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Diversity of People, Ideas
and Economy
by John Ward Willson Loose,
F.L.C.H.S. President Emeritus,
Lancaster County Historical Society
When Lancaster County was established on May 10, 1729, it became the prototype
for the sixty-three counties to follow. The original three counties, Philadelphia,
Bucks and Chester, were created as copies of typical English shires. The
frontier conditions of Chester County's backwoods, from which Lancaster was
formed, presented knotty problems to the civilized Englishmen. Lancaster
County, therefore, was an experiment in pragmatism erected on the periphery
of Penn's "Holy Experiment". Pennsylvania's "first western
county" would test the genius of English government and political common
sense. Not only did the pragmatic experiment succeed, but it has continued
to color the life and government of Lancastrians during the last 250 years.
In 1683, Penn purchased from the Indians a tract of land extending from the
Delaware to the Susquehanna Rivers. Another purchase made in 1718 added nearly
all the land southeast of the South Mountain, including most of present-day
York County. As settlers in the hinterlands of Chester County increased in
number, additional townships were created by the Chester County court. Soon,
settlers were clamoring for constables to keep the peace on the frontier. The
development of civilization and law enforcement in the older portions of Chester
County drove lawbreakers and habitual troublemakers into the backcountry west
of the Octoraro Creek. Their presence bothered the settlers, whereupon a petition
was presented to the colonial government praying that "a Division Line
be made between the upper and lower part of the said county, and the upper
part thereof erected into a county, with all the immunities, rights and privileges
which any other county of this Province does now enjoy."
A 19th Century View of Lancaster City
Political control of Pennsylvania at this time, however,
firmly rested in the hands of the Quakers. The pacifistic Quakers
did not look with favor upon the arrival of the bellicose Scots,
who generally moved toward the frontier and whose contempt for
the English was only slightly milder than their hatred of the "red
savages." A new county might cause competition, for surely
the Ulstermen would demand representation in the Provincial Assembly.
Then, there was also opposition from the Germans in the hinterlands.
More local government would mean more regulations and higher taxes.
Fortunately, on the banks of the Susquehanna River at Wright's
Ferry there existed a settlement of remarkably competent Quaker
politicians who adjusted intelligently to the challenges of the
frontier, including the Indians and Scots. The question was, could
John Wright, Samuel Blunston and Robert Barber-the Quaker triumvirate-keep
a new county under control?
Planting English shires along the Delaware was a simple matter, but creating
a new county was a task the provincial government had never before faced. Worse,
the new county was the most diverse entity in the American colonies, comprised
of immigrants representing nearly every national, religious and ethnic group
from northwestern Europe who, in turn. ran headlong into Indian tribes resentful
of the land-hungry white man. Internal strife in the Assembly, litigation over
Penn's estate, and the late proprietor's vast indebtedness and financial problems
contributed to the unsettled state of affairs existing when the creation of
the new county was proposed.
Lt. Governor Patrick Gordon knew he had the authority to grant the petitioners
their wishes, but he was also mindful of the precedents he would be establishing.
Penn's original counties provided for total government and justice based on
traditional English concepts of relations among civilized white persons. The
backcountry did not possess sufficient men learned in the law, hence "lay" justices
of the peace had to be entrusted with the judicial process. In a sense, the
creation of Lancaster County ranked only second to the founding of Pennsylvania
itself in forging new concepts in democratic government involving Englishmen
and Indians.
Gordon appointed twelve persons, half from the east side and half from the
west side of the Octoraro Creek, to locate and set a boundary line. Surveyor
John Taylor was to run the line from the northern branch of the Octoraro Creek
northward to the Schuylkill River, which was to serve as the eastern boundary.
The southern border of the Province-in dispute with Lord Baltimore-was to
be the southern line of the new county. Extending as far west as the original
charter and ignoring future purchases of lands from Indians, the new county
would end at the present-day Ohio line and lie south of the West Branch of
the Susquehanna River. To John Wright, the distinguished leader of the new
area, was given the honor of naming the new county, which he did by honoring
his native shire in England. On May 19, 1729, Governor Gordon proclaimed the
new county was organized and its name was Lancaster. The Maryland government
was far from pleased. and lost no time in warning Pennsylvania officials to
keep the new county out of Maryland.
Eight magistrates, all of British ancestry and most Quakers, were appointed
to subdivide the county into townships. By August 5, 1729, the settled portions
of the county had been organized into seventeen townships with names chosen
by the usual jockeying for honors. Two honored the Welsh (Caernarvon and Lampeter);
two had Indian names (Conestoga and Peshtank (or Paxtang, Paxton); six were
English (Warwick, Lancaster, Martic, Sadsbury, Salisbury and Hempfield); four
kept the Ulstermen happy (Donegal, Drumore, Derry, and Leacock); one was German
(Manheim); one came from the Bible (Lebanon); and one was the Anglicization
of the family name Graf or Groff (Earl). Late in 1729, an eighteenth township
was created: Cocalico, an Indian name.
As settlements grew north and west of the organized part of Lancaster County,
the local court approved new townships in what are today York, Adams, Cumberland,
Dauphin, Lebanon and Berks counties. Beginning in 1749 with the creation of
York County, Lancaster was carved up to provide land for new counties. Cumberland
County was formed in 1750, ending Lancaster County's farflung western territory;
Berks' creation in 1752 further reduced Lancaster County and in 1772 the formation
of Northumberland County took away the northern tip. With the establishment
of Dauphin County in 1785, Lancaster County was cut down to its present size
(945 square miles) except for a tiny sliver of land given up when Lebanon County
was formed in 1813.
Lancaster County was entitled to only four representatives in the Assembly,
the three older counties being given six assemblymen each. Initially, each
election in the county was a contest between the Scots and the English Quakers,
with new faces appearing only to be defeated the following year. By 1731, however,
troubles with the Indians tipped the balance in favor of the Scots at the expense
of the pacifistic Quakers. By 1734, James Hamilton, proprietor of Lancaster
town and son of the distinguished lawyer Andrew Hamilton, won a seat in the
Assembly and became the political leader of the county.
Virtually all political action centered in the Susquehanna Valley, with political
fortunes rising or falling according to the manner in which frontier problems
were solved. As time went on Quaker power declined so much that the Friends
were fortunate to capture even a single seat in the Assembly. In their stead
were the Scots and later, the Germans, the first of whom was not elected until
1756. The many prosperous farmers, skilled mechanics and shopkeepers gave the
county a decidedly "whiggish" character, expressed politically as
a moderate and very pragmatic conservatism.
Farming and Immigration
Lancaster County is in the Piedmont region with occasional ridges standing
above the rolling hills and limestone plains, the largest of which forms
the central part of the county and is drained by the Conestoga River and
Pequea Creek. The southern portion of the county rests in the Piedmont uplands
which hold deposits of iron, nickel, copper, chrome and silver. It is the
easily-eroded limestone soil, however, that gives the county its reputation
as the finest agricultural land east of the Mississippi River, and the best
non-irrigated farmland in the nation. The best limestone soil, known as Hagerstown
or Frederick loam, is the largest connected body of that rich limestone soil
in Pennsylvania. As a result, more than seventy-five percent of Lancaster
County is farmland, with the majority of farms being family owned. Today,
feed grains are most often cultivated, taking the place of leaf tobacco,
once more extensively grown for cigars and chewing. In the past, the hard
red Triassic rock or sandstone which extends across the northern portion
of the county was used for millstones to grind the grain in the numerous
grist mills located throughout the area.
The area's first farmers were Indians who have inhabited the area at various
times for the past 11,000 years. By the time William Penn visited the Susquehanna
valley in 1684, he encountered remnants of the once powerful, Susquehannock
tribe which had earlier been conquered by the Iroquois. Most of Lancaster County's
Indians, however, were Conestogas, a tribe believed to have returned to southern
Pennsylvania after regional tribal warfare ended. Nevertheless, all of Lancaster's
Indians, including the Conoys and Pequehans, belonged to the Five (and later,
Six) Nations.
William Penn generally maintained excellent relations with the Indians and
was often called upon to referee disputes caused, when Indian traders allegedly
engaged in questionable practices. Fur trading and land speculation were major
economic features of life in early Pennsylvania. and frequently brought whites
and Indians into conflict. With armies of immigrants swarming into southeastern
Pennsylvania, the demand for real estate assumed a greater importance. After
William Penn's death, his generosity to both European immigrants and American
Indians proved a headache to the Quaker Assembly left to mediate between the
two.
The tide of settlement was not to be stopped, however. As early as
1709, a Scot had established himself in present-day Salisbury Township,
and an English
Quaker family was living in Little Britain Township. It was not until 1710,
however, that the first community within the present borders of the county
was established. In that year, a group of Swiss Mennonites--the families
of Herr, Mylin and Kendig--built a settlement a few miles south-east
of present-day
Lancaster city. Two years later a band of French Huguenots led by Marie Ferree
settled near Strasburg. Two more years passed before the Scot Presbyterians
arrived in two waves, one settling in the Donegal area of northwestern Lancaster
County an d the other occupying land in the south. These Scots, often called
the "Scotch-Irish," came from Ulster in Ireland after being "planted" there
by the English in an attempt to subdue the Irish.
On the heels of the Scots came a small but influential group of English and
Welsh families. The English tended to settle along a band running horizontally
across the county between Salisbury Township and Wright's Ferry (Columbia),
including Lancaster village. Occupying lands in what later became Caernarvon,
Brecknock and Lampeter townships, the Welsh often were found working in iron.
By 1717, the entire central portion of Lancaster County was rapidly filling
with immigrants from the Rhineland as well, usually employed as farmers or
skilled artisans. When Lancaster County became a reality, it was already the
most pluralistic and cosmopolitan place in the New World.
Religion
Swiss and German Mennonites
carried to the county the Anabaptist tradition, so named because
the group did not practice
infant baptism. Although the
Mennonites have experienced numerous schisms ("rotted wood never splits" is
the laconic explanation), the majority of local members are affiliated with
the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. The more liberal midwestern Mennonites
also have representation in the county, as do the fundamentalist Evangelical
Mennonites. Today, much to their chagrin, the Amish Mennonites are the single
greatest tourist attraction in Lancaster County.
Frequently confused with the Mennonites (Old Order or Amish), the River
Brethren in Christ, first established in Lancaster County near the
Susquehanna River,
had its origin in the German Methodist movement. Philip Otterbein, a Reformed
minister, and Martin Boehm, a Mennonite preacher, were caught up in the fervor
of the spiritual awakening sweeping Lancaster County in the 1760s, and around
1800 they established the United Brethren in Christ Church. Numerous United
Brethren groups flourished and came to be known by the locality in which they
met. 'The group above Marietta along the river, for example, was called the "River
Brethren in Christ." While other segments of the denomination moved forward,
the "River Brethren" chose to maintain the status quo, and today
in many ways they resemble the Old Order Mennonites. Chrome on their automobiles
is painted black and their garb is very plain. As with the Anabaptists, they
do not baptize infants.
Another branch of the Anabaptist movement included the German Baptist
Brethren, also known as "Dunkers." Not long after their arrival in Lancaster
County, Johann Conrad Beissel left them and established the Ephrata Cloister,
today restored and administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Since Beissel observed the Sabbath on Saturday, his group has been called-incorrectly-
German Seventh Day Baptists. The regular German Baptist Brethren, after suffering
the inevitable schisms, flourished in Lancaster County and is called today
the Church of the Brethren. This denomination represents the most liberal position
in the so-called "Plain Churches." It owns Elizabethtown College,
a small liberal arts school in the county.
The remaining inhabitants of the county were members of a variety of religious
denominations. Jacob Albright, a county farmer-tiler, founded the Evangelical
Church in 1796. He espoused an evangelism more personal and emotional than
the liturgical Lutheran and Reformed churches offered. Eventually, the Evangelical
Church merged into the United Brethren in Christ Church. The remaining German
settlers in Lancaster County were members of the Lutheran, German Reformed
and Moravian churches. Presbyterian churches were established in northwestern
and southern Lancaster County to minister to the needs of the Scots. Their
educated ministers usually conducted schools along with their pastoral duties.
Meanwhile, the English and Welsh settlers generally attended the Anglican churches
or meetings of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). As early as the
1730s, Roman Catholics were worshipping in Lancaster County and Jewish settlers
were worshiping in Joseph Simon's home in the 1740s.
While religious orthodoxy reigns in Lancaster County, progressive views have
been tolerated for several centuries. The Quaker Schism of 1827 resulted in
the majority of Lancaster County Friends siding with the Hicksite movement.
Universalist circuit riders made their way across the County during the nineteenth
century, preaching universal salvation, and even establishing a church in Reamstown.
The Church of New Jerusalem, known familiarly as the Swedenborgians, attracted
many of Lancaster's educated and scientifically-trained citizens to its weekly
services. In 1902 a Unitarian church was founded in Lancaster, with its 700-plus
members numbered among the area's activists for religious freedom and social
justice.
The Revolution and Post-War Growth
The increasing population and economic growth of
Lancaster County in the decades prior to the Revolution attracted
numerous professionals and businessmen.
Already, Lancaster Borough, was the largest inland town in the colonies and
a small but influential aristocracy flourished throughout the county. Among
the gentry were Edward Shippen, Edward Hand, George Ross, Jasper Yeates and
William Atlee. Others from German background were William Bausman, Charles
Hall, Casper Schaffner, William Henry, John Hubley, Paul Zantzinger, Adam
Reigart and Mathias Slaugh. Alexander Lowery, John Steele and the colorful
ironmaster-glassmaker Henry W. Stiegel were leaders out in the county. Other
prominent ironmasters included the Grubbs and Robert Coleman. With the commercial
mentality resenting restrictions on trade and the rural folk, largely pacifistic,
favoring the status quo, feelings began to mount regarding the colony's future
relationship with Britain. The Scots, for certain, were ready to fight England
at a moment's notice.
At the outbreak of the Revolution, Lancaster rapidly took on an increased importance.
George Ross signed the Declaration of Independence, taking time away from his
lucrative law practice and risking a fine for missing a meeting of the Union
Fire Co. No. 1, Lancaster's gentlemen-firefighters. Meanwhile, Lancastrians
were joining rifle companies and drilling for eventual service against England.
Local mechanics and workers began producing tons of rifles, shoes, boots, uniforms,
blankets, hardware and food.
During the French and Indian War, Lancaster's gunsmiths and other artisans
were hard at work turning out the materials of war. Still earlier, the Pennsylvania
rifle, later known as the "Kentucky rifle" when carried into the
Ohio Valley, was developed in Lancaster County. This "apprenticeship" prepared
Lancaster County for the role it was to play during the Revolution . County
mills ground out barrels of flour and wagonmakers built Conestoga wagons and
other vehicles. Local furnaces and forges were kept busy smelting, casting
and hammering iron for the tools of war. Again, Lancaster County became the
arsenal, work shop and granary of the continental armies. Lancaster supplied
men as well. Edward Hand, for one, left his medical practice to serve his intimate
friend, General Washington, on the battlefield. By the end of the war, he was
Washington's adjutant general.
On September 27, 1777, the Continental Congress, fleeing from the British invaders
of Philadelphia, arrived in Lancaster and held a regular session there, making
Lancaster the temporary capital. The Pennsylvania government also took up residence
in Lancaster and remained there for the duration of the British occupation
of Philadelphia. With little room available in the busy borough for the Continental
Congress and its retinue on a more permanent basis, the Congress moved across
the river to York.
After the Revolution, Lancaster County resumed its place among the
ever-growing communities gradually spreading westward, although settlements
in western Pennsylvania
and the Ohio Valley lessened the economic significance of the county. Before
long, the local economy began to stagnate. With the end of the War of 1812,
however, countians turned their attention to land speculation, town-building
and the establishment of industry. Textile mills were built on many creeks
and one large mill, which eventually failed, was erected adjacent to Lancaster.
Local artisans continued to produce- fine furniture (much of it in the sophisticated "Philadelphia" style),
grandfather clocks, silverware and pewterware. In 1810, the Farmers Bank of
Lancaster commenced operations, and it survives today as a component of the
First Union-Core States Bank. Nearly 300 flour (grist) mills operated on county
streams and limeburners were employed busily producing lime for soil dressing
in southern Lancaster County and neighboring counties and states.
The county's major industry, as measured in value of investment and production,
was its charcoal iron business. Numerous cold blast furnaces and forges consumed
thousands of acres of woodland in the form of charcoal fuel. Almost every creek
had its forges where pig iron was worked into wrought iron.
The longer the furnaces operated, the greater became the need for longer distance
transportation. By 1794, Lancaster had been linked to Philadelphia by the state's
first great turnpike, while other highways and roads connected Lancaster to
other towns both inside and outside the county. In 1834, the Columbia and Philadelphia
Railroad section of the State Works was built through Lancaster, joining the
Susquehanna River to the port city. When the canal traffic from northern and
western Pennsylvania was diverted to Philadelphia by the railroad; private
investment assumed active roles in community life. Infused with a new spirit,
Lancastrians sought additional industries.
Diversification always had been the county's economic salvation, and now a
whole new generation of diverse industries was needed, industries like the
Rowe Motor Car Co. and other relatively small businesses which settled in the
area. Metalworking, automotive parts and small castings plants provided employment
for thousands of countians. With the gradual closing of candy, confectionery
and cigar-making factories, large plants operated by RCA, Armstrong Cork Co.,
Raybestos-Manhattan, Sperry-Rand, ITT Grinnell and Kerr Glass Co. became prominent
employers. Small foundries were superseded by large castings plants while some
modernized businesses continued to produce products that have made Lancaster
famous since the eighteenth century: shoes, clothing and hats.
Lancaster County's healthy and resilient economy is built upon the tripod of
manufacturing, agriculture and the tourist trade. The county's forty-one townships,
eighteen boroughs and countless villages enjoy relative prosperity, even in
the worst of times. Lancaster city, after a decline during the 1950 and 1960s,
has remodeled the downtown, preserving its heritage and giving the city charm
and excitement. This effort differs, however, from those undertaken in many
cities-the private sector rather than the federal government has been instrumental
in refurbishing the Red Rose City.
A dozen historical societies work harmoniously with the century-old Lancaster
County Historical Society in serving the community. The Heritage Center of
Lancaster County, a museum of furniture and the decorative arts made by local
craftsmen over the centuries, occupies the late eighteenth century city hall.
President James Buchanan's restored home, Wheatland, and General Hand's plantation,
Rock Ford, are handsome, high quality tourist attractions. The Lancaster County
Library, with its county branches, continues the library tradition begun in
the mid-eighteenth century. Other cultural-institutions include a remarkably
professional symphony orchestra and several musical organizations that undertake
choral and operatic productions.
Education
Although many of Lancaster County's rural residents
have been slow to appreciate or even accept formal education, the
county has a large number of excellent
public and private schools and colleges. A well-educated clergy was the impetus
to organize classical academies and seminaries by the Presbyterian, Reformed,
Lutheran, Moravian, and Episcopal denominations. Franklin College, begun
in 1787 as a preparatory school for young German men, merged with Marshall
College in 1853 to become a four-year degree-granting liberal arts college
under the auspices of the German Reformed Church. Later the Theological Seminary
of that church was relocated to Lancaster, and brought with it outstanding
German scholarship. Both institutions continue to contribute greatly to American
higher education. Started in 1855 as a teacher-training institute, and the
first state normal school, Millersville University of the Pennsylvania System
of Higher Education has earned deservedly a reputation as one of the Commonwealth's
foremost centers of higher education. It offers teacher preparation as well
as liberal arts curricula, and courses in nursing, technology, business and
computer science. Approximately 7,000 students attend its undergraduate and
graduate schools. Elizabethtown College, founded at the end of the nineteenth
century by the Church of the Brethren, has advanced through the years to
become a small but comprehensive liberal arts college. Stevens State College
of Tehcnology, known formerly as Stevens Trade School, offers a full curricula
of practical courses in industry, trades, and businesss. The state-owned
school was named to honor Lancaster's Civil War Congressman Thaddeus Stevens
who was the initial benefactor. In addition to the public educational institutions,
many church-related schools operate in Lancaster County to provide Christian,
Bible-centered instruction for their students. Lancaster Country Day School
and Linden Hall School for Girls offer traditional classic curricula along
with instruction designed for the modern scholar. Linden Hall is the oldest
girls' school in the nation.
Political
During the American Revolution
and the birth of the American Republic, Lancastrians such as George
Ross, William Atlee,
Jasper Yeates, and Dr. Edward Hand played
important roles in achieving independence and establishing the Pennsylvania
judicial system. As General Wahsington's adjutant general, and later as our
congressman, the Lancaster physician made his mark in our heritage. In mid-nineteenth
century a trio of political leaders from Lancaster County happened upon the
national scene. Simon Cameron, born in Maytown, East Donegal Township, rose
from "rags to riches" as a canal and railroad contractor, newspaper
publisher, and banker. One of the founders of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania,
Cameron became a U.S. senator, and was selected by Lincoln to be his first
secretary of war. Later he was minister to Russia, and then returned to the
U.S. Senate. It was said his power was so great that no legislation could
be enacted into law without his approval. Certainly he was a "political
boss" of Pennsylvania, and quite influential in the USA. Thaddeus Stevens
was not a native of Lancaster County, but he moved here in 1842 to practice
law, and to become our congressman during the Civil War and Reconstruction
periods. He was a fiery abolitionists and an enemy of every slaveowner. After
Lincoln's assassination, Stevens, who regarded Lincoln's philosophy of "malice
toward none and charity for all," as too "soft," opposed President
Andrew Johnson and his continuation of the Lincoln philosophy. Stevens was
made the manager of the Johnson Impeachment proceedings. Stevens probably
was the most powerful man in the USA House of Representatives in the 1860s.
President James Buchanan (1875-1861) began practicing law in Lancaster in
1812, and became Pa. representative, congressman, U.S. Senator, minister
to Russia, Secretary of State, minister to Great Britain, and U.S. President.
Lancaster County-first western county and forerunner of effective local government
creation has set the pace for 250 years in Pennsylvania, thanks to the genius
and pride of its diverse citizenry.
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