Norman Gasbarro | November 16, 2011
One of the great mysteries of Civil War Era Gratz is Fort Jackson. At the Gratz Historical Society there is a large framed picture of Fort Jackson (shown below). It gets much attention and comment during tours, but all that can be done is speculate on its use and history. A prior post on the […]
Norman Gasbarro | November 12, 2011
The house on this on this lot, known as Lot #23, was originally built as a residence for Simon Gratz some time before 1822 and therefore it one of the oldest houses in the borough. Whether Simon Gratz actually lived or syayed here is not known, but on the 75th anniversary of the founding of […]
Norman Gasbarro | November 3, 2011
This property, known as Lot #57 of the original Simon Gratz subdivision, was held by the heirs of Simon Gratz until 1844 when it was sold to Jacob Buffington (1801-1880) and Catherine [Schadle] Buffington (1807-1869), but they only kept the property until 1848 when they sold it to Leopold Loeb. Loeb was the owner during […]
Norman Gasbarro | October 22, 2011
From about 1834 to 1865, this property, known as Lot #25, was owned by William Bickel. Prior to the purchase by Bickel, it was owned by Peter Filbert, who was the father of Civil War veteran, Lt.. Col. Peter A. Filbert (1833-1924). At the time of Bickel’s purchase, there was a house and blacksmith shop […]
Norman Gasbarro | October 18, 2011
During the Civil War, this property known as Lot #39, had three different owners. In 1858, it was purchased by Solomon Laudenslager (1802-1885) who owned it until 1862 when it was purchased by Simon Hartman (1823-1886). Hartman sold it in 1863 to Philip Keiter who retained it through the remainder of the war to 1869 […]
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