The "The Story Of Cabbage Hill: It's All In The Name!" Story

Preface:  I recently found a Facebook page known as "Cabbage Hill of Yesteryear" which tells of the life and times of one of Lancaster, Pennsylvania's neighborhoods.  Post after post telling stories that made Cabbage Hill one of the best, if not the best, neighborhoods in the city.  I became engrossed in the stories and posts and thought it would make a great story to share with my readers.  One of the most prolific posters was a fellow by the name of Jim Gerhart.  He wrote quite a few stories about those who lived in Cabbage Hill.  I want to thank him for supplying me with information for all of the stories I will post about Cabbage Hill.  Hope you enjoy the stories and what it must have been like to grow up and spend your entire life on Cabbage Hill as many posters must have done.  The administrator of the site was nice enough to allow me to become a member of the page so I too could post.  Many questions I have asked on the site were answered by the many readers, but it is Mr. Gerhart who told the story of Cabbage Hill much better than I could ever tell it, since he lived there at one time.

It was an ordinary day.  Visiting my grandmother who lived at 145 North Pine Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Often went to visit with her when my parents both had something to do and I wasn't old enough to stay at home by myself.  Nannan, as I called her, enjoyed taking walks in the neighborhood with me so she could show me off to her neighbors.  One day we headed south from her home and visited with a few neighbors before crossing King Street into what was known as Cabbage Hill.  Wasn't long before she was explaining to me why the area got its name.  

LDub on the steps of 145 N. Pine St.

  Her very simple explanation told me that the area was filled at one time long ago with German people who raised cabbage in their back yards.  They made the cabbage into sauerkraut which made the neighborhood smell, but they didn't seem to mind.  Well, that was close to 70 years ago and it is still affectionally known as Cabbage Hill.  The area in the south-west end of the city is bordered by King, Prince, Seymour, Fairview, Manor and Pine Streets since the mid-1800s.  I suspect there may not be too many Germans in the area anymore who make sauerkraut, but the name of the section of town will never change.  

Lithograph of Lancaster, Pennsylvania from 1852. Click to enlarge. Gerhart image.

A local resident of Lancaster, Jim Gerhart, has written a few stories about the area and one of his stories titled, "An Old Lithograph Captures Cabbage Hill on the Cusp of Development" shows the 1852 lithograph done by Charles R. Parsons who was an English immigrant who apprenticed under lithographer George Endicott in New York City.  The lithograph was published in 1853 by James T. Palmatary.  It shows Lancaster drawn by an artist sitting on a hill with an unobstructed view of the city with various buildings done with exact execution as seen in 1852.  

An enlargement the lithograph showing streets in Cabbage Hill. Gearhart image.

A few of the local landmarks shown were Fulton Hall (now known as The Fulton Theatre), St. Joseph's Catholic Church and the new County Courthouse which was still under construction.  Most of the rest of the lithograph showed open landscape that sat between two hills.  That area was what soon became known as Cabbage Hill.  The first part of Cabbage Hill was a section known as Bethelstown which was laid out by Samuel Bethel, Jr.  Some of the streets in Cabbage Hill can be identified on the lithograph with more to be added as the area became developed.  One of the houses in the area, known as Green Cottage, was built in 1820 and is visible in the lithograph.  It was the summer cottage of Catherine "Kitty" Yeates who was the daughter of promenade Lancaster lawyer and judge Jasper Yeates.  Today it stands at 613 Fremont Street.  The lithograph now appears in it original frame in the rear stair hall at Wheatland, home of President James Buchanan, in Lancaster.  Today it provides a glimpse of what the area known as Cabbage Hill looked like  almost 200 years ago, just before the section of Lancaster known as Cabbage Hill bloomed.  In the near future I will present a few other stories about the section of Lancaster City known as Cabbage Hill.  Many interesting tales still survive, though they may from time to time be embellished.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Who'd Of Thought?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking at my Google Earth website and being totally amazed at what you can view on the site.  I found my home with a closeup of my car in the driveway.  The entire site reminds me of a 3D map with true-to-life images.  Actually, that's exactly what it is.  Just to make sure, I "Googled" 3D maps of cities and towns and came up with page after page of sites to visit on my search of 3D maps.  

Panoramic map of Columbia, PA.  Click to enlarge.

Then I came across something that really drew my attention.  Maps of cities that looked like they were hand-drawn in 3D during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Wasn't long before I found one particular artist who drew what looked to be 3D maps by the name of Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler; known primarily as T.M. Fowler.  What caught my attention about his hand-drawn maps was the fact that almost all the locations he drew were towns and cities in the state of Pennsylvania.  "Googled" him and was astonished with his life's story.  

T.M. Fowler

T.M. was born in 1842 in Lowell, Massachusetts and ran away from home at the age of 15.  Ended up in Buffalo, NY at the onset of the Civil War.  He tried to join the Union Troops, but was rejected because of his age.  Finally he talked his way into the service and two years later was wounded at the second Battle of Bull Run.  In 1863 he was discharged, but followed the soldiers into battle selling his tintypes to them.  He eventually moved to Madison, Wisconsin where he worked for his uncle John who was a photographer.  Then in 1868 he met Albert Ruger who drew panoramic works of cities.  Fowler eventually became Ruger's assistant and after learning all the necessary skills began to make them himself. He opened his own business in 1870.  Over the next 50 or so years, T.M. drew panoramic maps with startling accuracy that only a very few artists had the patience and skill to do this work.  These bird's-eye views of cities and towns were popular before aerial photography was possible.  Fowler would pick a town or city and walk the streets making drawings, sometimes multiple drawings, of every house, building, and store in the area.  

This enlarged portion of one of his maps shows the
incredible detail that he used in his work. Click to enlarge.

He would take notes as to the size and amount of windows, doors, stairwells, etc. in the structure as well as any architecturally significant features to the structure.  More than half of his maps were of the state of Pennsylvania.  During his career he made over 425 panoramic maps; 248 being of Pennsylvania.  It was in 1922, while surveying the town of Middleton, New York for his next map, that he slipped on a patch of ice and died a few days later at the age of seventy-nine.  He was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Trenton, New Jersey.  

Milersville, Pennsylvania

Toward the end of his career, when the airplane became popular, panoramic maps began to fade with the popularity of aerial photography.  I love his maps and the unbelievable detail that he illustrates while drawing them.  His artistic and mechanical skills are most impressive.  While looking at his map of Millersville, PA I was able to pick out a few of the buildings around the original Millersville State Teachers College Old Main where I had classes as well as the building where I had lunch most days.  What's strange is that the city of Lancaster is not one of his panoramics.  I realize that Google Earth is truly amazing, but T.M. Fowler's panoramic maps are just as amazing; at least to me!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   PS - I have only included maps made of locations within a few miles of my home in Lancaster, PA.