Manheim Historical Society

Historical Of Manheim:

Founded in 1762, the town of Manheim rightfully belongs in that select list of Pennsylvania towns which antedate the Revolutionary War. Of additional interest historically is the fact that the land on which the town was laid out has a close connection with the family of the colony's founder, William Penn. Explicitly, it was in 1734 that this tract of acres in Donegal Township (1741 in Rapho Township) was given as a gift to Penn's faithful secretary, James Logan, by Penn's widow, Hannah, and her sons. In 1762 this same tract was purchased from Logan's granddaughter, Mary Morris, by Henry William Stiegel and his two business associates, Charles and Alexander Stedman.

The first railroad train came into Manheim on January 1, 1862, with the completion of the first division of the Columbia and Reading Railroad. In 1884, another forward step was the laying of water pipes and the beginning of service by the Manheim Electric Company, which set up a plant in Bomberger's Mill at the end of Mill Street.

Since the first quarter of the eighteenth century when sturdy Swiss and German pioneers came into the area of northern Lancaster County, the region has preeminently been an agricultural region. Therefore, it is well to remember that, although Manheim was an industrial town, thereby fulfilling the dreams of the founder for many years, it was hardly more than a trading center for farmers. Truly, it may be said, that its continuing existence up to the present era was due to the fact that it is in the heart of the rich farm land of northern Lancaster County.