F 157 
 .L2 F8 
 Copy 1 
 
 PAPERS READ 
 
 BEFORE THE 
 
 lETY. 
 
 SEPTENIBEK 5, 1902. 
 
 HISTORICAL POINTS OF INTEREST ALONG THE 
 STRASBURG TROLLEY ROAD. 
 
 MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER MEETING. 
 
 VOL. VII. NO. L /^Ip^ 
 
 % .7 
 
 LANCASTER, PA. 
 
 Kepeinted from The New Era. 
 
 1902. 
 
Historical Points of Interest Along the Strasbui-o Trolley 
 
 Road, ....-.--- 3 
 
 Bv Walter M. Franklin, Esq 
 Minutes of September Meeting. - - - - . 15 
 
 P. 
 
 A. nth or. 
 
 19 H^02 
 
HISTORICAL POINTS OF INTEREST 
 
 ALONG THE STRASBURG 
 
 TROLLEY ROAD. 
 
 There is scarcely any portion of 
 Lancaster county that does not afford 
 valuable material for the student of 
 local history. Almost any section can 
 be taken up, and with the least pains 
 towards accurate research it is sur- 
 prising how much that is interesting 
 and often edifying will be the reward. 
 
 The new trolley line from Lancaster 
 to Strasburg passes over a route that 
 is not only most picturesque, exhibiting 
 a panorama of rare natural beauty and 
 a landscape approaching the perfection 
 of rural culture, but the whole region 
 is replete with historical interest, and 
 the landmarks of bygone days bear 
 many lessons of value to the present 
 generation. 
 
 Starting at Penn Square, the centre 
 of the city, we are within a stone's 
 throw of the site of "Hickoi-y Tree" 
 tavern, kept by George Gibson, the 
 early resort of Indians and of foreign 
 traders, which gave the locality the 
 name of Indian Field and later Gib- 
 son's pasture, and with the small clus- 
 ter of habitations scattered along the 
 King's Highway, now King street, 
 formed the nucleus of the future shire 
 town of Lancaster. 
 
 The starting point is also within 
 range of the shadow of what at a later 
 period was one of the most famous 
 public resorts kept first by Joseph 
 Hubley, and afterwards for many 
 years by his widow. Rosina 
 Hubley, on the southeast corner of 
 Penn Square. It was originally estab- 
 lished by Matthias Slough as early as 
 17G1. and was called the "White Swan." 
 and later the "Golden Swan." It was 
 to the yard of this central inn that the 
 
(4) 
 
 raiders known as the "Paxton Boys" 
 came in 1763, determined upon exter- 
 minating the Indians, who had been 
 placed for protection in the newly- 
 erected workhouse. Hastily dismount- 
 ing they turned their horses loose in 
 the yard of the inn, rushed to the 
 workhouse nearby, and massacred all 
 the Indians they found confined there- 
 in. 
 
 Another ancient hostelry, with quite 
 an interesting history, that stood close 
 by was the Fountain Inn, which was 
 opened in 1758 by Christopher Reigart. 
 who was its landlord through the try- 
 ing times of the Revolution, and till 
 his death, in 1783. The County Courts 
 were held for several terms in the 
 Fountain Inn while the Court House 
 was in course of construction on Ppnn 
 Square. A curious old show bill has 
 been preserved advertising a theatre at 
 the Fountain Inn in 1811. The Foun- 
 tain Inn has given way to the Hotel 
 Lincoln. 
 
 In close proximity, at the corner of 
 South Queen and Vine streets, stands 
 the Swan, opened in 1824, and origin- 
 ally named the Lancaster City and 
 County Hotel. When it came into the 
 ownership of Joseph Hubley he named 
 it the Swan, the same as his hotel in 
 Penn Square. 
 
 The first square of South Queen 
 street, which is one of our oldest 
 streets, is notable also as having had 
 on either side the residences of some 
 of the best-known of the old-time 
 families, among them the residences 
 and offices of Jasper Yeates, Justice of 
 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 
 and John R. Montgomery, whose elo- 
 quence is a cherished tradition of the 
 Bar, and Thaddeus Stevens, the "Old 
 Commoner," and the brilliant 0. J. 
 Dickey and A. Herr Smith, and A. O 
 Newpher, and W. P. Brinton, and four 
 of Lancaster's most distinguished 
 physicians. Doctors Muhlenberg, and 
 
(n) 
 
 Carpenter, and A. M. and Patrick Cas- 
 sidy. 
 
 Proceeding down South Queen street 
 we pass the site of the first Friends 
 Meeting House, which was completed 
 in 1759 at a cost of £551, 63s., 3d., ac- 
 cording to the records, and where now 
 stands Odd Fellows' Hall, and further 
 down are Zion, Woodward Hill and 
 Greenwood Cemeteries, the first hav- 
 ing been established by the vestry of 
 Zion Lutheran Church in 1854, and 
 Woodward Hill a few years earlier by 
 the vestry of Trinity Lutheran Church. 
 At the solicitation of many citizens 
 after it had been established some 
 years, Woodward Hill was made a pub- 
 lic cemetery and was chartered March 
 29, 1851. Lancaster Cemetery was 
 chartered four years previously, on 
 March 8, 1847. 
 
 Within view along the route are 
 some of the largest industries of the 
 city, including the immense plant of 
 the Hershey Chocolate Company, the 
 Banner cheroot cigar factory, the Far- 
 num cotton mills, the Miller soan and 
 perfumery works, Carbon steel casting 
 works, the gas works, and the power 
 plant of the Lancaster County Rail- 
 way and Light Company. Before 
 reaching the Conestoga creek, we pass 
 the site of the old Conestoga iron fur- 
 nace, located on Hoffman's Run, built 
 by Robert and James Colvin and 
 George Ford, in 1846, and operated 
 iatterly by Peacock & Thomas, until 
 it was dismantled. It was originally 
 a charcoal furnace, supplied with cord- 
 wood from the river hills, much ol 
 which was transported via the Cones- 
 toga-Slackwater navigation. 
 
 Coming to the Conestoga creek, we 
 are close by one of the oldest mill 
 sites in the county, now taken up by 
 Levan's flour mill, formerly a fulling, 
 or woolen, mill. We are also on the 
 spot that was the terminus of the 
 Slackwater navigation, where "thf 
 
(6) 
 
 landing" was once the scene of busy 
 commercial activity. The original 
 fording and the first bridge across the 
 creek were at a point about 200 yards 
 east of the present bridge at the ex- 
 tension of a lane running directly 
 south from Queen street. 
 
 The history of the navigation of the 
 Conestoga creek is Quite interesting. 
 As early as 1805 the idea was enter- 
 tained of establishing a system of 
 navigation on the Conestoga by means 
 of dams with lift locks, and a charter 
 was obtained for that purpose. An- 
 other charter was taken out for the 
 same purpose in 1820, but nothing was 
 done under either of them, and the 
 charters became inoperative. 
 
 In 1825 the Conestoga Navigation 
 Company was incorporated, and in- 
 cluded among its active promoters 
 were such well-known names as Adam 
 Reigart. Edward Coleman, George B. 
 Porter, Jasper Slaymaker, John F. 
 Steinman, George Lewis Mayer, Hugh 
 Maxwell, John Reynolds, F. A. Muh- 
 lenberg, John R. Montgomery, James 
 Humes and others. The work of con- 
 structing the dams and locks was 
 commenced promptly, and in the fol- 
 lowing year the first lock was fin- 
 ished, and the event, we are told, was 
 <olebrated with great rejoicing. The 
 Board of Managers embarked on board 
 the beautiful, new boat, "Edward 
 Coleman," at the bridge, and pro- 
 ceeded at the rate of about five miles 
 an hour to the lock, with a band of 
 music on board playing national airs. 
 At the lock was a committee of ladies 
 from Lancaster, under escort of Judge 
 Molton C. Rogers and Dr. Samuel 
 Humes. The ladies, through Mrs. Wil- 
 liam Jenkins, presented the contractor 
 with a flag and a congratulatory ad- 
 dress, and were invited, with their es- 
 corts, on board, and the boat pro- 
 ceeded to Reigart's Landing, and in 
 tbe afternoon leturned to the bridge. 
 
(7) 
 
 The works were completed in due 
 time to Safe Harbor, and embraced 
 nine dams and locks, with a fall of 
 sixty-four feet in a total length of a 
 little over seventeen miles. Subse- 
 quently, in 1837, the property passed 
 into the hands of Edward and Wil- 
 liam Coleman, under the title of the 
 Lancaster and Susquehanna Slack- 
 water Navigation Company, and in the 
 following year a dam was built across 
 the river at Safe Harbor for the pur- 
 pose of floating packet boats across, 
 which were towed by steamboats, and 
 there was a flourishing traffic for a 
 considerable time. 
 
 Crossing the Conestoga over the 
 beautiful new iron bridge that has 
 taken the place of the old covered 
 wooden bridge which was for many 
 years in a dangerous condition of de- 
 cay, we enter the township of West 
 Lampeter, and run along the Willow 
 Street turnpike, which was one of the 
 old colonial roads forming the main 
 highway to the South; passing the old 
 Steinman powder house, then making 
 a detour to cross Mill Creek close by 
 one of the oldest mill sites, passing 
 in view of the old Lamb Tavern and 
 the widely-known Hollinger tanneries, 
 and thence on the turnpike to Willow 
 Street, we are in the neighborhood of 
 the earliest Swiss Mennonite settle- 
 ment in Lancaster county. From here 
 the road winds over to Lampeter 
 Square, makes a detour to cross Mill 
 Creek, which is the boundary of Stras- 
 burg township, and, passing along the 
 Old Mennonite Church, whose large 
 burying ground contains the graves of 
 some of the most noted of the old 
 pioneers, we soon reach the western 
 limit of the borough of Strasburg, and 
 traverse its main streets for a distance 
 of two miles to the eastern boundary, 
 terminating at the plantation of Major 
 B. P^rank Breneman, where is present- 
 ed a magniiicent view of the Pequca 
 
(8 \ 
 
 Valley, with the Welsh Mountains in 
 the far distance. 
 
 It is to be noted after leaving the 
 southern boundary of the city only a 
 small portion of the route of the rail- 
 way is in Lancaster township, whose 
 boundary is the Conestoga Creek. 
 
 Crossing the creek the greater por- 
 tion of the line is in West Lampeter, 
 which is one of the original townships 
 that was formed when the county was 
 laid out in 1729. Lampeter was divided 
 into East and West Lampeter in 1841, 
 and was named after Lampeter in 
 Wales, the native place of a few of the 
 first settlers. The Welsh, though few 
 in numbers, were intelligent and influ- 
 ential, and took a prominent part iu 
 public affairs; they were more numer- 
 ous in the eastern and northeastern 
 parts of the county, where they gave 
 names to Caernarvon and Brecknock 
 townships. A myth exists regarding 
 the name of Lampeter, which arose 
 from a statement contained in a curi- 
 ous work of fiction written more than 
 half a century ago by Ezra Lamborn, 
 an old school teacher, residing in the 
 neighborhood of Lampeter Square. In 
 his ambitious attempt to produce a 
 novel, which he entitled, "The Legend 
 of Hell Street Lane, or the Man with 
 Two Heads," our imaginative author 
 set afloat the story that Lampeter 
 township was first called "Lame 
 Peter," in honor of a lame tavern- 
 keeper by the name of Peter Yeordy. 
 Strangely, the story in course of time 
 gained some credence, until it was ex- 
 posed as a mere flight of the imagin- 
 ation. Lampeter in Wales is a seat 
 of theological Jearning, and in the 
 Welsh language it signifies "The 
 Church of Peter," or St. Peter's 
 Church. 
 
 Lampeier was the birthplace of 
 David Miller, Sheriff of Lancaster 
 rounty in 1834, who was an eccentric, 
 Uiough amiable character, and who 
 
(9) 
 
 was familiarly known as "Devil Dave" 
 Miller. He made return of a bench 
 warrant to Judge Lewis on one occa- 
 sion by riding on his horse up the steps 
 •of the Court House and through the 
 main aisle of the court room, dis- 
 mounting in front of the bench. He 
 kept the Washington House, on East 
 King street, located next to the 
 Farmers' National Bank, and ran what 
 was known as the Blue Line freight 
 cars on the Pennsylvania Railroad. 
 His sister, Ann Miller, survives at the 
 age of 91, and resides in the old home- 
 stead at Lampeter Square. 
 
 One of the earliest settlements in 
 Lancaster county was made in Lam- 
 peter township in the year 1709, and 
 consisted of Swiss Mennonites, who 
 were refugees from the religious perse- 
 cution and political tyranny that pre- 
 vailed throughout Germany, France 
 and Switzerland. In the latter part of 
 the seventeenth century a large num- 
 ber of Mennonites from the Swiss can- 
 tons and the region of the Rhine 
 known as the Palatinate fled to Alsace, 
 near the ancient city of Strasburg. At- 
 tracted by the liberal proposals of 
 William Penn, they were induced to 
 hazard the voyage across the Atlantic 
 and come to what was then literally 
 Penn's Woods, and they made their 
 earliest settlement in Lancaster county 
 in the vicinity of the now flourishing 
 villages of Willow Street and Lam- 
 peter. 
 
 About midway between these two 
 villages, on the farm of the venerable 
 David Huber, an incorporator of the 
 railway and one of its earliest and 
 most influential champions, and re- 
 garded as "the father" of the enter- 
 prise, stands well preserved a portion 
 of what is believed to be the oldest 
 house in Lancaster county. It is a 
 model of substantial masonry and 
 .solid oak timber work. The first Men- 
 nouite Church l)uilt in Lancaster 
 
( 10) 
 
 county was erected on this property in 
 1712, and was used as a school house 
 during the week. The land has passed 
 do>\'n through generations of ancestors 
 direct from William Penn to the pres-. 
 ent owner, who lives in comfortable 
 retirement with his amiable wife, 
 daughter of the late John McCartney, a 
 noted scrivener and conveyancer, the 
 Huber crossing being exactly midway 
 between the terminal points of the rail- 
 way. 
 
 Among the early settlers in the Pe- 
 quea Valley were Hans Mylin and his 
 sons, Martin and John; Martin J^.en- 
 dig, Hans Herr, Ulrich Brackbill and 
 others, who selected a tract of 10,000 
 acres, for which they obtained a war- 
 rant, October 10, 1710, which was sub- 
 sequently divided among them by the 
 Surveyor General, on April 27, 1711, 
 and much of the same land is held by 
 their descendants to this day. These 
 early settlers were people of not only 
 great sturdiness and thrift, but of high 
 purpose and most estimable character. 
 
 Martin Mylin was a famous preacher 
 and writer, and Hans Herr was their 
 Bishop. The latter was chosen by lot 
 to return to Europe to induce their 
 relatives and others to come to the 
 new country, but his flock were so re- 
 luctant to spare him that Martin Ken- 
 dig, who was an influential leader 
 among them, volunteered to go in his 
 place, and made the hard journey, 
 bringing back with him a considerable 
 number of immigrants. Among those 
 who sought the new land was Mat- 
 thias Schleiermacher, a man of means 
 and of great force of character, who 
 came from Strasburg, in Alsace, in 
 1710, and took up a tract of a thou- 
 sand acres; and tradition credits him 
 with having given the township in 
 which it lay the name of Strasburg, at 
 first "New Strasburg," which was 
 carved out of Leacock in 1759, the lat- 
 ter being so named by a Scotch-Irish 
 
(11) 
 
 settler, who came from Leacock in 
 Ireland. 
 
 There were also among those who 
 were attracted by the Swiss Menno- 
 nites, a few i< rench Huguenots, Daniel 
 Ferree, Isaac Lefevre and others, who 
 bought a large portion of the tract 
 taken up uy the original Swiss set- 
 tlers, and this location formed later 
 the township of Paradise, the post 
 town or village being so named uy an 
 early settler, Joshua Scott, who.stand- 
 ing where he beheld the beauties of 
 the surrounding country, was so 
 charmed that he declared it should be 
 called Paradise. 
 
 Paradise township was separated 
 from Strasburg township in the year 
 1843. The survey was made by Jacob 
 Hildebrand, the veteran surveyor and 
 conveyancer, of Strasburg, and this 
 was his first employment, when, as a 
 young man, he began the occupation 
 of surveying. 
 
 An interesting incident with regard 
 to the village of Paradise is in con- 
 nection with the well-known and pop- 
 ular ballads of Stephen G. Foster, who 
 was the author of "My Old Ken- 
 tucky Home,' "Old Dog Tray," and 
 other familiar songs. Mr. Foster lived 
 in Kentucky, and sent his songs to his 
 sister, the wife of the Rev. Dr. Edward 
 Yates Buchanan, rector of All Saints' 
 Church, in Paradise. Mrs. Buchanan 
 had a melodeon, and to its accompan- 
 iment these songs were first heard in 
 Paradise, and were, therefore, we may 
 say, literally "songs of Paradise." Mrs. 
 Cassatt, wile of A. J. Cassatt, Presi- 
 dent of the Pennsylvania Railroad 
 Company, is a daughter of the late 
 Dr. Buchanan, who was the only 
 brother of President James Buchanan. 
 It is not genrally known. perhai)s, that 
 President Cassatt spent a portion of 
 his youth in Lancaster county, while 
 his father resided at Hai'dwick, in 
 Manheim township, which is now part 
 
( 12) 
 
 of the extensive tract adjoining Lan- 
 caster city, owned by B. J. McGrann. 
 
 The borough of Strasburg is beauti- 
 fully situated on an elevateu ridge of 
 the richest limestone soil. Its history 
 extends uack to 1733, when ihe first 
 house is said to have been ouilt by a 
 man named Hoffman. Soon there was 
 gathered a considerable village, which 
 bore the name of Bettel Hansen (beg- 
 gar houses), and in 1816 IJhe borough 
 was chartered and given the name of 
 Strasburg. From the earliest period 
 of its history there was a strong senti- 
 ment in favor of education, and the 
 town that was the birthplace of so dis- 
 tinguished an educator as Thomas H. 
 Burrowes may jusiiy be said to have 
 been the nursery of the Pennsylvania 
 Free School System. His parents, 
 Thomas Breadon Burrowes and Har- 
 riet, his wife, are buried in the old 
 Presbyterian Churchyard in the bor- 
 ough. 
 
 Thomas H. Burrowes was born in 
 Strasburg on November 16, 1805. His 
 parents returned to Ireland with their 
 family and remained there for some 
 years, during which time he completed 
 his education at the University of 
 Dublin. 
 
 A public meeting was held in Janu- 
 ary, 1831, in the little bricit school 
 house on Jackson street. At this time 
 Mr. Burrowes was a member of the 
 State Legislature, and from this meet- 
 ing was sent the first petition >.o the 
 Legislature in favor of public schools, 
 and resulted in the passage of the Act 
 of 1831, appropriating funds for the 
 purpose of establishing public schools, 
 and, later, in 1835, in the formal es- 
 tablishment of the free school system 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 The celebrated Presbyterian divine. 
 Rev. George Duffieid, D.D., was born 
 in Strasburg, July 4, 1796. And on the 
 main street of the borough, in a stone 
 house still standing, was born and 
 
(13) 
 
 reared Martha, daughter of John 
 Pfoutz, who was the wife of Charles 
 Cameron and mother of General Si- 
 mon Cameron. The borough was the 
 birthplace of many prominent and 
 most useful public-spirited citizens 
 and has contributed its quota towards 
 what has made Lancaster county re- 
 nowned as a -little kingdom within its 
 own domain.' 
 
 " O Strasburg. O Strasburg, 
 Eine wunder schoene Stadt 
 Darinnen liegt begraben— 
 Ein mancher. ein schoener 
 Ein braver Soldat; 
 Der sein Vater 
 Und seine Mutter, 
 Verlassen hat." 
 
 A circumstance in connection with 
 the Strasburg trolley road greatly la- 
 mented by the entire community was 
 the untimely death on September 10 
 1901. of Amos Hollinger, the first presi- 
 dent of the company, and one of the in- 
 corporators and original projectors In 
 the success of the enterprise much was 
 due to his energetic efforts and the un- 
 bounded confidence every one felt in 
 his integrity and business judgment, 
 and there was universal regret that he' 
 was not spared to see actually realized 
 his long cherished desire for a trolley 
 line in his neighborhood. 
 
 Two of his associates who rendered 
 invaluable assistance at the beginning 
 of the enterprise, George W. Hensel. 
 Cashier of the First National Bank of 
 Strasburg, and Jacob L. Ranck, resid- 
 ing immediately east of the borough in 
 Strasburg township, were greatly in- 
 fluential in determining the route and 
 assuring final success. All who are 
 connected with the company are felici- 
 tated on the good judgment displayed 
 in respect to the route and sagacity 
 exercised in forming permanent con- 
 nection with the Conestoga Traction 
 Company, and, finally, the success in 
 constructing and equipping the railway 
 
(14) 
 
 in a manner that has fully met public 
 expectations and secured to the people 
 excellent transportation facilities with 
 comfortable ana frequent service from 
 early morning until late in the night. 
 It is, however, only what is due from 
 this generation, in the course of pro- 
 gress, to the spirit of enterprise, the 
 thrift, and the perseverance of their 
 sturdy ancestors who converted the 
 wilderness into a blooming garden. 
 WALTER M. FRANKLIN. 
 
Minutes of the September Meeting. 
 
 Lancaster, Pa., Sept. 5, 1902. 
 
 The first fall meetinp of the Lancas- 
 ter County Historical Society was held 
 in the Society room this after- 
 noon. President Steinman being in the 
 chair. 
 
 The roll of officers was called, and, 
 on motion, the reading of the minutes 
 of the last meeting was dispensed with. 
 The application of J. J. Dengler, oi 
 Lancaster, for membership, was re- 
 ceived. 
 
 The donations to the Society wero 
 numerous, consisting of the following 
 articles, donated by Samuel Evans, 
 Esq., of Columbia: Manuscript copy 
 of Surveyor General Taylor's surveys 
 of land warrants issued in Lancaster 
 county and profiles of the same; gene- 
 alogy of the Houston Family; History 
 of Danville, Pa., and Journal of Cap- 
 tain Jonathan Heart, an officer of the 
 Revolution; by a friena, a German 
 hymn book and the minutes of the 
 Jackson Rifles military company, of 
 this city, from January, I800, to Feo- 
 ruary, 1839; The F. and M. HullabaloT 
 and a pictorial history of Reading, by 
 F. R. Diffenderffer; Origin and History 
 of the Smithsonian Institution and four 
 volumes of the Reports of the Ameri- 
 can Historical Association, 1899 and 
 1900, by rlon. H. Burd Cassel; map of 
 Lancaster city, of Lancaster township 
 and of Lancaster county, handsomely 
 framed, and Manual of Lancaster city, 
 by Hon. E. S. Smeltz; Report of the 
 State Library of New York; F. and M. 
 Obituary Record, from Mr. S. H. Ranck, 
 of Baltimore; Annals of Iowa, Vol. 5, 
 four numbers; History of Donegal 
 Presbyterian Church, by Dr. J. L. Zieg- 
 ler; American Philosophical Society 
 Proceedings; Records of Catholic His- 
 torical Society for June, 1902; Pennsyl- 
 
(16) 
 
 vania Magazine of History and Biogra- 
 phy, July, 1902; The Pennsylvania 
 German; Catholic Historical Research- 
 es, Linden Hall Echo and Report of the 
 Lancaster Board of Health for 190L 
 The thanks of the Society were extend- 
 ed to the several donors for their gifts. 
 The donations of books and documents 
 to the Society are growing, and it wel- 
 (;omes all such, being amply provided 
 with book-cases for their preservation, 
 and where they will be permanently 
 useful to those who desire to consult 
 them. 
 
 The paper of the day, under the title 
 of "Historical Points of Interest Along 
 the Strasburg Trolley Road," was read 
 by Walter M. Franklin, Esq., and 
 proved to be of great interest, dealing, 
 as it did, with many historical places, 
 persons and incidents. A lively discus- 
 sion ensued over some of the points 
 made, .a which most of the members 
 present participated. The thanks of 
 the Society were tendered Mr. Frank- 
 lin for his valuable paper, and it was 
 ordered to be printed in the usual way. 
 
 The President appointed a commit- 
 tee of three, composed as follows: Dr. 
 .1. W. Hassler, S. M. Sener and F. R. 
 Diffenderffer, to prepare a minute on 
 the death of Mr. Amos Rutter, an old 
 and valued member of the Society, 
 and one who always manifested much 
 interest in its prosperity. 
 
 There being no further business, the 
 Society adjourned. The attendance 
 was large, a goodly number of ladies 
 being present. 
 
LIBRfiRY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 207 584 2