| A Littlestown Page from History as
Recorded in - AREA HISTORY: History of
Adams County, Chapter XXXIII, Adams County, PA
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_______________________________________________
History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1886
_______________________________________________
Part III, History of Adams County, Pages 262-271
CHAPTER XXXIII.
GERMANY TOWNSHIP AND BOROUGH OF LITTLESTOWN.
Alloway’s Creek, forming the western line of Germany
Township, is the receptacle
of the streams in this township. The little creeks all flow in a southwesterly
direction into Maryland. They seem to run at will throughout this little
Holland, but without that crystal, dashing, splashing grace, which gives beauty
and interest to the mountain streamlets. The surface is rolling in some parts,
and decidedly level in others. The soil is all that limestone indicates, while
in the very low districts loam and even black muck characterize it. Here are
found outcrops of conglomerate dolerite, streaked blue and white limestone,
red
sandstone, mesozoic sandstone, slaty conglomerate, Mesozoic sandstone stained
with malachite, coarse-grained, yellowish green conglomerate, red shale with
mica spangles. The iron ore ------------------ forms of Mrs. Sterner and Enoch
LeFevre, in Germany Township --------- --re worked in 1867 by the Wrightsville
and the Ashland Mining Companies.
In October, 1824, Dan Margentice, David and Henry Shriver
were engaged in
selling foreign wines and liquors, and Christian Bishop, Dr. Ephraim Davis
and
George Will, foreign merchandise.
The population in 1800 was 1,013; in 1810, about 1,100;
in 1820, 1,272,
including 1 slave and 26 free colored; in 1830, 1,517; in 1840, 1,553; in 1850
(outside the borough), 720 (2 colored); in 1860, 744 (4 colored); in 1870,
880
(1 colored), and in 1880, 1,002. The number of taxpayers (1886) is 303; value
of real estate, $294,751; number of horses, 242; of cows, 275; value of moneys
at interest, $59,689; value of trades and professions, $7,830; number of
carriages, 101; gold watches, 4; silver watches 1; acres of timer land, 335.
The Littlestown Branch Railroad was opened for traffic July
1, 1858. The cost
was about $75,000, as shown in the report of the president, William McSherry.
The road was extended to Frederick, Md., in 1871, and in December, 1874, the
entire “Short Line” was leased to the Pennsylvania Company, the
present
operators. The first turnpike, the Gettysburg & Petersburg (Littlestown),
was
built by a company in 1809, to Biddle’s Mill, on the State line. The
act of
incorporation named James McSherry, John Shorb, Jacob Winrott, James Gettys,
Alexander Cobean and Henry Hoke, commissioners. Three hundred and fifty shares
of $100 each were taken. Samuel Sloan surveyed the line for $2 per mile in
1808, and James Gettys contracted to build the road for $4,585 per mile. Toll
gates were erected in August, 1809, and the extension from Gettysburg to the
mountain, ten miles, was built in 1810.
In 1848 Henry Spalding built a wooden bridge over Alloway’s
Creek, on the
Littlestown & Emmittsburg road, for $343.
The postoffices in Germany Township are Littlestown and
Kingsdale, the latter
located close on the confines of Maryland.
The question of adopting the act establishing the common
school system, brought
before the county convention of November 4, 1834, was decided in the negative
in
the case of Germany, A. LeFevre, the delegate, voting contra. Shortly after
the
system was adopted.
“Digges’ Choice” dates back to October
14, 1727, when a grant of 10,000 acres
was made to John Digges. On the advice of an Indian chief named “Tom,” he
located this grant in what is now Conowago and Germany Townships, this county,
and Heidelberg Township in York County. A survey was made in April, 1732, when
6,822 acres were laid off, a patent for which was issued May 25, 1738. In
August, 1745, a resurvey was made, and 3,679 acres added to the former survey.
This tract was four miles north of the temporary line between Pennsylvania
and
Maryland, surveyed in 1732. The subsequent disagreements led to the murder
of
Dudley Digges by Jacob Kitzmiller in February, 1752. From 1735 to 1752 Germans
came by thousands. In the fall of 1749 no less than twenty ships arrived at
Philadelphia, bringing 12,000 passengers, let hither by the Newlanders-older
German settlers of Pennsylvania.
The assessment for 1799 was made by Robert McIlhenny, assisted
by Andrew Lohr,
who could not sign his name, and Jacob Parr. On the total valuation, $121,790,
23 cents per $100 were collected by Frederick Bachman and Thomas Biddle.
John Arnold, grist-mill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$1,700
Jacob Beil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,800
George Best . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816
Jacob Brother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 912
Detrich Bishoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780
William Beeher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Lewis Beeher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Thomas Biddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,269
Peter Busse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Philip Bardt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Fred. Bachman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,159
Peter Baker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,001
D. Bachman’s heirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,725
Isaac Bear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Jacob Bear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,084
Henry Bringman, tannery* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665
Benedict Barnhart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Jacob Bringman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Philip Bishoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,074
Andrew Bear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Samuel Beeher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Adam Coleman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Peter Comp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Henry Croft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Jacob Dapper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Henry Dewalt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,810
Andrew Dapper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,746
Christian Dapper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Michael Dysart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
John Eckert, Sr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,220
Peter Eckert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828
John Eckert, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Thomas Fisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,487
George Fretzlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
James Fisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,289
Henry Fisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Andrew Finfrock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Nicholas Feeser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
John Feeser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
John Fink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816
George Freese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977
Gilmayer Francis† . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Henry Ghetz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
George Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
George Gardner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587
George Gardner, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
George Gobble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616
Adam Geesler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 926
Peter Galla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,387
Martin Greenwalt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Jacob Greenwalt, carpenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Philip Gilbert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Michael Horner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Jacob Hostetter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,414
John Hantzel, weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Henry Hoover, blacksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
John Hoover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,177
Fred. Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
Andrew Hertziger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Baltzer Hilbert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877
Martin Hoffman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
John Hoofnagle, tailor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Michael Hoover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
James Hagen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
Nicholas Jacobi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Abram Johns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Henry Kohlstock, joiner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
John Kohlstock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
John Knauff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,355
Adam Knauff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
George Kuntz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,889
Joseph Koch, mason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Christian Kintz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648
Jacob Kitzmiller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,221
Jacob Kitzmiller, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Peter Krepps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,565
George King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,286
George Kline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Ludwig King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Adam Kuntz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Abram King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,007
Andrew Kuntz, blacksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Stephen Krise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
John Keefer, Sr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
John Keefer, Jr., turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Frederick Keefer, turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
David Keefer, wagon-maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Henry Keefer, carpenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Jacob Keefer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Michael Keeler, weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Val. Krise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
George Kuntz, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Peter Leonard, tailor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Frederick Little, Sr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,018
Frederick Little, Jr., hatter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
David Little . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Jacob Little, blacksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584
John Little, tailor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Henry Little, Sr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Lorentz Litzinger, weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
Zachariah Loudebough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,459
Andrew Lohr, Sr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,726
Andrew Lohr, Jr., weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Abram Lohr, weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Philip Long . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
William Litener, blacksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Widow Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,402
John Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Robert McIllhenny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Nick Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Widow Mayr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 918
Philip Miller, shoemaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
James McSherry,‡ merchant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,355
McSherry & Bishoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623
William Moirey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Adam Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Solomon Menchey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,838
Henry Miller, shoemaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
George Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,400
Adam Myrise, weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Jacob Parr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,965
Widow Parr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,617
Fred. Palmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628
Jacob Pfiffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
John Patterson, weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Melchoir Reffel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 770
Mathias Reffel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 952
Christian Reck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,114
Adam Reck, tannery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
John Reck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Jacob Rider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,562
John Routzahn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
John Sneeringer, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Jacob Sell, merchant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Adam Sell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,117
George Sherman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,984
John Sneeringer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,042
Jacob Seachrist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Isaac Sell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867
Jacob Sherman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,150
Jacob Sheaffer, blacksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,096
Michael Snider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,547
John Staley, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679
Valentine Sherer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,148
Fred. Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 758
Valentine Steir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
John Shorb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Jacob Sell, saw-miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,081
Fred. Sponsaller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Jacob Sell, gunsmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Joseph Staley, sadler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709
Henry Springle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,207
Joseph Sneeringer, tavern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,493
Andrew Shriver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
John Stale, Sr., tanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
Henry Shilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 815
George Sponsaller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
Henry Sponsaller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Nicholas Sheaffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Henry Springle, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Jacob Sides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611
Anthony Troxal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
George Unger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915
Bastian Wonder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Adam Winterode, squire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,337
John Winterode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Jacob Winterode, blacksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Jacob Werner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 893
Jacob Willitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,619
Philip Werner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
George Wilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Mathias Wiltonger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
Henry Werner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Adam Winterode, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Winterode’s heirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,530
George Wilt, shoemaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Peter Wymert, nailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Jacob Will, sadler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
John Wechert, tannery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,605
Christian Winemiller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,547
Adam Winemiller, shoemaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Stephen Wymert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Jacob Winterode, hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Christian Zinlap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558
* One blind mare valued at $1.99.
† Ground rents of Petersburg.
‡ Including two negro slaves for life, $266, and two small negro children,
$20.
The single men residing in Germany Township in 1799 were
named as follows:
George Kuntz, Jr., Ludwig Miller, Henry Snider, Michael Winemiller, Henry
Gilbert, Daniel Smith, Jacob Kuntz, Jacob Keiffer, William Irvine, Anthony
Irvine, Abram Keeler, Henry Sell, George Bardt, Jacob Kitziner, William Beeher,
Henry King, Jacob King, Adam Dysart, Nicholas Kintz (disabled), Ludwig Sherer,
John Watterson, George Merchey, Abram and Henry Sell (sons of Jacob), Conrad
Righstay, John Masser, Abram King, John Rider, Peter Meyer, Frederick Snider,
D.
Hoover, Jacob Winemiller, Patrick Owings, J. Werner, William Guinn, George
Wiltonger, Michael and John Dysart, and Conrad Fink, each of whom were assessed
$1.
BOROUGH OF LITTLESTOWN.
The borough is situate near the eastern line of what is
known as the “Dutch
Plateau,” 619 feet above the Atlantic level.
The population in 1800 was 250; in 1810, 150; in 1820, 305;
in 1850, 394; in
1860, 702; in 1870, 847, including 3 colored; and in 1880, 913. The number
of
taxpayers in the borough (1886) is 298; value of real estate, $185,715; number
of horses, etc., 75; of cows, etc., 19; value of moneys at interest, $78,935;
number of pleasure carriages, 53; of gold watches, 27; no timber land; value
of
trades and professions, $15,405.
The American Gazetteer of 1797 contained the following reference
to Littlestown:
“ Petersburg, in York County, two miles north of the Maryland line, contains
a
Catholic Church and about 80 houses. In north latitude 39° 42’ 30”,
west
longitude 77° 4’, Wayne’s army en route to squash Cornwallis
arrived at York,
May 26, 1781. On the 27th this command camped at Littlestown and on the 28th
moved to Taneytown, Md., with whom were many soldiers from Adams County.”
In 1803 John Shorb & Co., of Presterstown, Md., agreed
with G. Granger,
postmaster-general, to carry the mail from Baltimore through Littlestown and
Gettysburg to Chambersburg, once a week, for $137.50 per quarter.
Littlestown, as laid out in 1765, contained forty-eight
lots. The founder of
“ Kleina Stedtle” was Peter Klein, who died in 1773, in his forty-ninth
year. In
early years the village was known as “Petersburg,” and before that
or the
present name was generally applied it was called “Kleina Stedtle,” and
its two
leading streets named “King Street” and “Queen Street.” The
original lot owners
and builders were Peter Cushwa, Matthias Baker, Stephen Geiss, Henry Brothers,
R. McIlhenny, Jacob Gray, John Alspach, Michael Reed, Peter Baker, D. Zackery,
the Wills, Sells, Hostetters, Stahles, Crouses, Longs, Dysarts, Littles and
the
Kuntz family, with others whose names appear in the original assessment of
the
township. About the time the railroad was completed, the Renshaw & Myers
Addition to the village was platted, new warehouses, stores and residences
were
erected, and by 1865 the old village was almost thoroughly modernized.
In 1867 the large brick school building was erected by the
Catholic
congregation, where Miss Mary Wilson, now Mrs. Steffy, was the first teacher.
In 1872 a large building was erected by the common school trustees. From 1847
to the present time the newspaper press may be said to have shared in the
fortunes of the village. The Weekly visitor was published in 1847; five other
journals appeared only to disappear, and in August, 1883, the Era was introduced
by A. E. Keeport.
The borough was incorporated in 1864, and in August of that
year the first
elections were held. In the following list the names of burgesses stand next
the date, and are followed by the names of councilmen:
1864-W. F. Crouse; Noah J. Wickert, John Spangler, David
Schwartz, George
Stonesifer, Dr. J. S. Kemp.
1865-R. S. Seiss; D. Schwartz, S. Wickert, D. Crouse, J. Barker, Fred.
Bittinger.*
1866-R. S. Seiss; D. Schwartz, S. S. Blocher, S. Weikert, J. H. Miller, Isaac
Staub.
1867-Simon S. Bishop; A. Crouse, J. Coshun, I. Mehring, H. Colehouse, J.
Hunberger.
1868-James H. Colehouse; H. Colehouse, William Sheely, J. Geiselman, John F.
McSherry, John Duttera.
1869-Martin Steffy; Sam. P. Young, Eph. Myers, I. Sell, W. H. Sneeringer, W.
Slifer, Sr.
1870-71-Martin Steffy; Dr. Kemp, W. Kuhns, William Slifer, Isaac Staub, George
Smith, Franklin Hesson.
1872-R. S. Seiss; John Eckenrode, John Slifer, Samuel Shorb, John Hidriller,
H.
S. Klein.
1873-R. S. Seiss; James Keefer, L. D. Mans, J. Kellar, J. Angel, George Stover.
1874-T. S. Blocher; G. Smith, S. Rebert, J. W. Eline, Jacob Hunberger, John
H.
Spalding.
1875-John H. Hinkle; George Riffle, Isaac Sell, W. H. Feeser, E. K. Foreman,
J.
Gobrecht and Amos LeFevre, a tie.
1876-Henry S. Klein; John Slifer, D. Steffy, Charles Spangler, Eph. Myers,
Ezra
Mehring, J. H. Colehouse.
1877-W. H. Lansinger; R. A. Colehouse, Lewis Richstein, A. Sanders, William
Sheely, W. Kuhns.
1878-David Weikert; Dr. Shorb, John P. Heindell, J. S. Stonesifer, H. Rather,
W.
Kuhns.
1879-William Slifer; C. Spangler, G. Kemp, D. Stonesifer, Isaac Sell, J. Eline.
1880-R. S. Seiss; I. Sell, E. Crouse, J. Keefer, Alonzo Sanders, George W.
Riffle.
1881-R. S. Seiss; W. Kuhns, J. Eline, Sr., H. Miller, L. Richstein, Amos Sheely.
1882-H. S. Klein; J. Slifer, T. S. Blocher, J. A. Spangler, John Sellars, John
Feeser.
1883-R. S. Seiss; John Feeser, Ephraim Myers, George Yount, John Unger, George
Stonesifer.
1884-W. H. Lansinger; Ocker, Crouse, Colehouse, Anthony, Starr.
1885-R. S. Seiss; J. W. Homberger, Harry Rider.
* The borough administration of 1865 had the streets graded and many other
improvements made.
CHURCHES.
The Catholic Church, the first religious organization here,
was founded about
1790, and in 1791 a building which stood on the north side of the cemetery
lot
was converted into a chapel by the trustees, Patrick McSherry, Joseph Flauth
and
Henry O’Hara. Among the first priests of this mission was Father Demetrius
Augustus de Gallitzin, but it is said Father Pellentz attended the congregation
here. The priests of Conowago presided over the congregation subsequently.
In
1840, during the administration of Rev. Michael Dougherty, St. Aloysius
congregation was incorporated, the old church was sold to Joseph Ocker, Sr.
(to-
day forming his residence on the Taneytown road), and the present brick church
erected. The trustees in 1840 were Henry Spalding, John Shorb, Dr. Shorb, Jacob
Rider, J. Rider, Joseph Riddlemoser, Joseph Fink, Jacob Baumgartner and James
McSherry. The Jesuit fathers were succeeded by Father Crotty a few years ago-
the first secular priest of the congregation.
St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Congregation was organized
in 1863-66, and the
work of church building was at once entered upon. In October, 1867, it was
completed and dedicated. The building and grounds cost about $16,000. The
pastors of the church since its organization are names as follows: Revs. S.
Henry, M. J. Alleman, J. W. Lake and E. D. Weigle, the present incumbent. The
first officers included Samuel Weikert, Jacob Keller, John Diehl, Amos LeFevre,
John Crumrine, Jesse Geiselman, Levi T. Mehring, Dr. R. S. Seiss, James H.
Colehouse, J. H. Miller, A. Basehoar, and George D. Basehoar. The parsonage
was
erected in 1879, at a cost of $3,400. Ephraim Myers, George Stonesifer, Joseph
Barker, Henry Baxter, John B. Byers, S. S. Mehring, George Hilterbrick and
Isaac
DeGraft were among the working members of this society. There are now 440
members.
St. John’s Lutheran Church was organized November
13, 1763. The names given in
the deed of the property are John Hoover, Thomas Fisher, Henry Bishoph, George
Garner and Stephen Chrise. Names in baptismal record: Christian Drachsael,
(Troxel) Mical Unger, Johann Mehring, Andreas Lohr, Abraham Sell, Peter Joung,
Andreas Schrieber, Andreas Spahnseyler. The names of the pastors who served
this church are as follows: Revs. Carl Frederick Wildbahn, 1783-1806; Rev.
John
D. Shroetter, 1806-24; Rev. John G. Grubb, 1826-30; Rev. John R. Hoffman, 1830-
37; Rev. Jonathan Rothrauff, 1837-48; Rev. Jacob Albert, 1848-49; Rev. C. A.
Hay, D. D., 1849-56; Rev. D. P. Rosenmiller, 1856-57; Rev. M. J. Alleman, 1857-
58; Rev. Frederick Rothrauff, 1859-67; Rev. S. Henry, 1868-69; Rev. P. P. Lane,
1870-74; Rev. L. T. William, and the present pastor, Rev. E. Y. Metzler, who
was
appointed in 1875. The site of the original church of 1763 is a half mile west
of Littlestown. Here also the church of 1829 was built, and the new church
of
1874 erected. In 1859 a parsonage was erected at a cost of $3,000; about the
same amount was expended on the church. There are 350 members.
The Redeemer’s Reformed Church of Littlestown was
organized August 22, 1859,
with forty-five members, by Rev. Jacob Sechler. This society existed so near
the old Christ Church, one mile and a half distant, that it was not until 1872
a
house of worship was erected in the borough. Two years later this building
was
enlarged. The organizing preacher died May 10, 1880, in his seventy-fifth year.
The corner-stone was placed August 16, 1868, and the building dedicated, May
26,
1872, by W. K. Zieber. The house was enlarged in 1874. The present membership
is 260 and the value of property, $10,000. The pastors succeeding Rev. Jacob
Sechler are named as follows: Revs. John M. Clemens, 1867; Caspar Scheels,
1870; John Ault, 1873; died July 26, 1880, and Rev. D. U. Dittmar, 1881-86.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Littlestown dates back
to 1828, when a little
society was formed with J. McIlvain, Rachel Sweney and Mrs. Bishop, members.
William O. Lamsdon, T. H. W. Morrow and J. H. Brown were then the circuit
preachers. The first church was erected in 1846. In April, 1876, the new
church was commenced on the site of the old church building, and in August
the
corner-stone was placed. It was dedicated September 2, 1877. The parsonage
was
purchased in 1882. The membership at present is seventy-five. Since 1876 this
has been the circuit church of a large district extending west to Fairfield
and
Chamberlin’s. The pastors since that time are named as follows: Revs.
Owen
Hicks, 1877; I. N. Moorhead, 1879; H. S. Lundy, 1881, and J. C. Brown, the
present preacher in charge, 1883-86. Prior to 1877 the Gettysburg church
supplied preachers.
St. James Reformed Church, four miles southwest of Littlestown,
on the
Emmittsburg road, was organized November 23, 1851, with thirty members, by
Rev.
Jacob Sechler. A stone church was built that year, and dedicated August 17,
1851, which continued in use until restored, or rather replaced by the building
of 1878-79. The value of this property is placed at $3,000; the membership
numbers 125. From 1851 to 1881 the ministers of the church at Littlestown
served here, but after the death of Mr. Ault, Rev. J. Kretzing was appointed
to
this charge. The officers at organization were elders, Jacob Spangler and
Samuel Riegel; deacons, John Feeser, David Lynn, Jacob H. Feeser and Barnabas
Brown. At the first communion after the organization thirty members communed.
United Brethren Church was organized in 1822, and the same
year a building was
erected on a lot donated by Philip Bishop, Sr. In 1863 the old building gave
place to the present brick house. Prior to 1837 the circuit preacher was an
irregular visitor, but since that time the church has been regularly supplied
by
a resident pastor.
CEMETERY.
Mt. Carmel Cemetery was dedicated in May, 1861. The Association
was chartered
August 22, 1860, with S. S. Bishop, president, and William T. Crouse, secretary.
The charter members numbered 21. There are 259 lots sold at from $12 to $15
each, and 349 remain unsold.
SOCIETIES.
The Littlestown Savings Institution was organized in April,
1867, with Joseph L.
Shorb, president, and James LeFevre, treasurer. The present banking house was
erected in 1879.
Catoctin Tribe of Red Men Society was organized in 1870,
at Littlestown, and
celebrated its first anniversary June 2, 1871.
The Littlestown ladies organized a soldiers’ relief
society, November 11, 1861.
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