The 1719 Hans Herr House, Willow Street, PA

Brian, great :)   I liked your blog, how you did it,  I need to start updating and posting my blogs at midnight, no time in a day :(

Best wishes !

Brian, true, well, again as I wrote above, my best wishes to you :)

Brian, I found this post extremely interesting and very well-written !  The pictures are very beautiful.

This blog has special meaning for me as my family on my Dad's side started in Pennsylvania and one side was Mennonite. Their names were Bakker (Baker) and Hiltz (changed to Hilts when they came to Ontario).  We  carried on with many of the Anabaptist traditions and religion in my family and followed many of the old ways of which I won't get into here.  The Bakers were Dutch and the Hiltz were German , however they were all Mennonite and their daughter , Susan, is the one who came to Ontario in the late 1700s with her husband, Irishman Bleakney Smith and hence how my Dad ended up being here . 

I have many old Mennonite recipes that are family favourites .  I would like to visit Hans Herr house some day. Thank you for posting about this awhile back (I think I had belonged to AR for 6 days when you posted this) and reposting it to the new Heritage Properties group.

It's amazing that I am way up here in Ontario and learning so much about my own past through your writing. I really enjoy your historical posts about Pennsylvania .

Jo 

Brian, it does sound like a perfect day for having visited Hans Herr House.  I often say I was born in the wrong century and know the feeling you are describing well.

My relatives on my Dad's side have always been extremely family oriented people and have kept detailed geneological histories and diaries through the years. We also have a long line of photos going back to the 1800s.  The photo I have posted here is of my Great-grannyda, Blakeney Smith (lots of Bleakneys and Blakeneys amongst the Smiths) and my Grannyda (little blond boy with black cap ) and his brother Gordon. They owned draft horses which they used in the logging industry. I believe they were an early type of Clydesdale.

I enjoyed all of your pictures and particularly like the ones of the bake oven and the well pump...very interesting and beautiful designs. I've never seen a well pump like that before. The only ones I am familiar with from the past are the old hand pump ones.

The draft horse pictures are lovely and reminded me of my old Belgian stallion, Jim.

Thanks a bunch for being a person who not only has a great interest in the past , like myself, but also for being someone who loves to write about it and share so many pictures.

It's almost as good as visiting these beautiful historical sites in person.  

Jo