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The Tulpehocken Region is named for Tulpehocken Creek, a tributary of
Schuylkill
River. The creek drains the limestone hills of this Tulpehocken Region. It flows about twenty-four miles generally east, winding through the present day town of
Myerstown, where it heads eastward toward Womelsdorf. Here it turns sharply north; then loops back southeast, a few miles north of the current town of
Wernersville. The creek continues southeast flowing into the
Schuylkill
River at
Reading. The name, Tulpehocken, was given by the Lenape Indians, who were long-time settlers in this region. The word means “land of turtles”.
Jeri Haynes, June 23, 2008
During May of 1723, the Hains family left Schoharie to journey through the wilderness to the Tulpehocken region of
Pennsylvania to start a new life for the third time. They had immigrated to American from
Germany in 1710, settling in the
Schoharie
Valley near the Mohawk River in upper
New York. Most German settlers never welcome in
New York. Most important, they were never able to gain clear title to their farm land, which was so essential for their growing families.
When George and Veronica arrived in
Pennsylvania in 1723, John Penn was
Pennsylvania’s proprietor. His father, William Penn, had died in 1718 at the age of seventy-three while the Hain’s were living in Schoharie. For most of his life, William Penn lived in
England, visiting
Pennsylvania only twice, the last time in 1699. But,
Pennsylvania and his Quaker faith were uppermost in his thoughts during his entire adult life, where
Pennsylvania became a sanctuary for protecting freedom. As a result, William Penn left an important legacy to
America’s freedom of religion, liberty and justice.
Lancaster
County was formed May 10, 1729 from land apportioned from
Chester
County. The original countries chartered by William Penn were
Philadelphia, Bucks and
Chester, located within the more populated area of the Commonwealth. The ever increasing immigrant population was pressing westward into the wilderness. They were demanding improved access to government, constables to keep the peace, magistrates to handle their legal affairs. This new county would resolve these issues.
Jeri Haynes, June 28, 2008
During May 1723 a group of families packed up their belonging and moved south from the Schoharie Valley of New York to settle in the Tulpehocken region of
Pennsylvania, a distance of four hundred miles. This was wilderness, where no white settlers anyway near.
Philadelphia was some seventy-five miles north east of this unsettled land. The William Penn proprietors intended that these Palatines act as a buffer between Indian settlements nearby and colonial settlements further east toward
Philadelphia.
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