History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 191

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372

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more than half a century.

SPRING GARDEN TOWNSHIP.

Spring Garden in its present form lies immediately east and south of the city of York. It was organized out of parts of Hellam and York townships in the year 1822. Its original territory embraces some of the most valuable lands in York County. The District of Spring Garden, noted in the history of Philadelphia, joined the northern suburbs of that city, of which it eventually became a part. This township was named in honor of the Spring Garden District of the Quaker City.

Owing to its proximity to York, the population of Spring Garden grew rapidly. In 1830 it was 1,603; 1840, 1,907; 1850, 2,393 : 1860, 2,809; 1870, 3,010; 1880, 4,176; 1890, 5,209; 1900, 879.

lands adjoining the business and manu- facturing city of York. The real estate valuations have rapidly increased during the past decade, and many rural homes have been erected which adorn the hills overlooking the city. The village of Freystown for more than half a century was a centre of interest in this township. .It now forms the eastern part of York, to which it was annexed in 1890.

The schools in Spring Garden have the

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following names : Windsor Park, Green of Judge Black, Brockie continued to be the Hill, Hyde's, Hess and Violet Hill.

The elevated plain in Spring

Grantley. Garden Township south of York is dotted with many hand- some residences. John F. Spangler before the Civil War erected the first suburban home in this vicinity. In 1878 the Spangler residence was purchased by George Small, of York.

member of the firm of P. A. & S. Small, who laid off the grounds into attractive lawns and erected, a short distance above, an elegant mansion. In this delightful rural retreat Mr. and Mrs. Small spent their summer months during the last years of their residence in Baltimore, and here they entertained many distinguished men and women. The residence was named Grant- ley, in honor of Mary Grant, the maiden name of Mrs. Small. Grantley originally included a farm of 120 acres. Since 1904 the summer residence erected by George Small and 100 acres surrounding have been owned by his nephew, Philip A. Small, Small. In this residence Mr. and Mrs. Philip A. Small have since resided. The Springwood.

James M. Danner, a few years ago, built member of the present firm of P. A. & S. a residence a short distance away.

Spangler residence was occupied for a num- ber of years by W. Latimer Small. In Township, near the line of Spring Garden. 1905 his son, George Small, erected on this Edward Jessop resided here during the

site a beautiful residence, where he and his family have since resided.

Brockie. northwest along the slope of Webb's, later known as Shunk's Hill, was a noted place for picnics, Fourth of July celebrations and church festivities a century or more ago. In 1872 Jeremiah S. Black purchased this grove and the sur- rounding farm, and the following year com- pleted a large and ornamental home which he named Brockie, in honor of the beauti- ful spring of crystal water which issues from the earth near the centre of this grove of native trees. Judge Black's residence was first occupied in 1873, and continued to be the home of this distinguished jurist until the time of his death, in 1883. Dur- ing his residence at Brockie, he entertained a large number of distinguished persons, including his life long friend, President James A. Garfield, General W. S. Han- cock, Senator M. C. Carpenter, of Wiscon- sin, and many jurists and statesmen promi- nent in American history. After the death

home of his family, and later was owned and occupied by Chauncey F. Black, lieu- tenant governor of Pennsylvania, and prominent in the councils of the Democratic party in the United States. In 1906 Brockie was purchased by C. Elmer Smith, senior member of the S. Morgan Smith Company,

At the foot of Webb's Hill, near the Northern Central Railway, stands Willow Bridges, an historic mansion. It was built before the war by Captain John J. Young, after he retired from his long service in the United States Navy. Here Captain Young and his family entertained many visitors of rank and station. About 1874 the property was purchased by Jeremiah S. Black, and after being enlarged for twenty years or more was the residence of Lieutenant Gov- ernor Black. In 1907 Willow Bridges was owned and occupied by his son, Chauncey F. Black.

Springwood, the home of Edward Jessop, was situated in the northern part of York

later years of his life. He came into pos- session of this home in 1838 and for many

The grove a short distance years occupied it as a summer residence,

while he carried on a large mercantile busi- ness in the city of Baltimore, and was also president of the Short Mountain Coal Com- pany, in the anthracite region of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and the Kingwood Gas, Coal & Iron Company, at Tonnelton, West Virginia. Edward Jessop died at Springwood in 1878. He was the father of Mrs. A. B. Farquhar, Mrs. S. I. Adams and Jonathan Jessop, for eighteen years post- master of York.

Jonathan Jessop, the father of Edward Jessop, removed from North Carolina to York in 1781, shortly before the battle of Guilford Court House, which was fought during the summer of that year, on the farm owned by the father of Mr. Jessop. He engaged for a number of years in the jewelry business on Market Street, west of the Codorus Creek. One of the employees in his jewelry store was Phineas Davis, who became the inventor of the first loco-

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

motive in America that burned anthracite coal and was put into successful opera- Edgecomb. tion.

Edgecomb, the home of A. B. Farquhar, prominent in the business and manufacturing

About 1800 Jonathan Jessop bought interests of York, was built in 1875. It is

Springwood, the home and farm afterward owned by his son, Edward Jessop. He was a practical engineer and in 1828 superin- tended the construction of the canal from York to the mouth of the Codorus. He obtained the contract for the construction of about fifteen miles of the Baltimore & was erected on the same grounds.

situated on an elevation overlooking the city of York. The grounds surrounding the home of Mr. Farquhar are laid off in beautiful drives and walks and adorned with trees, shrubbery and flowers. In 1893 the residence of his son, Francis Farquhar,

Ohio Railroad, the first line constructed be- tween Baltimore and Washington, in 1832. Hillcroft. What is known as "Jessop's Cut," ten Hillcroft, the residence of Henry C. Niles, a prominent member of the York County miles southwest of Baltimore, was the re- Bar, stands a short distance east of the Chanceford Turnpike, within the limits of Spring Garden. It includes a farm of 300 acres of valuable land. The lawn surround- ing Mr. Niles' residence is artistically laid

sult of the engineering skill of Jonathan Jessop. Two other engineers of that day had failed to open the railroad track through this cut before Jonathan Jessop received the contract from the railroad off in walks and drives and dotted here and company and successfully accomplished this feat, which in that day was considered a triumph of engineering skill.

tremity of George Street, is Schall, H. B. Beard and W. H. Miller, all prominent in the business affairs of York, there with flower beds, making it an inter- esting and attractive home.

Henry Small, son of the late David E. The historic residence of Grier Small, of York, owns a large summer home Springdale. Hersh, near the southern ex- a short distance from Hillcroft. James H. one of the land marks of Suburban York.

This beautiful home, surrounded by shaded own and occupy residences in this part of

lawns, was built by Charles A. Barnitz in 1828, a few years after the organization of Spring Garden Township. He planted the Diehl's lawn and a part of the surrounding farm with trees of many varieties and raised some of the finest horses and cattle known to southern Pennsylvania. In 1832 he was elected by the Whig party to represent York, Adams and Cumberland counties in Congress. Mr. Barnitz was a trained law- yer and an excellent public speaker. His eloquence attracted the attention of Henry Clay, the great American orator and states- man from Kentucky, who came to York in 1836 as an honored guest at Springdale. After the death of Charles A. Barnitz, March 8, 1850, his son-in-law, James Lewis, succeeded in the ownership of the property which, at the death of Mr. Lewis, was in- herited by his daughter, Mrs. Samuel Hersh of York. Eli Lewis, president of the First National Bank, of York, resided here for several years.

Spring Garden.

Diehl's Hill, at the northeastern boundary of Spring Garden, over-

Hill. looks the city of York. In 1780, when the Revolution was drawing to a close, Archibald McClean, one of the leading citizens west of the Susquehanna, laid out a town along the base of this hill. Lots were purchased by General Henry Miller, Major John Clark, Colonel Thomas Hartley, Colonel David Grier and other representative citizens of York. The plan of erecting a suburban village of beautiful homes originated with Archibald McClean, who was a noted surveyor. He laid off several acres into lots. The depreciation of the Continental currency and the hard times which followed the war for Independ- ence prevented the completion of the pro- ject to build a town on the banks of the Codorus, overlooking York from the north- east.

From June 28 to June 30, 1863, this hill was a tented field, occupied by two brigades of General Early's Confederate division,

During the last ten years it was owned and occupied by Grier Hersh, prominent in the financial circles of York and Baltimore. which held York for three days before the

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battle of Gettysburg. Ramparts were erected and eight cannon planted near the brow of the hill while the southern soldiers were here. These two batteries belonged to Hayes' brigade of Louisiana troops, some of whom guarded the flour then stored in Loucks' Mill and the Codorus Mill farther down the stream.

Webb's Hill, situated in the south- Webb's Hill. eastern part of Spring Garden Township, two miles from York, has an elevation of 880 feet or 495 feet higher than Centre Square, York. From the summit of this hill the landscape scenery in every direction forms one of the most enchanting views in York County. The eye of the observer takes in a large state of Pennsylvania. The valleys of the Codorus and Kreutz Creeks lie below in all their beauty and loveliness, and the sym- metrically rounded hills of the undulating country to the south and southwest add special interest to the landscape scenery. This fertile region is thickly dotted with comfortable houses and large barns, evi- dences of the prosperity of the Pennsylvania farmer. The horizon from Webb's Hill is almost a perfect circle, and the view extends across the broad Susquehanna in all its ro- mantic beauty, and covers a large portion of the area of Lancaster and Dauphin coun- ties. Round Top to the northwest in War- rington Township is I, II0 feet high. The summit of the Conewago hills to the north is 800 feet high; Pigeon Hills, 840; the Maryland Line, below Hanover, 820, and Red Lion, nine miles to the southeast is 900 feet high. These, together with Webb's Hill, are the highest points of ele- first settlement of this region.

vation in York County.

This place is frequently called Shunk's or Shank's Hill, in honor of a family that once owned a portion of the land. Within re- cent years Webb's Hill and an area of terri- tory southeast has been owned by Jere S. Queen who addressed Shawanese warriors, Black, a prominent member of the York her own tribe, after they had been defeated by the Susquehannocks. She urged them to sharpen their battle axes, make spears and Indian darts and with these implements of war, together with bows and arrows, de- County Bar. In 1904 Mr. Black erected a large and commodious residence which Mrs. Black, who was the daughter of Fred- erick E. Church, the noted landscape artist of New York, has named Rural Felicity. fend their rights and liberties against the In this delightful retreat, away from the other red men who had driven them west- hum of the busy manufacturing city of York, Mr. and Mrs. Black have since resided.

Webb's Hill was named in honor of James Webb, who owned a portion of the hill for many years. Joseph Webb, his father, was an English surveyor who came to this country shortly after the Revolution and was employed in the land office of the United States Government. About 1800 he settled in Peach Bottom, and in 1810 started Palmyra Forge on the site of Castle Fin Forge and Furnace in Lower Chanceford Township. At the time of his death, Joseph Webb bequeathed sixty-nine acres for the use and benefit of the Pennsylvania Colonization Society, intended to aid free negroes in America and send them back to Africa.

James Webb came to York about 1823 area of some of the most fertile lands in the and for several years was the senior mem- ber of the firm of Webb, Davis & Gardner, owners of a furnace and foundry in the western part of York. He resided on the east side of North George Street, next to Mason Alley, until the time of his death. When General Early, with his division of 9,000 men, occupied York from June 28 to June 30, 1863, four cannon were planted near the summit of Webb's Hill for the purpose of protecting that point in case the Federal army approached toward York while the Confederates were in town.

William H. Miller, a prominent White farmer of Spring Garden, owns an

Oak area of 300 acres below Willow Plains. Bridges. This tract was known as White Oak Plains and is so named in the original land warrants to the property. Upon the rich alluvial soil along this part of the Codorus groves of large white oak trees grew luxuriantly at the time of the

Pulpit Rock stands along the banks of the Codorus at the base of White Oak Plains. According to a tradition circulated by the early residents of this vicinity, Pul- pit Rock was once occupied by an Indian

ward from the banks of the Susquehanna. In and around these favored haunts, George

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Miller, the ornithologist of York, and Prof. irons, and finally, in September, 1614, be- A. Wanner, city superintendent of schools, have spent many hours in interesting recre- ation in gathering implements of war and the chase, manufactured by the untutored Indians, who first occupied this region, caught the fish that were found abundantly in the Codorus Creek, and shot the game in the adjoining woods.

United The United Evangelical

Church, known as Green Hill, is situated in the southern

Evangelical Church. part of Spring Garden Town- ship. It originated in 1868, first as a Sun- day School and prayer meeting in a car- penter's shop on the property of Michael Shellenberger. The same year and the year following, Revs. Rearick, J. C. Smith and J. Bowersox of York, conducted serv- ices here. In 1869, Mr. Shellenberger died, and his heirs deeded a tract of land to a committee for a church and cemetery. In 1870, a building was erected at a cost of $1,300. Rev. Farnsworth was then pastor. The following ministers have served since : J. Manbeck, H. W. Shenberger. J. Snyder, J. Conrad, N. Young, E. S. Brownmiller, D. P. Kline. A. Aurand, W. H. Gross, A. Crouse, C. F. Kephart, S. Rearick, C. W. Finkbinder, C. H. Goodling, H. N. Gren- inger, M. J. Snyder and L. E. Crumbling. A handsome brick church has recently been erected.

JOHN LANDES, who owned the Lan- des Mill along the old plank road for a period of thirty years or more, was a prom- inent citizen of Spring Garden. The mill which he owned had been erected before 1800. Before it came into possession of John Landes, it was owned and operated by his father, Samuel Landes, a representa- tive citizen of York County.

The members of the Landes family, ber 5, 1760.

whose lives for nearly two centuries are in- terwoven with the development of Lancas- ter and York counties, first came into prom- inence as the devout followers of Martin Luther, at the time of the Reformation. Their piety, as well as their bravery, earned them enrollment in the ranks of the noted (II) Jacob Landes was born in 1751. Pietists of that time. The first individual (III) John Landes married, in 1796, Han- mention of the family is of Hans Landes, a nah, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Bolthouse) Fahnestock. She was born in Lancaster County, October 8, 1769, and died

" pious witness of the Divine truth," who, in the latter portion of the sixteenth cen- tury, was first arrested and then placed in January 16, 1844.

headed, because he refused to curb the ex- pression of his religious convictions. He met his martyrdom at Zurich, Switzerland, in which country others of the family suf- fered persecution for conscience's sake. Hans Landes (II), minister of a Horgen- burg church, was confined in jail at Othen- bach and his property confiscated. Felix, his son, died in the Othenbach jail from the effects of the treatment he received there; in 1643 Verena Landes, the sister of Felix, was a victim of harsh treatment and died also for her religion. Finally, about 1660, the entire family was driven to the Palatinate, Zweisburg and Alsace, and its male mem- bers retired to its fertile lands as tenant farmers to the German nobility.

At the commencement of the eighteenth century the name Landes began to appear in the annals of the Mennonite Church. In 1717 Felix, Rev. Benjamin and John Lan- des emigrated to America from Manheim on the Rhine, Germany, the two last named locating in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where, and in the adjoining county of York, many of their descendants still re- side. The lineal descendants of Rev. Ben- jamin Landes were especially numerous and settled within the present confines of Lan- caster County. He and his son by the same name purchased a tract of land from the Conestoga Indians, and Benjamin Lan- des (II) began farming in what is now East Sampeter Township, five miles east of Lan- caster city. He had four sons-Benjamin, Abraham, Jacob and Henry. Benjamin Landes (III) moved to Manheim Township in 1751. In 1749 he marreid Anna, only daughter of John Snavely, and to them were born three sons: John, March 15, 1755; Benjamin (IV), 1756, and Henry, Decem-

(I) John Landes, the founder of the Ephrata branch of the family, was born in Switzerland in 1696, came to America in 1717, and settled near Ephrata, Lancaster County. From him John Jacob Landes traces his descent in unbroken line.

John Laneles

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WARRINGTON

(IV) Samuel Landes was born in 1796 Martha, now the wife of M. D. Martin-a and died in 1869.

(V) John Landes married for his first wife Catherine Strickler, of Hellam Town- ship, York County, and his second wife was Louise, daughter of John B. and Catherine (Koller) Williams. The children of the first union were Samuel, now a resident of St. Louis, Missouri; Leander, deceased, and Susan, Mrs. John Kauffman, of York. John J. and Martha were the children by the sec- ond marriage. John Landes, the father, died in 1875, his wife susviving him until 1902. Mr. Landes was one of the organi- zers and the first treasurer of the Farmers Fire Insurance Company, which was founded in 1853.

(VI) John Jacob Landes was born April 19, 1871, in Spring Garden Township, York County, and was educated in the pub- lic schools and in the York Collegiate In- stitute. After finishing his schooling he en- gaged in farming, which has received most of his attention since, but he is at present interested in developing large properties near York, available for building purposes. He is also a director of the Guardian Trust Company, of York, and president of the Mt. Rose Cemetery Association of which asso- ciation he was one of the organizers.

In 1896 Mr. Landes was married to Miss Bella Thomas, daughter of Martin and Mary (Yessel) Thomas. They reside on the old Landes homestead, two miles east of York, on the old Plank Road, the farm having been in the possession of the Landes family for over one hundred years.

Through successive generations the mem- bers of the Landes family in Pennsylvania have been devoted to milling and farming, sometimes as separate industries and some- times combined by an individual. They have been uniformly modest, industrious, straightforward, and have never failed to re- spond to the call of patriotism. The family burial ground, situated near what is now Akron, Lancaster County, was founded by the first John Landes, and the deceased of five generations have been there interred.

full account of whose career is also given in this volume. The Fahnestocks have shown as decided a preference for the professions as the Landes family for the ancient art and industry of agriculture. The progenitor of the American branch was Diedrick Fahne- stock, a native of Germany who landed in New York in 1726. Armed with an axe and a shuttle and equipped with one dollar in money and the family Bible, this sturdy and honest forefather first settled on the Rari- tan River, in New Jersey, but later removed to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. On June 21, 1749, he obtained a patent for 329 acres of land at a cost of $140, which was the basis of a considerable estate which he left at the time of his death, October 10, 1775. The executors of the estate were his sons, Peter and Diedrick (II).

Samuel, Daniel and John Fahnestock, all sons of Diederick, adopted the medical pro- fession, as did W. M. Fahnestock, who was physician to the Bonaparte family; Dr. W. B. Fahnestock, of Lancaster, deceased son of Dr. Samuel Fahnestock; Dr. Thomas G. C. Fahnestock, Cincinnati, Ohio; Dr. C. S. L. Fahnestock and Dr. Augustus A. Fahne- stock, of Maryland. Others of the family engaged in journalism and a number in ag- riculture, but the majority were devoted to the professions. Whatever their lot in life they have been noted for their strict probity and unconquerable spirit. They have founded their lives, to the last generation, upon their ancient coat-of-arms, which, through its various symbols, presents as a family trait not only perseverence under dif- ficulties and enterprise in overcoming them, but transcendent courage in facing them. The crescent in the coat-of-arms is a tribute to the greatness of their ancestor in the fe- male line, who fought with much success against the Turks, while the family motto reads : Fortis cadere, cedere non potest; "The brave may fall, but cannot yield."

WARRINGTON TOWNSHIP.

In tracing the lineage of John J. Landes, brief reference has been made of the mar- were made in the year 1735, and the town-

The earliest settlements in the region, now embraced in Warrington Township, ship was laid out by the authority of the

riage of John Landes (III) to Miss Hannah Fahnestock, a native of Lancaster County. courts of Lancaster County, in 1744. New- The latter was therefore a great-grand- berry Township, to which this region at first mother of John J. Landes and his sister belonged, had been erected in 1742, and

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Manchester, the same year. All of these Rossville. It included only a few farms at townships, including Hellam, and two or the bend of the stream.

three others, had been erected before York County was separated from Lancaster in 1749. Some of the early Quakers who set- tled north of the Conewago Creek, came from Warrington, a township along the Mersey River of Lancashire, England. Many actions between the royal and par- liamentary forces took place on its soil, during the civil wars of England. The Quakers who came to Bucks County dur- ing its first settlement organized a town- ship by the name of Warrington in that county.

Thomas Cookson, deputy surveyor for the county of Lancaster, assisted by Wil- liam Richardson, made a survey of War- rington Township, which was afterward ap- proved by the Lancaster Courts in 1744. The original shape of this township was that of an irregular pentagon, extending northeast and southwest, and included the present township of Washington, and a small portion of what is now Adams County, with the Conewago Creek as its southeast- ern boundary, Newberry to the east and Monaghan to the north.

Previous to 1770, a small section of War- rington extended south of the Conewago and gave rise to disputes and inconvenience. The Conewago and Bermudian formed the dividing line between the early settlements of the Quakers and the Germans, conse- quently a petition dated April 24, 1770, asked the court to establish a definite boun- dary, conceding the "little corner " to Do- ver Township. The names of the petition- ers were Peter Cook, William Griffith, Wil- liam Garretson, William Penrose, William Thomas, Robert Nelson, Jacob Williams, Samuel Cook, Thomas Atherton, William McClellan, Thomas Edmundson, Robert McMullin, Thomas Leech, Henry Atherton, Robert Thomson, Richard Ross, Nathan Philips, John Clarke, Robert Madson, Jo- seph Bentz, William Underwood, William Gardner and Samuel Nelson. The petition was granted. The small tract mentioned is situated a short distance below the " stone bridge," on the road leading from Dover to

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History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 191

Author: Prowell, George R. Publication date: 1907 Publisher: J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1372

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372