When the Herr party arrived in Philadelphia, they did not stop there. They took the roads that led to the west, and, when the roads gave out, they followed the Indian trails. Several miles past European civilization, they judged the land was good by the height of the trees. Here the individuals took patents on large tracts of land, some for one thousand acres, and some for five hundred acres. The objective was to have enough land for their children and for the relatives and friends who would be coming later.
Most of the land remained in forest. As such it was considered valuable for not only did one have the land but one had the trees also. Actually only a small amount of the land was cultivated. By the technology of the day, it was impossible to farm more than a few acres. Some was turned into pasture and some became orchards. Fencing was opposite to what we would do today. We fence the animals in but they fenced the animals out. Fences were put up around the garden plots and the grain fields to keep the animals out of these areas. The animals were allowed to roam rather freely otherwise. The pigs could fend for themselves very well. Usually one called the pigs in every couple of weeks so they wouldn't forget where home was. In the fall of the year they were encouraged to come into the orchard, where they eat the fallen fruit and perhaps get a ration of grain.
The Indians were in the neighborhood. At one time, there was a cultural conflict. The Indians had corn fields which the European cattle found was a tasty morsel. The Indians complained to William Penn that the cows were destroying their corn fields. Penn had fences built around the corn fields of the Indians.
The Hans Herr House was used as a home until about 1860. Very few modifications had been made to it. It was not yet the time for running water and electricity. The house had ample space for one family, in fact, too much. The biggest drawback was the upper floor which could not be heated. So the house was unoccupied for more than a hundred years except for use in light agricultural activities such as a place to dry tobacco. About 1970, the owners sold the house, and some of the immediately adjoining land and the modern buildings, to the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. They undertook an extensive restoration project to put the house and furnishings into a condition that was appropriate for 1750. This was the year when Christian Herr died, and at which time an estate inventory was made.
From the beginning of April to the end of November, the house and grounds are open for visitors. Several of the visitors are from Germany where the house has been written up in tour books for America. Of those with whom I have had contact, they say that it is a worthwhile visit.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.