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ISD Lebanon Valley, Pa
Truly Yours,
ANCIENT
AND
HISTORIC LANDMARKS
IN THE
LEBANON VALLEY.
BY
REV. P. C. CROLL.
„BRAR
PHILADELPHIA: LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY.
1895.
302736
COPYRIGHT, IS95,
BY THE LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY.
€
€
C
€
C
CONTENTS.
PAGE PREFACE 7 INTRODUCTION, by Rev. W. H. Dunbar, D. D. 9
CHAPTER I. A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LEBANON VALLEY.
An imaginary excursion-Motive-First settlement - Weekly trips-A bird's-eye view of territory-Beauty and richness of Valley-A goodly remnant of historic relics in the form of churches, graveyards, Indian forts, mills and homesteads . 13-17
CHAPTER II. CONRAD WEISER'S HOMESTEAD AND GRAVE.
Exploration begun- A sacred shrine-The Weiser home and pres- ent ownership-A noted marriage-The Weiser burial plot- Its illustrious visitors-Brief sketch of Weiser 18-25
CHAPTER III. MIDDLETOWN, ALIAS WOMELSDORF.
Location and founding-Old streets and buildings-Its churches and schools-Old business center-Its graveyards- Worthy old families .
26-37
CHAPTER IV. THE FIRST CHURCH IN THE VALLEY.
Location of this historic shrine-Old landmarks en route-A cen- tury and three-quarters of local church history-Old graves. 38-49 CHAPTER V. THE SECOND TULPEHOCKEN CHURCH.
Church controversy-A new congregation-History of this flock- An ancient graveyard . 50-57
CHAPTER VI. AN INTERESTING OLD MANSE.
One hundred and fifty years of pastoral family history-Revs. Wagner, Kurtz, Schultze, Ulrich, Eggers, Mayser and Long. 58-65 CHAPTER VII. A WELL-PRESERVED INDIAN FORT.
Location and erection-A glimpse of Colonial times-The fort's history-Present ownership . . 66-72
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CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER VIII. AN ANTIQUATED VILLAGE.
A burg of the ancient times-Old trades and houses-Brief his- tory of village-Some good fruit . · 73-80
CHAPTER IX. AN OLD INDIAN TRAIL.
A tramp with Indians-A mountain "Kluft"-Wealth at base and on top-An eagle's eyrie-Famous Lutheran pioneers here gathered . 81-88
CHAPTER X. CRADLE OF RELIGIOUS SECTS.
The Mill Creek Valley-The birth of various denominations-An historic hamlet-Indian relics . 89-97
CHAPTER XI. A DOUBLE FOUNTAIN HEAD.
Rise of two streams-The "Albright's" Denomination-Memor-
ial church-Grave of a bishop-Other graves . . 98-107
CHAPTER XII. THE COUNTY'S OLDEST TOWN.
Founding of Schaefferstown- Early history-A graveyard as ob- servatory-Landscape-Old roads-First public water works in United States . 108-115
CHAPTER XIII. AMONG OLD GRAVES AND BUILDINGS.
Old graves and quaint tomb-stones-Homes of the early peas- antry-Old times in vogue-Interesting local church his- tory . 116-127
CHAPTER XIV. THE TULPEHOCKEN REFORMED CHURCH.
Back to the Tulpehocken-The early Reformed settlers-Church history-Record of pastors-Colonial heroes-Old graves. 128-136 CHAPTER XV. AN HOUR WITH REFORMED PASTORS.
A personal review-Sketches of the Tulpehocken pastors-The Leinbachs . . 137-148
CHAPTER XVI. A STROLL ALONG THE TULPEHOCKEN.
Angling-Old homesteads-The Breittenbach Indian Fort . . 149-155
V
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER XVII. TULPEHOCKENTOWN, ALIAS MYERSTOWN.
Naming towns-Sketch of Myers, the founder-Old relics-For- mer famous citizens-A future Governor-Local history 156-165 CHAPTER XVIII.
A WALK OVER HISTORIC GROUND.
Planting of new churches-Old families-Where Gov. Shultze found a wife-Fine old homestead, once a retreat of Wash- ington's-Other old homes . 166-177
CHAPTER XIX. ENCAMPED NEAR LEBANON.
A halt of excursionists-Historic ground-Family history-His- tory of a canal-Historic highways . . 178-186 CHAPTER XX. THE HEBRON MORAVIAN CHURCH.
Scripture nomenclature-Mission work and planting of churches- History of a church-Valuable records-A Revolutionary Prison . 187-199
CHAPTER XXI. A WALK ABOUT STEITZTOWN.
Early homes about Lebanon-Moravian headquarters-Old burial plot-Light's Fort-Other old homesteads -- Poem of local history · 200-213
CHAPTER XXII. MT. TABOR REFORMED CHURCH.
Local history ecclesiastically enshrined-Familiar local names- Zealous church workers-Record of pastors . 214-225
CHAPTER XXIII. FACE TO FACE WITH PAST WORTHIES.
Graveyard reflections in June-Sketches of pastors and influen- tial lay-members sleeping side by side 226-237
CHAPTER XXIV. A HALT ON MARKET SQUARE.
Lebanon's busy mart-Local Revolutionary history-Old home- steads lining Square-Family history . · 238-250
I.1
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER XXV. A HALT ON MARKET SQUARE, CONTINUED.
More historic homes-Famous men and visits-Local history and genealogy . . 251-261
CHAPTER XXVI.
SALEM LUTHERAN CHURCH AND GRAVEYARD.
Early Lutheran history-Local church leaders-Old church rel- ics-Record of pastors-Old graves . 262-276
CHAPTER XXVII. OUR EXIT VIA OLD CUMBERLAND ST. TO GLONIGER'S FORT. Interesting local history on every hand-Where was Steitz's house ?- Gloninger's Fort-A famous family 277-289
CHAPTER XXVIII. A VALUABLE LIBRARY HISTORICALLY HOUSED.
Charms of a library-A collection of rare old books - Historic quarters · 290-299
CHAPTER XXIX. THE REV. JOHN CASPER STOEVER HOMESTEAD.
Location and erection-Biographical sketch-Interesting events here transpired-Present ownership . · 300-307
CHAPTER XXX. A VISIT TO THE HILL CHURCH.
History of congregation-Her pastors-An old rural "God's acre"-Grave of Pastor Stoever- Other graves . 308-315 CHAPTER XXXI. THE STOEVER MONUMENT.
A memorial shaft erected-Unveiling -Memorial poem . . . 316-322
CHAPTER XXXII. A GLIMPSE OF ANNVILLE.
The Gem of the Valley-Local history-Dark pages-Old home- steads - Leading names - Church work -- A final leave- taking . 323-334
PREFACE.
THE author desires to say to his gentle reader that when he began to pen the contents of this volume he had no desire to write a book. Seeing a volume of interesting local history lie at his feet, he began to open it and read. Then he became inclined to impart the information gained unto others, and hence close as his vehicle one of the daily papers of his own city. In The Daily Report appeared, for seven months, from January to August, 1894, in consecutive order, under the nom de plume of "Kristofer Kolumbo," these weekly con- tributions. They soon attracted attention, and wher- ever among readers the author's name became known, lie was besought to gather the material into permanent and convenient form. He has therefore no apology to make for its appearance in this way. He has but yielded to a general local demand to preserve what his- toric matter these fugitive sketches may contain.
To aid the general reader now undertaking this im- aginary historical pilgrimage, a number of illustrations have been secured for these pages. The letters the author prefers to stand substantially as they were first written, asking simply that the reader bear in mind that they are
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viii
PREFACE.
"Letters. " If they should induce any one to make an actual pilgrimage to this ancient settlement, to see for himself these landmarks and study them "face to face," the writer entertains no fear of ever hearing any regrets from such an one for the undertaking.
The article on Womelsdorf is here inserted in its proper place, though it was last written, and this ac- counts for its midsummer flavor, the season when these contributions were brought to their termination.
We hope new readers may find something to please and instruct.
LEBANON, PA., March, 1895.
P. C. C.
INTRODUCTION.
THIS book commends itself. Its publication is in response to a demand. Its contents were first published in a series of articles in a Lebanon daily paper. The reading of these articles created much interest, and resulted in a general desire to have the material in more permanent form. It was the expression of this desire, mainly, that led the modest author to the idea of the book.
The book will be read with more than ordinary interest. It is the story of the early settlement of central Pennsylvania. The story is told in a sprightly way that makes it attractive. The material was gath- ered with muclı labor, and substantiated by personal investigation. It contains many incidents in the early history of this section, both in its secular affairs and in its church work, not elsewhere to be found.
The book will be valuable as a reference. The sec- tion of territory which it covers was the scene of some of the most important events in the early settlement of the State. Associated with them is the name of Conrad Weiser. If the life and deeds of this man were properly known, his name would scarcely stand second to any in
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2
INTRODUCTION.
the roll of worthies of the Commonwealth. He was the valued associate and adviser of men high in authority in affairs civil and ecclesiastical. Many of these events have no record. They exist simply in traditions handed down from generation to generation. With the lapse of time these are becoming dim and indistinct. It is important that they should have a record in permanent form.
The book can not fail to be of interest, not only to those now living in this section, but also to those wlio have gone fortli from it to settle other sections. The descendants of the people who took part in these scenes are to be found in every part of the country. They fill all ranks of life. Many of them have inherited and carried with them the spirit of their earnest and daring ancestors, and have become leaders in thought and life and enterprise in their chosen communities. This book ought to be in the hands of every man and woman who traces back ancestry to the early settlers of central Pennsylvania.
The book opens a field that is rich in material and that ought to be developed. Its publication is timely. The Lutheran Publication Society is to be commended for giving it to the general public. The Pennsylvania German has been altogether too modest. Conservative almost to a fault, he has not cared to herald his deeds to fame. By reason of this same conservatism, he has furnished to our social, civil and ecclesiastical life, an element of stability and strength. We have the record
xi
INTRODUCTION.
in detail of the history of the New England settle- ments. We rejoice in it as a common heritage of glory. The New Englander is properly proud of his Puritan ancestry. When once the record of our Penn- sylvania settlements shall be given in detail, we will have reason to be equally proud of our German ances- try.
We rejoice in the organization of the "Pennsylvania German Society." It has a history back of it which ought to inspire the most devout enthusiasmn. It has a high and holy duty to perform in creating new interest in that history. We commend this book to the miem- bers of this society. Its contents will be an impetus to more extended research. Its reading ought to lead some gifted historian to take up and follow the lines here laid down, and to put in permanent and systematic form the records of the deeds of these brave and devoted people to whom we owe so much.
To those interested in the history of the Lutheran Church in this country these sketches will be of special value. Directly or indirectly, the events are very closely identified or connected with the church-life of the time. It is interesting to note how one of the first acts of the German settlers was to establish a church. It is signifi- cant to note how that church became the center of the life of the settlement. There are many facts here re- corded of very great interest in the annals of our early church history.
The peculiar value of the book consists in the fact
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INTRODUCTION.
that it gives us glimpses of the inner home-life and church-life of the time. We see the godly pastor mak- ing his way among the scattered settlements, visiting the widely separated homes, sitting with the family gathered around the unpretentious board. We see the congregation gathering from their distant homes, as- sembling in the plain and comfortless, yet to them none the less sacred structures, to worship God and to listen in reverent attention to the preached truth. Now and then there comes a revelation of the devout spirit and the sturdy piety and the rugged faith of these people. It will do us good to recall and study these times, to catch some of the spirit of earnestness and simplicity in life and devotion.
BALTIMORE, March, 1895.
W. H. DUNBAR.
ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL
LANDMARKS IN THE LEBANON VALLEY.
CHAPTER I.
A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE VALLEY.
I PROPOSE to lead my readers in a leisurely conducted excursion through the rich and well-cultivated valley, which furnishes a general and, we trust, a happy home to most of them. The object of these rambles shall be to lead to the historic and the antique, in which this locality abounds, if indeed anything may be called an- cient in this our western country, save its rocks and hills, its forests and its water-ways.
Although it is less than two centuries since our present blooming valley was still the exclusive do- minion of the Indians and their sometimes less savage neighbors, the wild beasts, and only since that time that the foot of the white settler first stepped upon its soil, yet we are wont to speak of the rude relics left us by these first settlers-our ancestors-as ancient. Their primitive structures-whether they be houses or barns, churches or forts, mills or furnaces-over which a hun-
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LANDMARKS IN THE LEBANON VALLEY.
dred and fifty years or more of varied weather has beaten down, many of which have clustering about them in- teresting and important facts of history, while some bid fair to defy the gnawing tooth of time for another equally lengthy period-these ancient relics hold for us an enticing charm, and it is in quest of them that we shall undertake our pilgrimage.
We shall take our weekly strolls on successive Satur- days, partly because it furnishes a half-holiday to many toilers, whom we would fain have accompany us, and because it enables the rising generation, our school children, for whose especial benefit these excursions are taken, to join the party. For we shall take these rambles now, while the schools are in session, in the hope that when vacation comes it may lead some bands of bright historians or juvenile "Old Mortalitys" to visit these spots in reality, and retrace anew the fad- ing epitaphis upon the inoss-covered sandstones that mark the resting places of our earliest local pioneers. Therefore, as our present trip is taken in imagination's chariot, we shall allow no interruptions to interfere with this weekly trip, though "Old Prob." should decree to take vengeance upon us and impede our way with snow- banks or howling blizzards before the wintry season be o'er. Our flying Pegasus must carry us over all these. Only the touch of Providence upon the hand of the guide can stay his pencil, which shall serve as our wand.
Before we undertake the journey, however, we will take a bird's-eye glimpse of the territory we are about to
15
A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW.
traverse. It is possible that most of our readers have before gone up and down our Lebanon Valley from Read- ing to Harrisburg. Perhaps they took their trip in pri- vate conveyance, or stage-coach, or old-fashioned "tally- ho," over the well-kept turnpike, that has for 78 years conducted visitors in rumbling coaches through the very
heart of this district. Perhaps they have taken a trip on somne canal-boat that formerly plied its way along the circuitous route of the Union canal, the first to be oper- ated in America, and abandoned only in 1884. Many, I know, have employed that more modern and speedy and comfortable mode of locomotion, the Philadelphia and Reading express train, and have been whirled through this garden land of our State. It is possible that some have taken this trip afoot, and others still have wheeled through it on a Victor or a Columbia. Future travelers will doubtless make the journey by electricity, perhaps at no distant day on wheels, when the Lebanon and Annville street railway shall extend its lines to either terminus, or on wings, when Mr. Edison shall have completed his electrical flying-machine.
But to-day we shall soar upwards with the eagle. Having no balloon at hand large enough to accommo- date my many passengers, I shall ask each one grace- fully to spread the pinions of his fancy while we soar away to the height of a few hundred yards, and look down upon our bustling valley as the swallows and the eagles do in summer. And we shall imagine it to be summer, to see the country clothed in its harvest riches
16
LANDMARKS IN THE LEBANON VALLEY.
and glory, as the writer saw it some years since, from one of the highest peaks that hem it in on the south.
And now look to the east and west, to the north and south! What a magnificent country lies beneath you! Above the din of its noises let the valley's enrapturing beauty and boundless magnificence transport your soul ! Let the extensive picture daguerreotype itself upon your mind and heart! What an empire of fertile farms! On and on the billowy fields are rolling, clad in the wealth of emerald beauty! On and on the terrestrial billows of this sea are flowing, one farin lashing against another, until ten miles to the north it strikes against its Blue Mountain promontory, while to the south this agricul- tural sea breaks itself up in green undulations of wood- land against the spurs of our South Mountain range. Between the Schuylkill on the east and the Susque- hanna on the west there is no break or limit to our vision. Beyond these borders, even, the eye can discern mountain ranges in the lazy distance.
But what do we see in this broad expanse beneath our feet ? Immediately beneath us lies the queen of the val- ley, the proud young city of Lebanon itself, with a girdle of industries around her waist, alas! now in part idle, and a crown of copper and iron upon her Cornwallian brow, alas! now so poorly burnished ! Around this en- throned queen, on every hand, extending far as the eye can see, lie the rich and improved acres of our people, the best legacy which our German sires have left their sons and descendant heirs. The log cabins of the first
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A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW.
settlers have in most instances been displaced by com- inodious farin-houses, many of them palatial structures of stone or brick, whose domestic comfort and attraction lure the most fastidious. And what barns! No com- munity on earthi can boast of finer and larger barns than these "Switzers" of our Lebanon valley Pennsylvania- German georgic princes. Yet such is the skill of this king of farmers, the Pennsylvania-German, that even these gigantic storehouses are often known to overflow with farm products, and rows of hive-shaped stacks of hay and grain have to be set near by, as so many senti- nels to guard the rich farm treasures.
Studding this valley, from the east to the west, are still preserved a sufficient number of significant land- marks to make our pilgrimage interesting. These are in the form of old churches and cemeteries, Indian forts and ancient dwellings, battlefields and illustrious graves, which we shall visit with sacred veneration, and by the aid of our magic wand call up the dead from their graves, re-people the old dwellings, and, in short, rehabilitate the old scenes with actors and environments of a genera- tion that has passed away long ago. We shall cover es- pecially that district now included in the limits of Lebanon county or bordering close thereto. So, if you will join the party, gentle reader, be ready for our first tramp just a week from now. Until then, and in the hope of your landing upon terra firma from your aerial flight, more safely than did the famous Darius Green witlı his flying machine, we will separate for a brief season.
CHAPTER II.
CONRAD WEISER'S HOMESTEAD AND GRAVE.
WELL, here we meet again ! Our flying steed lias been restlessly pawing up the air for a week, eager to make the first trip of exploration promised in my former communication. So, if all my passengers are ready, I shall give the word to start. Therefore, all aboard, and we'll be off.
Inasmuch as we shall confine our excursions, for the present at least, as nearly as is practicable, to the terri- tory covered by our present county limits, we will take our first trip eastward, and begin our research just be- yond the county-line, and from thence work upward and westward toward home. I shall, therefore, to-day lead iniy readers to the almost sacred shrine of the pre- sent resting-place and former home of that famous, heroic, and many-sided and gifted pioneer of this val- ley, whose name deserves easily to stand first among thie illustrious ancestors of this later generation, Conrad Weiser. Were due justice given this German hero and patriot, his name would doubtless stand among the first which our State has chosen to blazon upon lier scroll of honor.
Our best way to reach this historic spot is by taking
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CONRAD WEISER'S HOMESTEAD AND GRAVE.
tlie well-kept pike and keeping on, until 14 miles to the East, we come to Womelsdorf, one of the first built towns of this valley, and about fifty years ago a most prosperous place of business, its stores then rivaling those of Reading. Passing through this borough and a quarter of a mile beyond, we come to a lane leading to the right, where, just across a meadow-field, cluster the capacious farm dwellings of the Weiser Homestead, now
CONRAD WEISER'S HOMESTEAD.
in the possession and occupancy of Mr. John Marshall. This courteous gentleman will be glad to show us what is of such intense interest here. First he will show us the old stone dwelling, which Weiser built early in the
20
LANDMARKS IN THE LEBANON VALLEY.
last century, but still kept intact. Although it is kept as a washı and slaughter-house, and for general storage purposes, yet we wander through it with bated breath. Curiosity holds sway over us as we travel from garret to basement, whither these early Tulpehocken settlers fled
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE CONRAD WEISER HOMESTEAD.
for refuge, and where we find a huge Queen Anne mantel-piece of solid oak, still as in the days when Maria Weiser (Conrad's eldest daughter, who later became the wife of that patriarch of the American Lutheran Church, Heinrich Melchoir Muhlenberg), there kindled the fires. We look at the quaint old structure with its low door,
21
CONRAD WEISER'S HOMESTEAD AND GRAVE.
and almost imagine this illustrious pair coming forth as bride and groom on that day in 1745, when they went to the Tulpehocken Lutheran parsonage, to be united in the sacred bonds of matrimony, by the pastor, Rev. Tobias Wagner.
We repair to the present farm house, and are glad, among other relics, to look at a parchment deed or pat- ent of land given the original settler by the Penn heirs, John, Richard and Thomas Penn. Then we walk to the sacred spot that holds the dust of the illustrious and pious German pioneer of this valley. A plain sandstone is the only marker this grave has, though we are glad to say that an effort is now on foot by the public schools of Berks county, headed by its energetic Superintendent, Prof. W. M. Zechman, to put up at an early day a suit- able monument to Weiser's honor in the city of Read- ing. This movement has been seconded by the Board of Trade of Reading, and by the Pennsylvania-German Society at its last annual meeting. It thus bids fair soon to be realized.
The Weiser burial plot is a patch of ground about forty feet square, not more than fifty yards removed from the old house, on a slight elevation of ground in the midst of a thriving orchard of apple trees. Here lie buried possibly a dozen different members of the Weiser family, together with a few Indians. Only the tomb- stone of Conrad and his wife (rather that of the wife of a son by the same name, as dates do not correspond with the marriage of the elder Conrad with his Anna Eva,
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LANDMARKS IN THE LEBANON VALLEY.
whom tradition will make out to have been a squaw) are found remaining. Other graves are marked by broken or well-nigh buried lime-stone slabs. The epi-
CONRAD WEISER'S GRAVE.
taph on Mr. Weiser's tombstone, recently retraced from its fading indistinctness under the ravages of Father Time's influences for nearly a century and a half, reads follows:
23
CONRAD WEISER'S HOMESTEAD AND GRAVE.
Dieses ist die Ruhe Staette des weyl Ehren Geachten M. CON- RADI WEISERS. Der- selbige GebohreN 1696 D. 2 November in ASTAET im Amt
HerreNBerg, in Wit- tenberger LANDE. Und Gestorben 1760 D. 13 Julius. Ist Alt Worden 64 Jahr 3 M. 3 W. 6 T.
This grave has been visited by many inen and women since that eminent man was buried here, 134 years ago. Hither the illustrious families of Weiser and Muhlen- berg and Shulze (including the once Governor of Penn- sylvania) and other descendants of fame have made their pilgrimages in respect to a worthy sire. But perhaps the most illustrious personage that ever visited the spot was President George Washington, who, during his second term of office, visited Womelsdorf and this grave, coming from Philadelphia. It was on November 13 and 14, 1793, spending the intervening night in Wom- elsdorf, where he was serenaded by the citizens on the evening of the 13th. The reply to this greeting of the citizens is still preserved, and can be found in Rupp's history. The visit to Conrad Weiser's grave was made on the morning of the 14th, we think, and doubtless with due thought of, perhaps in company with the
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