History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 162

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418

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improved with a number of buildings to such an extent that the locality has the appearance of a village. Next below . this factory Jacob Levan operated a saw-mill, which has been removed ; also an old grist-mill, formerly oper- ated by the Bechtels. Near by, on a small tributary, George De B. Keim had a clover-seed mill, which did good service in its day, but has been idle a long time. On the main stream, in this locality, Gottlieb Moyer erected, in 1828, what he called the " Exeter Tilt-Hammer," and George de B. Keim purchasing an interest in the property, a forge was added, which was operated by Keim & Moyer from about 1840 for some years, and known as the "Exeter Forge." Moyer & Yocum were later operators. The business has been abandoned and the power has been used to operate a small feed-mill, now owned by M. J. Althouse. A pottery has been carried on near by for a number of years by Jacob Troxell. A small turning-factory in this locality has also passed away. Near the Perkiomen turnpike John Bishop had a saw and grist-mill, among the first in the township, which burned down whilst owned by Nicholas Jones. A stone building was erected in its place and the mill is now operated as the prop- erty of Jacob Hertzog. Thomas and John Lincoln had a saw-mill at the next power, which was replaced by a new mill, erected by Washington Kissinger, and is still operated as a saw-mill. At this place-" Exeter Station " __ Colonel D. C. Keller had a distillery, which was discontinued after several years' operation. The building afterward burned down. At this place there was also a small steam forge, erected by Reuben Seidel and operated by him for some years.

On the Monocacy, just where it passes into Exeter, Jacob and John Gehr had a fulling and carding-mill, but which has not been run the past fifty years. The building has been re- moved. Traces of the old race may still be seen. Half a mile down the stream Daniel Snyder erected a grist-mill, which was operated before 1800 and which has been continuously owned by the Snyder family. The original old stone building has been enlarged and improved and it is still a good mill, operated by William

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

H. Snyder. On the Limekill Creek, near the Oley line, Henry Knauss operated a grist-mill many years, John H. Bechtel becoming a later owner, and though the power is not strong, the mill is operated nearly constantly. A saw-mill, by Jacob Thomas, occupied the next site, and, after being the property of Herbein and others, at present belongs to James Boone. 'The oldest mill in the township was in this locality, near the Friends' meeting-house, but had its water- power from the Monocacy, by means of a race, being almost a mile long. It may have been operated as early as 1726 by the Boone family, but owing to its unfavorable, location, it was not kept up after the first log building commenced to show signs of decay, especially after better mills were supplied. The mill was on the present Jacob B. Kaufman farm and the head of the race was on the farm of Isaac Christman. The Boone who had this mill was of the same family from which has de- scended Moses Boone, still living in that local- ity. Below this point potteries have been carried on by C. C. Guldin, C. Link and others. Near the Birdsboro station Messrs. E. & G. Brooke erected a fine, large furnace, which is still carried on successfully in connection with the Brooke Iron-Works at Birdsboro.

EXETER STATION, on the same road, nearer Reading, has but a few buildings, the principal being the store and tavern of H. B. Levan. He is also the postmaster of Exeter Station office, established in 1861. William B. Levan has been the station agent of the railroad com- pany for many years. Washington Kissinger was the first to engage in business at this point.

On the Perkiomen turnpike, from the "Black Bear" to the "Red Lion " Inns, are several settlements approaching hamlets in ap- pearauce, and which are known locally as " Woodville " and "Suckertown." Neither has any business place connected with it.

On the present Samuel Kaufman farm, formerly owned by one of the Boones is part of a stone building erected in 1733, which is yet in good condition.

Other old houses are along the Monocacy, among them being the one now owned by James Lee, formerly the Isaac Christman place,

the Lees, Hughes, etc. They are all stone and some of them two stories high.

CHURCHES.

FRIENDS' MEETING-HOUSE is situate in the Monocacy Valley and on the Amity line. It is a plain stone building, built similar to, but a little larger than, the ordinary country school- house. Like the habits of the sect for which it was designed, it was finished in a simple, but neat style. Meetings are still held regularly, but there are few attendants besides the Baileys, Shoemakers and Lees, some of whom come from a distance. The Monthly Meetings are attended by Friends from Reading, Robeson and Maiden-creek, in addition to the foregoing. The cemetery is inclosed with a substantial stone fence, and contains so many interments that some graves are on top of others. The site is pleasant, and the place for a meeting- house was well selected, at that time having been a central point for large settlements of Friends in the valleys of the Monocacy and the Manatawny. The one acre of land on which the house was built was part of a two hundred and seventy-seven-acre tract which had been patented by Thomas Penn to George Boone in 1734, and was deeded by Boone and his wife, Deborah, to Anthony Lee, John Webb and Squire Boone, for a consideration of twenty shillings, December 24, 1736. The same day they, in turn, conveyed the land to Ellis Hugh, Thomas Ellis and James Boone in trust, "for a house and place of religious worship for meeting for the people called Quakers, within said town- ship of Oley, and shall permit and suffer the said piece of land whereon ye said messuage stands, and is erected .. . to be and remaine a burying-place for ye burying and intering of all such persous as the people called Quakers within ye said township shall allow of, and to and for no other use and service whatsoever."

It is probable that the first meeting-house was erected prior to this date (December 24, 1736), but the first Monthly Meeting appears to have been held June 25, 1737. At the meet- ing in the Eighth Month, Anthony Lee and Richard Lundy were chosen additional elders ; and at the Tenth Monthly Meeting Ellis

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TOWNSHIPS OF COUNTY.

Hughes and James Boone were appointed over- seers in place of Thomas Ellis and Anthony Lee. The Eleventh Monthly Meeting, in 1737, was held in the meeting-house in Maiden- creek, with which society this organization has always been connected in holding Monthly Meetings.

Exeter having been set off from Oley, in 1742, the name of the meeting, which was up to that time Oley, was changed to Exeter (March 3, 1742), and the first recorded meeting as Exeter was held April 24, 1742. Though so many changes have taken place that scarcely any members are left, those remaining must be commended for their adherence to the faith of the fathers and the consistent service they maintain when the future of the meeting seems so inauspicious.

This meeting-house is mentioned in a peti- tion, presented to the court at Philadelphia, in 1727, for a road " from the Lutheran Meeting- House at Tulpehocken creek to the High Road at the Quaker Meeting-House near the Mill of George Boone, in Oley." By this petition it appears that both a mill and a meeting-house were then in existence, and that the inhabitants of the surrounding country had their grists ground in the vicinity of their settlements, instead of having been compelled to proceed to the Perkiomen Mills, thirty miles distant, for that purpose.

SCHWARTZWALD CHURCH (Reformed and Lutheran) is near the centre of the town- ship. Its early history is obscure, inas- much as no records have been preserved. It was founded at such an early day that no per- sonal recollection is authentic. But from con- temporary accounts it is learned that a log church was built as early as 1754, in which worshipped Reformed and Lutheran congrega- tions, whose early ministry was the same as those of the Trinity Lutheran Church of Read- ing and the First Reformed Church of the same place. This church was used until 1810, when a new stone church was built upon the same lot of ground. It was built after the cus- tom of that day, being almost square, and hav- ing three galleries, a tulip-shaped pulpit and a good pipe-organ, which was consecrated No-

vember 10, 1811, when services were held in both the English and German languages. Early in 1870 it was determined to erect a new church, as the old one had insufficient accom- modations and bore the appearance of age so that it was unattractive. Accordingly, a build- ing committee was appointed, consisting of Joseph Levan, Benjamin S. Ritter, Simpson Garber, Joseph Kissling and John Heister, and they labored so zealously that the present edi- fice was completed before the close of the year. The old church was torn down in the early part of June and the corner-stone of the new church was laid July 17, 1870. The consecra- tion took place December 18, 1870. It is a brick structure, fifty by seventy-eight feet, and was completed at a cost of twelve thousand dol- lars. On the church is a square spire, contain- ing a superior, rich-toned bell. The interior is finely finished and has a seating capacity for. eight hundred people. In the rear of the pul- pit is a fine life-size painting of Christ, stand- ing at an open door. This was presented to the church in the spring of 1871 by Benjamin S. Ritter. A new organ was purchased in 1875, and sheds for the comfort of the horses of the members have also been built.

The Reformed congregation reported five hundred and fifty members in 1886, and the Rev. Aaron S. Leinbach and his son, John H., as pastors. The former has officiated here thirty-eight years. He preaches in the German language, while the latter has English services, thus giving a dual pastorate. The predecessor of these was the Rev. Wm. Pauli, who sus- tained a pastoral relation many years.

The Lutheran congregation has a smaller membership, there being about three hundred members under the pastoral care of the Rev. B. D. Zweizig, who served for the past twenty years. His predecessors were the Revs. Kuendig, Wagner and Miller. One-third of the preaching is in the English. North of the church is the Schwartzwald Cemetery, con- taining five acres. It includes the old burial- ground and lot of the church (one acre). The improvements are substantial and the older part of the cemetery has been planted with fine trees and shrubs. It is controlled by the " Schwartz-

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

wald Cemetery Association," which was incor- porated on November 18, 1859. The petition- ers for incorporation were,-

William Brumbach, Daniel Schneider, Solomon Close, John D. Ritter, George Stoner, Jonas Kisling, Gottlieb Moyer, Joseph Levan, John Herbein, Chris- tian Schaffer, Daniel Faber, Samuel B. Knabb, Henry Shaffer, Benjamin S. Ritter, James Z. Griesemer, George Hill, Daniel Lutz.

For the past twenty-seven years the church and cemetery have been in charge of Sexton William Ebbert. The trustees of the Cemetery Association for 1886, are A. Herbein, presi- dent ; A. J. Brumbaclı, secretary ; B. S. Ritter, treasurer ; Joseph Snyder, Cyrus Levan, David Lutz, Samuel B. Knabb.

In the eastern part of the township are a number of private burial-grounds, some in- closed with good stone walls and neatly kept, while others, on farms which have passed out of the hands of the original owners, are in a ne- glected condition.

BAUMSTOWN CHAPEL (Reformed) is a plain frame building, thirty by forty feet, on an unde- fined lot of ground, long regarded as a commons. A partof this has been inclosed and forms a small cemetery. It was built about forty years ago and in 1885 was controlled by Trustees H. Y. Linderman, Philip Lott and Amos Redcay. Since February 8, 1869, the congregation has been an organized body ; but as the member- ship is small, little attention is paid to the de- tails of the organization. Some of the pastors of the Amity Church have occasionally preached in this church, and until recently the Rev. M. H. Mishler was the pastor. The Rev. A. H. Liess lately began preaching here. In the chapel a good Sunday-school has been main- tained for a number of years, having as a for- mer superintendent H. Y. Stoner, and William B. Potts as the present. There are about ninety members.

Below Baumstown is another chapel, nomin- ally belonging to the " United Brethren in Christ," but which has lately become the prop erty of Daniel Bowers, by purchase. It was built in 1869, and for a time occupied by a flourishing congregation. The removal of members, however, and other causes have inter-

fered with the prosperity of the society, so that only occasional services are held. The building is a plain frame structure and stands on one acre of land, purchased from the farm of George Wamsher.

STONERSVILLE SUNDAY-SCHOOL CHAPEL was built in the fall of 1885, for the use of a Union Sunday-school, organized in April, 1882. D. V. R. Ludwig has been superintendent since its organization. The chapel stands upon a lot donated by Sarah A. Young and is a neat frame building, thirty by fifty feet, costing one thousand dollars. It was erected by Ammon M. Kline, Charles B. Rice and D. V. R. Ludwig as a committee for the Sunday-school.

SCHOOLS .- The oldest school-house in the township was the one erected by the Friends at their meeting-house, and in which schools were maintained from 1790 till 1860, when the prop- erty was sold to the township, to be used as a public-school building. The schools until that were subscription schools, patronized by the peo- ple generally. Some of the principal teachers were James Boone, Thomas Cherington, Abner Thomas, John Lee, Ellis Lee and James Lee.

In 1885 there were twelve districts in the township, each provided with its own school building. Those recently erected are very at- tractive. The Hill school-house was built in 1885, and among other improvements contains a furnace for heating purposes. It has patent furniture and slate blackboards. The cost was about twelve hundred dollars. In all the dis- tricts the schools are conducted for five months annually, and this is supplemented, in some districts, by private schools in summer.

VILLAGES.

A few miles east from Reading, at the inter- section of the Oley and Perkiomeu turnpikes, an inn has been kept almost from the time the country was first settled. It is widely known as the "Black Bear," from the picture of that animal painted on the sign, and having a bountiful supply of superior water, no team- ster thinks of passing by without refreshing his teams. Jacob Maury was one of the early landlords, but for the past twenty years it has been kept by George Hill and his son, Levi.

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TOWNSHIPS OF COUNTY.

ST. LAWRENCE is situated on the Oley turn- pike and extends along this prominent high- way from Antietam Creek for a mile. The name arose from a certain class of woolen and cotton goods in 1856 which were manufactured by Wm. Brumbach, and sold at the commission house of T. P. Remington, Philadelphia.

Jacob Brumbach first started the manufacture of woolen goods here about 1840, in the building above the turnpike lately known as " Yerger's hat factory." In 1842 he and his brother William carried on the business until 1850; then William took and continued it alone until 1856, when he removed the machinery to a mill a mile down the creek, now known as the " Brumbach Mill." This was formerly a grist-mill, and William Brumbach converted it into a woolen-mill in 1853. In 1857 he erected a second mill. In 1862 both mills were destroyed by fire, loss being $75,000. They were then rebuilt by Albert J. Brumbach, his son, the present enterprising and successful proprietor, who has carried on the business since. In 1881 he ran three sets of machines, employed forty-five persons, and made annual sales amounting to $100,000.

Hats were first manufactured here by Moyer Siegel and John Siegel in 1850. This business was carried on for about thirty years by various parties, among them M. & J. Seigel, Stauffer & Kretz, John Yerger and Schulhoff Brothers.

The Levan Brothers (Daniel and Joseph) began the manufacture of glue here in 1874, when they erected their present large factory. They had for some years before carried on the business at Reading, in a building on Cherry Street, below Eleventh, where their father and grandfather had manufactured glue for many years.

James Z. Griesemer has carried on a grist and saw-mill for a number of years on Antietam Creek, at the crossing of the "Oley Turn- pike."

In 1881 the village had fifty-four dwell- ings and two hundred and sixty inhabit- ants.

Camp No. 230, P. O. S. of A., at St. Law- rence, holds its meetings in a building, near the Brumbach factory, but a new hall will be es-

pecially built for it in 1886, on an eligible site on the turnpike. There are one hundred and six members and property valued at nearly three thousand dollars.

JACKSONWALD was named after John Jack- son, who built a large hotel there in 1870, and in November of the same year succeeded in having a post-office established with the name of the hamlet. Jackson was appointed postmaster and still holds that position. There is a daily mail from Reading. In the vicinity is the "Schwartzwald Church " and eight or ten houses, occupied by people who have been attracted by the beauty of this locality. Near by is the " Centre Hotel " of P. Althouse, and a mile east was formerly the old Amos Ritter tavern, now used as a farm residence.

Dr. J. Y. Hoffman, who graduated from the Jefferson Medical College in 1880, has been located as a practitioner at Jacksonwald since 1882, being the successor of Dr. Martin L. Bertolet, who settled there in 1878, and after practicing four years removed to the West. Prior to that time Dr. Peter Snyder was in practice in that part of the township. He re- moved in 1868.

Dr. John B. Greisemer has practiced the healing art in Exeter township for many years, residing at present near the " Black Bear." For several years Dr. H. M. Nagle was at Stoners- ville, and Dr. T. L. Leidy and Dr. J. B. Kern were each in practice several years, in the same locality.

LIME KILN, commonly known as Snyderville, is situated on the Monocacy, at the Oley line, and contains a store, tavern, post-office and half a dozen residences in the immediate locality.

The business house was built in 1835 by Jacob and Peter Snyder, the former becoming the owner in 1842, and the property still re- mains in his family. Jacob Snyder had the first public-house and Augustus Miller the store. The latter is now kept by Charles S. Snyder and the former by Jacob H. Snyder. The Lime Kiln post-office was established in 1870 (the name originated from the lime kiln near by) and Jacob C. Snyder was the postmaster. This position is now held by John H. Snyder. At that place is an octagonal stone building, erected

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

in 1833, on the Gehr (now Cleaver) farm, which was recently repaired and supplied with a belfry. It is used for public gatherings and Sunday-school purposes, and is controlled by Trustees Jolin H. Snyder and Samuel B. Knabb.

The building was erected for private schools and replaced an old log school-house on the same site, which was built soon after 1800. It was, next to the Moravian school in Oley, the oldest in this part of the county. Lime Kiln, or Oley Line has an attractive location and has lately been substantially improved by the erec- tion of several fine buildings.

Washington Camp, No. 221 P. O. S. of A., was instituted at Oley Line July 30, 1874, but held its first meetings at Griesemerville. In 1886 there were seventy-eight members who met statedly in a hall in the Snyder building, having as principal officers, President, George M. Ruth ; Vice-President, Isaac Herbein ; Sec- retary, John S. Snyder ; Treasurer, C. S. Snyder; Trustees, J. G. Herbein, B. H. Altenderfer, D. V. R. Ludwig.

The camp is in a prosperous condition, having property to the amount of eighteen hun- dred dollars.

STONERSVILLE, a hamlet of about fifteen buildings, is east of the centre of the township, and became a business place in 1813, when Philip Boyer opened a hotel called the " Com- pass," from the figure of that instrument painted on the sign. Philip Boyer was succeeded by lis son John, who sold out to George Stoner in 1847. The latter was a man of great energy. He built an addition to the house, and also opened a store, in which was kept the post- office, established with the name of Stoners- ville. This title was then applied to the lo- cality and has since been continued. Stoner's tavern was largely patronized by drovers, and for their accommodation he had a forty-acre pasture field opposite the hotel. In 1848 he erected a large brick shed on the roadside. After a few years the business declined, leaving this large building almost useless. This change was caused by the railroad. Stoner removed to the " Red Lion " in 1863 and Daniel II. Snyder became the proprietor of the hotel. In

1881 David K. Young succeeded him and it is now continued by John K. Young. Since 1882 the store has been kept by D. V. R. Ludwig, who was also postmaster until 1885, when Jacob F. Guldin received the appointment. It is served with a daily mail by the Boyertown stage on the route from Reading to Boyertown. At and near this place are several old estab- lished mechanics' shops. Moses Boone has pur- sued the business of a wheelwright for many years.

BAUMSTOWN, at the lower end of the town- ship, on the highlands, traversed by the Perki- omen turnpike, one mile from the Schuylkill, is the oldest hamlet in the township, and is more of the nature of a straggling village. The site was first surveyed in 1733 and the follow- ing year two hundred and fifty-one acres were patented to Rudolph Wachler. Stephen Bolty became a later owner, and he, in 1792, deeded some land to Wm. Witman, who, about 1795 or 1796, laid out a town on a comprehensive scale, which he called Exetertown. July 3, 1796, he conveyed the first lot to Frederick Kopp, of Robeson township, for ten silver dollars; but it does not appear that he succeeded in making many sales to actual settlers, and, about 1800, he sold out his town to Dr. John Christian Baum. It was from him that. the place took its present name some years later. Dr. Baum lived there and followed huis profession, and was father of Dr. John Baum, who practiced his profession for a number of years at the Yellow House. A later physician at Baumstown was Dr. Ernst Baggie, who died at the "Red Lion " soon after 1864. At Baumstown a public-house was kept many years, but not since 1868, when Ed- mund Levan was the landlord. Other keepers were E. Dengler and Capt. George Newkirk. The nearness of Birdsboro has made the busi- ness of tavern-keeping and also of merchandis- ing unprofitable at Baumstown.

The " Red Lion " inn was established on this road a mile above Baumstown by Nicholas Hoerner in 1760. During its early history, for twenty years it was known as the "King George." It is now owned by Solomou Stoner, a successful merchant in the township for many years.

Joseph Scom

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TOWNSHIPS OF COUNTY.

Lionel Leinberger, a Jew, had the first store in part of the old Baum house, Samuel Hech- ler built a store fifty years ago and since 1854 H. Y. Linderman has been his successor. At this store is kept the Baumstown post-office, es- tablished in 1835, and which at present has one mail daily from Birdsboro. The postmaster is F. J. Linderman. Among the early mechanics at this place were Ezekiel Jones, Jacob Kerlin and John Moyer. Birdsboro Station, Phila- delphia and Reading Railroad, is in Exeter. The depot buildings are new and very attrac- tive in external appearance and interior ar- rangement.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

JOSEPH LEVAN is of Huguenot descent, and the grandson of Jacob Levan, whose son Abra- ham married Maria Bechtel. The children of this marriage are Susan, Jacob, Elizabeth, Jo- seph Abraham and two who died in childhood. Abraham Levan spent his life on the farm now owned by Jacob Levan. His son, Joseph Levan, was born on the 9th of June, 1803, and with his brothers and sisters inherited the home- stead, where he devoted his life to agriculture and was regarded as one of the most successful farmers of the township. He was married to Caroline Matilda, daughter of Peter Bechtel, of Caernarvon township. Their children were Mary, deceased, born December 3, 1836 ; Joseph, deceased, born March 29, 1838; Abraham, born January 18, 1841; Jacob, September 5, 1843 ; Cyrus, December 18, 1849; Nathan, July 5, 1854; and David, December 24, 1859. Joseph Levan being the only one of his father's chil- dren who was married, he for many years lived upon the paternal homestead. He was an earnest Democrat in politics and among the foremost to defend the principles of his party. He was fre- quently chosen as a delegate to County Con- ventions and held various township offices, more from a sense of duty than from preference. His integrity and scrupulous honesty caused him often to be made guardian, executor and administrator, which positions were filled with ability and fidelity. Mr. Levan was a member of the Schwartzwald German Reformed Church, in which he was both a deacon and an elder;

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History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 162

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards Number of Pages: 1418

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418