It was an ordinary day. Decided to continue with a recent story I posted on August 29th that told how local towns were named and list the majority of Townships that surround the city known as Lancaster, Pennsylvania. These townships were recently published in my local newspaper:
Brecknock: The land of apple orchards received its name from the town of Brecon in South Wales.
Caernarvon: A slight change of spelling in Google Maps will take you across the Atlantic rather than driving down the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This township calls back to a community in Wales, originally spelled Caernarfon.
Clay: If one thing can be taken from Columbia's story, it's that you can't inspire politics with strategic town nomenclature. But, nothing says you can't name your town after a person of politics. Clay township was named after U.S. representative Henry Clay in 1853...a year after he died.
Cocalico: The Cocalico Creek and subsequent township are named for an Indigenous word meaning "the serpents' den," due to th number of snakes in the area.
Coleraiin: This township is named for an Irish seaport town of the same name: Coleraine, in Londonderry, which served a inspiration for Derry Township.
Conestoga: An 1896 article in the Lancaster New Era refers to Conestoga as the earliest township in Lancaster County -- not for its existence as a township, but its occupation by people. The township is named after the Native American tribe the lived in the area long before Europeans arrived.
Conoy: The Conoy Creek is roughly 11 miles long, running from Elizabethtown to the Susquehanna River. Thus, it feels fitting that the township's namesake comes from a Native American word meaning "long creek."
Earl: This township was founded by Hans Graff, a German pioneer of the 18th century whose surname indicates the same distinction as the English word "Earl."
Eden: The Mount Eden Furnace, near Quarryville, existed before the township and was the inspiration for its name.
Elizabeth: Unlike the borough of Elizabethtown, Elizabeth Township was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth (most likely the first) of England. My mother's middle name came from the naming of the borough.
Fulton: This township was named ini honor of its claim to fame, Robert Fulton, who invented the steamboat and was born in the area.
Hempfield: This town was named for its prosperous hemp crop. Some also point to a Parrish in England of the same name.
Lampeter: Some suggest that Lampeter's namesake is none other than the town of Lampeter in Wales. However, an alternative theory suggests that the township is named after Peter Yourde, an early settler in the 1700s. Your had a physical disability that affected his ability to walk, and newspaper records suggest he was known as "Lame Peter." The town was named Yourde's now-insensitive nickname and later shortened to Lampeter.
Little Britain: Many travelers to North America were seeking to separate themselves from their country of origin. However, some seem to have kept a soft spot in their hearts for their European home. John Jamieson, a British settler in the 1700s, is believed to have named this community Little Britain to pay homage to his birthplace.
Paradise: It's likely not a mistake that the townships of Paradise and Eden - two biblical references - are geographical neighbors. Mary Ferree, a woman who brought her family to settle on the land in the early 17700s, is often credited with naming the region. She's believed to have remarked something to the effect of, "this is truly a paradise." Some accounts may attribute the naming to David Witmer, another early settler.
Rapho: Rapho Township's locality to West and East Donegal townships was likely purposeful. The Irish town of Raphoe, for which the township is named, was within Ireland's own Donegal county. Raphoe was a religious Irish town, an 1896 story referring to it as "the ecclesiastical centre of the county of Donegal.
Salisbury: This town is yet another example of immigrants paying homage to their European roots. Salisbury is name for the city of Salisbury in England, home to the famous Anglican Salisbury Cathedral constructed in the 13th century.
Tulpehocken: This name comes from the Tulpehocken Creek, now within Berks County. The area was inhabited by a Native American tribe when German immigrants settled by the creek in 1723. The name is rooted in the Lenni-Lenape word "tulpewikaki", which roughly translates to "land of the turtle."
If you live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, you more than likely recognized the names listed in today's story. If you don't live in the area and aren't familiar with Lancaster County, perhaps the names of the townships listed above may seem unusual to you. As you can see, all the names listed have a reason for being a township in and near the city known as Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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