LeacockTownship

The pioneer settlers in Upper Leacock included members of the Carpenter, Weidler, Buckwalter, Groff, Mixel and Bushong families. Other colonial families represented in the provincial settlement of Upper Leacock were the Good, Yonder, Lightner, Johns, Lyne, Hamilton, Owen, Lyon, Glenn, Morgan, Miller, Stump, Eby, Stewart, Herbert, Whitchill, Wallace, McClung and Bard families. John Bushong a French Huguenot, settled on land near what is now Heller's church in 1731- He had six sons, and his descendants are numerous in that part of Lancaster county. Philip Bushong succeeded to the estate. Emanuel Carpenter was probably the pioneer in the northwestern part of the township. He was the son of Henry Carpenter (Zimmerman) who settled near Lampeter Square in about 1715, Emanuel being then about five years old. Five other sons were born-Gabriel, Henry, Christian, Daniel and Jacob. The first three named sons were located by the father on land he owned near and along Conestoga, and in what is now UpperLeacock and West Earl townships; and the other three on his land near his residence in Lampeter. It is thought that Emanuel Carpenter settled in Upper Leacock in about 1723, but this seems hardly probable, for he would then be only thirteen years old. However, he may have settled on an independent holding in Upper Leacock in very early manhood, or in late nonage perhaps. He became one of the leading citizens of the township, and was a member of the Provincial Assembly for sixteen years from 1756. He died in 178o, and was buried in Carpenter's or Ferree's graveyard (see Strasburg chapter). It is asserted that the first court seskion held in Lancaster county, presumably in 1729, was convened in the little log house of Emanuel Carpenter. The Ellis and Evans "History of Lancaster County," p. 924, has the following upon the subject:

On a part of the estate, formerly owned by Emanuel Carpenter, but now by Jacob Kurtz, near Mechanicsburg, it is said by tradition that the first court ever convened in Lancaster county was organized in the year 1729, in a little log house. There seems to be sufficient evidence to support the oft-repeated statement, for immediately after the election of Lancaster county a violent discussion arose as to the most suitable place for a seat of justice. Wright's Ferry (now Columbia), Lancaster and Postlethwaite's (about seven miles south of Lancaster) were the three most strongly recommended. It was held that the court met first on the Carpenter place, and was in session for some time, until a dispute arose as to the location. Finally it was agreed to remove the court to Postlethwaite's farm in Conestoga township. * * *

. The old log house, in which the court met on the Carpenter place, is now (1883) stand- ing in Mechanicsburg, opposite the Lutheran parsonage, and is occupied as a woodshed. The logs in this building are very large and heavy, being about two feet in width. The wood is well preserved and shows few signs of decay. The building was erected by Emanuel Carpenter about one hundred and sixty years ago (1723?). it is surely one of the most ancient landmarks in the township. Mr. Kurtz points out the place on his farm where the court house stood-the foundation of it is yet in the ground. He also has in his possession an old bench which was used by the court.

It would hardly seem possible that a session of court could property and legally have been held in Lancaster county earlier than the first held at Postlethwaite's, which was in August of 1729. Lancaster county was erected by the Act of May 10, 1729, of the "Freemen" of the Province of Pennsylania, "in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same;" and by the fifth section of that Act it was provided: "That the several courts of general quarter sessions of the peace and gaol delivery and the courts of com- mon pleas for the said county of Lancaster shall be holden and be kept on the first Tuesday in the months of February, May, August and November in every year." The first Tuesday in May had passed before the Act became law; therefore, the first session of court would be that which opened in August, at Postlethwaite's. Also, it seems that Postiethwaite was in attendance upon those appointed to bring the new county into organized state long before the first session of court held at his tavern. It is recorded that his bill for attend- ance on the commissioners appointed by the governor to run the boundary line between Chester county and the proposed Lancaster county was, on February 4, 1729, ordered to be allowed; and the first meeting of magistrates and inhabitants, to agree upon township boundaries, was held in June, also at Postlethwaite's. It would, therefore, seem that his tavern would be the logical temporary headquarters for all county business. And the court records begin in such a way that there can scarcely be doubt as to where the first session of court was held. No. 1 docket of the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster county opens as follows: "At a Court of Common Pleas held at John Pos- ttethwaite's in Conestoga the first Tuesday in August in the Third year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George King of Great Britain France & Ireland Defender of the Faith &c, 1729." It was hardly necessary to try to surmise what important meeting of county or.Provincial officials can have been held in the log house of Emanuel Carpenter of Upper Leacock, in 1729.

Continuing brief mention of the pioneers of Upper Leacock, it appears that Jacob Heller received a grant of one hundred acres "south of what is now Heller's church in 1729. The property was held by his direct descendants until 1865, when Peter Heller sold to Kinzer W. Bender. Martin Mixel was a land owner in the township in 1735, and is believed to have been in residence earlier. His plantation extended from Mechanicsburg to Bareville, and "tradition has it that Mixel built his first house near a spring on a farm now owned by Adam Miller, but occupied (1883) by his son Sheaffer." Jacob Mixel, son of Martin, built the Midway Hotel, between Mechanicsburg and Bareville. Martin's brother, who came with him to America, disappeared, and is supposed to have been captured by Indians. The Good family settled early, evidently before 1729, for Hans Good was appointed constable of Leacock in 1729. In 1734 Hans Good received title to a tract of about three hundred acres lying between Bareville and Mill creek. About ten years later he sold it to Andrew Bare. It later passed to the Hershey family, and still later to the Groffs. The Groff (Graaf) family was one of the first to settle. Hans Graaf owned land which was part of that, or adjoining that of the original Pequea Colony of 1710. He sold his land in 1716 to Abraham Dubois, and was settled in Earl township in 1717; there he died about thirty years later. His sons were many, however, and they-Peter, David, John, Daniel, Marcus and Samuel eventually had separate establishments, and the family eventually became numerously spread throughout the Earls and Leacocks. "Perhaps there is no family in the county more numerous, especially in Upper Leacock, more respectable and more useful * * * than the Groffs." The Yonder family, the head of which was Jacob Yonder, bought three hundred acres from Graaf in 1734. The farm eventually came into possession of the Grabill family. The Lightners were of the Huguenot migration of the first decade of the eighteenth century, and originally settled in the Huguenot colony on the Hudson river, New York. Nathaniel Lightner was born while the parents were encamped in London, in 1709. The Lightners were among those Huguenot refugees who were transported, most of them at the expense of the King, to New York in 1709. In 1723 they came to the Pequea Valley, and settled on the northern boundary of Leacock township, about a mile northeast of the village of Intercourse. Nathaniel Lightner eventually married Margaret LeRue, and they had nineteen children. John Johns is said to have accom- panied Hans Graaf to America, and settled with him at Groff's Dale. Eventu- ally he bought 230 acres of land from Emanuel Carpenter. John Lyne was the first settler west of Heller's church; his grandson was a soldier in the War of 1812. The Hamilton family was one of the leading houses of provincial Leacock; a famous son of William Hamilton was Major or Colonel James Hamil- ton, the "hero of Yorktown." Benjamin Owen, a Quaker, probably of Welsh descent, owned a tract north of Monteroy, and was for a number of years a justice of the peace in Leacock township, later serving in the House of Repre- sentatives; he died in 1786. John Glenn, a Leacock pioneer, died in 1740; John Morgan died in 1748; James Miller and John Stump in 1749. These were early pioneers of Upper Leacock. Stewart Herbert received patent for 93 acres in Upper Leacock in 1755; in 1778 he died, and his estate passed to Jaynes Clemson. Some of the pioneers left many children. Peter Eby, who died in 1794, left eight children; George Philip Bard died in 1793, leaving seven children; William Wallace died in 1793, leaving eight children. Other pioneers had larger families, for instance, that of Nathaniel Lightner and his wife, Margaret, who bore nineteen children to him. And very many of the pioneer families remained in the township. The first assessment list of Upper Leacock, as distinct from Leacock, was made in the fall of 1843; and awong the names of persons assessed are seen the patronymics of the pioneers multiplied. There are three Bushongs, six Bards, eight Bares (Bairs), five Buck- walters, five Ebys, seven Goods, three Hellers, nine Johns, seven Stultzfuses, and four Wengers.

The first township officers of Upper Leacock were - William Weidman and Joseph Wenger, justices, 1844; Lewis Sheaffer and Christian Ebersole, supervisors, 1845; C. R. Landis, auditor, 1844; Isaac Hoover, assessor, 1843, and George Heller, 1844; Emanuel Swope, clerk, 1844; John Murvine, con- stable, 1857; Adam Bare, Reuben Weidler and Kinzer Bender, judges and inspectors of election, 1844; Emanuel Swope and John Musser, school directors, 1844.

Villages-Mechanicsburg and Bareville are the principal places in Upper Leacock. Monterey, Leola and Groff's Store are smaller places. Mechanicsburg, or Leacock, appears to be larger than it really is, for it extends along the New Holland turnpike for a long way. It, however, has no depth, the village having never been restricted to a regular townsite, and the builders of houses preferring to take sites along the pike. The village is of clean, plea ing and prosperous appearance, the houses being substantial and in mat cases artistic. The first house erected in what is now looked upon as the village was probably the hotel building erected in 1788, but not licensed until 1823, when Jacob Rudy was innkeeper. It became known as the Mechanicsburg Hotel, when the place took that name, which by the way is said to have been given to the village in about 1850, "on account of the mechanics its machine shops drew to the place." Another building, which became the Spread Eagle Hotel eventually, was erected as a residence in the eastern end of the village in 1800, by Samuel Garber. The first innkeeper was a Mr. Temple, and the inn accrued historic importance in being the place at which the first Upper Leacock township election was held. Frederick Swope made an addition to the Spread Eagle Hotel in 1830, and in that annex opened a grocery store. George Bard's agricultural implement store has been conducted for more than forty years; and among the early merchants were Jacob Holl, Martin Bender, Hiram Dissinger, Emanuel Swope, G. G. Wenger, in whose store, which was opened by Jacob Holl in 1841, opposite the Mechanicsburg Hotel, the Leacock post-office was first established. The village Mechanicsburg now is known also as Leacock, because of the post-office, which continues in that name. It seems to be a more appropriate name for the chief village of the township.

Among the old families of Mechanicsburg is that of Weidler. Henry Weider was blacksmith in Leacock for probably fifty years; the Weidler family kept the hotel for some years; Dr. Isaac Weidler was the first physician of Mechanicsburg, beginning to practice in about 1825, and being still in practice fifty years later. Nicholas Nassinger was a tailor in-the village for very many years; he built a brick dwelling house in Mechanicsburg in about 1790. And the first house in the village was once the residence of the Rev. Trumbauer, who was pastor of Heller's Reformed and Zion's Lutheran church from 1818 until about 1830.

The foundry and agricultural implement works of V. Andes & Son was for several decades the largest manufacturing establishment in Upper Leacock( Peter Vandersaal erected a machine shop in Mechanicsburg in 1849, and there began to make agricultural implements; he sold his business two years later to Valentine Andes for $2,000. Andes, a German of mechanical aptitude, so, expanded the business, adding a large foundry and other buildings, and finding employment for twenty or more men. The threshing machine with double windmill was invented in his shop, and for many years the firm had a lar output of threshing machinery of their manufacture. However, the Iocal plant could not compete with the large national corporations, and its market was restricted almost to the counties contiguous to Lancaster. The Mechanicsburg Pottery was conducted by the Swope family for more than fifty years, probably. It was the enterprise originally of Frederick Swope, who passed the business over to his son Henry in 1850. The pottery was situated on a triangle formed by the pike and the Newport road. Mechanicsburg, or Leacock, had a population of 423 in 1920, according to the census of that year. It is a well-balanced township centre, has three general stores, one drug store, and four automobile service establishments.

The village of Bareville is a place of about 250 inhabitants, about one and one-half miles east of Mechanicsburg, or Leacock. The first settlers were of the Bare family, Andrew and Martin Bare. Andrew Bare was innkeeper at that point, and there was no other dwelling house there until ism, when John Mery, Jr., built a large house of brick. Adam Bare, son of Andrew, was the first licensed innkeeper, and probably the first storekeeper, and was sheriff of Lancaster county, 1831-33. The next to conduct a mercantile business in Bareville was Mr. Oberholtzer, whose store was in the large brick dwelling house, later he built a storehouse; he was succeeded by Jacob Swarr. S. R. Myer was the local merchant in 1855, and for several decades thereafter the Myers family had part in the business. W. G. Eaby was a later storekeeper, and at present the Bareville store is conducted by Harry E. Harsh. Levi Dunwoody was village tailor for many years, and Jacob Dunwoody has had a tinning and plumbing establishment in Bareville for many years. The tobacco warehouse erected in 1881 by Solomon C. Groff passed to Shaeffer & Company eventually; the Bareville Concrete Block Company has established a new and noticeable industry in the place, many fine residences being erected of that material along the New Holland pike. Also at Bareville is the National Store Specialty Company, manufacturers of the Pennsylvania Line Computing Scales. There is one garage and machine shop, and one or two hotels. The pioneer physician was Dr. A. S. Bare, who commenced to practice in Bareville in 1845, and continued in Bareville practice until 1883, when he died. Dr. J. Winfield Good began to practice in Bareville in 1873. Dr. L. K. Leslie is now in practice in the village.

Bareville has had an unique communal body almost from the beginning. The Bareville Trustee Association was formed in 1823 by Adam Bare, William Carpenter, Abraham Gerhart, John Deblin, William Michael, Martin Bare, Isaac Myer and David Oberholtzer, at a meeting held "in an old school- house." Its purpose was educational, religious and literary, and it has probably done more to shape and mould the character of many young men in this vicinity than any other influence. With the exception of two years during the Civil War, the organization held sessions every year. In 1849, during certain anti-society" sentiment, the association thought it advisable to obtain corporate protection, and in that year the State Legislature granted the society a charter as the Bareville Trustee Association. The society had considerable part in school government prior to the adoption of the common school law, and later, when their house was rebuilt by the township school directors, the society still held "their chartered rights by granting the house for all educational and religious purposes which have a tendency to promote the general welfare of Bareville." Ultimately the association became known as the Bareville Literary Society.

The Bareville Primary School was built in 1854, and the Bareville Secondary School in 1859. The common school law was not adopted in Upper Leacock township until 1847, and though directors were then elected, it was found impossible to collect the school tax, most of the taxpayers being opposed to the change. The dispute was carried into the courts, and eventually to the Supreme Court which, of course, upheld the law. In 1849 another election was held and the school directors when elected "Performed the first effectual educational work in the township." They organized the districts, laid and collected the tax, and successfully completed the school session set for that year. These first school directors were M. G. Wenger, John Bard, Reuben Weidler, Benjamin Rohrer, Samuel Seldomridge and Wilson Brubaker. Teachers were then paid only twenty dollars a month for a school term of six months. The Mechanicsburg school house was erected in 1850; Mill Creek in the same year; Bard's in 1853; Stormtown in 1853; Stumptown in 1858; Locust Grove in 1860; Gibbon's in 1862; Mussers' and Myers' in 1863; and Wenger's in 1869. It was necessary to proceed slowly and be extremely conservative in all measures, as for many years the prejudice against the school system was strong in Upper Leacock. Groff's store was erected near Groff's mill, which was the first established on that part of Mill creek which is in Upper Leacock. Groff's store became a post-office, Mr. R. R. Plean writing as follows regarding it in 1883:

Groff's store and mill have been operated together for more than half a century. * * * In 1815 the stone house for the first time was occupied as a store by Mr. Sharp, followed by Isaac Becker in 1817, who occupied it for four years, when Samuel G. Groff, a brother of Daniel Groff, rented the store. Daniel Groff was at that time the miller, and erected the large brick building on the top of the hill which is the present store. Samuel G. Groff removed his stock into the new store, and was engaged in the mercantile business until 1854, * * * Samuel Groff, Daniel's son, then carried on the store business until 1870, when C. B. Buckwalter became the proprietor, and was succeeded by Jacob Denlinger in 1880. Through the influence of the Groffs, Groff's Store post office was established in or about the year 1827, with Samuel G. Groff as the first postmaster. The post office was kept in the store building until 1891, when the citizens of Monterey presented a petition to the Post Office Department, and caused the removal of the office to Hershey's store, Monterey, with Benjamin Hershey as postmaster, but still the office retains its original name. The store business at the original Groff's Store is now conducted by L. S. Lichty.

Monterey is a place of about 150 inhabitants. George Heller kept a tavern at that place eighty years ago, and in 1850 George Murr erected another hotel. The first store was known as Anderson's. In about 1880 the Hersheys, of Gordonville, erected a store building in Monterey, and Benjamin Hershey took charge, securing the post-office also, as stated above. Benjamin T. Seldomridge was a saddler in Monterey for very many years; and at one time the Monterey Coach Works, established by David Overley in 1877, was an appreciable industry. A tannery was established near Monterey, by Daniel Aspenshade in about 1800. He was the tanner until 1810, Mr. Boyd succeeding him. The tannery was operated until 1838, for the last eight years by John Myer. Much distilling of spirits was done in Upper Leacock in pioneer days, when the industry was not the illegal one it now is. There were at least six distilleries in the township in 1810; forty years later not one was in operation.

The following are the figures for the last three decadal census takings: 1900 showed 2,130 residents in Upper Leacock township, including all villages; 1910 showed 2,233; and1920 showed that the steady increase was being maintained, there being then 2,428 residents.

Some of the earliest families living in the township were:
1. Bushong Family - John Bushong, a French Huguenot, settled in the area in 1731.
2. Carpenter Family - Henry Carpenter, a son of Henry, came from Switzerland.
3. Heller Family - Jacob Heller came from Germany. The old railroad station and Salem Reformed Church received their names from this family.
4. Groff (Graff) Family - The eastern part of the township was included in a warrant granted to Hans Graf who afterwards disposed of it to different settlers. The original Groff Homestead lies in Earl Township about three-fourth of a mile north of Groffdale. Many of the Groffs living in the township trace their ancestry to Hans who came here from Switzerland.
5. Mixel Family - Martin Mixel was one of the early pioneer farmers of the township. Several years ago the farm, once owned by him was purchased by the former J. W. Eshelman and Son's of Lancaster. Dart Container now owns the land but the buildings were destroyed a few years ago.
6. Jacob Younder received a deed in 1734 from Hans Graff and settled in the township.
7. Phillip Ferree received a warrant for 300 acres on June 24, 1716; Daniel Ferree, 600 acres, August 4, 1716; John Ferree, 100 acres, April 2, 1716.
8. Gibbons Family - John Gibbons, a Quaker, was one of the earliest settlers under the proprietary. He settled near Chester in 1681. Several generations later, in 1756, his direct descendant, James Gibbons, married and settled on part of the family land in Lancaster County. His inheritance included part of what is now East Lampeter and Upper Leacock Townships. The land was then deeded to members of the family or sold off to neighbors until there remained, in the twentieth century, the land known as the Beech Dale Duck Farm in Upper Leacock Township near Bird-in-Hand.

Other early families settling here were the John's, Lyne, Hamilton, Owen Bard, Swope, Bare, Myer, Good, Weidler, and Wenger.

Transportation was of utmost importance in the township and some of the important main arteries went through the township. Peters Road, Horseshoe Road, New Holland Turnpike, and Newport Road were used to transport goods to and from Philadelphia, Pa. and Wilmington, Delaware. These were the two important sea ports at that time.

The New Holland Turnpike was-named so because of the many toll gates that were scattered from Blue Ball to Lancaster. Everything that used the highway was charged a fee for traveling on it. Livestock in those days were driven along the highways instead of by truck like today.

The history of the three towns in Upper Leacock is as important as the township itself. Bareville, Leola, and Leacock are as important as the township itself. Bareville, Leola, and Leacock were strung along the New Holland Turnpike with all the traffic going through them. There were three toll gates in the township, one opposite the old Groffdale Hotel, one at Zook's stone quarry opposite the C&D Battery Plant, and Greiners which was in the vicinity of Forest Hill Road.

Bareville was founded by Andrew Bare, grandson of John Henry Bare who emigrated from Switzerland to the United States in 1719 and settled in Earl Township. In 1764 the Penns deeded a large tract of land to one of John Bare's sons. The land extends into the township for some distance.

Andrew Bare supposedly acquired and took possession of a portion of this land. When he first settled here he built a house and barn. It was sometime between 1780-1800. The house once known as the Bareville Hotel is now owned by Robert Dommel. It was also known as the Colonial Inn with Robert's dad being the Inn Keeper. The barn was across the road on what is now the property of Hermon Benner. That barn was torn down a number of years ago, stone by stone and beam by beam and marked and erected stone by stone and beam by beam along the Lincoln Highway, Route 30 across from the Guernsey Bar;. It was placed there for a historical event which was to promote early hand crafts and show the way they were done. The project fell into financial difficulty and was sold at Sheriff Sale. The second oldest house built in 1808, was the Harple House which was recently sold by Mrs. Harry Harsh, who was the owner, for a number of years.

Leacock (Mechanicsburg) derived its name after a town of that name in Ireland. The first building erected in Leacock in 1788 was a house which became the Mechanicsburg Hotel. The last man to operate the hotel was Elmer Steffy who operated the business for a number of years. David L. Burkholder, a garage owner of Leacock purchased the building several years ago and re- modeled it into an apartment house.

Another building built in 1800 by Samuel Garber became the Spread Eagle Hotel. A Mr. Temple was the first Inn Keeper. In this building the first Upper Leacock Township election was held. The first officers of the township were: William Weidman and Joseph Wenger, Justices, 1844; Lewis Shaeffer and Christian Ebersole, Supervisors 1845; C. R. Landis, Auditor, 1844; Isaac Hoover, Assessor, 1843; George Heller, 1844; Emanuel Swope, Clerk, 1844; John Murrine, Constable, 1857; Adam Bare, Reuben Widler, and Kinzer Bender, Judges and Inspectors of elections, 1844; and Emanuel Swope and John Musser, School Directors, 1844.

In later years Nathan W. Bard operated a thriving general store at this location until he sold his business at a public auction to Harry Miller in 1931. Mr. Miller ran a produce, grocery store, and soda fountain until World War II, when he discontinued his grocery and produce business. The soda fountain was operated for several years under the management of a man from Lancaster. Finally the building was converted into apartments.

Leola, sandwiched between Bareville and Leacock, had its beginning in 1876. The Midway Hotel was built at the junction of Horseshoe Road and the New Holland Turnpike. The town grew up west of the hotel where Main and Maple Streets meet. Where these two streets meet was known as Batteus Corner.

In 1889, when the railroad was built from New Holland to Lancaster, Bareville, and Leacock were busy places. Men of all types were swarming about during this construction. The first train from Lancaster to Downingtown went September 10, 1890. John W. Yoey was the station agent. The station sign of Leacock was posted on the side of the building.

On August 25, 1890, H. M. Stauffer bought a two acre triangular piece of land between Horseshoe Road and the Railroad from Jacobs and Louisa Miller. After building a siding, a coal trestle, and a warehouse he was open for business February 1, 1891.

Since business thrived, H. M. Stauffer made a demand for a post office for the area. The demand was granted and H.M. Stauffer was appointed Post Master on June 26, 1891. It was called Glenola.

In 1895, a movement was started to have the Railroad station change from Leacock to Glenola. The Pennsylvania Railroad refused to do this because it would have been too confusing with two other stations, Glenolden and Glenora. Finally, Leola, a combination of the first part of Leacock and the last two syllables of Glenola was chosen. It was changed to Leola June 10, 1896, with H. M. Stauffer appointed postmaster. In the seventy years since that time, Leola has had only four postmasters. Mr. Stauffer served until 1934 when Harry B. Breneiser became postmaster. When he became ill he resigned and Claude "Irish" McCarty took over October 1, 1937. Under the guidance of "Irish" it became a first class post office in 1957. At that time the neighboring towns of Bareville and Leacock closed their post offices and all mail was then delivered from the Leola office. It was located in a store built by Noah P. Steffy and later purchased by "Irish". On September 8, 1962 a new building was dedicated at corner of Maple Avenue and Main Street. Postmaster McCarty served until September 15, 1972 when he died. Victor Snyder, acting postmaster, was appointed postmaster August 25, 1973.

With reference to transportation, the township had its roads and railroads but in 1901 the latest short distance travel, the trolley was built through the area. Lines were built from Lancaster to Ephrata via Leacock and Leola and to New Holland and Terre Hill via Leacock, Leola, and Bareville. At the Mechanics- burg junction it was possible to board a trolley every fifteen minutes. When the busy part of the day was over, the trolleys ran every half hour.

The trolley to Terre Hill was discontinued in 1938. Busses replaced it to Blue Ball. The bus schedule was regulated to meet the Ephrata trolley at Leola. The Ephrata trolley continued until around 1943 when it too was replaced by busses.

It is interesting to note that Christ Harting, a resident of Leacock helped build the trolley lines in Lancaster before the turn of the century and helped to dismantle them later on in his life.

Communications in early days meant sending messages by word of mouth or , by mail through the postal service. In 1890 there was no telephone in the area and H.M. Stauffer paid $500.00 for a four year contract to build a line from Main and Maple Street to his place of business which was a distance of two blocks.

in 1903 the Enterprise Telephone Company was organized and soon built lines to Leola and Brownstown. The same year it established an exchange in the home of Israel H. Dunwoody, a home now owned by David Lockwood. Later, the Israel Batten house on the corner of North Maple Avenue and East Main St. was purchased and Enterprise and its exchange moved there.

In 1936 a building was built in the back of the Batten home to house the exchange. That structure has since been torn down and a new larger building containing the latest electrical equipment is used in the service today.

During the periods between 1912 and 1919 sidewalks were laid from the Zion Lutheran Church in Leacock to within several blocks of the Farmersville Road in Bareville. Then in 1920 it became a pleasure to walk the streets at night because street lights were installed.

In 1939 Mr. N. E. Martin started the Leola waterworks and installed water lines through the confines of what is known as the Tri Towns. A very good quality of water came to the customers. The water company came at an opportune time because many wells were going bad and the fire companies were in need of a more ample supply of water. Sometime in the 1960's Mr. Martin sold the Water Co. to the Upper Leacock Water Authority. The Authority was appointed by the supervisors of the township. They still operate it and the business has almost doubled since Mr. Martin sold it.

Churchnotes

Salem-Heller's United Church of Christ also known as Salem Reformed Church, or Heller's Reformed Church is located along Horseshoe Road The first Church was of log with seats made of wooden slabs and a floor of bare ground. It was erected about 1725. It is claimed to be the first Reformed Church in Lancaster County. in the year 1802 the church was repaired; then in 1838 it was rebuilt and enlarged several times later. There are tombstones in the cemetery there dating from 1729, 1737, 1762, 1776, and 1789, bearing evidence that this was a very early Reformed Church cemetery. In 1860 the old building was torn down and the present building erected upon its site. In later years other additions and improve- ments have been made.

Zion Lutheran Church, located at the corner of Heller's Church Rd. and Route #23, was with Heller's Reformed Church up to 1816. The church was one congregation. After 1816 Rev. Samuel Trumbauer organized a Lutheran group. They continued to worship in the Heller's Church until 1838. Rev. Trumbauer served both congregations for at least twenty years. When it was decided to repair and enlarge the Heller's Church in 1838, it was to be done jointly by both groups. The Lutherans expected to claim ownership. This was denied by the Reformed people. Thus the Lutheran congregation left in 1838 and built their own church at the present site.

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