Hans Herr House

The Hans Herr House in Willow Street, Pennsylvania was constructed in 1719 and is not only the oldest Mennonite meetinghouse in the United States, but is also the oldest surviving building in Lancaster County. The original owners of the house were Christian Herr and his wife, Anna, with their children, although it is possible Christian’s father, Hans Herr, lived in the house with his wife Elizabeth shortly prior to Christian’s occupation. The building dates back to when Mennonites first arrived in Lancaster County in 1710. The next year, a group of 7-10 men brought their families to the area from the Palatinate of Switzerland and southern Germany. They settled on 10,000 acres of land, encompassing what is present day Strasburg, Lampeter, Willow Street, and the eastern corner of the Pequea Township.

During the 16th century, Mennonites were persecuted for their beliefs, with thousands killed or sold as galley slaves (slaves imprisoned to row) over the next two centuries. During 1671 and 1677, William Penn invited Mennonites from Europe to come to Pennsylvania by offering land and freedom of religion while on preaching tours. Penn had himself been imprisoned in England for Quaker beliefs. By 1717, more Mennonites had arrived, with Bishop Hans Herr serving as their leader. An additional 5,000 acres of land were surveyed between the Conestoga and Pequea Creeks, although the exact boundaries are unknown.

By the time of the Revolutionary War, an estimated 50,000 Mennonites sailed to America, although only around 30,000 arrived, with the other 20,000 unable to survive treacherous conditions at sea. Many of the Mennonites who made the journey settled near Byerland, with Mennonite farms soon spreading across the Pequea and Conestoga regions. In 1719, the Hans Herr House was built among the early farmlands after the Herr family lived in a small, temporary dwelling for several years. Hans Herr died in 1725, but the house remained in his family for several generations until the 1900s. In the 1780s, Barbara Herr, granddaughter of Christian Herr, married Henry Shaub. The Shaubs owned the property for around eight decades, until in 1858, when Christian Shaub sold the house to his second cousin, David C. Huber, who was also a descendant of Hans Herr.

By 1900, the house was no longer used as a private dwelling, but instead as a barn and storage shed. In 1969, it was purchased by the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. Then, in the 1970s, it underwent a restoration, which was completed for the house to be opened to the public by 1974. It now operates as part of a museum complex that includes three Pennsylvania German farmhouses, several barns and outbuildings, and an extensive collection of farm equipment spanning over three centuries. The one-and-a-half-story, sandstone Hans Herr House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

1. Hess, Jean Kilheffer. Herr House Features Mennonite History in Early America, Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. October 2nd 2018. Accessed November 11th 2020. https://www.lmhs.org/herr-house-features-mennonite-history-in-early-america/.
2. Side Quest: Visit one of Lancaster’s oldest structures – Byerland Mennonite Meetinghouse, Uncharted Lancaster. June 21st 2020. Accessed November 11th 2020. https://unchartedlancaster.com/2020/06/21/side-quest-visit-one-of-lancasters-oldest-structures-byerland-mennonite-meetinghouse/.
3. Herr House History. 2012. 1719 Hans Herr House Museum and Tours. Accessed November 11th 2020. https://hansherr.org/home/history/.
4. 1719 Hans Herr House and Museum, Lancaster County Museums. Accessed November 11th 2020. https://lancastercountymuseums.org/hans-herr-house/.
5. National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form. July 1969. National Park Service. Accessed November 11th 2020. https://gis.penndot.gov/CRGISAttachments/SiteResource/H001090_01H.pdf.