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    Reisterstown
    Reisterstown
    Reisterstown
    Ebook200 pages58 minutes

    Reisterstown

    By Gayle Neville Blum

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    Before it was a colonial village, Reister's Town was home to tribes of the Susquehanna who lived and hunted plentiful wildlife amidst the dense primeval woods. Travelers journeyed on narrow Native American trails from remote areas through what is now Reisterstown while on their way to the nearby bustling harbor in Baltimore Town. Dirt roads afforded a tiresome trip, and a man's throat would easily become parched from the dust. John Reister, an enterprising German immigrant, was one of these early travelers. Reister recognized that the area, only a day's travel from Baltimore, would make an ideal site for an inn where weary travelers could rest and recoup. In 1758, Reister founded the town on 20 acres that the Calverts had granted him. Soon after, in 1768, Daniel Bower, a Revolutionary War colonel, settled on nearby land and built a tavern reputed to have accommodated George Washington. By 1800, Reister's Town was a busy community boasting shops, a tannery, blacksmith, inn, and taverns, which were all vital to the growth of the town and nearby communities.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439641446
    Reisterstown
    Author

    Gayle Neville Blum

    Author Gayle Neville Blum has selected the best images to illustrate historic Reisterstown�s remarkable past. These images capture the courage, vision, and industrious work ethic of the pioneers responsible for this quintessential American town.

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      Book preview

      Reisterstown - Gayle Neville Blum

      Collection.

      INTRODUCTION

      Reisterstown owes its name and beginnings to an industrious German immigrant by the name of John Reister. He was described as a man of great enterprise and sterling worth. He purchased 20 acres of land directly south of present-day Cockeys Mill Road and subsequently became Reisterstown’s first resident after moving to the area with his family in 1758. At the time Reister first came upon the area known today as Reisterstown, it was thick with forests inhabited by fur-bearing animals; a wilderness with two families of Native Americans still around. Animal trails and Native American paths provided the only means to navigate the wilderness surrounding the Conewago Road, which had been cut through in 1737 from Hanover to Baltimore.

      In 1758, the Conewago Road was little more than a trail widened for wagons to travel. Intersecting the Conewago Road was a Native American trail that went from the Patapsco Falls to the Native American settlement at Chestnut Ridge. The trail traversed the land on a path that roughly followed Academy Lane, presently called Cockeys Mill Road. There is no doubt that John Reister, an enterprising businessman, saw the potential of the site that featured intersecting roads originating in Westminster and Hanover and leading south to the harbor in Baltimore Town.

      As a landowner in Frederick County, Reister had occasion to travel to Baltimore County to pay his quit rent. It was on one of these journeys that he must have noted that the intersection of the roads leading to Westminster (Pipe Creek Road) and Hanover (Conewago Road) was only 16 miles to Baltimore Town, a good day’s journey, thus making it an ideal site for a settlement. John Reister recognized that the juncture of the roads would make an ideal location for an inn. He was quite familiar with inns, as his father-in-law, George Sohn, kept a public house in York Town. Reister took advantage of the opportunity and acquired a 20-acre grant on the Conewago Road (now Main Street), south of the trail leading to the Patapsco River, now known as Cockeys Mill Road. Reister called his patent Reister’s Desire. It was secured from the Sixth Lord Baltimore, Frederick Calvert, on March 2, 1758.

      Before moving to Reisterstown, the patriarch was already a successful colonial farmer who was living in Frederick County with his wife and six children. His brother-in-law, Dr. Andrew Wiesenthal, was a doctor who lectured on anatomy at the first medical school in Maryland. It was not only that connection that drew John Reister to the area, but also his vision, which was illuminated by the opportunity he saw before him. Reister saw the area to be a perfect travel stop or destination for weary travelers to stop and refresh themselves and their horses from the long and dusty journey to and from Baltimore Town.

      The Great Road to Baltimore Town (Conewago Road) ran diagonally through the Reister property. The road was what attracted Reister to the area in the first place. It was first known as the Conewago Road, and later it was referred to as the Packed Horse Road and later still the Wheelbarrow Road. By 1809, the road had been renamed Reister’s Town Turnpike. Reister’s Town flourished as Reister responded to the needs of the community and travelers and opened a blacksmith shop and a store. His son-in-law Henry Wiest opened a tannery on land south of his tavern.

      Just north of Reister’s patent was a piece of land that had passed through several owners or land speculators. In 1768, Daniel Bower purchased the land and erected a tavern on what is now the site of Franklin Middle School. Daniel Bower’s father was Sir John Bauer, the burgomaster of Strasburg, Alsace-Lorraine. His widow fled to America when conditions in her country were unstable. She settled in Pennsylvania with her three young children. Daniel grew up and became a colonel in the Revolutionary War. George Washington is reputed to have slept at Bower’s tavern on his way to Fort Pitt in Philadelphia.

      More German settlers were attracted to the community of Reisterstown and settled here, calling it home. Daniel Bower became an innkeeper, and his brother-in-law Jacob Madairy, a merchant, also settled in the area. In 1784, Daniel Bower and an associate, James Morgan, anticipated an explosion of growth following the Revolutionary War. They acquired the Spring Garden tract and subdivided it into several hundred building lots located on both sides of Main Street. They called the development Washington Town. Legend says that Daniel asked George Washington to suggest a name for the town when he stopped at his inn, and Washington suggested he call the town Washington. He did; however, the name did not stick.

      In the beginning, Reister’s Town accommodated travelers with a variety of taverns, smith shops, and saddleries. The town offered everything a traveler would need for their horses: a blacksmith, a feed store, a harness maker, a wagon builder, and a first-rate stables. Weary discriminating travelers could choose among the Yellow Tavern, Fisher’s, Ducker’s, Forney’s, Dower’s, or Reister’s Inn and Tavern. Reisterstown flourished as a center of hospitality. The town’s economy was built upon the road, just as John Reister had envisioned in 1758.

      John Reister was a legendary successful businessman, but surprisingly he was not a wealthy man at the time of his death. His estate was valued at $3,400.69, a modest sum. During his lifetime, John Reister gave many of his assets away to his children. He gave the blacksmith shop to his son-in-law John Beckley. He gifted his son John his farm and his daughter Catherine his store. John Reister intended to give his son Philip the inn, but he died before receiving the title, so his son John Reister gave Philip’s widow the bonds he received in payment for the sale of the inn. The successful patriarch was a family man first and foremost, providing both land and business opportunities for all of his

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