GERMANNA_COLONIES-L Archives

From: John Blankenbaker <>
Subject: (604)Germanna Colonies, History of
Date: Sat, 08 May 1999 07:38:39 -0400

The six hundred and fourth note in a series on the Germanna Colonies

When the Herr party arrived in Philadelphia, they did not stop there. They
took the roads that led to the west and when they gave out they followed the
Indian trails. Several miles past European civilization, they judged the
land was good by the height of the trees. Here the individuals took patents
on large tracts of land, some for one thousand acres and some for five
hundred acres. The objective was to have enough land for their children and
for the relatives and friends who would be coming later.

Most of the land remained in forest. As such it was considered valuable for
not only did one have the land but one had the trees also. Actually only a
small amount of the land was cultivated. By the technology of the day, it
was impossible to farm more than a few acres. Some was turned into pasture
and some became orchards. Fencing was opposite to what we would do today. We
fence the animals in but they fenced the animals out. Fences were put up
around the garden plots and the grain fields to keep the animals out of
these areas. The animals were allowed to roam rather freely otherwise. The
pigs could fend for themselves very well. Usually one called the pigs in
every couple of weeks so they wouldn't forget where home was. In the fall of
the year they were encouraged to come into the orchard where they eat the
fallen fruit and perhaps get a ration of grain.

The Indians were in the neighborhood. At one time, there was a cultural
conflict. The Indians had corn fields which the European cattle found was a
tasty morsel. The Indians complained to William Penn that the cows were
destroying their corn fields. Penn had fences built around the corn fields
of the Indians.

The Hans Herr House was used as a home until about 1860. Very few
modifications had been made to it. It was not yet the time for running water
and electricity. The house had ample space for one family, in fact, too
much. The biggest drawback was the upper floor which could not be heated. So
the house was unoccupied for more than a hundred years except for use in
light agricultural activities such as a place to dry tobacco. About 1970,
the owners sold the house and some of the immediately joining land and
modern buildings to the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. They
undertook an extensive restoration project to put the house and furnishings
into a condition that was appropriate for 1750. This was the year when
Christian Herr died at which time an estate inventory was made.

>From the beginning of April to the end of November, the house and grounds
are open for visitors. Several of the visitors are from Germany where the
house has been written up in tour books for America. Of those with whom I
have had contact, they say that it is a worthwhile visit.

John Blankenbaker, PO Box 120, Chadds Ford, PA 19317
Beyond Germanna, A Newsletter/Journal of Germanna Information
http://www.germanna.com/
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/johnsgermnotes/germhis1.html
http://www.inficad.com/~genelea
http://www.pretext.com/mar98/shorts/short3.ht

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