Our Visit to the 268 year-old Buckwalter Farm!  

Written  by Jay Clair Buckwalter

October 2015
 

On Saturday, October 17, 2015, some descendants of Freeland & Florence Buckwalter visited Wilmer & Doris Buckwalter Nolt at 130 Buckwalter Road, Lancaster, PA.  The two acre lot on which they live is what is left of the 200 acre farm purchased by our immigrant ancestor Theodorus Buckwalter in 1747. Wilmer & Doris showed us the Richard Penn deed with Theodorus' name in it.

In front of the current house is a spring over which Theodorus probably built a log house.  A stone house was built over the spring about 1754. At some point at a short distance from the house a shallow well was hand-dug. (the stone house is pictured on the Buckwalter Family web site under a Story about Durst Buckwalter)

There was a large stone lean-to built unto the stone house in 1799.  Wilmer incorporated the date stone from the lean-to into the stone entrance to the spring cellar during recent renovations.  The current doorway to the spring cellar is the same doorway that was in the stone house!

Doris's great-great grandfather, Daniel Buckwalter and the brother of Henry Buckwalter, my great grandfather, owned the farm from 1846-1903.  He built the last barn in 1871 (barn was taken down around 1988 when the land was sold.)  About the same time he built the summer kitchen behind the stone house.  He built the current house attached to the summer kitchen.  The old house was taken down soon after 1900 and the stones were used to pave the newly opened Buckwalter Road.

Doris & Wilmer were quite friendly and enthusiastic and could not stop showing us around and telling us stories!!

Marge & Clair

P.S.  On the next page the left column is the chain of ownership of the farm.  John Buckwalter is the common ancestor of Doris and I.  My great grandfather, Henry would have grown up on this farm.

NOTE:  see PDF above for chain of ownership of the farm.