This history of the neighborhood plays a vital part in the identity of its residents. If you have lived in the neighborhood for many years, the neighborhood history is a heartfelt reminder of days gone by. If you have just come to call the neighborhood home, it is a way to learn more about the new community you have joined. We would love nothing more than to be able to share the history of neighborhood name with all who reside there. If you are interested in writing a brief history of the neighborhood to share with the community, please contact us! |
- History of Brecknock TownshipBrecknock Township was one of the original townships when Lancaster County was established on May 10, 1729. In History of Lancaster County, published in 1883 by Ellis and Evans, John B. Good, who wrote the auto-biographical sketch of Brecknock Township, states that careful research in the Quarter Session’s records fails to show that any petition was presented or any action taken in reference to the organization of a township by this name. The name of Brecknock does not appear on assessment records until January 10, 1740, when the Township had an assessed valuation of two pounds, six shillings. Leonard Pridenson was appointed first Tax Collector.
Brecknock Township was named after the cathedral town of Brecknock (Brecon), capital of Breconshire, Wales. The hills of Brecknock Township furnished much of the charcoal for the iron furnaces which were located in Caernarvon Township. The terrain is diverse including rocky, wooded hills and valleys crisscrossed by the Muddy Creek, the Black Creek and the Little Muddy Creek.
The first settlers in the township arrived on the ship Samuel from Rotterdam. These settlers were Jacob and Susanna Guth (Good) and John and Anna Mosiman (Musselman). It is also believed that Christian Guth (Good) and his wife were aboard the Samuel. These three couples initially settled near Weaverland (Weberthal) in 1732 and moved into the Bowmansville area in 1738. Robert Warburton, a Welshman, received the first warrant for 177 acres of land within Brecknock Township January 9, 1737 but there is no evidence that he ever settled on the land. This tract was later transferred to William Morris, who purchased other extensive tracts from the Penns.
Committees of Observation were formed in every municipality during December 1774 by order of the Continental Congress in effort to enforce a ban on trade with Great Britain. Brecknock’s first representative to the Committee was Benjamin Leslie.
Currently, Brecknock is a rural, agricultural area with a population of 6999 and an area of 24.9 square miles. The Township is bisected by Rt. 222 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. There are two sites in the Township on the National Register. They are the John B. Good House built in 1847 and located on the corner of Reading Road and Maple Grove Road in Bowmansville and the Von Neida Mill built in 1850 and located at Reading Road and Von Neida Street, Bowmansville. The Samuel Bowman House, otherwise know as the Youth Hostel, on the corner of Reading Road and Maple Grove Road in Bowmansville is the oldest building in the Township. It was built in 1820.
This information was taken from the Brecknock Township 2005 Municipal Directory and Map.
