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In 1790, Pennsylvania Germans made up forty percent of the population of Southeastern
Pennsylvania. The immigrants and their descendants established a distinct culture
with folk traditions, decorative arts, and a language (Pennsylvania German)
based upon their German heritage. Over ninety percent of the German immigrants
were farmers and Henry and George Landis grew up with this strong Pennsylvania
farming heritage. Their ancestors had settled in Lancaster County during the
early 1700s and the brothers recognized that the material culture of the rural
Germans was eroding. This inspired them to start collecting objects used by
18th and 19th century farm families and craftsman. Eventually the collection
came to encompass over 75,000 artifacts including furniture, guns, pottery,
textiles, and farm equipment. In 1925 the Landis brothers opened a museum on
the grounds of their Landis Valley homestead in order to share their collection
with the public. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania acquired the museum as a gift
in 1953 and it is now administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission.
Among the documents included in the collection is a school attendance record
titled, "Philip Krantz's School List at Rabbit Hill School House in Warwick
Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania from August 31, 1846, [and from] December
1, 1846." It is on a single sheet of paper 12.5" x 16", and lists about sixty
children and the frequency of their attendance. The attendance record is significant
because it sketches a picture of a local Pennsylvania German schoolhouse during
the mid-nineteenth century.
The collections are located at the Landis Valley Museum, 2451 Kissel Hill Road,
Lancaster, 17601. The records are currently unprocessed and inquiries should
be direct to the Site Administrator or the Curator at (717) 569-0401.
A few records are maintained at the State Archives. Additionally, various unrelated
records of county, school district, and municipal governments were contained
in Manuscript Group 447. In 2014 these records were placed in record groups
according to their type. County records were placed into RG-47 Records of the
County Governments. Municipal records were placed into RG-48 Records of the
Municipal Governments. School records were placed into RG-55 Records of the
School Districts. The series description in each of the record groups identifies
any records transferred from Manuscript Group 447.
| PA State Archives | Hours, Directions, & Fees | Research Topics | Online Catalog | Land Records |