Early Settlers

Early Settlers. . , Almost all of the early settlers practiced mixed subsistence farming and had to be self-sufficient. They had brought seeds and, when possible, livestock with them on the trans-Atlantic voyage. The European farmers who came here, mostly Germans from the Palatinate, had generations of knowledge of crops and livestock behind them. For years, they had lived with the uncertainty of not knowing whether their spring planting would yield a harvest, or if their fields would be destroyed in yet another war. The hardships of crossing the Atlantic to find a new homeland where they would be able to live and farm in peace, own the land they farmed, and practice their preferred religion were offset by the hopes they had for the future of their families., The first to arrive chose the best land and the most favorable locations for their new homesteads. They needed fresh water from a spring for themselves, water from a creek for their animals, and fertile land. The most desirable land had creekside meadows and growing native grasses that their livestock ate to survive until sufficient fodder could be harvested. The rich limestone soils in the valleys of the Little Lehigh, Swabin and Jordan creeks were prime locations for early settlement., Large chestnut trees and black walnut trees provided plentiful lumber for log houses and barns. German farmers here became famous among early travelers; their log barns especially were admired, as no other group of immigrants built such comfortable housing for their animals. This area became their new homeland, not a stop on a journey to further frontiers. Most became naturalized, which required these Europeans to pledge loyalty to the English king and was necessary in order to purchase land. Their prosperity increased as they cleared and planted more land each year. By dividing land among their children they created a legacy that continues to this day, when so many residents can claim to have ancestors who moved here in the 1700s., In 1828, journalist and travel writer Anne Royall described traveling from Mauch Chunk to Allentown:,

The land becomes richer and less uneven as we approach Allentown; the heights are covered with chestnut, and the valleys with large black walnut, large farms and fine orchards; the largest apple trees I ever saw, fine barns and houses, sleek cattle, few sheep and horses in sight, but a number of fine hogs running at large in the woods. … The road from Allentown to Reading passes over some of the finest farming land in Pennsylvania. It must be understood that from the care and skill of the Pennsylvania farmer the land is never suffered to lose in point of fertility. They have made farming a perfect science and pursue a regular routine in changing their crops from one thing to another, by which means land originally rich is still the same and produces as much as at first, and land originally poor has become fertilized. I have seen nothing in a day of the Atlantic states, in the farming line, that has any resemblance to the farming in Pennsylvania. Father and son, grandfather and so on, have become rich on the same tract of land, I see nothing like poverty in the country, whatever there may be in the towns. The great, massy barns, with elegant sash and glass windows, their overgrown horses and cattle, their smooth ploughed furrows, their haystacks and snug, warm houses, their thick, forrows, their haystacks and snug, warm houses, their thick, serviceable cloths, the ease and contentment, and above all that noble independence which marks their steady looks and movements, prove them to be a wealthy and happy people.

, European intellectuals had a fascination with the American colonies and, later, the United States. Those who came here commented very positively in their diaries about the Pennsylvania German farmers they saw on their travels. An example is notes by the famous French botanist André Michaux, who traveled around America in the mid-1780s:,

The superior culture of the fields and the better condition of the fences indicate that here are settlements of Germans., Everything breathes comfort and well-being, the rewards diligence and intelligent work. These Germans live under much better conditions than the American descendants of the English, Scotch and Irish …

, Dr. Benjamin Rush, a founding father from Pennsylvania, wrote extensively on the Pennsylvania Germans. Among his observations in a 1789 essay on the Pennsylvania Germans are the following:,

. In settling a tract of land they always provide large and suitable accommodations for their horses and cattle before they lay out much money in building a house for themselves. The first house is small and built of logs. It generally lasts through the lifetime of the first settler, and hence, they have a saying, that a son should always begin his improvements, where his father left off., . They feed their horses and cows well, thereby practicing economy, for such animals perform twice the labor or yield twice the amount of the less well fed. A German horse is known in every part of the state., . They do not waste wood wood in large fire-places, but burn it in stoves, using about one-fourth to one-fifth as much. Their houses are made very comfortable by these stoves., . The Germans live frugally in regard to diet, furniture and dress. They eat sparingly of boiled meat, but use large quantities of all kinds of vegetables. They use few distilled spirits (whiskey and rum), preferring cider, beer, wine, and simple water. In their homespun garments they are likewise economical.

, Benjamin Franklin, on the other hand, feared the political and social influence of the many German immigrants in Pennsylvania and described them as stupid, unable to learn English, and swarthy. He wrote, "Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion.", [Caption:] , The 1756 Lotter map of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, with place names and descriptions in Latin and German, shows the extent of the areas settled around the time many Pennsylvania German immigrants moved into the Macungie area.