1

Honors 201 – Public Heritage Studies 201: Elizabethtown History: Campus and Community

Market Street Marietta, Pennsylvania: 300 Years of Economics Along the Susquehanna River

Reidenbach, Hunter
19 April 2022
Professor Jean-Paul Benowitz
Elizabethtown College

Crim- Buchanan House

17 West Market Street Marietta, Pennsylvania

Abstract:
Constructed in 1809, by Conrad Crim, in the Federal style, a third floor and back addition was constructed
in 1848, by Alexander Lindsay. Conrad Crim, a land speculator, living in Waterford, built a two story house in a
Flemish bond brickwork design. Lindsay, a cobbler, expanded Crim's house to three floors accommodating his
Lindsay's Shoe Emporium. Lindsay advertised as a manufacturer and dealer in boots with the largest inventory
of merchandise in Marietta. In 1889 Lindsay declared bankruptcy and the property was sold at Sheriff's Sale to
tanner and leather craftsman J. C. Klumpp. A Victorian store front transformed the first floor exterior serving as
a shoe store, sporting goods store, antiques store, and coffee shop. The property was owned by the Buchanan
family, decedents of President James Buchanan, Jr.
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Prologue:
This is one report in a collection of seventeen transportation systems of the river, canal, and the rail
reports about historically significant properties in road.
Marietta, Pennsylvania a National Historic District. In 2014, Arcadia Publishing (Charleston,
These reports form a collective study entitled, South Carolina) published a book entitled,
“Market Street Marietta, Pennsylvania: 300 Years of Elizabethtown College as part of their Campus
Economics Along the Susquehanna River.” History Series: Images of America, authored by
The major corridor for transportation in every Jean-Paul Benowitz, who teaches History at
British community is historically called High Street. Elizabethtown College. In 2015, Arcadia Publishing
When William Penn laid out the city of Philadelphia asked Jean-Paul to write a history of Elizabethtown
he planned for a High Street in the English tradition. Borough, published under the title, Elizabethtown:
William Penn introduced a new concept to British Images of America. In the fall semester of 2016
towns, the establishment of a public market in the Elizabethtown College began offering an Honors
town center square. First Year Seminar, taught by Jean-Paul, called
Philadelphia set the standard for every town “Landmarks and Legends: Learning Local History.”
planned in Colonial America, a public market In the spring semester of 217 Elizabethton College
situated at the cross roads of High Street and the began offering an Honors research methods course,
cross street leading to the nearest river, thus creating taught by Jean- Paul called, “Elizabethtown History:
a Center Square. In time all High Streets in the Campus and Community.” These courses helped
United States were re-named Market Street. Elizabethtown College secure a Mellon Grant, in
As in the case with Philadelphia, every 2018, called “Confronting Challenges with
Market Street in America became the most important Confidence: Humanities for Our World Today.”
thoroughfare where business, finance, economics, Jean-Paul’s courses were supported by this
political power, and culture were established and grant as part of the “Development and Delivery of
evolved. Global and Regional Heritage Studies
The Center Market Square in Marietta is Courses/Experiences.” The Mellon Grant and these
situated at the intersection of Market and Gay local history courses led to the creation in 2019 of a
Streets. Market Street runs east and west, parallel to Certificate in Public Heritage Studies for History
the Susquehanna River, while Gay Street runs north majors at Elizabethtown College.
and south leading from the Market Square to the These courses are based, in part, on The
Susquehanna River. National Collegiate Honors Council program called
Marietta was created through the “Partners in the Parks.” This is an outdoor
incorporation of several neighboring villages: experiential learning program offered through a
Irishtown, New Haven, Waterford, Moravian Town collaboration between NCHC and the National Park
(Bungletown), and technically Chickies where the Service. NCHC also offers programming called
iron industry was concentrated. Market Street had “Place As Text” where students immerse themselves
many names as it crossed through these hamlets, in the local community exploring the culture and
including United States Street in Irishtown, which geography of the local neighborhood. Students are
was re-named Market Street when it was challenged to be sensitive and reflect about the
incorporated into Marietta in 1967. human experience in the local built environment.
Market Street in Marietta takes a circuitous In the spring of 2016 the course,
route as it is a continuous winding thread linking the “Elizabethtown History: Campus and Community,”
“main street” in each village which joined together involved a partnership with the Lancaster
to make Marietta. Preservation Trust and Elizabethtown Borough.
These reports seek to re-create life in Students conducted archival and field research in an
Marietta on Market Street along the Susquehanna effort to prevent the historically significant Moose
River. The homes, counting houses, warehouses, Lodge building in Elizabethtown from being razed.
taverns, restaurants, hotels, public houses, serving This successful historic preservation project attracted
the coal and lumber yards, the iron furnaces and the attention of the Architectural Historian for
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Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Associates, Inc. take the lead in launching a historic
Engineering District 8. preservation awareness campaign created by the
In the spring of 2017 the course, National Trust for Historic Preservation, called “This
“Elizabethtown History: Campus and Community,” Place Matters!”
involved a partnership with PennDOT. Students “This Place Matters!” a national
engaged in archival and field research to conduct campaign, created by the National Historic
National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Preservation Trust, encouraging people to
Reviews of local historic properties. Student celebrate places meaningful to them and to their
research findings were published through the digital communities. Since 2015, participants have
humanities project: ArcGIS story maps. Students’ shared more than 10,000 photographs of
reports were used by PennDOT, Elizabethtown themselves and their favorite places on social
Borough, and the federal Department of media using the hashtag #ThisPlaceMatters.
Transportation regarding historic preservation In the summer of 2020, Kyle Cappucci
initiatives and public works projects concerning re- worked, in the remote, on an Elizabethtown
building the Market Street Bridge. College Summer Scholarship, Creative Art and
In the spring semester 2019, the course, Research Program Project entitled: “This Place
“Elizabethtown History: Campus and Community,” Matters! The National Trust for Historic
involved a partnership with RiverStewards, Inc. The Preservation and Economic Revitalization in
students conducted NHPA Section 106 Reviews of Marietta, Pennsylvania.” Through this SCARP
historically significant properties in the Marietta project Elizabethtown College partnering with
Historic District(s) and the Chickies Historic various stakeholders in Marietta, will be
District. The students published their findings online launching a This Place Matters campaign for
through an ArcGIS map. The students presented Marietta. This campaign is not just public
their findings at Scholarship and Creative Arts Day awareness through photography and social
(SCAD) at Elizabethtown College on Tuesday 16 media. It is about telling the stories of why these
April 2019 and at Marietta Day on Saturday 11 May places hold historical significance. Through This
2019 in Marietta. One of the students in the class, Place Matters, the National Historic Preservation
Kyle C. Cappucci, expanded the project for a Trust, encourages and inspires an ongoing
Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts, and Research dialogue about the importance of place and
Project (SCARP) in the summer of 2019. Cappucci preservation.
broadened the Community Based Learning project to In the summer of 2021 Kyle Cappucci will
include Marietta Restoration Associates, Inc.; commence work on a Elizabethtown College
RiverStewards, Inc.; Rivertownes PA USA, Inc.; and Summer Scholarship, Creative Art and Research
Susquehanna Heritage, Inc. Cappucci expanded the Program Project entitled: “Ecological and
scope of the map beyond historical significance to Economic Revitalization Through Historic
illustrate the contemporary relevance of Marietta. Preservation of the Northwest Lancaster County
Cappucci presented his scholarship to the River Trail in the National Historic District of
Marietta Borough Council meeting on Tuesday 9 Marietta, Pennsylvania” which will serve as the basis
July 2019 and to the general public at the former First for his Honors in the Discipline Senior Thesis.
National Bank on Wednesday 17 July 2019. His Cappucci is exploring the relationship between
presentations entitled: “Putting Historic Marietta on historic preservation and economic development in
The Map: This Place Matters!” illustrated how the Historic Districts.
scholarship by the Honors students at Elizabethtown This is one report, in a series of seventeen
College can bring positive attention to the Marietta reports being used to inform the Marietta This Place
Historic District, the Chickies Historic District, and Matters campaign.
the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail. To this Jean-Paul Benowitz
end, Cappucci suggested the Marietta Restoration Thursday 11 January 2022
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Property Details:
Site Address: 17 W Market St Marietta, Pennsylvania. The current parcel owner is Rivertrail Properties
LLC. The annual billing is $43,500 for land and $79,700 for building, totaling $123,200. Property characteristics
are as followed: Electric is hooked-up, gas, sewage, and water are through the public system. Market land
valuation: The property type is commercial with the land type being a primary homesite. The main structure is a
commercial multi-residence with a finished square footage of 2,752. The dimensions of the lot are 23x32 and was
it built in 1920. The property also has a detached structure listed as a fence with a finished square footage of 245.
This fence is 6 feet in span and was built in 1960.1

Deed Search:
The first owner of record is Conrad Crim, a land speculator and early inhabitant of Waterford. About 1848,
this property was purchased by Alexander Lindsay, a cobbler, who ran a shoe store named Lindsay's Shoe
Emporium. Lindsay's business went bankrupt in 1889, and his property was sold at sheriff's sale.2 From there
Catherine Klumpp took ownership. After Catharine Klumpp died, the property was transferred to J.A. Buchanan
in 1902. 3 From there the property was held by the Buchanan Family after J.A. Buchanan’s death. The Buchanan’s
held the property until 1967 where ownership was transferred to Elizabeth Nieman.4 From there the property has
been bounced around between owners. This host of owners goes as follows: Elizabeth Nieman to Thomas
Bradford (1976)5, Thomas Bradford to Investors Richard Hess and Jere Ober (1989)6, Hess and Ober to David
and Theresa Strickler (1995)7, The Strickler’s to Dennis Czelusniak (1998)8, Dennis Czelusniak to Brain
Buckwalter (2005)9, and finally Brian Buckwalter to the property’s current owner Rivertrail LLC (2021)10.

Architectural Style:
The Federal style is also known as the Adam style, after the Adam brothers, British architects who
developed this style in England. It is really a refinement of the Georgian style, which was popular in the years
preceding the Federal style. Like the Georgian style, the Federal style is designed around center hall floor plan,
or side hall for narrow row houses. The Federal style has many of the same elements of the Georgian style -
symmetry, classical details and a side gabled roof - yet it is different in its ornamentation and sophistication.
Federal details are more delicate, slender and finely drawn than their Georgian counterparts and may feature
swags, garlands and urns. Also, more formal elements were introduced in the Federal style, such as the front door
fanlight window, sometimes with flanking sidelights, and more elaborate door surrounds and porticos. The
Federal style is also known for dramatic windows, three-part or Palladian windows with curved arches. Another
outstanding - yet less common - Federal feature is the use of curving or polygonal window projections. The
Federal style became popular throughout the colonies after the American Revolution and was dominant until
about 1820, when it was supplanted by the Greek or Classical Revival Style. The easiest way to identify a Federal
style building from a Georgian one is to look for the elliptical fan light over the front door or the Palladian
windows - not that those design features do not appear in later styles as well. The Federal house in Pennsylvania

1
Lancaster county treasurer. “Lancaster county property tax inquiry.” Lancaster county treasurer, April 19, 2022.
https://lancasterpa.devnetwedge.com/parcel/view/4203129200000/2022.
2
Landis, James C. Candlelight Tours of Marietta 1966 to 2015. Landisville, Pa: Yurchak Printing, Inc. , 2015.
3
Ibid, M10 500
4
Lancaster County Recorder of Deeds, Search Online Records, Infodex, Instrument Number: 151648, accessed 16 February 2022
https://searchdocs.lancasterdeeds.com/countyweb/disclaimer.do
5
Ibid. Instrument Number: 0115786
6
Ibid. Instrument Number: 3401334
7
Ibid. Instrument Number: 3887938
8
Ibid. Instrument Number: 4194512
9
Ibid. Instrument Number: 5423085
10
Ibid. Instrument Number: 6643669
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is usually a brick two or three story building. 11Blended into this 1890s storefront is evidence of a much older
structure which dates from the early days of the Borough's existence as the village of Waterford. Historical records
indicate that the original structure was a two-story brick residence and suggest that the house was built as early
as 1809. The Flemish bond brickwork with scored lime pointing on the second story is a visible remnant of Crim's
original dwelling. In the mid 1800s, a frame addition was built connecting the rear of the brick house to the
summer kitchen. The property was renovated and given the present storefront on the first floor while a third floor
was added. 12 Property is not a row house but is connected to other buildings on the left with a tight alley to the
right. Brickwork is Flemish bond. Property has a flat roof which features a brick-dentils brick cornice at the top.
Property has a vintage storefront with a six-panel door to the left and a glass front door. The storefront has some
polychromy featuring a black outline with white and red-brown accents. There is a storefront cornice similar to
the brick-dentils style. The six-panel door has a transom above it. Above the storefront is six windows that are all
modern replacements. The bottom row of windows has black shutters while the top three windows do not. These
shutters are black matching the black on the storefront. 13

History of Marietta, Pennsylvania

Founding Families of Marietta14
Marietta was established in the eighteenth century which is in contrast to some histories of the community
placing the origins between 1800-1812. Marietta was settled by Scotch-Irish Presbyterians and Swiss German
Mennonites which is in contrast to some histories claiming the community was settled exclusively by Scotch-
Irish Presbyterians. The Scotch-Irish Presbyterians founders focused on transportation along the Susquehanna
River and Pennsylvania Canal, while the Mennonites founders initiated lumber production and related industries.
Both entrepreneurial founding groups relied on transient workers.
Initially British fur traders, competing with French fur traders, established economic relations with
indigenous populations along the Susquehanna River. Welsh fur trader Robert Wilkins was likely born around
1672 in Brecon, Wales,15arrived in the Marietta area sometime before 1702, at which time he married Elizabeth
Ross in Lancaster County.16 Wilkins first settled along the Conestoga Creek, next to Richard Carter who settled
Warwick Township. In 1718, Wilkins took up 200 acres of land along the Susquehanna River, and in 1727 he
sold it to The Reverend James Anderson, primary founder of Marietta.17
The Reverend James Anderson (1678-1740), educated at Edinburgh, Scotland under the care of Principal
Stirling,18 served The Donegal Presbyterian Church. Born in Scotland ordained by Irvine Presbytery, 17
November 1708 in Virginia. Anderson arrived in the Rappahannock, Virginia on 22 April 1709, before settling
in New Castle, Delaware in 1717 later accepting a call to a congregation in New York City, which, at the time
was worshiping in the City Hall. On 24 September 1726, he received a final call to the Donegal Presbyterian
Church in Mount Joy. He was installed the last Wednesday in August 1727.”19
Wilkins’ neighbor, George Stewart (1683-1759), from Donegal, Ireland,20 was elected as one of the first
Commissioners of Lancaster County at its formation in 1729 and elected to the Provincial Assembly in 1732

11
“Federal Style 1780 -1820.” Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, n.d.
http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/architecture/styles/federal.html.
12
Landis, James C. Candlelight Tours of Marietta 1966 to 2015. Landisville, Pa: Yurchak Printing, Inc. , 2015.
13
Jones, Will. How to Read Houses: A Crash Course in Domestic Architecture. London: Quarto Publishing, 2017.
14
This section of the property report was authored by Eric J. Schubert, Elizabethtown College Class of 2023, History and Political
Science major, Founder and Genealogist of ES Genealogy, for a presentation by students in this class, entitled “Marietta, Pennsylvania’s
Historic Homes On Front Street: Transportation, Trade, Triumph, and Tragedy Along The Susquehanna River and the Pennsylvania
Canal” at Elizabethtown College for Scholarship and Creative Arts Day Tuesday 20 April 2021.
15
WeRelate, "Robert Wilkins" https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Robert_Wilkins_(7), accessed May 19, 2021
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid.
19
http://www.donegalpc.org/pdfs/CEMETERY%20INDEX.pdf
20
Geni, "George Stewart" https://www.geni.com/people/George-Stewart/6000000013217652542, accessed May 19, 2021
 6

dying soon after his appointment.21 After George Stewart passed, his son John Stewart (1705-1749) inherited the
land and sold it to David Cook, sometimes spelled Cooke. John Stewart was married to Ann Anderson (1716-
1816), the daughter of The Reverend James Anderson.22
David Cook (1721-1786), sometimes Cooke, was born in Lancaster County and is buried in The Donegal
Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Mount Joy.23 Eventually, David Cook sold this land (purchased from John
Stewart), to Jacob Heistandt Neff,24 the middle and last name represent two prominent Mennonite families and
surnames in Lancaster County and specifically the Marietta area. Jacob Heistandt Neff (1727-1798) was from
Manor Township. 25
Marietta was founded by leaders and members of two prominent churches in Mount Joy. The Donegal
Presbyterian Church (1732) and the Mount Joy Mennonite Church (1790). The Donegal Presbyterian Church
was founded in 1727 with the church being built in 1732. The Reverend James Anderson (1678-1740), primary
founder of Marietta, was the minister.26 The Mount Joy Mennonite Church was founded in 1790, with members
meeting for worship in their homes, as was the custom of the time and remains the practice of the Old Order
Amish. In 1812 a log meetinghouse on land donated by Peter Delebaugh Kraybill (1784-1869).27 The first minister
of The Mount Joy Mennonite Church was The Reverend Jacob Hostetter Hershey (1747-1819).28 Both The
Reverend Jacob Hershey and Peter Kraybill are buried at the Kraybill Mennonite Cemetery in Mount Joy.29
This points to the significance of the Presbyterians and Mennonites settling in Lancaster County after
arriving in Philadelphia and Delaware, eventually realizing the economic significance of developing the land
along the Susquehanna River associated with westward expansion of the nation. The early settlers settled in
Mount Joy and not within the dangerous flood plain of the Susquehanna River. It also demonstrates the socio-
economic bias of the settlers, believing poor lives were dispensable, poor transient workers living and working
along the Susquehanna River, if they lost their lives and/or livelihood from flooding or from rowdy living, there
are many histories of the community documenting drunken brawling in taverns, pubs, and hotels, the lives of
these transient workers were not important, while the wealthy, benefiting from commerce along the Susquehanna
River and Pennsylvania Canal, lived on higher safer ground in Mount Joy.

The Pennsylvania Canal & Marietta, Pennsylvania

The next time you are on the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail (2007) in Marietta, imagine the path
of the Pennsylvania Canal (1824-1900) running parallel to the Susquehanna River. Take a moment to consider
Nebuchadnezzar, the great ruler of Babylon in 500 B. C., remaking a canal which is believed to have first been
dug more than a thousand years earlier. The Nebuchadnezzar Royal Canal connected the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers.30 Imagine China’s Grand Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 1,000 miles long connecting Hangchou
and Tientsin, built in 500 B. C. Reflecting on how there are more than 26,000 miles of canal in all parts of the
world, suddenly Marietta feels much older and more connected to the world than it seems today.31
When you walk around Marietta and you come across the Duffy-Rottmund House (1863) on Market
Street, formerly Irishtown, think about Colonel James Duffy (1818-1888) as a boy, growing up along the
Susquehanna River, working on the log rafts as a draftsman until earning the rank of pilot and making a successful

21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
Ancestry.com Online Family Trees
24
Ibid.
25
Ibid.
26
Wikipedia, "Donegal Presbyterian Church
Complex"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donegal_Presbyterian_Church_Complex#:~:text=NRHP%20reference%20No.&text=Donegal
%20Presbyterian%20Church%20Complex%20is,building%20with%20a%20gambrel%20roof, accessed May 20, 2021
27
Ancestry.com Online Family Trees
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid.
30
A. T. Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948), 50.
31
Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China v. 4, p 3 (Taipei: Caves Books, 1986), 307.
 7

career in river transportation.32 In 1846 he traveled through Europe making a study of canals and returning to
Marietta he fulfilled his goal of making the Pennsylvania Canal through Marietta a major corridor for transporting
coal. By 1848 Colonel Duffy established a line of boats for transporting coal from Pottsville to New York, in the
interests of the Schuylkill Navigation Company.33
When you think about Marietta and the Pennsylvania Canal remember it was based on a model established
in 1639 when Mother Brook, the first canal was built connecting the Charles and Neponset Rivers in Dedham,
Massachusetts.34 From the beginning, Americans accepted waterways as the best method of traveling, or for
moving goods from one place to another.35 Construction on the Pennsylvania Canal started in 1824, it was a
system of canals, dams, locks, tow paths, aqueducts, viaducts, tunnels, and bridges facilitating shipment of heavy
bulk goods between Philadelphia (1682) and Pittsburgh (1758). The Pennsylvania Canal System developed in
response to the growing markets in the Northwest Territory reached by the Ohio River through connecting the
Susquehanna, Juniata, Conemaugh, Kiskiminetas, and Alleghany Rivers.36 When finished in 1834 the trip from
Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, via the Main Line of Public Works (1826), could be made in three to five days. By
1830, more than 4,000 miles of canals in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana were
started or planned between 1825 and 1845.37
The wonder of it all was the fact there were no American engineers at the time, and neither was there any
excavating machinery. With no more than the ingenuity of local surveyors and such simple tools as shovels and
wheelbarrows, these artificial rivers were cut through the most difficult countryside.38 The equally amazing thing
is how the canals are still functioning. Today we find modern railroads using ancient canal beds for their own
track beds. Sometimes we drive through a high-walled section of farmland which was first a canal way before it
became a highway. We might have thought a ditch running parallel to a railroad was for drainage. Actually it
was once a canal; the present railway tracks are built on what was once the tow path. Or we might come upon
some lofty bridge piers across a river where there is no roadway: we would hardly suspect they once held a
wooden aqueduct and canal way, carrying it and the canal traffic high across the roaring river below.39
The Pennsylvania Canal was not the only waterway serving the local economy of Marietta. In 1797 the
Conewago Canal began carrying riverboats around the Conewago Falls on the Susquehanna River near York
Haven.40 The Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, built between 1836-1840, connected Wrightsville (1811) with
Havre de Grace, Maryland (1785). The Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal facilitated transportation of lumber,
coal, and raw materials from Marietta (1719) and Columbia (1724) to the Port of Baltimore (1729).41 This is the
reason why the economy in Marietta was built on lumber, coal, whiskey, and transportation.42
The origins of the Pennsylvania Canal date back to 1690 when William Penn proposed building a canal
connecting Philadelphia with the Susquehanna River. It took 102 years until in 1792, as an initiative of the
Washington administration (1789-1797), the Union Canal, was completed in 1828. Running eighty-two miles,
the Union Canal connected Middletown (1755) on the Susquehanna River to Reading (1748) on the Schuylkill

32
H. M. J. Klein, Lancaster County Pennsylvania: A History v. iv (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1924),
406.
33
Biographical Annals of Lancaster County Pennsylvania (Lancaster, PA: J. H. Beers & Company, 1903), 299.
34
Electa Kane Tritsch, Building Dedham(Dedham, MA: Dedham Historical Society, 1986), 14.
35
Eric Sloane, Our Vanishing Landscape (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1955), 50.
36
William H. Shank, Indian Trails to Super Highways (York, PA: American Canal & Transportation Center, 1988), 42; Robert
McCullough, The Pennsylvania Main Line Canal (York, PA: American Canal and Transportation Center, 1973).
37
Ibid., 43.
38
Sloane, 52.
39
Ibid., 53.
40
Robert J. Kapsch Canals (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2004), 13-14; William Young, Account of the Conewago Canal
On the River Susquehanna (Philadelphia: Whitehall Press, 1798).
41
James Weston Livingood, The Philadelphia –Baltimore Trade Rivalry, 1780-1860 (Philadelphia: Ayer Publishing, 1970), 43-45;
Theodorick Bland, Report by The Maryland Commissioners On A Proposed Canal from Baltimore to Conewago (Baltimore: F. Lucas,
1823).
42
Marietta Sesquicentennial: 1812-1962 Souvenir Booklet (Marietta, PA: n.p.), 15.
 8

River.43 By 1834 the Main Line of Public Works, composed of interlocking canals, was transporting passengers
and freight across 1,243 miles. Incrementally the canals system was integrated into and eventually replaced by
the rail roads. In 1859, one hundred and sixty-nine years after William Penn’s canal proposal, all canals owned
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were sold. The Pennsylvania Rail Road (1846) formed the Pennsylvania
Canal Company and continued to use canals for freight transportation. The canal business, however, declined
steadily in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and most Pennsylvania canals no longer functioned after
1900.44
The last canal boat to enter Marietta was in August of 1900. Captain Morris Nagle piloted a canal boat
carrying coal from Nanticoke (1800) in Luzerne County. Captain Nagle docked the boat at Gay Street. The boat
was dismantled and buried beneath the railroad bed when the Pennsylvania Rail Road was installed over the canal
tow path.45 In Marietta, along the Pennsylvania Canal boats were drawn by mules guided along the tow path
parallel to Front Street.46 A double canal boat could handle up to 250 tons of freight with a single mule team on
the tow path.47 In the winter the canal was drained to minimize damage from ice blocks and in the spring flooding
(good for river transportation) washed out sections of the canal.48 The last log raft to float down the Susquehanna
River to Marietta landed on 12 April 1911.49 Thus in the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries,
transportation along the Susquehanna River and the Pennsylvania Canal were entirely replaced by the rail road
network, changing the physical landscape of Marietta and the culture as well.

History of Marietta, Pennsylvania50

As early as 8,000 BC Paleo-Indian settlements, the Susquehannocks flourished along the Susquehanna
River with agricultural production and operating complex trade routes expanding throughout the continent. Every
river valley and every tributary of the Swatara, Conoy, Chickies, Conestoga, Pequea, and Octorara Creeks has
considerable evidence of human habitation in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania prior to European contact.51
In 1616 Etienne Brule (1592-1633) a French expert in the Algonquin language, who lived among the
Susquehanna tribe in western New York, traveled down the Susquehanna River into the Chesapeake Bay. Along
the way, Brule explored the tributaries of the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County and encountered the
Susquehannock tribes living along the Susquehanna River.52
In 1629 Etienne Brule partnered with the British fur trader Sir David Kirke (1597-1654) establishing trade
relations between the Europeans and Susquehannock tribes. By 1680-1690 no Susquehannock villages existed
in Lancaster or York Counties. There was a migration to New York to settle among the Iroquois and Seneca and
a movement south to Maryland.53
In 1681 British King Charles, II (1630-1685) granted a land charter to Quaker leader William Penn (1644-
1718) to repay a debt the King owed to Admiral William Penn (1621-1670). King Charles named it Pennsylvania,
meaning Penn’s Woods: Penn and Sylvania from the Latin silva which translates forest or woods. There were no
43
Dean M. Aungst, The Two Canals of Lebanon County (Lebanon, PA: Lebanon County Historical Society, 1968), 9; John C. Clark,
The Union Canal Company of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: John C. Clark Printer, 1853).
44
William H. Shank, The Amazing Pennsylvania Canals (York, PA: American Canal & Transportation Center, 1986), 49-51; Matthew
Carey, Pennsylvania Canals (Philadelphia: n.p., 1828).
45
Marietta Sesquicentennial: 1812-1962 Souvenir Booklet (Marietta, PA: n.p.), 14.
46
Frederic H. Abendschein, Colombia, Marietta, and Wrightsvile: Images of America (Charleston, S. C.: 2009), 100.
47
Shank, 44.
48
Abendschein, 100.
49
Ibid.16.
50
This section of the property report was authored by Kyle C. Cappucci, Elizabethtown College Class of 2022 as a research paper
entitled, “Marietta Pennsylvania Historic District & The Susquehanna National Heritage Area Designation ArcGIS Story Map”
presented at the Landmark Conference Thursday 11 July 2019 as part of the college’s Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts, and Research
Projects (SCARP) program. It has been inserted here to give the reader context for the reminder of the report.
51
Benowitz, Jean-Paul, Elizabethtown Advocate. “American Indians Were Major Part of Development of E-town” etownpa.com
http://etownpa.com/american-indians-major-part-development-e-town/ (accessed May 21,2019).
52
Ibid.
53
Ibid.
 9

Susquehannocks living in this region by the time William Penn acquired the land from King Charles, II (1630-
1685). 54
In 1701 William Penn (1644-1718) gave a patent of 3,000 acres of land along the Susquehanna River to
George Beale (British). By 1703 Consumed by debt, William Penn (1644-1718) charged his land agent James
Logan (1674-1751) to send him in London “bear and buck skins for they [the creditors] bear an advance” and
“urge the Pennsylvania assembly to establish a propriety monopoly in the Indian trade.”55
In 1708 James Logan invited the French Expert Indian language interpreter Peter Bezaillion (1661-1742)
to establish a fur trading post where the Conoy Creek meets the Susquehanna River in Bainbridge, Pennsylvania
north 7.5 miles north of Marietta. By 1719 Bezaillion invited the Piscataway tribe to move from Maryland to
Conoy Town. They assumed the name Canoise or corn shellers and were called the Conoy Indians.56
In 1717 Peter Logan did not only invite French and Indian fur traders to settle between the Conoy and
Conewago Creeks along the Susquehanna River, he also sold land to the highest bidders among the Swiss-German
(mostly Mennonite) Palatine farmers arriving in Pennsylvania in 1717. Simultaneously there was an influx of
Ulster Scots or Scots-Irish settlers. William Penn’s sons John (1700-1746), Richard (1706-1771), and Thomas
(1702-1775) inherited a great deal of debt when their father died in 1718. The Penn brothers became alienated
from Quaker beliefs and did not subscribe to their father’s ideals for Pennsylvania.57
In 1717 one year before his death, William Penn reserved 16,000 acres in Lancaster County for various
tribes as a reserved hunting ground. This promise by William Penn would not be kept by his sons. According to
Mennonite historian the Reverend John L. Ruth, Mennonite settlers in Lancaster County anxiously paid up to four
times more than the price the Penn brothers were asking for acres. Meanwhile the Scots-Irish settlers encouraged
to move here by James Logan started living on the land without title. The obvious defense of one’s claim to
property was to construct buildings and begin to improve the land, even before it was legally acquired.58
In 1719 Robert Wilkins, Scotch-Irish (Ulster Scots; Anglo-Irish Presbyterians), Indian Trader, acquired
300 acres along the Susquehanna River north of Chickies Creek. In 1719 George Stewart, Scotch-Irish, was sold
a tract of land east of the Robert Wilkins tract. In 1727 Robert Wilkins sold the tract of Penn land to Scotch-Irish,
The Reverend James Anderson, clergy at the Donegal Presbyterian Church (1732) in Mount Joy, in East Donegal
Township. Son James Anderson operated the ferry and built the Accomac Inn. 59
In 1733 George Stewart’s son and daughter-in-law, John and Ann Stewart, inherited and sold the James
Anderson tract to David Cook. This tract of land was given to his son David Cook whose son, David Cook, laid
out the town of New Haven. Additional acres of the Stewart tract were given to David Cook’s son James.60
Peter Bezaillion built Old Peter’s Road, as it is still known in parts of Lancaster County, to facilitate
French and Indian fur trading linking Philadelphia to Bainbridge (1719). Bezaillion who, in partnership with the
British, challenged France’s control over the territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi
River, a struggle which helped precipitate the French and Indian War. The French found the Algonquin tribes
their allies, while the Iroquois sided with the British. Raids of British colonists occurred on both sides.61
By 1743, The Piscataway tribes had moved away from Bainbridge, migrating north along the Susquehanna
River settling in Shamokin. British victories in Quebec (1759) and Montreal (1760) led to France surrendering
all of New France to the British. The British took over all French forts on the frontier and became the new
authoritarian power for the tribes in these regions during The French and Indian War (1755-1763).62

54
Ibid.
55
Ibid.
56
Ibid.
57
Ibid.
58
Ibid.
59
Marietta Sesquicentennial Souvenir Booklet (Marietta, PA: August 4, 1962).
60
Ibid.
61
Ibid.
62
Ibid.
 10

Between 1775-1783 Marietta played an important role in the American Revolution manufacturing iron
and lumber, producing agricultural goods, distilling whiskey, and ferry transportation between Lancaster and
York Counties over the Susquehanna River. The capitol of Continental Congress was in Lancaster City on 22
September 1777. Lancaster City was the capitol of Pennsylvania from 1799-1812. York City was the capitol of
the Continental Congress from 1777-1778. The Articles of Confederation were drafted and adopted in York thus
the establishing the first constituting and government for the United States of America. In 1789 Quaker leader
Samuel Wright renamed Wright’s Ferry as Columbia and petitioned the new U. S. Congress to make this the
location of the U. S. Capitol. 63
In 1804, the third generation of Anderson, grandson James Anderson, laid out the town of Waterford. By
1812, James Anderson and James Cook procured a charter from the Pennsylvania legislature and named their
incorporated towns Marietta. The next year, 1813, Anderson’s town Waterford and Cook’s town New Haven
were consolidated including a tract of land owned by John Myers east of Moravian Town and a tract of land
owned by Benjamin Long north of Waterford.64
In the same year, 1813 John Pedan, James Mehaffey, and Colonel James Duffy purchased 161 acres west
of the Anderson tract and laid out Irishtown. The founders named each north-south street after U. S. naval heroes:
Biddle, Jones, Decatur, Bainbridge, Morris, Hull, and Porter. The east-west streets named for American sea
vessels: Essex, United States, Wasp, and Constitution. United States Street would become Market Street when all
the towns were incorporated into the borough of Marietta. 65
The next year, 1814, the Cassels sell the Neff tract to Jacob Grosh who laid out Moravian Town, known
locally as Bungletown. By this time the major industry in Marietta was lumber. By 1814 there were nine lumber
merchants in Marietta. Planing mills, lumberyards, carpentry shops, and allied businesses were the backbone of
the local economy. Marietta was a waypoint for shipping lumber, bundled into rafts, downriver. In 1807 Henry
Cassel established a lumber business on the corner of Third and Bank Streets. In 1848 Henry Cassel was joined
by his son A. N. Cassel who in 1872 built a planning mill associated with the business. In 1850 B. F. Hiestand &
Sons Planing Mill was established on the Susquehanna River below Chickes Rock with the lumber offices located
on the corner of Bank and Second Streets. In 1945 the Hiestand lumber properties were deeded to the Paul W.
Zimmerman Foundries Company manufacturing brass, bronze, and aluminum castings. In 1954 Zimmerman
Foundries Company, was acquired by the Donegal Manufacturing Corporation, later called Donegal Steel
Foundry Company which manufactured carbon, low alloy and stainless steel castings primarily for tanks for the
U. S. Army during the Korean War (1950-1953). 66
During 1812-1814, The Columbia-Wrightsville covered bridge constructed over the Susquehanna River,
at the time considered the longest covered bridge in the world. Greatly enhances the economy for Marietta.
Between1812-1815 the War of 1812 between the U. S. and Great Britain began over alleged British violations of
American shipping rights, such as impressment, the forcing of American merchant sailors to serve on British
ships. American forces unsuccessfully invaded Canada and the British retaliated by burning down Washington,
D. C. Within weeks U. S. Forces repulsed sea and land invasions of the British at the Port of Baltimore,
particularly Fort McHenry. The war ended with victory for the United States at the Battle of New Orleans. Two
companies from Marietta marched to Maryland in defense of Baltimore. One of the companies was called the
Marietta Grays commanded by Jacob Grosh. 67
In 1817 James Anderson built a road over Chickies Mountain, the Old Columbia Pike, linking Columbia,
Pennsylvania, formerly Wright’s Ferry, (1726) 3.6 miles south of Marietta. Anderson was preparing for the state
legislature to build a bridge across the Susquehanna River connecting Marietta to York, Pennsylvania (1741).

63
Lloyd, Junie, YorkBlog, “How did they get across the wide Susquehanna when there were no bridges?”
https://yorkblog.com/universal/how-did-they-get-across-the-wide-susquehanna-when-there-were-no-bridges/ (accessed May 23,
2019).
64
Marietta Sesquicentennial Souvenir Booklet (Marietta, PA: August 4, 1962).
65
Ibid.
66
Ibid.
67
Ibid.
 11

James Anderson operated a ferry across the Susquehanna River. Two miles north Mennonite Christian Winiker
operated a ferry known as Vinegar Ferry. 68
The Economic Panic of 1819 was the first major peacetime financial crisis in the U. S. following the
collapse of the economy in the transition from a colonial commercial status with Europe toward an independent
economy. The downtown was driven by global market adjustments in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, its
severity was compounded by excessive speculation in public lands. The Pennsylvania legislature did not build a
bridge between Marietta and York. James Anderson lost most of his money building the Columbia Pike. 69
Between 1826-1840 construction of the Pennsylvania Canal system to connect Philadelphia (1682) to
Pittsburgh (1669) commenced. The Pennsylvania Rail Road (1846) eventually purchased the Pennsylvania Canal
from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 70
In 1855 Eagle Furnace, anthracite iron furnace, opened. The iron industry in Marietta was dominated by
Henry Musselman, Henry Miller Watts of Carlisle, and his father-in-law Dr. Peter Shoenberger, of Pittsburgh.
The local iron industry was managed by Watts’ son Ethelbert Watts (1846–1919) a U. S. diplomat who played
important roles in the Spanish American War, Russo Japanese War, & WW I. These iron plants produced pig iron,
sold under the brand name Vesta, transported on the Pennsylvania Canal and later by the railroad. In 1917 the iron
plants, known as the Susquehanna Iron Company, sold the furnaces to E. J. Lavino who produced ferromanganese,
used for high grade steel, during WW I. The manganese ores came from all over the world & the ferromanganese
product was shipped to Youngstown, Ohio, Coatesville, and Pittsburgh. The production of iron ceased in the 1920s
and the furnace was dismantled between 1928 and 1934. 71
Between 1861-1865, during the American Civil War Marietta played a role in the Battle of Gettysburg 1-
3 July 1863. Women from Marietta organized to prepare linen bandages and baked two wagonloads of bread
dispatched to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (1806) 45 miles west of Marietta. Marietta was protected from an
invasion of Confederate troops because on 28 June 1863 Union forces burned the Columbia-Wrightsville covered
bridge to prevent an advance of Confederate troops approaching from Wrightsville, York County. The
Pennsylvania Rail Road used the bridge piers to support a rail bridge crossing the river from 1868-1896 when it
was destroyed by the Cedar Keys Hurricane. In 1810 David Muma built a stone house which David Cassel (1774-
1855) turned into a hotel in 1823 called the Perry House Hotel named for War of 1812 Commodore Oliver Hazard
Perry (1785-1819). Perry House was a stronghold for Confederate sympathizers of Marietta where Copperheads
and Unionists engaged in hostile political debates. 72
In the post-Civil War years, by 1876 The Marietta Holloware and Enameling Company was established,
by Colonel James Duffy among others, producing hollow castings such as toilet bowls, lavatory basins, cast iron
cookware, ink pots for stencils, glue pots, teakettles, and cookware including sauce pans, and skillets. 73
In 1882 Dr. H. M. Alexander used the methods of British physician and scientist, Edward Jenner (1749-
1823) to create a vaccine for smallpox which he manufactured and sold commercially nationwide and globally.
The work began in a chicken house adjacent to his office at 299 West Market Street. He purchased the H.
McMullen Farm in the Irishtown neighborhood of Marietta located at Wasp and Biddle Streets and established
the first commercial biological laboratory in the United States known as Dr. H. M. Alexander and Company and
also as the Lancaster County Vaccine Farm. 74
By the time of the First World War, in 1916, the heirs of Dr. Alexander sold their shares of the company
to the Gilliland Laboratories, Inc. During the Second World War, in 1943 Gilliland Laboratories was acquired by

68
Ibid.
69
Revolvy. “Panic of 1819” revolvy.com https://www.revolvy.com/page/Panic-of-1819 (accessed May 21, 2019).
70
Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. “Pennsylvania Canals- 1846” phmc.state.pa.us
www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/documents/1776-1865/pennsylvania-canals.html (accessed May 21, 2019).
71
Rivertownes. “The Furnaces of Rivertownes” rivertownes.org http://www.rivertownes.org/Features/Furnaces/Marietta.htm
(accessed May 21, 2019).
72
Marietta Sesquicentennial Souvenir Booklet (Marietta, PA: August 4, 1962).
73
Ibid.
74
Ibid.
 12

the American Home Products Corporation. The following year, in 1944, The American Home Products
Corporation was incorporated into the Wyeth Laboratories, Inc. In 2005 Wyeth Laboratories was acquired by
Britain’s largest drugs maker, GlaxoSmithKline.
In 1889 Donegal Mutual Insurance Company, formerly Donegal and Conoy Mutual Fire Insurance
Company, established on West Market Street in Marietta. During 1960-1961 Donegal built their national
headquarters in Colonial Revival style campus on River Road Pennsylvania Route 441 (PA 441). 75
In 1893 The Columbia and Donegal Electric Railway (C&D), later purchased by The Pennsylvania
Traction Company which was acquired by the Conestoga Traction Company (1899) was chartered to build a
trolley car line connecting the four miles between Columbia and Marietta and building the Chickies Rock Park.
The wooden cars, painted bright blue with yellow trim, were purchased from J. G. Brill Car Company (1868-
1954) Philadelphia and the electric lines were installed by Westinghouse Electric Company (1886) Pittsburgh.
Trolley tickets were purchased at the Libhart Drug Store. 76
During 1917-1918 the United States declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917 more than two and a half
years after the start of the First World War. Before entering the war, the U. S. remained neutral although it was
an important supplier to Great Britain and the Allied Powers. The U. S. made its major contributions supplying
raw material for the war effort. The U. S. military established the Marietta Holding and Reconsignment Point
along the Susquehanna River. The primary mission was to receive and store Quartermaster, Ordinance, Medical,
Engineer, and Signal Corps supplies until east coast ports were in a position to receive and ship materials overseas.
77

During the Second World War, in 1941 the U. S. military expanded the Marietta Holding and
Reconsignment Point to accommodate supplying the Lend Lease Act. In March 1941 Lend Lease was enacted
distributing food, oil, warships, warplanes, and weaponry. In December 1941, four days after the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor and the United States, the U. S. Congress declared war against the Japanese Empire. Nazi
Germany declared war against the U. S. in response to what was claimed to be a series of provocations by the
United States when it was still officially neutral during the Second World War. The United States declared was
on Germany. 78
During this time, 1942-1945 there was an expansion of the Marietta Holding and Reconsignment Point
which is officially designated as the Marietta Transportation Corps Depot. The depot encompassed over eight
million square feet, over 400 acres, and employed more than 800 civilians in addition to military personnel. 79
In 1947 Machinecraft, Inc. was established manufacturing automatic food shaping machines for mass
production of hamburgers and French fries. The hydraulic valves for the first two air craft carriers built during
the Second World War were designed and manufactured by Machinecraft. This technology allowed planes to be
kept on an even keel during take-off and landing on the decks of the ships. 80
In 1952 Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation built a natural gas compressor two miles west of the
Marietta Air Force Station. This compressor station moves natural gas destined for markets in Philadelphia and
New York. 81
Between 1953-1955 the Transportation Material Command was established at the Marietta Transportation
Corps Depot with the mission of supply control, cataloging, procurement, mobilization planning, and
standardization and production engineering. In 1955 Marietta Transportation Corps Depot was transferred from

75
Landis, John C., Candlelight Tours of Marietta 1966 to 2015 (Landisville, PA: Yurchak Printing, Inc, 2015).
76
Marietta Sesquicentennial Souvenir Booklet, (Marietta, PA: August 4, 1962).
77
Ibid.
78
Ibid.
79
Ibid.
80
Ibid.
81
American Oil & Gas Historical Society. Big Inch Pipelines of WWII” aoghs.org https://aoghs.org/petroleum-in-war/oil-pipelines/
(accessed May 23, 2019).
 13

the U. S. Army to the U. S. Air Force which created air station with the primary functions of receipt, storage,
shipment, and disposal of Air Force material and equipment. 82
In 1955 the United States Aluminum Corporation of Pennsylvania USALCO is established. Rectangular
twenty-five pound “ingots” smelted from scrap aluminum were produced to make castings for automotive
automatic transmissions, pistons, aluminum fry pans, and products for national defense purposes. 83
In May 1957, New Jersey Shell Casting Corporation was organized and operated until 1961 as a shell
molding foundry. The corporation existed under the laws of the State of New Jersey from 1957 to 1979 because
Joe Nagy lived in New Jersey at the time of incorporation. In May 1957, the original one room block building on
South Decatur Street in Marietta, PA was rented from the U.S. Expansion Bolt Company. On December 9, 1965,
New Jersey Shell Casting Corporation purchased the block building from the U.S. Expansion Bolt Company. The
original size of the building was 2,700 square feet. Due to the growing needs of the business, the foundry has
been expanded over the years and currently houses over 18,000 square feet under roof. In 1962, the business was
converted to a non-ferrous brass, bronze and aluminum green sand-molding foundry and remains as such today84
In the 1970s, a large part of the Marietta Transportation Corps Depot became the Armstrong World
Industries Ceiling Manufacturing Plant. Currently part of the Marietta Transportation Corps Depot is owned by
the General Services Administration (GSA). The GSA portion of the site is used for the storage of a variety of
ores including manganese, chrome, beryl, zinc, and lead in the form of ingots. Access to both portions of the site
is restricted by perimeter fencing which has either locked gates or is guarded. The current property owners are:
AWI (302.4 acres); GSA (67.5 acres); AAAA Enterprises, Inc. (39.9 acres); PADOT (23.27 acres); Richard C.
Yunginger (36.40 acres); and Frederick W. Bushong et ux (9.6 acres). 85
This property is a superfund site which means the federal government, through the Environmental
Protection Agency, has identified parties responsible for hazardous substances releases to the environment and
has either compelled them to clean up the sites or it may undertake the cleanup on its own using the Superfund (a
trust fund) and costs recovered from polluters by referring to the U. S. Department of Justice. 86 Sites managed
under this program are referred to as “Superfund” sites established as the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. The EPA identifies sites such as Marietta Transportation
Corps Depot because they pose or had once posed a potential risk to human health and/or the environment due to
contamination by one or more hazardous wastes. Marietta Transportation Corps Depot is currently registered as
an Active superfund site by the EPA. However, it is not on the NPL (National Priorities List), which means the
EPA does not consider it one of the nation's most hazardous waste sites. 87
Established in 1970, Lawn Equipment Parts Company (LEPCO) is a family-owned and operated
wholesale distributor of quality outdoor power equipment, parts, and accessories. Originally, LEPCO operated as
an after-market parts distributor to independent lawn equipment dealers. Today, we handle nine major brands of
power equipment and continue to supply aftermarket parts to over 1,300 dealers in the northeast region. Over the
years, LEPCO has continued to grow, becoming one of the preferred distributors in the industry. Maintaining
their reputation for outstanding customer service to its dealers continues to be their everyday focus. LEPCO’s
continued goal is to provide quality products and services to groups of independent dealers who, in turn, can
provide a higher level of service and support to the end-users for all the brands represented. They sell exclusively

82
Wardlow, Chester, Center of Military History. “The Transportation Corps: Responsibilities, Organization, and Operations”
historyhttps://history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-19/CMH_Pub_10-19.pdf (accessed May 23, 2019).
83
USALCO, “About Us” usalsco.com https://www.usalco.com/company/history/ (accessed May 23, 2019).
84
New Jersey Shell Casting Corporation. “Our History” njshell.com http://njshell.com/history.htm (accessed May 29, 2019).
85
ProPublica. “Marietta Air Force Station” projects.propublica.org
https://projects.propublica.org/bombs/installation/PA39799F1509009799 (accessed May 23, 2019).
86
Wikipedia. “Superfund” Wikipedia.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfund (accessed May 23, 2019).
87
GovInfo. “Hazardous Waste: Information on Potential Superfund Sites” govinfo.gov https://www
.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-22/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-22.htm (accessed May 23, 2019).
 14

to retail dealers in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania. 88
In 1981, Rich Kushner opened Swedish Motors at 7 North Decatur Street, advertising that his employees
had a unique knowledge of Swedish cars and foreign parts. His niche was more than enough to preoccupy his
technicians, some of whom have been with Rich since their service doors opened. Today, Swedish Motors offers
the same reliable auto service while also selling and restoring preowned and vintage vehicles.89
Jagtrux, Inc, a contract/common carrier for tractor trailer transportation was incorporated in 1982 by Jim
Germak. In 1998 Jagtrux, Inc. purchased an abandoned locomotive repair shop in Marietta, originally built in
1942, and completely renovated the building. Eventually Jagtrux acquired surrounding property and expanded
into a seventy-five-acre facility with a full-service shop, cross dock facilities, and secure trailer storage lots.
Germak established a strong relationship with Armstrong World Industries becoming a Core Carrier for
Armstrong’s facilities in Marietta. 90
B.N. Excavating is a second-generation family business, specializing in residential, commercial and
agricultural excavating services. Bob Nafziger started the company in 1986, after working as an employee for an
excavating company in the area for over 15 years. Bob started the company with a single backhoe, dump truck
and track loader and steadily built relationships with area contractors to build the business. Today, B.N.
Excavating has grown from a small, one-man operation to a trusted leader in the excavating industry throughout
Lancaster County and beyond. Headquartered in Marietta, PA, the company is now home to an experienced team
of full-time excavators and a diverse line of professional excavation equipment that can meet the excavating needs
of small businesses, home owners and agricultural operations.91
R & T Mechanical, Inc. was founded in 1987. R & T Mechanical is a contracting company which provides
services including plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and other similar work. R & T is in the East Donegal
Industrial Park along with several other companies and organizations including Hess Auctioneers, LLC, Jaxtrux,
Inc, Vanguard Modular Building Systems., LLC, and Hiltz Propane.
Founded by Matt Hiltz, a mechanical engineer who has many years of experience in the propane industry,
Hiltz Propane Systems is family-owned and operated and comprised of a dedicated crew of propane installation
and repair professionals. Specializing in complete turnkey propane system design and installation services, Matt
and his dedicated crew bring extensive experience to the table in the areas of LPG system design, engineering,
plant connection, fitting and maintenance services.92
Established in 1998, Vanguard Modular Building Systems, LLC acquired Schiavi Leasing Corp., the
predominate modular builder and regional supplier of modular classrooms in Maine since 1986, as a wholly
owned subsidiary. Vanguard successfully expanded on Schiavi’s already extensive modular construction
capabilities to include distinctively engineered and designed multi-story permanent modular buildings, while
retaining the requirements for temporary modular space of all sizes and configurations. Vanguard’s experienced
modular sales and construction management teams are in offices throughout the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts,
enabling us to effectively serve more than 20 states. They provide construction management services and quality
temporary and permanent modular buildings to the education, commercial, construction, healthcare, oil and gas,
government, and religious markets. 93
Hess Auctioneers, LLC began operations in June 2007 when John Hess (Hess Auction Group), Phil and
Roger Garber (GFI Transport), and Jim Germak (Jagtrux), recognized a need for public truck, trailer and
equipment auction and consignment auction in the Mid-Atlantic region. Since the company is conveniently

88
LEPCO. “About Us” lepco.com http://lepco.com/about-us/ (accessed June 13, 2019)
89
Swedish Motors. “About Us” swedishmotors.com http://www.swedishmotors.com/about-swedish-motors (accessed May 29, 2019).
90
Jagtrux. “Our Story” jagtrux.com http://jagtrux.com/dotnetnuke/AboutUs/OurStory.aspx (accessed May 23, 2019).
91
B.N. Excavating. “About Us” bnexcavating.com https://www.bnexcavating.com/about-us.php (accessed May 29, 2019).
92
Hiltz Propane Systems. “About Us” hiltzpropanesystems.com https://www.hiltzpropanesystems.com/about-us/ (accessed June 13,
2019)
93
Vanguard Modular Building Systems. “Vanguard History” vanguardmodular.com https://vanguardmodular.com/vanguard-history/
(accessed June 13, 2019).
 15

located close to Harrisburg, Lancaster and York, the current site is convenient, secure and allows consignors to
bring their equipment to the site in advance of the auctions, so buyers can preview the inventory.94
Lancaster Recumbent opened in December 2014 , and today, the shop has over 75 different
types of recumbent cycles – and continues to grow. The shop moved to a new location at 103 West
Market Street in March 2018 – a larger space (for more cycles) located a block and a half off the
Northwest Lancaster County River Trail in Marietta, PA. Lancaster Recumbent offers rides for all
of life’s cycles, new and used semi-recumbent and recumbent cycles, offers pe rsonal
customizations and adaptations to meet your specific needs. Lastly, they offer repairs and
maintenance for practically anything with wheels – from recumbent to traditional upright cycles,
from strollers to wheelchairs and walkers. 95
In September 2017, after seven, sometimes controversial, years in the making, Pennsylvania’s first large-
scale commercial soybean-processing facility was opened at 1609 River Road in Conoy Township. Perdue
Agribusiness’s new $60 Million soybean-processing plant has been long touted by Perdue as a boon to farmers
from Lancaster County and the region, saving them transportation costs. The plant has received strong
endorsement from local agriculture and business groups.96 The state gave Perdue an $8.75 million grant to build
the plant in Pennsylvania. With processed water coming from the adjacent Lancaster County Waste-To-Energy
Facility on the same campus, as well as steam, Perdue AgriBusiness said the plant is the most environmentally
friendly soybean plant in the country. Perdue said the facility would have the lowest rate of hexane emissions of
any soybean-processing plant in the United States. The plant will process soybeans and turn them into soymeal
for livestock and dairy farms. The plant has 35 permanent employees. Perdue said its construction generated 150
jobs and the plant will spawn 500 jobs in crop production and transportation. Gov. Tom Wolf said, “This plant is
a game changer for farmers in Pennsylvania, opening new lanes of supply, new markets, and new opportunities
in the commonwealth’s agricultural economy.”97
Texas Eastern Pipeline (TETCo) is a major natural gas pipeline which brings gas from the Gulf of Mexico
coast in Texas and Louisiana up through Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana,
Ohio, and Pennsylvania to deliver gas in the New York City area. It is one of the largest pipeline systems in the
United States. It is owned by Enbridge. Enbridge connects people to the energy they need to help fuel their quality
of life. In the United States alone, more than two million miles of pipelines deliver petroleum and natural gas
products. Every year, Enbridge invests in the latest technology and training to meet the high environmental and
safety standards our neighbors expect, and to keep pipelines the safest, most efficient and most reliable way to
move energy resources. 98 Marietta has its own Compressor Station off River Road and has a direct connection to
this major national phenomenon.

Biographical Significance & Historic Purpose of Property:

One interesting figure was JA Buchanan and his family. JA Buchanan was a prominent property owner in
the local area surrounding the property. JA Buchanan influenced the direction the property was used for. Thomas
M. Bradford is an owner who served in the U.S. Army, both at home and in Germany, during World War II and
was honorably discharged. Alexander Lindsay was a cobbler who ran a shoe store named Lindsay's Shoe
Emporium. No further owners have anything significant to report at this time. The various owners of this property

94
Hess Auctioneers. “About Us” hessauctioneers.com https://www.hessauctioneers.com/about-us/ (accessed May 29, 2019).
95
Lancaster Recumbent. “About Us” lancasterrecumbent.com https://lancasterrecumbent.com/about-us/ (accessed May 29, 2019).
96
Lancaster Online. “After long fight, Perdue to open $60M soybean-processing plant Monday in Conoy Township”
lancasteronline.com https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/after-long-fight-perdue-to-open-m-soybean-processing-
plant/article_a709d652-9f98-11e7-88a9-238ddeda959e.html (accessed May 29, 2019).
97
Lancaster Online. “10 facts about the new $60M Perdue soybean plant in Conoy Township opening today” lancasteronline.com
https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/facts-about-the-new-m-perdue-soybean-plant-in-conoy/article_a062b1b8-a216-11e7-8cac-
d7d57ce2f935.html (accessed May 29,2019).
98
Wikipedia. “Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline’ wikipedia.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Eastern_Transmission_Pipeline (accessed June 13, 2019)
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used it for various purposes. The property hosts a storefront below and residential on the upper levels. Because
of this this has been a home, a local business, and a work HQ for its owners. Examples of a number of businesses
include shoes, sporting goods, antiques, coffee, and tattoos.99

99
Landis, James C. Candlelight Tours of Marietta 1966 to 2015. Landisville, Pa: Yurchak Printing, Inc. , 2015.
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Historic & Contemporary Photos of Property:

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100

100
Bailey, Stephen M. “A Historic Susquehanna River Town.” Marietta, PA. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://mariettapa.com/photos/.