A22—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 26,1983
Charles farm symbol
is ever-flowing well
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
MOUNTVILLE - Deep in the
bedrock of the J. Clayton and
Dorothy B. Charles farm along
Habecker Church Rd. south of
MountviUe lies an unseen symbol
of agricultural heritage that spans
more than two centuries.
Daily it serves as a continuing
symbol of the steadfastness and
tenacity of a family that has held
together an agricultural operation
through six generations and across
209 years.
That symbol is a 30-foot-deep
hand-dug well that has never failed
to sustain the livestock, the land
and its Charles stewards all those
years. . Up to five years ago, the Charles
“Last fall about this time, the home was also stuccoed, but the
well got to its lowest point - about family restored it to its original
seven inches of water,” Clayton state, repointing the stone with a
Charles explains. darker mortar and blending the
“Usually there’s three to four home( bam and other buddings
feet in it - plenty for us and the 80 together with a deep, rich shade of
or so cows. brown.
“We extended the pipe just a bit. Throughout the house are visual
And then after the shortest day of evidences of its stately age, pegged
the year, the well started to come beams, arched basement area for
back - just like the old saying summer storage, narrow steps to
S o ® B -” the second floor and fluted
Perhaps, the comeback of the decorative scheme around doors
well further symbolizes the con- and windows.
victions of those in agriculture who But most unique are the upstairs
believe that despite setbacks of fireplaces which are hand-carved
weather, disease or misfortune but are painted black with
unseen forces will help guide them decorative veining to resemble
on the road back. marble.
Certainly, it’s the stuff that Dorothy Charles is the historian
molds Century Farms and par- 0 f the family and traces some of
ticularly the dean of this year’s the early history.
Lancaster County group that dates “The original Charles
back in the Charles family to 1774 homestead was across the road,”
a couple of years before the nation s be plains
was bom. “Jacob - Clayton’s great, great,
And just as the Charles farm (Turn to Page A 24)
jqt pi ig
marble vetoing is shown by Mr. and Mrs. Charles.
veming.
stands at the head of this year’s
Century Farms at age 209, it
presents a unique appearance
amongst the rolling farmland of
Manor Township.
In an area of predominantly rich
limestone soils that account for the
unusual fertility of Lancaster
County, the large house that even
predates Charles occupancy is
built of deep brown sandstone with
some streaks of charcoal hues.
“We believe that the stone came
off a small nearby quarry,”
Clayton explains.
“There’s another neighboring
house built of sandstone, but it’s
covered with stucco.”
The J. Clayton and Dorothy B. Charles farm with large sandstone house.
Fourth generation continues
BY KIMBERLY HERR
STRASBURG Nestled deep in
a valley off Bunker Hill Road, the
Krantz homestead is not visible
from the road. Traveling down the
long lane that eases over slight
hills, a visitor spies the farm
buildings one by one, first the bam,
then the house and finally, the
“summerhouse.”
Nosy heifers peak through fence
rails and two boisterous dogs - one
a sprite collie puppy and one an old
black mixed breed that hobbles on
arthritic legs - greet the visitor.
The thick, gnarled grapevines on
the arbor boast more than one
hundred years of age.
The atmosphere seems much the
same as it must have been when
John Krantz started farming in
1864. His father-in-law, Peter Herr,
bought the farm for him.
What he began over 100 years
ago is being continued, if slightly
altered, by Paul and Emma
Krantz and their family, recent
recipients of one of the Century
Farms awards for working farms
who have remained in a family for
at least 100 years.
Paul, bom and raised on the
Lancaster County farm, is the
fourth generation Krantz on the
farm, while his three children, two
farming tradition
of whom still reside on the farm,
make the fifth generation.
And regardless of the initial
appearance of their farm, the
fourth and fifth generation
Krantzes have seen some
significant changes.
Paul and Emma bought the farm
from Paul’s father in 1968 when it
housed a milking herd, but when
their two oldest daughters left for
college and art school, milking got
(Turn to Page A 24)
The solar panels on the front porch roof are an indication of
some of the changes that have taken place over the years.
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