Snow-Capped Pennsylvania German Country ...

 “That grand old poem called Winter.”

    ~ Henry David Thoreau

      ~ 1817 ~ 1862

This authentic Pennsylvania German farmhouse, picturesque 19^th century barn and corn crib paint a peaceful, rural winterscape after a fresh February snowfall at the historic 1756 Troxell-Steckel Farm Museum, Egypt, Pennsylvania.

The Coplay Creek runs through this 31 acre property, which was once part of a 400 acre farm. The centerpiece of the property is a stone farmhouse, built in 1756. A spring house, barn and corn crib are also on the property. The farmhouse is an authentic Pennsylvania German farmhouse and offers an example of Lehigh County agricultural history. The Troxell-Steckel house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

It is the region’s only authentically complete Pennsylvania German farmhouse, resembling its medieval ancestors and giving a captivating glimpse of the area’s farm history.

The Pennsylvania German farmhouse was constructed in 1756 by John Peter Troxell, an immigrant from Germany in search of a better life. When the structure was built, twenty years before the Declaration of Independence was signed, this farm sat on the edge of wilderness. George Washington was only 24 years old, and America was ruled by the King of England. At the time, the house was reported to be the largest residence on the Pennsylvania frontier. The fortress-like masonry walls of this structure are more than two feet thick.

In 1768, John Peter Troxell sold this farm to Peter Steckel, another immigrant from Germany. Pennsylvania Germans were one of the largest immigrant groups in Eastern Pennsylvania. Their traditions enriched American culture.

As someone of Irish-German heritage, I love getting a glimpse into Pennsylvania German history in the area.

This historic site is owned and operated by the Lehigh County Historical Society and is open for seasonal tours and events.

The Troxell-Steckel Farm Museum may also be accessed from the Ironton Rail Trail, which loops more than nine miles through Whitehall Township, the Borough of Coplay and North Whitehall Township.

The Ironton Railroad was a shortline railroad in Lehigh County. Originally built in 1861 to haul iron ore and limestone to blast furnaces along the Lehigh River, traffic later shifted to carrying Portland Cement when local iron mining declined in the early 20^th century. Much of the railroad had already been abandoned when it became part of Conrail in 1976, and the last of its trackage was removed in 1984.

 

In 1996, Whitehall Township purchased 9.2 miles of the right-of-way from Conrail, transforming it into the Ironton Rail Trail.

 

Early Spring Postcard ...

“Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.”

  ~ Lewis Grizzard

   ~ 1946 ~ 1994

 ~ American writer & humorist, known for his Southern demeanor & commentary on the American South.

The feeling of early spring pirouettes on the waters of the Jordan Creek as they spill over Wehr’s Dam, built in 1904, to flow beneath the historic Wehr’s Covered Bridge, creating a picturesque early spring postcard at Wehr’s Covered Bridge Park, Orefield, Pennsylvania.

The wooden covered bridge in South Whitehall Township is a three-span, 117-foot long Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1841. It has horizontal siding and a gable roof. It crosses the Jordan Creek and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

I shot this image in the late afternoon of March 24, 2024, less than a week after spring had once again awakened the land.

 

August Afternoon At Kreidersville Covered Bridge ...

“Art arises when the secret vision of the artist and the manifestation of nature agree to find new shapes.”

      ~ Kahlil Gibran

       ~ 1883 ~ 1931

Kreidersville Covered Bridge is sitting pretty in this painterly, HDR shot I captured on a beautiful mid-August afternoon. The bridge in Allen Township, on the outskirts of Northampton, Pennsylvania was built in 1839 and is loved for its great history and tranquil setting by the Hokendauqua Creek. It is the only covered bridge left in Northampton County.

The pedestrian-only bridge that crosses the Hokendauqua Creek is the oldest covered bridge in the Lehigh Valley and one of the oldest in the state. The historic wooden Burr Truss Bridge has a 116-foot-long span and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.