown Elementary School was built in 1937, the year the one-room schools were consolidated in that building.
The school board members were Harvey Heller, Walter Smith, John Rohrer, John Foose, and Harry Overly.
East Lampeter High School
The East Lampeter High School was located here from 1928 until 1958 when it joined with Upper Leacock and West Earl to make the present Conestoga Valley. When it had moved it became a four year high school.
The principals in that building were Charles Ressel, Aaron Breidenstine, Galen Kilhefner, Harry K. Gerlach, Henry Walker (1/2 year), and J. Elias Fritz until it became part of Conestoga Valley when he became the first supervising principal of the district.
The building is now Witmer Heights Elementary School.
Locust Grove School
This is the site of Locust Grove, a one-room school which was sold to the Mennonites after East Lampeter no longer used it. Finally, it was bought by High Welding and demolished.
Historic Plaque
Here is a plaque commemorating Lafayette's visit to the area. He reviewed the local battalion and cavalry troops which assembled here as guard of honor to escort him to Lancaster on July 27, 1824. A marker was placed here in 1934.
Oak Grove School
The Oak Grove School building was closed in 1937 and is now owned and, occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Menno Stoner. It was built in 1893, later than the other one-room schools, to relieve the crowded conditions at Locust Grove.
Paddock Inn
Paddock Inn on the east side of the Conestoga Creek was the old Eden foundary.
The red brick building between the mill and the inn was a pattern shop and is now an apartment building owned by Mary Diptold.
The old grist mill here, (no longer in use) is presently owned by Joe Kruger and his mother Mary. Two of the former operators were George Ehrhart and the Umble family. A covered bridge was recently torn down here.
Conestoga School
Conestoga School, with the other one-room schools, was closed in 1937. It is now owned and occupied by a famous artist and his son, C. L. Newswanger.
Horseshoe Road School
Jay Kreider now owns and occupies the Horseshoe Road one-room school which was closed in 1937.
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was finished between Columbia and Philadelphia in 1834 and in 1852 it was completed between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Before that time it is said that 3000 wagoners were moving daily between these two cities.
Downingtown and Lancaster Railroad
he Downington and Lancaster Railroad was built in East Lampeter about 1888 but was taken over by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1903. At first it carried both passengers and freight but today it carries freight only.
Old Philadelphia Pike
Construction of the Old Philadelphia Pike began in 1733 and was completed from Lancaster to Philadelphia in 1741.
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway construction was going on from 1792 through 1794. was operated as a turnpike until 1917 when it became a state road.
In the early 1900's a trolley road followed the highway in East Lampeter until Jan. 1935 when it was replaced by bus.
Old Houses
Many of the old farm houses in East Lampeter were built between 1800 and 1860. Parts of some were built in the 1700's and later additions were made with the date stones in the 1800's. Some we know to have been built in the 1700's. They are lettered an the map as they are listed here.
Part of John Kreider's house on Willow Road was built in 1754.
The Miles Landis property,now on the Greenfield Industrial Park, was built in 1763. it is going to be restored by High Realty.
The fourth house from the bypass (#30) on 340 going east was for many years in the Landis family. It was built in 1773. Land to the north and south of it was originally Landis property. There were many Landises in that area.
Part of the stone house owned by A. Jerry Landis at what was known as Fertility on the Strasburg Pike was built in 1767. It was at one time the Isaac Groff home.
Dwight Brubaker's home on Rockvale Road was built in 1801, almost in the 1700's.
On Leaman Road is an old stone and frame house owned by Levi Fisher. Mary Landis, wife of former owner, Edward Landis, lived there fifty-four years. She said there is a log in the barn dated 1739. The first part of the house was built of solid walnut logs which made it difficult to install electricity.
The old house across from the post office in Smoketown on Route 340 has been recently renovated by its owner, Richard C. von Hess. He stated that the western end of it was built in 1798.
The Robert Glass property on Milleross Rd. dates back to 1769
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