Historic Manheim, PA
The town of Manheim dates back to before the American Revolution. In 1734 a tract of land was given to William Penn's secretary, James Logan, by William Penn's widow Hannah and sons. The tract, in Donegal Township, which in 1741 became part of Rapho township, was purchased by Henry Stiegel in 1762.
Stiegel, who was a successful ironmaster, laid out the plan for Manheim, with an open space in the center of town which is now known as Market Square. On the square Stiegel built a mansion, and also a manufacturing plant where he experimented in glassmaking.
Glass was blown in this factory from 1764 to 1774. Stiegel had customers in New York, Boston and Philadelphia as well as throughout eastern and central Pennsylvania. He became so successful and had such an elaborate lifestyle that he became known as Baron Von Stiegel. By 1775, the coming revolutionary instabilities caused financial reverses, and Stiegel left Manheim.
In 1777-1778, the mansion that Baron Von Stiegel had built on the square was used as the home of Robert Morris, an unsung hero of the American Revolution who financed Washington's army, and lost his own fortune and his own grand home for the cause of American independence.
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