Anthony D. Fredericks - Historical Trails of Eastern Pennsylvania

Copyright 2013 by Anthony D. Fredericks

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages.

Interior photographs by the author unless otherwise specified
Frontispiece photo: The ironmasters mansion at Cornwell Iron Furnace in Lebanon
County, built in 1773
Book design by Susan Livingston
Composition by Chelsea Cloeter

Published by The Countryman Press,
P.O. Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091

Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
500 Fifth Avenue, NewYork, NY 10110

Printed in the United States of America

Historical Trails of Eastern Pennsylvania
ISBN 978-1-581-57183-7
ISBN 978-1-581-57727-3(e-book)

TO KIM SUTTON

Definitely for the laughter, certainly for the friendship

Let freedom ring!

Travel is like a tonic for me I need it to recharge my batteries.

Norman Rockwell

M any people who visit Pennsylvania are aware that the countrys historical roots are firmly planted in the cobbled streets and colonial architecture of Philadelphia. They know of Constitution Hall and Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. These sites traditionally get tens of thousands of visitors every year. They are the photos that adorn the covers of history books and are featured in every travel magazine since the invention of the interstate highway system. But the history of this region is much more than that found in the City of Brotherly Love. Its the hex barns just outside the rural town of Kutztown, its a row of mansions built by lumber barons in the city of Williamsport, its an aging ferry battling the currents on the Susquehanna River, its a monument to a fallen Civil War soldier in the remote town of Greencastle, and its a stone house in Kennett Square that once sheltered a family of former slaves working their way north. In so many ways, the history of the United States is the history of Pennsylvania.

The earliest travelers in eastern Pennsylvania were the Lenni Lenape Indians who traversed the countryside over a well-planned sequence of footpaths that skirted mountains, traversed forests, and crossed numerous streams. That many of those Native American paths served as the prototypes for the states modern-day highways is a testament to their need to get from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible. In fact, most of the travel of early Native Americans was by land, rather than by water. Eventually these very functional footpaths evolved into bridle paths, then wagon roads, then the asphalt four-lanes that dominant the modern Pennsylvania landscape.

It is many of those same paths that I want to share in this book. I invite you to come along with me on long-ago byways and historical throughways that will bring the past alive and offer a you-are-there perspective. Id like to show you some incredible sights and people who made this part of the country so rich in heritage and history. Id like to take you over endless rural roads, through delightful small towns and villages, past architectural wonders, and around revolutionary battlefields that highlight impressive historical treasures and visual riches. This is what eastern Pennsylvania is all abouta feast for both the spirit and the eyes. Its past awaits your discovery.

Those visiting Pennsylvania for the first time will quickly discover that the state is awash in history, culture, and dramatic vistas. This is a state with something for everyonefrom vibrant urban centers pulsing with art and color and noise to vast open spaces where the only sign of civilization may be a discarded candy wrapper on the side of the road. In so many ways, Pennsylvania is a state rich with possibilities and ripe for explorationa state founded on a diverse and varied historical past.

Pennsylvanias unique (and classic) historical marker

The Susquehanna River is part of Pennsylvanias history.

The chapters in this book are loosely grouped around select historical places and events. Each chapter presents an itinerary for a road trip or walking tour designed to last several hours, an entire day, a weekend, or several days. Some tours offer traditional tourist destinations, as well as some lesser-known historical sites throughout the region. From time to time, I had to manipulate some historical chronology for the sake of consistency. Nevertheless, it is the history that predominatesa history of famous (and infamous) individuals, a history of cultural and economic events, and a history of war, insurrection and general malfeasance. Youll visit places where revolutions were started, fortunes made, journeys initiated, cultures established, battles fought, and issues argued.

Well begin our travels in the historic centerpiece of the statePhiladelphiawhere well walk along cobbled streets and tour fabled buildings just as those founding fathers did. From here, we will follow revolutionary roads and the route of the Underground Railroad; pass log cabins, hex barns, and Victorian mansions; cross covered bridges; and take a journey down the incredible Susquehanna River. We will end with one of the most pivotal battles in American historythe Battle of Gettysburg. The book concludes on a more peaceful note with a walking tour through historic Gettysburgwith some places you have to see to believe, including a 200-year-old tavern that brings all that history alive.

In so many ways this was a most incredible book to write. I had the opportunity to revisit some of my favorite haunts, as well as discover several new places and sites throughout eastern Pennsylvania. I walked in the footsteps of some of my historical heroes and saw this state through their eyes and experiences. I was able to investigate places I had only heard about, but never seen. And the fact that I could crisscross the region and drink in the beautiful scenery through multiple ventures added a nice flourish to the inspiring places and people I met along the way.

I hope you will see this book as a way to separate yourself from the hurry-up world we live in and a way to re-connect with a simpler way of livinga way of distinctive architecture, patient transportation, trustful politicians, rich history, dynamic individuals, and wide open spaces. Eastern Pennsylvania is, as you will discover, a part of the county unlike any othera region that excites, inspires and teaches. Its a history book youll want to turn to time and time again.