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

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