So begins Barry Kent's "Susquehanna's Indians" and so begins the story of what will one day become York County. Other American Indian groups follow. But we now fast forward thousands of years to set the stage for the time when American Indians meet the Europeans and written history begins.
1300-1600: Lower Susquehanna River
Shenk's Ferry tribe disappearsThe Shenks Ferry Indian tribe is small yet widely dispersed throughout the Susquehanna Valley by about 1300. By the early 1500s, these American Indians converge in stockaded villages in future Lancaster County. Later, the Susquehannock tribe kills, drives away or incorporates the Shenk's Ferry people.
The Susquehannocks, an Iroquois-speaking people from future New York state, migrate south in the 15th century. They separate from the Iroquois, a federation of the Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca and Onondaga. Some believe that the confederation of states that became the United States followed the Iroquois lead. The Susquehannocks seceded from the Union, reached the lower Susquehanna River about 1575 and established a village at the site of present-day Washington Boro in Lancaster County by about 1600.
1608: Lower Susquehanna River
Tribe named for 'muddy river'Capt. John Smith meets members of the Susquehannock Indian tribe near Port Deposit, Md., and travels upstream to its village. It is Smith who calls the tribe "Susquesahanocks," a Delaware Indian term meaning "muddy river." The Susquehannocks build stockaded villages and live in multi-family longhouses, measuring 60 to 80 feet in length. The Susquehannock society is matriarchal, meaning these American Indians trace their descent through their mother, and married men live with their wives' families. "The Susquehannocks were an alert, well-organized, military people and great traders," a historian wrote. Their lower Susquehanna home put them close to European traders on the Delaware and Chesapeake bays.
When residents seem like giantsCapt. John Smith, friend of Indian princess Pocohontas, explores the Chesapeake Bay and Lower Susquehanna River in 1608. He meets the Susquehannocks and describes them as giants. He claims one warrior's calf measures 27 inches around.
The Susquehannocks, a powerful warlike tribe, live along the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania and Maryland. These American Indians also impress Smith with their varied weaponry.
The Susquehannocks are amont the later American Indian groups to live in the area that eventually becomes York County. These Indians leave behind arrowheads, carvings on rocks and other artifacts for us to study.
And what about their size? Well, Susquehannock graves give no indication that they were the size of giants.
1618: Future York County
Jesuits make their markWhether fact of legend, Etienne Brule, French explorer, is said to be the first white man to walk through what became York County. The discovery of Jesuit rings and other religious artifacts point to a missionary presence among the Susquehannocks. According to one account, Mohawk captors bring Isaac Jogues, a priest, to the mouth of the Conewago Creek, where the Jesuit baptizes a dying Indian and some infants.
Four years later, Charles Ondiondieront, a Huron chief and convert to Christianity, explains his faith to the Susquehannocks. A Dutch journal, dated 1680, states, "It is said there is not an Indian Fort between Canada and Maryland where there is not a Jesuit who teaches and advises the American Indians, who begin to listen to them too much. ...
Pennsylvania vs. MarylandKing Charles I of England grants a Maryland charter to Cecilius Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore. The first settlers arrive in Maryland in 1634. Maryland's early settlers later will become intertwined -- sometimes violently -- with Pennsylvania's pioneers in York County.
Steelman first settler in areaJohn Hanson Steelman, believed to be the first permanent European settler west of the Susquehanna, is born. "Hance" Steelman becomes an Indian trader and interpreter east of the Susquehanna and in Maryland.
He operates a trading post after about 1718 along an Indian trail near future Fairfield in western York County, now Adams County. He dies in 1749.
1675: Lower Susquehanna River
Indians form allianceThe Iroquois defeat the Susquehannocks, weakened by epidemics and alcohol. The two groups have an ongoing battle over control of the fur trade with white traders. The trade is important to American Indians and settlers. The furs bring great value to Europe, and the Indians become increasingly dependent on European goods, including guns. At about this time, the Susquehannocks gather in two villages west of the Susquehanna, known today as the Byrd and Oscar Leibhart sites. The sites are located on a hill above present-day Long Level in Lower Windsor Township.
Later, remaining Susquehannocks join with Seneca Indians and other groups and increasingly become known as the Conestogas.
1676: Lower Susquehanna River
Major expelled for murderMaryland's General Assver about 1575 and established a village at the site of present-day Washington Boro in Lancaster County by about 1600.
King grants land to William PennKing Charles II of England grants Pennsylvania, or "Penn's Woods," to Quaker William Penn. The payment settles a debt to Penn's father, an English admiral.
County lines drawn outPhiladelphia, Bucks and Chester counties are organized. Lancaster County divides from Chester County in 1729, York County from Lancaster in 1749 and Adams County from York in 1800.
Penn: Grow different cropsWilliam Penn's report on Pennsylvania farming suggests that his 4-year-old province is producing a diversity of crops: wheat, oats, rye, hemp, flax, tobacco, peaches, grapes and other food. A year later, he reports that colonists are raising a variety of livestock and are developing an export business in furs, tobacco and grain. He urges Pennsylvanians not to become dependent on one crop, a tendency in other colonies. York County farmers and growers have long taken William PennÕs advice. By 1998, the county's rank among 67 Pennsylvania counties shows a diverse crop yield: wheat, 1; soybean, 1; corn (grain), 2; peaches, 3; barley, 3; apples, 6; potatoes, 7; corn (silage), 10. In livestock: hogs, 3; sheep, 5; chickens (not broilers), 6; egg production, 7; cattle, 7. The county is second in the state in number of farms and seventh in farm cash receipts.
c. 1690: Future York County
A tree sprouts in EmigsvilleAn acorn sprouts into a tree in future Emigsville. Almost 300 years later, the tree, described as possibly the county's oldest resident, crashed to the ground. The tree had grown into a behemoth with a 17-foot circumference. The book "Penn's Woods" listed the tree as among the oldest in the mid-Atlantic region. "Although this tree has the dubious distinction of proximity to Three Mile Island, it has good health and unusually good form," the book noted in 1982.
Part of the tree resides today in the York County Agricultural and Industrial Museum.