Lititz Mennonites: Historic Sites - Lancaster County, PA: Long-Landis Homestead: 1001 E. Oregon Road

Above: Long-Landis farmhouse as seen on Google Maps Street View.

These farm building are surrounded by the Landis Homes Retirement Community, and by the building of Friendship Community group home for developmentally-disabled adults.

Landis Homes was established on this 113-acre farm in the early 1960s. This non-profit retirement community is affiliated with the Mennonite denomination, as were the Long and Landis families who farmed this land.

Below: The farm's 1761 patent (first deed). From William Penn's sons to Johannes Long Sr.
Click Here to enlarge image. (Deed: Clarke Hess Collection)

The land was first surveyed in 1731, and was patented in 1761 to Johannes Long (John Long Sr.) (1693-1767). Johannes immigrated here from Zennern, Germany, and was married to Anna Snavely. By 1764 the Longs owned 950 acres in this area.

The farmhouse has two datestones. The datestone on the house's west side is dated 1770 with the initials of Benjamin Long and Christina (Rudy) Long. The second datestone, on the house's addition, is dated 1804, with the initials of Benjamin Long, Jr. and Anna (Hershey) Long.

The farm was in the Long family for three generations, and then was in the Landis family until the 1960s, when Landis Homes Retirement Community was established here.

Satellite View: Landis Homes Retirement Community on the Long-Landis Farm

Blue Pin: Long-Landis Farmhouse.

View this farm in a larger Google map.

Below: Google Maps camera car on the Long-Landis Homestead:

(It's today's Landis Homes Retirement Community.)

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Psalm Book inscribed in 1805 for Benjamin Long.

Benjamin's "B. L." initials are in this Long-Landis House's 1804 datestone.

(Clarke purchased this book at auction when he was 15 years old.)

Benjamin Long was a young, ambitious Mennonite farmer when he received this psalm book in 1805. The previous year he and wife Anna (Hershey) Long had expanded this Long-Landis farmhouse, which was Benjamin's birthplace.

Later, their daughter Anna (Long) Landis created the three textiles shown below on this page, and their three granddaughters created the other three textiles on this page.

The book's front flyleaf is inscribed Dieser Psalter Gehört mir Benjamin Lang: 1805 / Suche Jesum und sein Licht alles andere hilft dir nicht (This psalm book belongs to me Benjamin Long: 1805 / Search for Jesus and his light always. Everything else will not help.)

Clarke purchased this book when he was 15 years old, in 1969, at the household auction of Dorothy Long Rudy in Neffsville. Clarke had been buying obscure Mennonite books since the age of 12. (Psalm book: Clarke Hess Collection)

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Five Historic Pennsylvania German Textiles,

Made here at the Long-Landis Farmhouse:

Including 3 Textiles made by Anna (Long) Landis: Martriach of the Long-Landis Farmhouse:

1. An 1826 Sampler made by Anna (Long) Landis.

She was the mother of the three sisters who made the other three textiles below.

Most Pennsylvania German samplers were stitched by teenage girls, so this example (above) is unusual because it was made by a 26-year-old married woman. The needleworker was Anna (Long) Landis (1800-1885), married to "Rich" Benjamin Landis (1791-1849).

Some of the sampler's letters are cryptic and their meaning is unknown. However some of the letters on the second line can be deciphered. "ALNL" is likely Anna Long / Nancy Long. Nancy was a nickname for Anna, so Anna used both her names here. "HL" would be Anna's father-in-law: Henry Landis (1760-1839). "AL" is Anna's mother-in-law: Anna (Long) Landis (1766-1845). "AL" is Anna's mother: Anna (Hershey) Long (1779-1864). "BL" is Anna's father: Benjamin Long (1775-1851).

Anna's husband "Rich" Benjamin Landis was a great uncle of Henry and George Landis, who founded the Landis Valley Farm Museum. This sampler descended through Anna's grandson, H. Reist Landis, to a grand-daughter, with a note identifying it as made by great-grandmother Landis. Anna attended church with the Landis Valley Mennonite congregation, who met in the Roseville schoolhouse until the construction of the Landis Valley meetinghouse in 1847. (Sampler: Private collection)

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2. Anna (Long) Landis Makes Pillowcases for her Bachelor Son in 1858:

The Inventor Israel L. Landis:

This pillowcase, above, is from a pair of pillowcases made by Anna (Long) Landis for her son Israel L. Landis (1835-1917). Israel was born here at the Long-Landis Homestead. He was 23 years old when his pillowcase was dated. He remained a bachelor for his entire life.

Israel was a farm owner, and lived in Lancaster city. He was renowned as an inventor, and received patents for farm gates and other devices. He also was a banker and tobacco dealer.

Pillowcases such as this one often accompanied a full-size quilt of the same pattern. The appliqued designs include Israel's “I L L” and the date “1858.” Israel's pillowcases descended through the family of his sister Maria (Landis) Getz. (Pillow case: Clarke Hess Collection)

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3. A ca. 1840s Privy Bag made by Anna (Long) Landis:

This privy bag, above, is attributed to Anna (Long) Landis by Clarke Hess. Anna was a middle-aged housewife when she created this finely-stitched bag, which was used for holding paper scraps in the outhouse here at the Long-Landis Homestead. Privy bags were an unusual textile form that was popular among Lancaster County Mennonites in the 1800s.

This privy bag's leaf-block pattern also appears on a sampler quilt stitched by Anna's daughter-in-law Catharine (Reist) Landis, who lived in the adjoining Isaac Long Farm. This privy bag descended through the family of Anna's daughter Maria (Landis) Getz (1828-1889). (Privy bag: Clarke Hess Collection)

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Three Textiles made by Three Daughters of the Anna (Long) Landis,

Matriarch of this Long-Landis Farmhouse:

1. An 1831 Sampler by 13-Year-Old Fianna Landis:

Fianna Landis (1818-1900) was only 13 years old when she stitched her sampler above. She was justifiably proud of this needlework achievement, so she stitched both her name and her age at top and center.

Fianna was the daughter of Anna (Long) Landis, whose sampler appears on this page above this sampler. Fianna's colorful sampler uses traditional Pennsylvania German motifs as well as more nouveau designs. Fianna chose to use wool embroidery threads, rather than the more traditional cotton-and-silk threads her mother had previously chosen for her own sampler. This choice of wool threads signaled a change in Lancaster County needlework traditions during this time, when needleworkers began to prefer the bright, bold colors of wool flosses for their decorative textiles. (Sampler: Private collection)

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2. An 1843 Decorated Towel Made by 15-Year-Old Maria Landis:

(Her sister made the sampler above.)

Fifteen-year-old Maria Landis (1828-89) was the daughter of Anna (Long) Landis, who made the sampler shown previously on this page. Maria chose chain-stitch designs, for this towel, rather than the more traditional cross-stitch designs in her mother's sampler. And Maria chose to use wool threads, rather than her mother's cotton and silk threads. So Maria's motifs are more naturalistic in appearance, while her mother's motifs are more old-school and stylized.

Maria followed her own muse with the lettering in this towel. She stitched her name and date in fraktur-style lettering, rather than the block-style lettering usually seen in Pennsylvania German textiles. This lettering choice produced a more ornate, calligraphic design.

For a related towel see Elizabeth Reist's 1836 towel here. (Maria's towel: Private collection)

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3. An 1869 Privy Bag Stitched by another Daughter of Anna (Long) Landis,

Amelia (Landis) Nolt:

Above: Amelia Landis (1842-1897) was the youngest sister of Fianna and Maria Landis, who made the textiles at the top of this page. These sisters were born at the Long-Landis Homestead. Amelia continued her mother's needleworking traditions into her married life. She made this appliqued privy bag in 1869, seven years after her marriage to Michael W. Nolt (1839-1933). Amelia and Michael are buried at Groffdale Mennonite Church.

This privy bag descended through the family of Amelia's daughter Anna Mary Nolt (1867-1958), who married George Musselman (1865-1936). (Privy bag: Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Donald M. Herr)

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An 1822 Deed from Benjamin Long Sr. to Benjamin Long Jr.

For Land including this Long-Landis Farm:

This lengthy document, above, is penned on an unusually-large sheet of sheepskin. It records the transfer of several parcels totaling 184 acres to Benjamin Long Jr. Included in the transaction is one -third of the land that Benjamin Jr's grandfather John Long (d. 1767) has received in 1761 from the William Penn family.

This deed is signed by Benss Lang (Benjamin Long Sr) (1748-1823). It is witnessed by Joseph Lang (Benjamin Sr's nephew), and Christian H. Rauch, who penned the deed. Rauch was a Moravian scrivener, surveyor, and justice of the peace in Lititz. (Deed: Clarke Hess Collection)

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Below: Additional photos taken by the Google Maps camera car on the Long-Landis Homestead: