A map of the Province of Pennsylvania, 1756, “drawn from the best authorities, by Thomas Kitchen.” Printed for R. Baldwin, 1756. Source: Library of Congress Map Collection. Below, an enlarged cut from the same map, showing the land east of the Susquehanna River and some of the early Colonial roads The cut also shows Shamokin, Harris Fort, and Wisers (home of Conrad Wiser).
Early Colonial history in the area known today as Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, is told by Joseph H. Zerbey in Volume 4 of his History of Pottsville and Schuylkill County, beginning on page 1623. The book is available as a free download from the Internet Archive.
Today, some of the terminology used by Zerbey is considered racist, e.g., the words “savage” or “red men” to describe Indians. It is very rare in the time period that this was written to find any writings sympathetic to Indians.
Note: Millersburg was a village in Bethel Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. The name was changed to Bethel Village around 1900. Shamokin is presently Sunbury.
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CHAPTER 6
ORGANIZATION OF PINE GROVE TOWNSHIP – EARLY ROADS – ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY
The sale of lands and the formation of new settlements in Pennsylvania had been placed by William Penn under control of a Board of Land Commissioners, who were not allowed to sell lands, nor grant permission to settle on lands until they were purchased from the Indians. This provision was faithfully carried out by the authorities, but was not observed in all cases by the settlers. Many of the settlers on the Tulpehocken previous to 1736 and those who settled in Pine Grove Township previous to 1749, were squatters, on the domains of the Indians. Few acquired title to the lands in this region, until after the French and Indian War.
At the time the proprietaries secured title to this section in 1749, there were only five counties in the state. Three of these were the original ones established by William Penn. Those subsequently established were organized to meet the needs of the new and rapidly increasing settlements. Lancaster County was formed May 1, 1729 and in 1749, the year this region was acquired by the proprietaries, York County was organized.
Berks County, from the territory not embraced within Schuylkill County was mostly taken, was organized in 1752, and in March of the same year, Berks surrendered part of its extreme northern territory in the formation of Northampton County.
The history of Berks County is closely interwoven with that of Schuylkill. It was formed from territory taken from the counties of Philadelphia, Chester and Lancaster, and originally embraced, in addition to its present territory, virtually all of Schuylkill County.
The city of Reading was laid out in 1748, and became the county seat when Berks County was organized. Until Schuylkill County was established in 1811, it was the shire town for this section.
After the purchase of 1749, the provincial government made every effort to prevent the settlers from going beyond the limits of the purchase. Within the next score of years numerous settlements were made in this new region, especially in the district which lies between the Blue Mountain and “Schneib Ber” of Sharp Mountain, named so from the sharpness of its apex. Sixteen years elapsed however, before an effort was made to erect this territory into townships.
During these years the section east of the Schuylkill became so populous, that the residents petitioned the court at Reading to establish a township. The petition was presented in 1768 and was granted the same year. The new township was named Brunswick and comprised the territory between the Blue and Sharp Mountains east of the Schuylkill River as far as the present easterly county line.
The growth in population of the territory west of the Schuylkill River was surprisingly large after the French and Indian War.
As the population increased the inconveniences of local government resulted in a petition from the residents requesting the organization of a township. This was granted and Pine Grove Township was organized in 1771.
The original boundaries circumscribed a region of more than 200 square miles, including west of the Schuylkill River, the rolling and fertile country between the Sharp and Blue Mountains to the present westerly line of Schuylkill County, and the rugged mountainous region to the north, drained by the headwaters of the Swatara.
The first collector of taxes was George Goodman and the first assessment list of 1772 comprised the following tax payers:
- Daniel Aungst
- David Brecht
- Asimus Boyer
- Henry Bug
- Hans Bigler
- Philip Bordner
- Burghart Bohr
- George Bressler
- Simon Bressler
- Stephen Diehl
- Peter Brickley
- Martin Batteiger
- Michaeal Bretz
- Hans Braun
- Jacob Dundore
- Nicholas Dommeier
- George Dollinger
- Hans Dubs
- Nicholas Eschweg
- Michale Folmer
- Michael Forrer
- John Faust
- Stophel Graffert
- George Goodman
- Henry Gebhart
- Weybert Gamber
- Jacob Hack
- Stophel Hetrick
- Valentine Heberling
- Christina Hautz
- —– Horsefield
- Kraust Kob
- Michael Keiser
- Ludwig Kimerling
- Peter Kucher
- Paul Lingle
- Jacob Leininger
- Hans Litzinger
- Matthias Miller
- Conrad Minich
- Jacob Miller
- Jacob Metz
- Michael Minich
- Leonard Minich
- Baltzer Neufang
- Philip Fith
- Hans Stein
- Jacob Schock
- Frederick Schafer
- Baltzer Schmit
- Valentine Schuber
- Hans Steiner
- George Schuterly
- Peter Schmit
- Casper Stump
- John Schwartzhaupt
- Benjamin Spycker
- Jacob Ulrich
- George Valentine
- Christopher Witmer
- Frederick Weiser
- Hans Weiser
- Benjamin Zerby
- Daniel Zerby
- Philip Zerby
Single men –
- Jacob Leebs
Pine Grove and Brunswick were the only two townships north of the Blue Mountain in Berks County at the time of the Revolution. In 1790 part of the territory of Pine Grove and Brunswick Townships was taken to form Manheim Township.
In 1795 commissioners were appointed to run the line between Berks and Northumberland Counties. The establishment of this line by them left a very large area of territory in Berks County not yet erected into townships. This was brought to the attention of the court and, accordingly, on November 4, 1799, Thomas Lightfoot, Jesse Willers and Thomas Wright Jr., were appointed commissioners to lay out the land into townships. The southern half of the territory, in the purchase of 1749, had been laid out into three townships, Brunswick, Pine Grove and Manheim. The commissioners named laid out the northern half into three townships also, and recommended their names to be as follows: the eastern township, Schuylkill; the central, Norwegian; and the western, Mahantongo. The first had an area of 68,868 acres; the second, 63,344 acres and the third, 69,507 acres. Their report was signed January 7, 1801, and confirmed by the court at January sessions. The southern boundary line of Mahantongo modified the adjoining township, Pine Grove, and it was adjusted by three commissioners Michael Miller, Jacob Rehrer and Christian lower on January 3, 1803.
The growth and development of Pine Grove Township was accelerated with the closing of the Revolutionary War. It was coincident with the migration of people of the eastern seaboard westward, but did not reach such vast proportions. The long period of distress which followed the Revolution caused people to seek parts where opportunities were virgin. They went westward in such numbers as threatened to injure the eastern seaboard communities.
The settlement of the township received its first impetus in 1803, when war was renewed in Europe. Trade in the east was revived and the demand for farm produce and lumber was astonishing. The migration westward was halted, and settlers crossed the Blue Mountains to the north where fertile valleys, abounding with virgin timber, attracted them. The first settlements were convenient to the Swatara, which was used to float produce and timber to market at Jonestown.
The first settlers in the township were Germans. They carried on improvements with great energy and success throughout the valley which lay between the Sharp and Blue Mountains. In the several districts of the township they provided themselves with meeting houses and schools for their religious and secular education. The preaching and teaching were mostly done in the German language. Manufacturing was carried on everywhere. Spinning was common, if not a necessary employment in every household. Wearing apparel was homemade. Carpenters, masons, blacksmiths and shoemakers were in every locality. A forge, tannery, carding mill, sawmills and distilleries were in operation in several parts of the township. But the main highways were comparatively few and in poor condition for travel.
The most prominent public road was the Tulpehocken Road, sometimes called the Shamokin Road and now known as the Millersburg Road. This extended from reading to Shamokin and is probably the oldest road in the county. The earliest mention of it was in 1768 when it was regularly laid out from Reading to the Susquehanna at Fort Augusta (now Sunbury) by way of Middletown (now Wonelsdorf), Rehrer’s Tavern (now Rehrersburg) through Millersburg, thence over the Blue Mountain to Pine Grove whence it continued northward over the Broad Mountain to Fort Augusta. The road was laid out in pursuance of a petition presented to the executive council of the Province on January 30, 1768. It was granted on January 19, 1769. According to the original survey the road began “at the East End of Penn Street, Reading, and extended through the same to the banks of the river Schuylkill, west three hundred and forty-six perches across said river, thence four courses westward with a total distance of fourteen hundred and fifty-seven perches to Sinking Springtown; thence by 15 courses generally westward, a total distance of twenty-eight hundred and fourteen perches to Second Street in Middletown (now Womelsdorf) thence across Tulpehocken Creek and by way of John Rice’s Tavern and Nicholas Kinser‘s north westwardly to Godfried Rehrer‘s Tavern (now Rehrersburg), and thence by way of Henry Deir‘s house to Fort Henry, and over the Kittanning (Blue) Mountain, to Pine Grove, thence in a north westwardly course to Fort Augusta. The commissioners appointed to lay out the road were Jonas Seely, John Patton, Frederick Weiser, Benjamin Spycker, Christian Laur, Thomas Jones Jr., James Scull, Mark Bird and Henry Christ.
It was the route over which people frequently passed between Fort Augusta and Philadelphia and before the advent of the white man was a widely used Indian trail. For many years after it was laid out as a road it was hardly passable except on horseback. It followed the route of the present road from Millersburg crossing the little Swatara at Marstown and the Swatara near the bridge on Wood Street in Pine Grove Borough. It continued westwardly on Wood Street joining Tulpehocken Street. At the heights south of the ford of the Little Swatara, part of the road went westwardly crossing the Swatara just below the point where the Little Swatara joins it. This was the main road and went north along the present route of Tulpehocken Street. At St. Peter’s Church it followed close to the hillside avoiding the marsh which existed at the southerly part of the borough. The old log house which stood near the corner of Tulpehocken and Canal Streets, known as the old Snyder homestead, was located on the old street. At St. Peter’s Church a road went westwardly, winding its course over the hills to Elwood where it converged with the Indian trail that crossed the mountain at that place. The old Shamokin Road continued northward in its crooked coursed till it reached the Deep Creek Valley where it was joined by the old Sunbury Road which went from reading to Pottsville and thence to Shamokin.
Not until the beginning of the nineteenth century were there any roads worthy of the name in the township. People went on horseback or oftener on foot, always taking with them their rifles.
Between 1800 and 1810 the Millersburg and Swatara Valley roads were improved so that they became passable for teams, although for many years afterward they were virtually impassable at seasons.
The first settlement in what is now Pine Grove Borough was made as early as 1754. The Indian depredations in 1755 forced these early families to abandon their homesteads and flee to the southerly side of the mountains. The first known settler after the French and Indian War was Jacob Gunkel. He located on the site of the Eagle Hotel in 1771. Here he laid claim to a tract of two hundred acres of land which he subsequently purchased from John Penn and Richard Penn, proprietaries, and which included the site of the present borough.
The convergence of several roads on Gunkel’s plantation made it an excellent location for a tavern and soon after he purchased the land he erected a log building which he kept as a house of entertainment for travelers and teamsters passing over the Shamokin road. in 1795 he enlarged the building and opened a store in a part of his house which he kept till 1810, when he removed to a farm about a mile south from the borough line where in 1813 he died.
Nearly forty years elapsed after the organization of Pine Grove Township as a part of Berks County before an attempt was made to organize Schuylkill County. In these intervening years outstanding developments were made not only in settlement and population but more especially in internal resources. Coal was discovered as early as 1775, along the headwaters of the Schuylkill. In the succeeding years its need had come to be felt. It quickened enterprise in developing new means of transportation. The residents of the six upper townships were from fifty to seventy-five miles removed from the county seat and found it a considerable inconvenience to carry on public business. a petition was circulated by the residents of the six townships and an act presented to the Legislature in 1811. In the preamble to the act, the petitioners set forth that the great hardships the inhabitants labored under from being so far removed from the seat of justice induced them to seek the establishment of a new count, whose shire would be more convenient to the inhabitants. The act was passed by the legislature and was signed by Governor Simon Snyder, March 18, 1811. The last assessment of taxes levied in Berks County showed 251 taxables in Pine Grove Township.
At the time Berks County was organized the territory comprising Pine Grove Township was occupied by only a few white settlers. There was no need for election laws, nor for districts to facilitate elections and their returns. Within thirty years afterward, many permanent settlers had entered the territory. The necessity of government in all its forms had become apparent. Independence had been declared; and a new government had been established and elections of various local officers had been made. The elections for county officials were held at Reading from the beginning of Berks County in 1752, till 1789, when it was divided into election districts.
In 1785, Berks County comprised one election district; and all elections were directed to be held at the court-house in the county town, Reading.
In 1789, Berks County was divided into five election districts, and the electors of the several townships in the respective districts were required to vote at the places named.
Pine Grove was in the Tulpehocken or fourth election district until 1797. The electors of this district voted at the public house of Godfried Rehrer (Rehrersburg) in Tulpehocken. The district comprised the townships of Bethel, Pine Grove and Tulpehocken.
In 1796, the citizens of Pine Grove petitioned the court at Reading to erect a separate election district. They set forth that the inconvenience of travel made it difficult to exercise their franchise. The petition was viewed favorably by the court and in 1797 Pine Grove was made the ninth district in Berks County, and the electors voted at the public house of Jacob Gunkel. It continued as a separate election district until the erection of Schuylkill County when an independent district was created within the township to accommodate the voters. With the subsequent erection of Wayne, Tremont and Washington Townships, Pine Grove was reduced to its present size.
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Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.