New York & the Mid-Atlantic Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

(Elliott) #1
one of the few states with
no officially recognized
tribal reserves – or, for
that matter, tribes. In a
gesture to rectify their
erasure from history, a
replica longhouse now
stands on the property
of the 1719 Hans Herr
House (%717-464-4438;
http://www.hansherr.org; 1849 Hans
Herr Dr; combined guided tour
adult/child $15/7; h9am-
4pm Mon-Sat Apr 1-Nov 30),
generally regarded as the
oldest original Mennonite
meeting house in the
western hemisphere and
where the Herr family
settled. Today, Hans Herr
House displays colonial-
era artifacts in period-
furnished rooms; there’s
also a blacksmith shop
and a barn. ‘Living history
interpreters’ provide an
idea of how life was lived
in the 18th century.
The interior of the
longhouse, a typical
narrow, single room,
multi-family home
built only from natural
materials, is divided into
pre- and post-European
contact sides and
decorated and furnished
with artifacts typical of
each era. The primary
mission is to teach visitors
about the history of Native
American life in Lancaster
County from around
1570 to 1770 when for
all intents and purposes

they ceased to exist as
distinctive groups in the
area. And this includes
the infamous Conestoga
Massacre of 1763 when
vigilante colonists
from Paxton (given
the curiously anodyne
epithet the ‘Paxton Boys’)
murdered 20 Native
American men, women
and children from the
settlement of Conestoga.
A guided tour of both the
Hans Herr House and the
longhouse makes for an
interesting juxtaposition
of historical perspectives
and culture.

The Drive » The simplest
route is Rte 272 south to Rte 372
west. However, if you have time
head west on Long Ln or W Penn
Grant Road, then right on River
Rd, a pretty but hard-to-follow
backcountry road. You’ll pass by
Tucquan Glen Nature Preserve –
park and hike to the river.

3 Pinnacle
Overlook
High over Lake Aldred,
a wide portion of the
Susquehanna River just
up from a large dam, is
this overlook (h8am-9pm)
with beautiful views
and eagles and other
raptors soaring overhead.
This and the adjoining
Holtwood Environmental
Preserve are parts of a
large swath of riverfront
property maintained
by the Pennsylvania
Power & Light Co (PPL).
But electrical plant
infrastructure and truck
traffic is largely kept
at bay, making this a

popular spot for locals,
non-Amish, that is (it’s
too far to travel by
horse and buggy). The
4-mile-long Fire Line
Trail to the adjoining
Kelly’s Run Natural
Area is challenging and
steep in parts and the
rugged Conestoga Trail
follows the east side of
the lake for 15 miles. It’s
worth coming out this
way if only to see more
rough-hewn landscape
and the rural byways
that reveal another facet
of Lancaster County’s
character.

The Drive » You could retrace
your route back to Willow Street
and then head to Strasburg,
but to make a scenic loop, take
Rte 372 east, passing agrarian
scenes, to the small hamlet of
Georgetown. Make a left onto
Rte 896 – vistas open up on
either side of the road.

4 Strasburg
The main attraction in
Strasburg is trains – the
old-fashioned, steam-
driven kind. Since 1832,
the Strasburg Railroad
(%717-687-7522; http://www.
strasburgrailroad.com; Rte
741; coach class adult/child
$14/8; hmultiple trips daily,
times vary by season; c) has
run the same route (and
speed) to Paradise and
back that it does today,
and wooden train cars
are gorgeously restored
with stained glass,
shiny brass lamps and
plush burgundy seats.
Several classes of seats

TRIP HIGHLIGHT

NEW.JERSEY.&.PENNSYLVANIA.TRIPS

12


(^) PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH COUNTRY

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