The "A Brief History Of My Hometown Of (LANK-iss-ter)" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Today's story is meant to give the readers of this blog a brief history of the town in which I live in the United States.  In 1681 King Charles II of England granted land in America to William Penn in payment for a debt owed to Penn's father.  Many in England were glad to get rid of Mr. Penn since he had been kicked out of Oxford University, banished from his home and imprisioned for eight months in the Tower of London for his heretical beliefs.  Mr. Penn began a colony in America and was named governor of the colony, offering impartial liberty of conscience to all who were under religious oppression.  He had plans to name his new colony New Wales, but the king insisted he call it Pennsylvania (Penn's Woods).  Wasn't long before Mr. Penn expanded his colony by purchasing land from the Native Americans while meeting frequently with them to cultivate peace and friendship.  Then in 1729, Quaker settler, John Wright carved out of the western frontier a town called Lancaster, which is pronounced as LANK-iss-ter.  A year later the population of Lancaster was 15.  Construction of the first county courthouse was begun that year on land given by James Hamilton along with land for a market and a prison.  By 1734 Lancaster was laid out on land owned by Hamilton with the county courthouse in the center of town.  By 1742 Lancaster was incorporated as a borough and named by a Quaker settler, John Wright, for the city of Lancaster, England.  Hamilton sold lots to middle-class artisans, merchants and professionals.  The residents were expected to erect, within a year, a substantial dwelling house with dimensions of sixteen feet square, with a good chimney of stone or brick.  Innkeepers were known to acquire 15-20 acre lots for pasturing animals.  By the end of the year, Lancaster was one of the largest towns in the British Empire with 270 houses and 750 inhabitants.  During the Revolutionary War, Lancaster was the Capital of the colonies for one day when the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia.  Lancaster was the home of the Conestoga wagon and the birthplace of the Pennsylvania long rifle.  Famous residents include President James Buchanan, United States Representative Thaddeus Stevens, surveyor Andrew Elliott, artist Charles Demuth, retail mogul F.W. Woolworth and Milton S. Hershey, chocolatier.  Lancaster also was the site of the Treaty of 1744 which saw Indian chiefs from the six Iroquois nations come to Lancaster during the summer to meet with representatives of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia to resolve land disputes.  The star of the Lancaster Treaty of 1744 was Chief of the Onondaga Nation and prominent diplomat, Canassatego.  He recommended that the colonies adapt a form of government similar to the Iroquois by forming a confederacy.  He feared that the colonies lacked a strong coordinated policy to address the military threat of New France.  His words were published and read by colonial leaders such as Benjamin Franklin, and influenced the United States Constitution forty years later.  Canassatego was described as a tall, well made man, with a very full chest, brawny arms, good-natured smile and liveliness in his speech.  He could have been my twin brother!  At the time, hundreds of Indians from the six Iroquois nations, many traveling by canoe along the Susquehanna River, set up a large village of wigwams in Lancaster near the Courthouse.  Smoke from the fireplaces filled the summer air.   The event was very entertaining for the people of Lancaster as well as the Indians who checked out the town and the townspeople as they traded in the shops and marketplace.  The two-week meeting shaped our nation's history.  Discussions in the courthouse were lively and included much rum drinking.  In exchange for Indian land which was now part of Pennsylvania, the Indians laid claim to Maryland and Virginia.  The Treaty of 1744 created a strong alliance between the settlers and Indians, protecting Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War.  In the spirit of cooperation, the Indians advised colonial leaders on how to create a better form of government modeled after the Iroquois League of Nations.  Lancaster is also known for the birth of the Conestoga wagon which moved the freight that grew our nation.  They were pulled by a team of six or eight horses and could transport six tons on rough roads over rocky streams.  The wagons to and from Lancaster inspired the nation's first turnpike in 1794 from Lancaster to Philadelphia.  In 1834 the Philadelphia, Lancaster and Columbia Railroad was built with a station at North Queen and Chestnut Streets.  The late 18th century saw the growth of Lancaster and the birth of the nation.  Lancaster patriots played an important role in creating out new government, as Lancaster helped feed and supply our troops.  The patriots who called Lancaster home had names such as George Ross, William Henry, Edward Hand, Jasper Yeates and Edward Shippen.  If you have been a reader of this blog, you more than likely have read other stories I have told over the past few years of those who were famous Lancastrians and played a big role in the history of my home town, Lancaster (LANK-iss-ter).  Great place to live and raise a family!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.