Little-seen buildings become stars of tour in Lancaster

A little-known Reformed Mennonite church, one of the county’s few remaining log barns, a cemetery, a Native American trail crossing, and an immaculately preserved house built by Martin Mylin III are among the sites on a historic driving tour organized by the 1719 Hans Herr House for Saturday, September 15, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM.

The tour could be called self-propelled, if not exactly self-guided—participants pick up tickets and directions at the Hans Herr House, then drive, bike or even walk to each location, where they are met by tour guides.

Local builder and historian Clarke Hess researched the three-bay Georgian-style house built by Martin Mylin III exactly 225 years ago.

“It is an exceptional example of a Lancaster County Georgian Germanic farm house,” he said. “The main house is probably 98 percent in tact from when Mylin built it.”

“The interior woodwork was finished by John Bachman, one of the most famous 18th-century cabinet makers in Lancaster County. There are two built-in corner cupboards and three corner fireplaces. The balusters in the stair rail and the raised panels under the stairway are original.”

Mylin was the grandson of 1710 immigrant Martin Mylin. His wife, Barbara Baer, was the granddaughter of Christian and Anna Herr, the 1710 immigrants who built the 1719 Hans Herr House.

Later, the Mylin house became the childhood home of James S. Herr, founder of Herr Foods.

“It has been a very prosperous house,” Hess said. “In its day it would have been called a mansion house.”

Tickets for the driving tour may be purchased online at www.hansherr.org, or by contacting the Hans Herr House at info@hansherr.org or (717) 464-4438. Tickets are also available at the Hans Herr House visitors center.

The 1719 Hans Herr House is located at 1849 Hans Herr Drive, Willow Street, just off of Route 741.

The Hans Herr House museum store also sells copies of Pequea Settlement 1710: Self-Guided Tour, which includes more than forty additional sites with GPS addresses, pictures and maps showing Lancaster County’s original land patents.