As a resident and councilman in "East Pete", and as a history buff, I became interested in the history of this small Pennsylvania town with deep roots.  So, in 2006 I authored a book entitled "Walking Tour of Historic East Petersburg" with a committee of local residents.  Carole Wilson of Lancaster County was invaluable as a resource, and the county GIS department put together a great tour map.  I thought I'd share some excerpts here so readers can get a sense of the history and legacy of one (of many) small Pennsylvania towns.  Here is part one of the story:

As with many small American towns, East Petersburg developed through a combination of entrepreneurial skill and the demands of the times.  Three main periods of time can be identified in the town’s history: prior to 1812, from 1812 to 1929, and from 1929 to the present day.  Let’s take a quick look at the people and events who shaped first Petersburg, then East Petersburg.

Homes were present as early as just prior to the American Revolution in 1774.  A local man, Benjamin Hershey, was a large land owner who provided space for a log school to be built.  From about 1794 until 1812, the schoolmaster was a former Hessian (Germans who fought with the British) soldier named Christian Strenge, who had been captured in Trenton NJ on December 26th, 1776 in George Washington’s famous raid.  He settled here to raise a family.  He is known for the art style called “Fraktur” with which he created pieces for locals.  The school site was later moved and enlarged to function both as a church and a school, again through the backing of Mr. Hershey, who was a Mennonite but encouraged different forms of Christian worship in his church building.  Other landowners in the vicinity were Andrew Hershey, Philip Albert and Peter Gotshall, from whom the name Petersburg is believed to have been derived.

 Beginning on April 1, 1791 John Wolf began buying up parcels of land.  In 1806 he and his wife sold them to his nephew, Daniel Wolf.  By 1812 Daniel had acquired approximately 30 acres in the immediate area on and near what is now State Street.  Also, in 1805 Samuel Miller had bought 10 acres along State Street from Samuel Swarr.  By 1809 Mr. Miller had begun selling off parcels from his acreage, but the event that is remembered as the official birth date of Petersburg is December 12th, 1812.  Six months into the War of 1812 (with the British again), James Madison was President and the nation was still in the early phase of growth and expansion.  In October, Pennsylvania had just moved its capital from Lancaster (where it had been since 1799) to Harrisburg.  At this time Mr. Wolf turned 14 of his acres into 79 parcels to be sold by lottery.  His filing in Lancaster of the deed is noted as “A Plan of Petersburg as Laid Off by Daniel Wolf”.  For $150 each, these lots were sold off beginning that December day.

The town plan was bounded on the west by Lemon Street, on the east by Cherry Street (what is now Pine Street), on the north by an alley known as Tank Road and on the south by Ann Street, which is the alley that runs from Lemon to the present Firehouse at Pine Street.  Wolf’s plan indicated that the Main Square was the intersection of what is now Broad & Main Streets (see map on page 2).  On the plan the streets radiating outwards from this square were North, South, East & West Streets, respectively.  With no major thruway as there is today, the newly-minted town was likely a relatively quiet one to live in. 

I hope you enjoy this first installment of the history of East Petersburg!  Check back for  more, or to order a copy of the book  for $7.00 call me at (717) 799-0851.  For info on Lancaster PA  real estate or  homes for sale click here.

Part Two  Part Three