York County formed from Lancaster
King George’s War
John Light (Johannes Licht), Immigrant, The Tract of land on which Light’s Fort was built, in 1742, was situated on a branch of the Quittapahilla Creek in Lancaster County (now Lebanon County) at 11th and Maple Streets. Used by local populance when Indian attacks were imminent. Abandoned as fort upon death of John Light, 1759
Founded by Moravians, on land acquired from William Allen, at the forks of the Lehigh River and Monocacy Creek, upon their leaving Nazareth, Pa, (See 1740 Nazareth). They thrived; much credit for such success can be attributed to the communal system they used. In 1762, Bethlehem built the first water-works in America to pump water … Read more
The area was first settled by Moravians George Whitefield hired to construct a school. These Moravians were the first to have arrived in the North American continent. They had actually landed in Savannah, GA, in 1735, but due to their pacifist convictions, and unwillingness to engage in military defense of the area, they had been … Read more
The area in which Easton is located was obtained from the Delaware Indians, who called it “Lechauwitank” (Place at the Forks) by the Walking Purchase; indeed, it is at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers. Thomas Penn, son of William Penn, had a large grant of land on which he intended to establish … Read more
In May 1737 Pennsylvania ambassadors traveled to Annapolis and negotiated a truce with the Maryland governor. The truce was solidified by an order in council in August calling on both the Pennsylvania and Maryland governors to prevent further disturbances. The next year a second order in council decreed a temporary border between the two colonies … Read more
An action by which Pennsylvania authorities, lead by Thomas Penn, William Penn’s son, defrauded the Delaware Indians of land in the Lehigh and Delaware Valleys. The Delawares had been the most friendly tribe to William Penn when he founded the colony. The Colonial authorities claimed to have found a lost treaty, of 1686, unsigned, ceding … Read more
William Allen purchased a 5,000-acre (20 km2) plot on September 10, 1735, from his business partner Joseph Turner, who was assigned the warrant to the land by Thomas Penn on May 18, 1732. Although the land was surveyed on November 23, 1736. Northampton Town (known as Allen’s Town) was not laid out until 1762 by … Read more
Maryland contended that its charter entitled it to all of the land up to 40 degrees latitude, a claim that included Philadelphia. Around 1730, Lord Baltimore granted Thomas Cresap a land patent to operate a ferry service across the Susquehanna in the Conejohela Valley that fell within its claim. Cresap was soon joined by other … Read more
