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Face to Face-the Meeting of Two Diverse Cultures. The exhibit relates the history of the 53 years between arrival in 1710 of the first Europeans, the Swiss/German Anabaptists in the Penn Manor Area and the genocide of the local Conestoga Indians in 1763.
The exhibit is curated by:
Rebecca Gochenauer, Director
The 1719 Hans Herr House
And
Kenneth Hoak
President Emeritis/ Curator - C.A.H.S.
The Exhibit will be on Display in Hoak Gallery from
April 13th through December 15th, 2013
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
at the Conestoga Area Historical Society
51 Kendig Road, Conestoga, PA 17516
(717) 872-1699
Free Admission - Donations Accepted
April 13th through December 15th, 2013
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
at the Conestoga Area Historical Society
51 Kendig Road, Conestoga, PA 17516
(717) 872-1699
Free Admission - Donations Accepted
"Face to Face - The Meeting of
Two Diverse Cultures"
Copyright 2012
the Conestoga Area Historical Society
(717) 872-1699
cahs@pennmanorhistory.org
the Conestoga Area Historical Society
(717) 872-1699
cahs@pennmanorhistory.org
Preserving the History
of the Penn Manor Area
Conestoga, Manor, Martic, Pequea Townships
and the borough of Millersville,
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
since 1990
of the Penn Manor Area
Conestoga, Manor, Martic, Pequea Townships
and the borough of Millersville,
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
since 1990
The Conestoga Area Historical Society
This show is sponsored by Turkey Hill Experience
Turkey Hill Experience
301 Linden Street
Columbia, PA 17512
1-888-986-8784
301 Linden Street
Columbia, PA 17512
1-888-986-8784
Prison Door, Lock & Key
All three items, by oral tradition only, are presumed to be from the first Lancaster County Prison, the site of the Conestoga Indian Massacre.
All three items, by oral tradition only, are presumed to be from the first Lancaster County Prison, the site of the Conestoga Indian Massacre.
See and read about the following items in the new exhibit:
The Tragic Ending
The Conestoga Indian Massacre
The Conestoga Indian Massacre
The Native American-European Settler's encounter came to a tragic ending. The two
groups had an amicble relationship here. The Indians were adapting the white's
lifestyles. However, the peacable situation was abruptly and cruelly concluded when a
group of Harrisburg are self-appointed vigilantes became enraged by the fanatical
teachings of John Elder, a Presbyterian minister, who espoused the eminent domain
philosophy. Taking matters into their own hands the Paxxton Boys rode to an Indian
settlement in Manor Township. Here on 14 December 1763 they killed and scalped 6
Conestoga Indians. Other members of the Indian community have been pre-warned of
the impending danger. Many able bodied members fled the area. After this event the
remaining 14 Indians who were mostly the elderly and the very young were taken to the
Lancaster Jail's adjacent work house for supposed safe keeping. (The Fulton Opera
House on North Prince Street is built on the foundation of this jail). However on December 27 the Paxton Boys returned, entered the house,
dragged them out into the street, and brutally axed them to death. This horrific act has created questions that to this day remain unansered:
who informed the Paxton boys where the Indians were being sheltered: who aided them to enter the prison and remove the Indians: why were
not the rumors of the Paxton Boys raid taken seriously by the sequestered British military: why did no one try to stop the act of carnage?
Magistrate Edward Shippen wrote a letter to Governor John Penn in Philadelphia informing him of the situation. The Paxton Boys and their
sympathizers then marched to Philadelphia. Here they were a formaidable and intimidating force. A negotiated agreement of terms was
reached. The Paxton Boys, possibly numbering 50, were never prosecuted. Genocided or ethnic cleansing occurred here on our soil and has
forever been shameful part of our local history.
Introduction:
The exhibit is the idea of Rebecca Gochnauer, the director of the 1719 Hans Herr Hans Herr House Museum. The show is an effort between the institution and the Conestoga Area Historical Society. We are delighted to have been able to present this visual Installation.
This is a historical narrative that must be told. It spans a brief period of only 53 years. It is particularly signifcant that the conclusion of this tragic story is memorialized this year by the marking of the 250th anniversary of the Paxton Boys Massacre of the Conestoga Indians.
The exhibit is the idea of Rebecca Gochnauer, the director of the 1719 Hans Herr Hans Herr House Museum. The show is an effort between the institution and the Conestoga Area Historical Society. We are delighted to have been able to present this visual Installation.
This is a historical narrative that must be told. It spans a brief period of only 53 years. It is particularly signifcant that the conclusion of this tragic story is memorialized this year by the marking of the 250th anniversary of the Paxton Boys Massacre of the Conestoga Indians.
The Brenneman and Indian Children Play Together c. 1720
The Brenneman family lived west of the Conestoga River; they had Indian neighbors. The children of the two groups played together: shooting bows and arrows, wrestling and foot racing. In order to neutralize the playing field sometimes the Brenneman children undresed. Invarialbly the Indians still won. The poor losers anger prompted them to resort to exchanged body blows. All this seeme to amuse the adult Indian onlookers.
from H. Frank Eshelman: Annals of the German and Swiss Pioneers, Hazard's Register, Vol. 7 (January-July). Philadelphia, PA 1831
The Brenneman family lived west of the Conestoga River; they had Indian neighbors. The children of the two groups played together: shooting bows and arrows, wrestling and foot racing. In order to neutralize the playing field sometimes the Brenneman children undresed. Invarialbly the Indians still won. The poor losers anger prompted them to resort to exchanged body blows. All this seeme to amuse the adult Indian onlookers.
from H. Frank Eshelman: Annals of the German and Swiss Pioneers, Hazard's Register, Vol. 7 (January-July). Philadelphia, PA 1831
The Long House
The local Indians lived in multifamily dwellings which they called long houses. The were constructed of sapling frame, covered with tree bark, and divided into "apartments" which were separated by woven reed mats or animal pelts. Each family performed its own housekeeping chores. This is a partial, segmented, scaled down representation of one. To see a full size reproduction of a long house, visit the 1719 Hans Herr House and Museum complex.
The local Indians lived in multifamily dwellings which they called long houses. The were constructed of sapling frame, covered with tree bark, and divided into "apartments" which were separated by woven reed mats or animal pelts. Each family performed its own housekeeping chores. This is a partial, segmented, scaled down representation of one. To see a full size reproduction of a long house, visit the 1719 Hans Herr House and Museum complex.