Prior to October of 1736, all land west of the Susquehanna River was the territory of the Iroquois. The Iroquois claimed the land by way of their conquest of the Susquehannocks in 1675. The land between the Susquehanna River and the Potomac River was shown on old maps to be Conestoga and Shawnee hunting grounds.
As early as 1719 settlers began to cross the Susquehanna and settle illegally on land in the area of Kreutz Creek. One man named John Grist first settled, in defiance of the Board of Property in Pennsylvania, on un-warranted land at the mouth of Kreutz Creek. At this time the valley and creek were known as "Grist Creek" and "Grist Valley".
In April of 1722, Governor William Keith had surveyed a tract called "Newberry", also known as the "Mine Land" for the establishment of a copper mine. This included the area north of Kreutz Creek as far west as an approximate line drawn from the current Ducktown Road to Wildcat Falls. The Board of Property gave Keith no authority to issue land warrants here.
In June of 1722, Governor Keith, by way of a treaty with four of the Five Nations of the Iroquois, authorized the surveying of Springettsbury Manor as a proprietary manor for Springet Penn, grandson of William. Three men, John French, Fran. Worley and John Mitchel accomplished the task beginning from a red oak.
In 1725, near what later became known as Anderson's Ferry, Donegal clergy crossed to the west side of the Susquehanna River to visit settlers along the Conewago Creek.
In 1728, "Maryland Intruders" were removed from the area by order of the Deputy Governor and Council at the request of the Indians.
In 1729, John and James Hendricks, with government authorization settled along Kreutz Creek on 1200 acres of land. John Wright took up several hundred acres of land between the creek and John Hendricks' property. Several families from Chester County settled near Conojohela (Canadochly) but were removed by the authorities. East of the Susquehanna River, Lancaster County was formed from the western part of Chester County with its borders extending to lands west of the river.
In 1730, Thomas Cresap assumed right of land in the area under Maryland warrant. German families began settling in the region with assurances from Maryland that they would be issued land grants.
In 1733-34, Samuel Blunston, who was a quaker, a Lancaster County Magistrate and a surveyor was officially authorized by the Pennsylvania authorities to issue "licenses to settle", interim agreements, to those persons already living on land west of the Susquehanna. Fifty two licenses were for land within Springettsbury Manor. John Wright was granted a patent to establish a ferry across the Susquehanna River. John and Christina Shultz built their house in the area and John's brother Martin constructed his house on Kreutz Creek.
During the summer of 1735, the Reverend John Casper Stoever, a Lutheran minister baptised the children of Robert Canaan, William Canaan, John Low, James Moor, Thomas Crysop(Cresap), Jacob Harrington and Edward Evans near Conojehela.
By 1736, German settlers had been abducted and Maryland authorities were running them off their settlements and attempting to replace them with Maryland settlers. Thomas Cresap was receiving arms from the Maryland authorities in Annapolis to carry out these removals. The actions occurring between pro-Maryland and pro-Pennsylvania settlers became known as "Cresap's War".
In October 1736, the Proprietors of Pennsylvania received from the Five Nations, deeds for the Susquehanna lands south of the Blue Mountains. The lands that included the area of today's Hellam Township were now officially Pennsylvania owned lands.
In December 1736, Cresap was arrested and the problems he caused ceased.
From 1736-39, the area was under the authority of Hempfield Township from the east side of the river. Charles Jones was the constable of Hempfield and lived in the area of Hellam. In 1739, the Provincial Assembly passed a special act to empower Lancaster County to layoff townships west of the Susquehanna. Hellam Township was created and included most of what is now York, Adams and Cumberland County. Hellam was named after Hallam, the township in England where Samuel Blunston, the magistrate of Lancaster County was born.
In 1739, the first road of Hellam Township, the Monocacy Road was established. Like many of the roads in Pennsylvania, it followed the path of an old Indian trail. This one was known as the Monocacy Trail. It began at Wright's Ferry, passed through what is now the town of Hallam, and crossed the Codorus Creek at what would become Yorktown and continued on toward what would become Hanover and continued beyond the Maryland line.
In 1740 and 1741, the Reverend John Casper Stoever, a Lutheran minister baptised the children of John Morris, Philipp Bentz, and Ulrich Beutzer near Kreutz Creek. Witnesses mentioned were Christian Groll, Elizabeth Groll, Peter Gaertner and John Jost Sultzbach.
In 1741, Yorktown was surveyed by Thomas Cookson at the point where the Monocacy Road crossed the Codorus Creek.
In 1742, James Anderson petitioned for a ferry near what today is known as Accomac.
In 1745, the Lutheran and Reformed church was established at Hellam. A log church was built between 1745 and 1751, on land deeded to Martin Shultz, Jacob Welshoffer, Henry Smith, and George Amend in trust for the use of the "Reform and Duch and Lutheran Congregations". The log church was replaced by a stone structure in 1777 that was used until 1860 when the present church was built. Jacob Lischy was the first minister of the Reformed congregation here. Lischy brought along an assistant and schoolmaster named John Adam Luckenbach. Rev. John Casper Stoever was the first pastor of the Lutheran congregation.
In 1749, York County was formed from Lancaster County. Hellam Township officially became part of York County.
In Hellam Township the first shoemaker was Samuel Landys, whose shop was somewhere on Kreutz Creek. The first tailor was Valentine Heyer. The first blacksmith was Peter Gardner.
By 1750 the road from Anderson's Ferry was laid out. This later became known as the Accomac Road.
In 1750, Casper Williart and Peter Gardner were appointed "Overseers of the Poor" in Hellam Township.
The period from 1749 to 1754 was the time of greatest migration of Germans from the Palatinate into the province of Pennsylvania. Many of the records of Warrant, Survey and Patent for land in Hellam Township are dated between 1736 and 1770. The German farmers were drawn from the small acred farms of Germany, where the land was not owned, to the hundreds of acres available for ownership in Pennsylvania. Some of the best farmland was to be found in the valleys of Lancaster and York counties. One valley, the Kreutz Creek Valley in Hellam Township attracted these German farmers.
Between the years of 1754 and 1763 came the French and Indian War. German immigration to Pennsylvania halted during this period. With the French and Indian War came indian attacks on settlers in the regions to the west and north of York County. The settlers began to withdraw from these areas, back to the safe places east of the Susquehanna. It is not known whether any of the farms in Hellam Township were attacked. The Germans of the area were known to have supported the British during this war.
In 1758, a scots irishman named James Ewing, who lived just outside of Wrightsville, in Hellam Township was commissioned Lieutenant in Captain Hunter's Company and served in Captain Robert McPherson's company under General Forbes. Lieutenant Ewing recruited soldiers and was responsible for providing clothing for the men. After Grants defeat near Fort Dusquesne, James Ewing was adjutant in the third battallion. Earlier in 1755 Ewing had served as a private in General Braddock's ill-fated expedition into western Pennsylvania. The expedition of which a young George Washington was also a member.
In 1762, with the end of the French and Indian War, the immigration of the Germans to Pennsylvania resumed. The settlement of Hellam Township continued. Deposits of iron ore were first found in the township at about this time.
In 1765, William Bennett built along the Codorus Creek in Hellam Township, a forge and furnace for the production of iron. At this location, were cast many cannons and cannon balls used by the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The furnace, known at one time as the Codorus Forge was in operation until 1850.
In 1769, the inhabitants of Hellam Township and two other townships requested that a road be established from the mouth of the Codorus Creek at the Hellam or Codorus Forge, across Windsor and Chanceford Townships to join with a pike continuing on to Baltimore. The road became known as the old Baltimore Road.
In 1770, Dr. John Houston began to practice in Hellam Township. He later served as a surgeon in the Revolutionary War.
In 1775, the American Revolution began. James Ewing became a brigadier general in a division of the Flying Camp. He participated in battles at New York, Trenton and Princeton.
In 1777, The Continental Congress crossed the Susquehanna River and passed through Hellam on its way to the safety of Yorktown to distance itself from the British army.
In 1778, 4500 British and Hessian prisoners were marched through Hellam and on to Charlottesville, Virginia where they were imprisoned.
In 1780, there were counted 8 slaves held in Hellam Township.
In 1783 the American Revolutionary War ended. In a period of 6 decades the distinctive society of the Kreutz Creek Valley had been molded. Occupations, services and businesses to support the agricultural economy and lifestyle of the Pennsylvania German farmers began to become more established. Some who opened their houses to feed and provide sleeping quarters for travelers became the innkeepers. The inns became the place for the locals to gather, to exchange information and to vend and imbibe home made spirits in the company of friends. Generally the location of the inn was at some intersection of two main transportation routes. One inn, located at Anderson's Ferry was at a trail crossing the Susquehanna River. Another became located where Anderson's Ferry Road joined the Monocacy Road. The church became the gathering place for social purposes and eventually several congregations arose, sharing the one church building in the area. Other supporting businesses sprung up to keep the people supplied with the necessities of food, clothing and shelter: A weaver who could create the wool and flaxen cloth from the farmers raw material; A tanner to produce leather for harnesses, saddles, footwear and clothing; A saw miller to fashion the lumber to build the houses, huge bank barns, and out buildings; A farmer who grew the crops, distilled spirits and raised the animals to be exchanged to neighbors for their goods and services. A blacksmith who forged metal to create implements for farming and construction.
According to the list of taxables for the year 1783 in Hellam Township, there were a total of 122 landowners, many of them owning hundreds of acres for farming. From those listed, there are found these men and their specific occupations: George Clopper, Jacob Flory, John Steiner, Christian Reist, Henry Bainnie and John Fitz were weavers. Jacob Comfort, Christian Kunkel and George Shallow were innkeepers. George Heibly, Jacob Langenecker, and Jacob Shultz were blacksmiths. George Mantel was a tanner. Henry Strickler ran a gristmill and a sawmill. Christian Stoner and John Shultz also had sawmills.
It should also be noted that there were 18 stills in the township operated by the following: Widow Beidler, Adam Bahn, Michael Blessing, Jacob Bruckhardt, Alexander Crow, Baltzer Fitz, Martin Gardner, Henry Kindig, Baltzer Kunkel, Henry Libhart, Jacob Lanius and Henry Lanius.
There were also 5 slaves in the township owned by the following men: Philip Gardner, Daniel Neas, Jacob Shultz, and John Wright.
Some of the names on the tax list for 1783 can be traced to the original buyers and settlers in the township.
These same names can be matched to the map of land ownership created by Dr. Neal Hively and the location of these settlers can be determined. In particular one can determine the probable locations of some of these men and their businesses. Jacob Comfort's inn was located at Anderson's Ferry (Accomac). George Mantel did his tanning near Highmount. Henry Strickler had his grist and sawmill near today's Bair's Mill. Christian Stoner had his two sawmills on the north side of the Monocacy Road about halfway between Hellam and Wrightsville. George Shallow kept an inn at the east end of Hellam in the area where Anderson's Ferry Road joined the Monocacy Road.
Two well known landowners of Hellam at this time were James Smith and James Ewing. Smith who owned large tracts of land near the Codorus Furnace was best known as a lawyer of York and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Ewing, was well known as an excellent soldier in the French and Indian War, a General in the Continental Army during the revolution and a representative in Pennsylvania's governing bodies.
The best information about the people of these times is found
in the church, tax and land records of the township. Eventually
in 1790 a census taken of the inhabitants of the United States
recorded who was living in Hellam Township.
Sources:
"Baptismal Records of Rev. John Casper Stoever"
"History of York County, Pennsylvania" by John Gibson
"History of York County, Pennsylvania" by George Prowell
"History of the Kreutz Creek Charge of the Reformed Church" by Rev. Walter E. Garrett A. B.
"Indians in Pennsylvania" by Paul A. W. Wallace
"The Manor of Springettsbury, York County, Pennsylvania, Its History and Early Settlers" by Neal Otto Hively.
"The Pennsylvania Germans A Brief Account of their Influence on Pennsylvania" by Charles H. Glatfelter.