Gratz in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Leonard Reedy

(1776-1837)

— Famous Gratz Gunsmith —

Leonard Reedy Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Pope, March 12, 2023

1. Leonard Reedy Marker

Inscription. Site of original log house-- Early Settler in Gratztown 1816- Skilled Gunsmith 1796-1837- Veteran of the War of 1812 Justice of the Peace 1818-1837 His Pennsylvania Kentucky rifles found in Museums and private collections Craftsmanship is equal to or greater than any known Gunsmith from 1650 to 1850. Buried in Gratz Union Cemetery

Erected by Gratz Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • War of 1812. A significant historical year for this entry is 1796.

Location. 40° 36.716′ N, 76° 43.147′ W. Marker is in Gratz, Pennsylvania, in Dauphin County. It is on West Market Street (Pennsylvania Route 25) west of North Center Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 13 W Market St, Lykens PA 17048, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania, specifically in Pennsylvania Dutch Country,

in the Susquehanna Valley,

and in Greater Harrisburg.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

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Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Gratz (approx. one mile away); Lykens (approx. 3.1 miles away); War Memorial (approx. 3.2 miles away); GAR Building (approx. 3.2 miles away); Tulpehocken Path (approx. 4.1 miles away); Henninger Farm Covered Bridge (approx. 4.2 miles away); The Romberger-Stover House (approx. 4.9 miles away); Elizabethville Veterans Memorial (approx. 6½ miles away).

Also see . . . Leonard Reedy Gunsmith.

Leonard Reedy has been recognized as one of the most skillful gunsmiths during the period 1650-1850. Reedy learned his trade in the Womelsdorf-Reading school gunsmithing.

Reedy was born on 20 August 1776 in Lehigh County, later moving to Schuylkill County before moving to Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania around 1815. He was a veteran of the War of 1812. He married twice and had thirteen
Photographed by William Pope, March 12, 2023

2. Leonard Reedy Marker
children. His twin sons, Henry William Reedy and William Henry Reedy served in the Civil War.

In 1818, Reedy settled into a new log house and shop in Gratz. He practiced gunsmithing in Gratz for more than 20 years, but he was not well known in the gun world for 120 years.

(Submitted on May 5, 2023, by William Pope of Marietta, Pennsylvania.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 13, 2023, by William Pope of Marietta, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 368 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 13, 2023, by William Pope of Marietta, Pennsylvania. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.