It was an ordinary day. Walking around the city streets in a town known as Lancaster, Pennsylvania close to 200 years ago would have been totally different that it would be today for you see, just about everyone in town spoke either Spanish, German or Swiss. Actually, close to 40% of the population was Hispanic and about the only thing English was the name of the town. Between 1730 and 1736, 60% of lot holders were of German or Swiss background. By 1740 that number had swollen to 75%. The local newspaper, The Lancaster Gazette, was published in 1752 in both German and English. The mode of dress in town was similar to that in some Rhineland village instead of a British colony.
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| Where I found much of my information for today's story |
Those that were English referred to most of their neighbors as "Dutchmen," a corruption for the German word "Deutch." Actually, none of them came from Holland. The city of Lancaster was no way close to the atmosphere found in a New England town. There was no universal standard of religious orthodoxy such as you would find in Plymouth. The founding of the town brought Germans, non-Germans, Christians, Jews, traders, craftsmen, freemen, servants, landlords and tenants. Actually, today's Lancaster is still the same city that it was back then. It is a unique mixture of people from all walks of life. Today you can add in the Dutch, Mennonite and even the Amish or Plain folks. What will it be like 200 years from now? Your guess is as good as mine. I have recently read a bit about the History of one Southern Township to the south of Lancaster City known as Martic Township.  |
| Martic Township Map |
As of 1875, Martic Township, where my wife grew up and went to school and where we take leisurely weekend drives during the summer, was originally organized under the name of Martock. It was one of the first organized townships in the county. It was ratified in 1730 and today is somewhat smaller in size than it was when it was originally organized. The present boundaries are north by Pequea Township, northeast by Providence, east and southeast by Drumore, south and west by the Susquehanna,the and northwest by the Conestoga. Today it has an area of 31,542 acres with the population in 1860 being 1,701. The value of real estate in 1860 was $276,506 with the value growing to $628,493 by 1870. There were four grist and six sawmills, one forge, five hotels, six stores, eight common schools and six churches (4 Methodist, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Seceder). The Pequea Creek ran across the township in a southwesterly course, flowing along the southeastern boundary of the township, and the Tacquan Creek which ran through the center. The most important settlement in Martic Township is Marticville which is a village in the northeast corner of the township, nine miles south of Lancaster and for many years was known as Frogtown. The name change to Marticville came about 50 years later. Marticville contains about 100 inhabitants, two general stores, one blacksmith shop, one wagon shop, one shoe store, one cigar manufactory, one grade school, one Methodist Episcopal Church and one good hotel. One resident physician lives in the township. The most famous and prominent families or persons to inhabit the township in 1875 were the Huber family, George Warfel, Emanuel Hare, the Good family and Abraham Miller.  |
| Those that live in Martic Township in 1875 - click to enlarge |
The post office was kept by Henry Huber with three other settlement post offices at Mount Nebo, Bethesda and Rawlinsville. The Postmaster was Elias Aument. The land in Martic is generally hilly, its river scenery very picturesque and beautiful, particularly in the vicinity of McCall's Ferry. The soil is a rich limestone which is extremely fertile and productive. Many large quarries are operated in the township and a large quantity of lime is manufactured annually. Owing to the fact that Martic was early settled by an industrious and enterprising class of citizens, it has been prosperous in it agricultural and general business interests. It is in every respect one of the representative townships of the County, and will doubtless continue to increase and prosper in the future as it has done in the past. My wife Carol and I often travel through the area where she was raised and even traveled back the private road to her old homestead where she kept her horse across from the house along a wandering stream. I never had the chance to grow up in an area such as Martic Township, but would have loved to have had a horse to go along with my Chevy Impala in a nearby barn. Maybe in my next lifetime. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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