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    Quakertown
    Quakertown
    Quakertown
    Ebook216 pages1 hour

    Quakertown

    By Carolyn E. Potser, John T. Pilecki and Nancy Walp Bosworth

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    About this ebook

    English and Welsh Quakers moving north from Philadelphia were the first European settlers to come to Quakertown in the early eighteenth century. German immigrants followed soon afterward and, together with their neighbors, formed this diverse community. The earliest settlement, beginning in 1716 and known as Rich Land, followed the path of the stagecoach on its route from Philadelphia to Allentown. Today, that path is Main Street, which has retained its old meetinghouse and Red Lion Inn. Historical places such as these, along with countless memorable people, events, and legends, make up Quakertown, a fascinating photographic record of this historic community. Quakertown was incorporated in 1855 and became a place where business and industry succeeded, leaders developed a respected school system, and volunteers organized their efforts to provide protection and services to residents. The stunning images in Quakertown not only chronicle physical changes that have occurred over one hundred fifty years but also convey the industrious and cooperative spirit of the people who shaped the town.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateOct 1, 2002
    ISBN9781439628539
    Quakertown
    Author

    Carolyn E. Potser

    Leaders of Quakertown Alive! invited teachers Carolyn E. Potser and John T. Pilecki to write and compile this long-awaited history. Potser, a freelance columnist, and Pilecki, a high school publications adviser received invaluable cooperation from the Quakertown Historical Society and its curator Nancy Walp Bosworth.

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      Book preview

      Quakertown - Carolyn E. Potser

      www.quakertownalive.com

      INTRODUCTION

      In 1705, in a letter to William Penn, James Logan used the name Great Swamp to describe the large area that now includes Richland and Milford Townships and the borough of Quakertown. Not a swamp in the strict sense of the word, the territory nevertheless had many low areas, which required draining before they could be tilled. After 1720, the area gradually became known as Rich Land, a term appropriate for its fertile soil. Richland had heavy stands of timber and abounded with wild animals. Tohickon and Swamp Creeks were rich in fish, and salt licks attracting wildlife gave Licking Run Creek its name. The Lenni Lenape Indians who lived along these creeks were a peaceable tribe.

      Also peace loving were the first white settlers in Richland, English and Welsh Friends, popularly referred to as Quakers, who left their kindred in Gwynned, Montgomery County. Friends lived amicably with the American Indians, who were often helpful in supplying newcomers with provisions and in teaching them how to live in harmony with the environment. Peter Lester, the first settler in 1710, was soon followed by his son-in-law, John Ball, and by Hugh Foulke, second son of Edward and Eleanor Foulke who had settled in Gwynned in 1698. (Descendants of the Foulke family celebrated the family’s 300th anniversary in America in 1998 and visited local landmarks.)

      The first local gathering of Friends to seek God in a Quaker manner was held at the home of Peter Lester in 1710. To form a Monthly Meeting, a gathering to conduct business, delegates from the Great Swamp went to Gwynned, the closest larger meeting. Permission was granted and guidance provided to establish a meetinghouse near the intersection of Old Bethlehem Pike and Station Road. This house, built of logs in 1716, was replaced in 1725 by another wooden structure on the present site on South Main Street, now occupied by the present stone meetinghouse built in 1862.

      In accordance with the Quaker method of doing business, overseers were appointed: John Ball and Hugh Foulke in 1730 and Abraham Griffith and William Edward in 1740. Minutes of Swamp Meetings give glimpses into some of the hardships and lives of its members, into their desire to preserve peace with the American Indians, and into their disapproval of slavery. Intrinsic to their silent worship was the principle of allowing God to speak to each worshiper. The present Friends of Richland Meeting maintain the same beliefs as the first to come to these rich lands and preserve the legacy of buildings and the grounds that early members created. An illustration of the strong Quaker emphasis upon learning was the establishment of the Richland Library Company in 1788, when local natives were still living in wigwams along Swamp Creek. Located at 44 South Main Street since 1911, the library contains many rare books and volumes of the original collection.

      In the mid-1700s, the list of names kept by the tax collector included the German names of Landis, Klein, Clemmer, Musselman, and Yoder, along with the older Quaker names of Lester, Foulke, Ball, Jones, and Roberts. The German settlers established traditions that still influence community life. Soon after building their homes, they organized congregations and erected churches and schools. They excelled in music and introduced it into their churches. They were industrious and became hardworking farmers and craftsmen. During the Revolution, they were loyal to the American cause.

      In 1734, the provincial court officially established the township of Richland. In the center of a plain in Richland lay what was to become the borough of Quakertown. Inevitably, a hamlet came into existence at the crossroads of two well-traveled roads, one leading from Bethlehem to Philadelphia and the other from Milford to the southern part of Bucks County. The public house of Walter McCool, at first called McCool’s Tavern and later called the Red Lion Inn, was built at this crossroads in 1747. William Green built the first post office and store in 1803. Conditions of the roads were very poor. The highway leading east from the village was almost impassable except in the summer, and a dense forest lined both sides of the road. Consequently, the settlement called Quakers Town grew slowly, lining the sides of what was to become Main Street.

      One of the most dramatic episodes in local history occurred when the Liberty Bell slept overnight on September 23, 1777, behind Liberty Hall, en route to its wartime hiding place in Allentown.

      Of special interest to some historians is the Fries Rebellion of 1799. Led by Pennsylvania German farmers and named for one of its leaders, John Fries, the protest was the first armed resistance to the 1798 federal house tax. The rebellion represented an early challenge to the authority of the federal government and its power to tax.

      With the arrival of the North Pennsylvania Railroad in 1856 came expansion and development. In a few years, the downtown became a busy village known as Richland Centre, which had its own post office in 1867. The road running east and west connecting the two villages was improved and named Broad Street, and the 12 intervening streets were given numbers for names. Quakertown was incorporated into a borough in 1855. Richland Centre was annexed to Quakertown in 1874.

      Growth of the town was sustained by business and industry. Manufactured products included cigars, tools, boots, shoes, clothing, harnesses, spokes, handles, stoves, and church organs. The establishment of the Quakertown National Bank in 1877 facilitated business transactions. In 1881, the Free Press newspaper began serving businesses and individuals.

      Social, educational, and religious institutions multiplied and strengthened, creating the town that Quakertown residents know today. The popular Quakertown Band was organized in 1877, and the volunteer fire companies have protected residents since 1882. A strong public school system continues to earn respect, and numerous churches have sprung up to serve this prospering community. Quakertown volunteers and community members continue to follow the example of the town’s first settlers who understood the importance of working together.

      —Carolyn E. Potser

      One

      WORSHIPING IN OUR CHURCHES

      Until 1716, Quakers living in the Great Swamp worshiped in their homes. They lived peaceably with their American Indian neighbors while maintaining their simple life and strong belief that God is in everyone. They built their first meetinghouse of logs c. 1716 one mile south of the present site. That ground, however, was too rocky to serve as a burial ground, and in 1725, they relocated to the present 10-acre site, now bounded by South Main Street, Park Avenue, Route 309, and Mill Road. Their first meetinghouse in this location was also wooden,

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