USA > Pennsylvania > Lancaster County > Lancaster > The early settlement and population of Lancaster County and city > Part 2
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figures, or what degree of confidence should attach to them. It would in- dicate a village of about forty or fifty houses, and my own opinion is the guess or statement is reasonably cor- rect. At the same time it confirms what I earlier said about there being a considerable population on the town- site long before George Gibson comes along. Long enough before 1729 hardy pioneers had pushed beyond, as Í have shown, and Gibson had been sup- plying them with provent for man and beast years before. It was this very considerable migration passing into the western part of the county that called Gibson's tavern into existence. A country tavern, located on a high road where there is much travel, will naturally attract the unsettled portion of the community, and in that way a small town was gradually built up around the locality where all the travel between the Delaware and the Susquehanna passed.
It seems a very reasonable guess, therefore, that between 1720, or earlier, and 1730 this town of forty or fifty houses and 200 population had already been built when the town was laid out
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in the latter years under the auspices of James Hamilton, who was the prin- cipal owner.14
Twelve years later, in 1742, the place was incorporated into a bor- ough. No doubt it had grown very considerably since it became the county seat. That fact alone must have had a stimulating effect on the' increase in population. Another cause, and perhaps the most potent one, was the easy terms on which building sites could be procured. The land could be had without the payment of a dollar in cash and subject to a ground rent only.
Had Not the Gift of Prophecy.
One writer of that period tells us that this was a real injury to the bor- ough because the growth was abnor- mal and not genuine. His words are as follows: "When Lancaster was laid out it was the desire of the proprietor to raise an annual revenue from the lots; no lots were, therefore, sold of any large amount, but settlers were encouraged to build and receive a lot, paying an annual sum as ground rent. Hence the large number of persons in indigent circumstances who were induced to settle in Lancaster. The Lancaster town was, therefore, too large (in area) at an early period in proportion to the population of the surrounding country and its inhabit- ants suffered much from a want of employment; as from its local situa- tion, remote from water, it was not, NOR COULD IT EVER POSSIBLY
14Two men were employed in the work of surveying the site of Lan- caster-Town. The County Commis- sioners employed John Jones, who, ac- cording to Ellis & Evans' History of Lancaster County (page 360),completed his work in May, 1730. Hamilton had his tract surveyed by Roger Hunt, of Downingtown, who also built the first house in the town after it had been plotted. "Day's Historical Collections," p. 397.
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BECOME, a place of business. The proprietor was, therefore, wrong in forcing the building and settlement of Lancaster. The town outgrew its strength and looks (in 1754) dull and gloomy in consequence."15 That old writer has, no doubt, reflected the prevailing opinions of his time, but he lacked the power of casting his vision 150 years into the future. The Lancaster of to-day tells a different story. There is a statement, whence derived I know not, that at the period of incorporation into a borough the town had 300 houses. If we accept that estimate, then about twenty or more houses must have been built an- nually between 1730 and 1742, bring- ing the population up to about 1,300. There is every reason to believe, from all the circumstances bearing on the case, that the estimate is too high; 1,100 would probably be nearer the number.
Another authority, the Rev. Mr. Lock, an Episcopal minister, in 1746, reported the place as containing 300 houses. That would give us about 1,200 inhabitants, a very fair estimate, in my opinion.16
Our next authority on the popula- tion of the borough came along in 1754, in the person of Gov- ernor Thomas Pownall, of New Jersey, who in that year made a tour of
the Province. He says in the journal which he kept: "Lancaster, growing town and mak- ing money-a manufactory here of saddles and pack-saddles, also of guns-it is a stage town-500 houses -two thousand inhabitants." Here is noted an increase of 200 in the number of houses and 800 in the num-
15 An unknown writer quoted by Sher- . man Day in his "Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania," D. 398. 16 Rev. Wilson Waters' "Sketch of St. James' Parish," p. 18.
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ber of inhabitants during the twelve years since its incorporation and the year 1754. I am inclined to believe that estimate too high. Governor Pownall tells what he was told. The tendency then was, no doubt, the same as now: the people of every town show a disposition to exaggerate somewhat in the matters of popula- tion and progress. We magnify our municipal importance. Owing to many persons buying lots from the Hamilton estate in all parts of his tract, the houses were much scatter- ed, and the place consequently ap- peared larger and more populous than it actually was. It is true, there may have been something resembling a boom between 1742 and 1754, but after weighing all the evidence I do not think the population in the latter year exceeded 1,800, and most probably did not reach that number.
It deserves to be noted that the character of the buildings at this period, and for a long time after, even down to 1800, was not of a high order. The houses were mostly built of wood, generally of logs and weather-board- ed. A few were of stone. A man of eighty, writing in 1838,says that about the time of the Revolution or earlier one-story stone houses occupied the four corners of our Centre Square.17
The next estimate of Lancaster's population is by the Rev. Thomas Barton, pastor of the Episcopal Church. 'n 1764, just ten years after Governor Pownall's estimate, he states that the place had 600 houses, an increase of 100 in ten years. He does not hazard a guess at the number of inhabitants, but, allowing four to a house, as in the previous estimates, we get a population of 2,400. That, also, is coo high, as we shall presently see in the light of more reliable fig-
17"Day's Historical Collections," p.396.
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ures which will be presented. And yet Mr. Barton, who was an able and cultured man, should have been able to give us very nearly accurate figures on these points.
The Taxables in 1771.
I find preserved in the State Ar- chives at Harrisburg a list of the taxables in Lancaster borough for the year 1771. Their number was 511; that is, there was that number of per- sons in the town at that time who owned real estate of some kind. It is presumable that all, or nearly all, the real estate owners also had their own houses. If a few had not, their lack was, no doubt, compensated for by others who owned more than one house, so the balance may fairly be struck at the number of taxables, that is at 511. That would give us about 2,050 inhabitants at that time. Eight years later, in 1779, I find the number of taxables had increased to 556. That was in the very heart of the Revolutionary period, and would indicate a population of 2,224, and, I believe, may be taken as a fairly approximate estimate of the popula- tion at that time.
During the Revolutionary period no statements or estimates were made of the population, so far as is known. It was not until 1783-84 that we come to the first post-revolutionary statement.18 It is by a German traveler, John David Schopf, who made a tour of the Mid- dle States in those years and publish- ed an account of the same. He says: "Among the interior cities of all North America, Lancaster is the most important. Although hardly eighty
18The full title of this scarce book is: "Reise durch einige der mittlern und Sudlichen vereinigten nord-amerikan- ischen Staaten nach Ost-Florida und den Bahama-Inseln unternommen in den Jahren 1783 und 1784. Mit einem Lanchartchen. Erlangen: bey Johann Jacob Palm. 2 vols., 8 mo."
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years old (it was only about sixty) it has already 900 houses." A foreign- er, making a hurried tour through the country, was not likely to investigate for himself nor to secure accurate hearsay evidence. His estimate of 900 houses and of 3,600 inhabitants (al- lowing four to a house) is, therefore, far out of the way, as both the preced- ing and subsequent facts clearly show.
Lancaster's Bid for the National
Capital.
I come now to the last unofficial estimate I have been able to find. After the Revolution, as is well known, there was a vigorous contest among various towns to secure the National Capital. Among the rest, Wrights- ville, on the Susquehanna, opposite Columbia, came near being successful. Lancaster also put in a bid. This lat- ter fact was not known until a recent period. It turns up in an old docu- ment prepared by the prominent citi- zens of Lancaster borough in the year 1789, and now in possession of Mr. George Steinman, of this city. Ac- companying the document was a map of the country lying immediately around Lancaster, embracing an area of ten square miles. The map was drawn by William Richenbach, an eminent mathematician and sometime professor of mathematics in Franklin College. The original map is in the possession of the Linnaean Society, of this city. The document itself is of great historical value, inasmuch as it gives, no doubt, accurately, many minute details relative to the borough and which are not to be found else- where. Fortunately, for our purposes, it states that an enumeration of the dwelling houses was actually made in 1786, "and the number then built was 678, which, since that period, has con-
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siderably increased." The document further states that "according to the best computation we can make, there are within this borough about 4,200 souls." Now, if we allow the increase of houses alluded to to have been 20 per year between 1786, when their count was made, and 1789, when their ad- dress to Congress was written, we get 738 houses, and, allowing four and one- half persons to every house, we get a population of 3,321. When the first census of the country was made, that for 1790, but which was, perhaps, taken in the fall of the preceding year, the exact number of the inhabitants was found to be 3,373, instead of 4,200, as they had computed them to be in that year. And yet, they were not further from the true figures than most of those who had made their estimates in earlier years. In the foregoing cal- culations I have allowed for an in- crease of from 15 to 20 houses per year. That calculation should be qualified. It is hardly likely that the building operations were the same in every year or decade. There were periods of activity and periods of depression, no doubt, but in the end the situation evened up itself to something like the uniform rate allowed in these esti- mates. A general summary, there- fore, presents the following figures, each, except the last, being allowed a small variation above or below the figures given:
ESTIMATED POPULATION AT VARI- OUS PERIODS.
Year.
Houses.
Inhabitants.
1730
About
40 or 50
200
1742
About
275
1,100
1746
About
300
1,200
1754
About
400
1,600
1764
About
475
1,900
1771
About
511
2,044
1779
About
556
2,224
1783-4
About
650
2,600
1789-90
About
750
3,373
1800
5,405
Report of the Secretary for 1904-1905.
January 6, 1905.
To the Officers and Members of the Lancaster County Historical Society :
The Constitution of our Society calls for an an- nual report from the Secretary, and, in compliance with that mandate, I beg leave to present the fol- lowing statement of the operations of the Society since our last annual meeting one year ago.
It gives me much pleasure to state that the past twelve months have in every way been among the most encouraging in our history. Ten regular meet- ings were held during the year, those of July and August having, in accordance with our usual custom, been omitted. The attendance at these meetings was the largest we have had for years, which seems to show a growing interest on the part of the mem- bers and the community in general in our work. At these meetings fourteen original papers of length and several shorter ones, and all prepared for the Society, were read. Our last volume was a book of 275 pages. Volume IX, upon which we entered with the September number, has thus far fully main- tained the reputation of its predecessors. Five num- bers have already been issued, containing seven papers, and I hope the members will see to it that the succeeding numbers will not fall behind either in interest or volume.
The Work the Society Has Done.
And right here I may be allowed to say a few words in commendation of the work our Society has done. Have any of our members ever gone over the eight volumes we have completed and published? If not, I will say for their information that they contain 124 original papers, illustrated with 63 cuts, such as maps, portraits and buildings, and, many of them, of great interest. Those eight volumes con- tain 1,864 pages of printed matter, and much of it is of great value. Indeed, we forget how well we have wrought, and it is only by going over these pages that we get a proper idea of what we have done. Much important data has been brought to light. Many obscure points have been cleared up. I have frequently found it necessary to refer to them for facts not to be obtained anywhere else.
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I may be accused of speaking too partially of our labors, but all I have said has again and again been corroborated by outside parties, thoroughly com- petent to pronounce judgment on our work, and the anxiety of large libraries to have full sets of our publications shows the esteem in which they are held. It is not too much to say, therefore, that our Society stands in the very forefront of the County Societies of the State in the amount and quality of the work it has during its brief existence given to the world. It shows what we are capable of doing, and, I hope, is only a promise of what we will do in the years to come.
Good, But Might Be Better.
In some other respects our progress has not been as great as it should have been. Our library and museum have not been augmented as rapidly as there was reason to hope. It is true, a new and well-filled book-case has been put in place since our last meeting, but our collections are too small by far. They ought to grow more rapidly, and, I be. lieve, would if we all made extra exertions in that direction. This will, perhaps, continue to be the case until something else occurs, of which I now propose to say a few words.
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Necessity for Permanent Quarters.
The membership will bear witness that I have more than once in my annual reports urged upon them the importance, yea, the necessity, of secur- ing suitable permanent quarters, owned by the Society. So long as we are compelled to move to and fro, here to-day and somewhere else to-morrow, we can hardly expect that great donations, either of money or books, will be dropped into our meta- phorical lap. Such things go as a rule to where
such things already are. Men who have things of value to give would like to be assured that a perma- nent home and abiding place is given them. It is not enough that we believe we can do this now; we must be able to persuade others of this fact also. We are behind some of our fellow-societies in this particular. The Berks County Historical Society is not as old as our own, but during the past year it bought and paid for the building in which it is now housed, and still has nearly a thousand dollars in its treasury. Its membership is not greater than our own, but they have liberal givers over there, and that brought the answer. The York County Society, which is also our junior, has been given fine, capacious quarters, in the County Court House, and has a membership exceeding ours sev-
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eral times over. It has a large contributing mem- bership, and is able to pay a Curator a large salary, who earns it by collecting several times what he costs. The Bucks County Society is about to erect a fine home for itself, and has about $25,000 to pay for it, much of which sum was raised by subscription. The Dauphin County Society had elegant quarters fitted up for it in the Court House by the County Commissioners, and now has very valuable and rapidly-increasing collections. I was informed but yesterday by a member of the Washington County Historical Society that the County Commissioners fitted up rooms in the Court House, at a cost of $8,000, and photographs of these rooms showed a splendid equipment. Let it not be said that the people of this city and county cannot do as much. I hope that the new Executive Committee which is to be elected to-night will consider it one of their first duties to give this important question serious consideration. Let us show the faith that is in us by our works. It is well enough to wait, but the time to ask also comes along, and that time is now. I am pretty well persuaded that if we depend upon the generosity of some liberally-inclined friend, our wait will be a long and weary one. We have tried that plan nearly nine years without satisfactory result. The Lord is said to help those who help themselves; suppose we try that plan, also, for a change.
The Librarian's Report.
The librarian will tell you of the increase to his department. It has been very gratifying during the year, but I believe our volumes would be augmented by scores where they now are by single volumes, if we had ample rooms and cases for their display, all in our own home.
Our Finances.
The Treasurer's report will make you acquainted with our financial resources. The enlightened liber- ality of the County Commissioners has been con- tinued through the past year, and has enabled us to procure and do several things which we otherwise could not have done. Still, we cannot complain. All our bills have been met when presented, and we have money in our treasury.
The propriety of holding one or two of our monthly meetings at suitable points in the county, outside the city, giving the members an outing at the same time, and allowing more time for social intercourse and opportunities of becoming better acquainted, commends itself strongly to my judgment. We had something of this kind in the month of June last when about fifty members and others took an after-
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noon jaunt to the Cloister town of Ephrata. It was thoroughly enjoyed by every one, and was considered a success by those who were present.
Change of Literary Year.
I also direct the attention of the Society to the discrepancy, or rather, the irregularity, between what I may term our fiscal and literary year. As you all know, the January meeting begins our regu- lar year; in other words, we elect our officers then and the annual subscriptions are payable at that time. But our literary year begins with the Sep- tember meeting and closes in June of the follow- ing year, which is the last meeting prior to the summer vacation. It would be far better, if it could be so arranged, that our annual volume of Papers and Proceedings were also to begin in January and close in December. It could be easily arranged if the present volume was allowed to run to next January, when a fresh start could be taken and our literary year run from January to January, as our fiscal year does. Under the existing arrangements, there is a good deal of confusion at times, which would be done away with under the plan proposed. All of which is respectfully submitted.
F. R. DIFFENDERFFER, Secretary.
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Report of the Librarian.
Another year having passed by, it becomes our duty as Librarian to present to the members of the Lancaster County Historical Society a resumé of the work done in the library since the last annual meeting. The past year has been a very successful one so far as donations of books, pamphlets, etc., has been concerned, and a number of volumes have been secured through exchange with a number of historical societies, our society giving its publica- tions in exchange for theirs. The increase in the number of bound volumes received during the past year has been mainly due to the gift of "The New Era" and Mr. Diffenderffer, from whom were re- ceived about 200 volumes in all, consisting of a set of the "Rebellion Records," and a large number of odd volumes and atlases of the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania and of the eleventh census of the United States. For the accommodation of the 130 volumes of the "Rebellion Records" a hand- some book-case was purchased, the Society now owning four such cases.
The aggregate of additions to the library during the year were 397, consisting of 273 bound volumes, 66 pamphlets, 15 rarities, 3 manuscripts, 10 curios, 10 pictures, some of them being framed; 14 maps and miscellaneous articles, 6 newspaper files and 2 old newspapers. The Society receives ex- changes from 23 sources, in the nature of maga- zines, either monthly or quarterly, and annual re- ports of societies or from governmental sources, among the same being the Congressional Library, State Libraries of Pennsylvania and New York, the Wisconsin, Kansas and Pennsylvania State His- torical Societies, a number of public libraries and about a dozen Historical Societies in this and ad- joining States.
During the past year a number of the members have availed themselves of the use of the books of the library by taking them home and reading them at their leisure, whilst a score of visitors from out of town have used the books whilst visiting this city and engaged in making historical researches. As there has never been any set rule in reference to the circulating feature among our members, I would recommend the adoption of the following resolution:
"Resolved, That no county history or book of special reference be kept from the library shelves for a longer period than one month by a member borrowing the same, unless by special vote of the Society in case the party is engaged in compiling
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some book or other, in which instance said member may require the use of said volume for a longer period."
During the year there have been a number of purchases made of books of special value, and a number of completed historical magazines have been bound.
Your librarian greatly deplores the cramped quar- ters under which he labors in order to make a creditable display of the books and belongings of the Society, and heartily concurs in the recommen- dation contained in the report of our Secretary that the Society endeavor to secure a home of its own, that is owned and controlled by it exclusively. Did we own such a building, where the permanency of the Society would be assured for a long period, there are a large number of persons who would give us donations of books and curios which are withheld from us simply because we do not own our own home. Another item which your librarian de- plores most sincerely is the habit of residents of this county giving outright or placing on special deposit with other societies not in this county of books and curios, which rightly belong to Lancaster county, and this may be due to the fact that we do not own a permanent home. Your librarian ex- presses the hope that some day we will own per- manent quarters, and would respectfully urge and beg such parties to either place their collections with us or keep them until our Society is in a posi- tion to receive and properly display the same. Don't let these priceless things go out of "Old Lancaster."
Your librarian expresses the hope that much good may result from the Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies, which was organized in Har- risburg on Thursday and of which this Society is an accredited member. One of the objects of the Federation may be of much use, viz., the exchange between societies of duplicate volumes owned by them. The preparation of a bibliography of the State, which will result in time from the combined efforts of all societies under the direction of the Federation, will be a grand work.
The Society's library and accumulations are be- coming of such volume and character that a cata- logue of them would be desirable, and with that object in view the recommendation is made that the librarian be authorized to catalogue the same in the card index system, which seems to be the most desirable and acceptable one, and to procure a cabinet containing at least four thousand cards for that purpose, the cabinet and cards being pro- curable at an expense of about $15.
All of which is most respectfully submitted.
Lancaster, Jan. 6, '05.
S. M. SENER, Librarian
Report of the Treasurer.
Lancaster, Penna., January 6, 1905.
To the officers and members of the Lancaster County Historical Society I make the following re- port for the year 1904:
Amount in Treasury Jan. 1st, 1904.
$190.09
Received during year 1904 for initiations and 210.66
dues
Received from County Commissioners 200.00
Total
$600.75
Paid for rent (donation) . ..
$ 25.00 Paid for printing, postage, books, book- cases, hauling and miscellaneous
expenses, as per vouchers. . $275.83 $300.83
Leaving a balance in the Treasury of .... $299.92 This amount will be reduced somewhat by unpaid bills and donation to Y. M. C. A. J. W. HOUSTON, Treasurer.
Minutes of the February Meeting.
Lancaster, Pa., February 3, 1905. The usual monthly meeting of the Lancaster County Historical Society was held to-night (Friday) in its rooms, in the Young Men's Chris- tian Association Building, President Steinman in the chair. The roll of officers was called and the absentees noted. The reading of the minutes of the January meeting was dispensed with, they having been printed in the Society's bulletin, copies of which were distributed among the members.
The following persons were elected to membership: Mrs. James D. Lan- dis and G. Howard Werntz, Lancas- ter; Arthur K. Reist Lititz; and Chas. O. Lynch, Bausman, Pa.
The following applications for mem- bership were received: Messrs. L. B. Herr and John H. Fry, of Lancas- ter. Under the rules, the applications lie over until the next meeting.
The donations consisted of a copy of "Washingtoniana," by Eli G. Reist, of Marietta, and printed in Lancaster in 1802; American Historical reports for 1900 and 1901 from Hon. H. Burd Cassel; an old document, signed by John Hubley, presented by D. M. Swarr, and the usual number of ex- changes from libraries and historical societies. Thanks were extended to all the donors for their gifts.
The paper of the evening was pre- pared by the Secretary, F. R. Diffen- derffer, and read by S. M. Sener, Esq. The subject was, "The Early Settle- ment and Population of Lancaster County and City." The paper was in- tended to correct certain erroneous
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impressions that prevail relative to the population of the county at the period of its organization, and also sought to reach a fairly accurate es- timate of Lancaster town and bor- ough from the time it was laid out, in 1730, until the first census was taken, in 1790. The various early es- timates were quoted, and the errors of some pointed out. The reading of the article was followed by a long discussion, relating principally to the earliest citizens of Lancaster, the lo- cation of "Gibson's Tavern," and the erection of some of the best-known old houses. The thanks of the So- ciety were extended to the writer of the paper, and it was ordered to be printed as usual.
There being no further business, the Society, on motion, adjourned.
There was again a good attendance, the ladies being present in strong numbers, despite the inclemency of the weather.
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