Upper Tulpehocken Township
  • Home
  • Departments
    • Board of Supervisors
    • Manager Secretary
    • Township Solicitor
    • Township Engineer
    • Zoning Officer/ Code Official
    • Roadmaster
    • Auditors
    • Planning Commission
    • Sewage Enforcement Officer
    • Emergency Management
    • Taxes
    • Sunshine Law/ RTK Officer
    • Zoning Hearing Board
    • Building Code Appeals Board
    • Ag Security Advisory Committee
    • Vacancy Board
  • Documents
  • Meetings
  • Community
    • News
    • Recycling Center
    • Strausstown Lions Club
    • Strausstown Volunteer Fire Company
  • History
  • Strausstown Village
    • Strausstown Sewer
    • Strausstown Refuse Collection
  • Home
  • Departments
    • Board of Supervisors
    • Manager Secretary
    • Township Solicitor
    • Township Engineer
    • Zoning Officer/ Code Official
    • Roadmaster
    • Auditors
    • Planning Commission
    • Sewage Enforcement Officer
    • Emergency Management
    • Taxes
    • Sunshine Law/ RTK Officer
    • Zoning Hearing Board
    • Building Code Appeals Board
    • Ag Security Advisory Committee
    • Vacancy Board
  • Documents
  • Meetings
  • Community
    • News
    • Recycling Center
    • Strausstown Lions Club
    • Strausstown Volunteer Fire Company
  • History
  • Strausstown Village
    • Strausstown Sewer
    • Strausstown Refuse Collection
Search

History

The entire northwestern part of Berks County was once named Tulpehocken, which was organized as a district in 1729, when it was part of what was then Chester County.  The area that is now known as Upper Tulpehocken Township was settled as early as 1735, but did not become a township of it own until 1820.  Until that time it was part of Tulpehocken Township.
 
In 1820 a petition was presented to the Court to form a new township and to name that new part "Perry".  This name was unsatisfactory to a large number of people, resulting in several more petitions suggesting other names. Since the Turtle Tribe of the Lenni Lenape Indians occupied the area and the name "Tulpehocken" is of Indian origin meaning "Land of the Turtle", the Court felt it was appropriate to name the new township "Upper Tulpehocken".  This ended the controversy, since the location was the main deciding factor of the name.
 
The first designated place to vote in the newly formed township was the public house of Christian Long.  Three Supervisors were elected, with each one being responsible for the care of a section assigned to him.  Since the record books were passed from one Supervisor to another, with no permanent place to store them, the early records have since been lost and the names of the first three Supervisors are unavailable.  Before this, the voters went to Reading, then in 1779 to the house of Godfrey Rohrer in Tulpehocken; in 1809 to the house of Henry Horst; and in 1812 part of the township went to the public house of George Shartle in Upper Bern Township.
 
The mills, forges and tanneries which at one time were successful are long gone, with the exception of one mill, which is located just south of Strausstown, on Route 183.  This mill was operated by the Rebers between 1813-1828.  William Miller then bought the mills and during his ownership the mill was destroyed by fire.  Joseph Seyfert rebuilt the lower mill in 1894, the same year that William B. Anthony became the owner. In 1917 Mr. Anthony's son, George M. Anthony, started his poultry business at the same location, with 125 baby chicks. In 1926 the demand for feeds became so great, that the old flour mill was discontinued and the mill was enlarged with up-to-date equipment. The Anthony family helped pioneer the field of artificial brooding and have won many awards in the poultry industry. The mill then operated under the name "Geo. M. Anthony & Sons" until 1979, at which time Donald Anthony, third generation, became the owner and changed the name to "Anthony's Mill".  In 2004 the mill was purchased outside of the Anthony family.
 
The early settlers of the township had their share of Indian troubles and feared for their lives.  Forts were erected as places of refuge along the Blue Mountain. In charge of their erection, was no less a personage than Ben Franklin himself. The Blue Mountain is broken by five gaps of almost equal distance from one another between the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers. Additional forts were erected between the gaps as havens for refugees. Many of them were little more than stone buildings that were adaptable for defense.  One such fort situated in the township was Fort Northkill. It was built in the early part of 1754 and was about two miles east of Strausstown, near the Northkill Creek and about one mile south of the base of the Blue Mountain. It was recorded that the fort was about nine miles to the west of the Schuylkill River and stood in a very thick wooded area on a small rising ground, half a mile from the middle of the Northkill Creek. It was intended for a square about thirty-two feet each way; at each corner was a half-bastion of very little service to flank the curtains. The stockades were ill fixed in the grounds and open in many places. Within was a very poorly constructed log house for the people. It had not a chimney and could afford little shelter in bad weather. On October 1, 1757, there was an attack in the neighborhood of the fort. Application was made to Conrad Weiser at Reading, for immediate assistance. Captain Oswald, who commanded the guards around Reading, sent two lieutenants with forty men to the relief. Fort Dietrich Snyder was situated north of Strausstown and about two miles west of Fort Northkill. This fort was used as an observation post, from which burning homesteads could be seen for miles.
 
Bloody Spring and the Degler Chest are also part of the history of Upper Tulpehocken Township. History tells  us that a family named Spatz was massacred near the spring and their blood ran into the spring, therefore naming it Bloody Spring. In the same area as the Bloody Spring, a family named Degler settled. One of the possessions which they brought with them was a chest. It was known that Mr. Degler was friendly with the local Indians, but with the French and Indian War, Indians from New York state were coming into the area and killing the settlers. Knowing this, Mr. Degler and his family took refuge at Fort Northkill. Upon returning home weeks later, they found the house ransacked and the chest broken open. The Degler family repaired the chest as best they could. It is noted in the deed to that property, that the chest shall remain with the house/property, if and when there is ever new ownership. 
 
In 1963 the Supervisors of Upper Tulpehocken Township voted to purchase land along Old Route 22 from Marion Hicks. For many years before the township building was erected, the road equipment was housed
in a barn rented from Zion's Blue Mountain Church. The township meetings were held in public meeting houses, private homes, the Strausstown School building, and the Strausstown Fire Hall until 1980; at which time the meeting room in the township maintenance building was completed. In 2004 a new municipal
office building was constructed to house the office and new meeting room, converting the old meeting
room into a road crew work center. 
 
Strausstown was the only town in the Township until 1920, at which time it was incorporated and became Strausstown Borough. ​On April 26, 2016 residents of both Upper Tulpehocken Township and Strausstown Borough voted on a referendum question to merge Strausstown Borough into Upper Tulpehocken Township, forming one 2nd Class Township effective July 1, 2016. This referendum passed overwhelmingly by 75% in Upper Tulpehocken Township and 94% in Strausstown  Borough for an overall 80% approval vote. 
Strausstown Village continues to be the community center of Upper Tulpehocken Township. ​

Historical Display Case

The Board of Supervisors recognized the efforts of a life long resident , Vera Breidigan with the dedication of the Upper Tulpehocken Township historical display case. Vera donated her life's work as the Strausstown historian to the Township.  Her research binders may now be enjoyed by generations of residents. In addition to Vera's books, the display case holds many treasures of days past from Rob Deisemann's private collection. Anyone that would like to lend a historical piece from their own collection is asked to contact the Township office. 
Picture
Picture
Picture

Barry E. Miller

The history page of Upper Tulpehocken Township's website would be incomplete without mention of Barry E. Miller. Barry's research and knowledge of the history of our area of Berks County is unparalleled. The presentations given by Barry at the Berks History Center were standing room only, and for good reason. Barry's articles may be found in The Historical Review of Berks County magazines, as well as the book, Highlights in the History of Berks County. Following is an excerpt from one such article: 
Berks History Center
Museum
940 Centre Ave, Reading, PA 19601
Research Library & Parking Lot
160 Spring Street, Reading, PA 19601
Phone: (610) 375-4375
For almost three years, from November of 1755 through the summer of 1758, northern Berks County was the scene of murder, abduction, and almost constant fear. The lives of families along the frontier of eastern Pennsylvania were severely disrupted by the armed conflict now known as the French and Indian War. The settlers there did not encounter the clash of armies or hear the roar of cannon fire. Instead, they were subjected to a campaign of stealth and terror.

During those years of strife, small groups of Lenape warriors revisited their traditional homeland south of the Blue Mountain and inflicted almost unspeakable horrors on peaceable German families who had begun to clear the forest and establish small farms during the previous two decades. The Lenape marauders, who travelled on foot over rugged terrain from the distant Ohio Valley to carry out their sporadic raids, harbored very real grievances concerning the nature of the treaties that had enabled European settlers to crowd them out of the Schuylkill Valley. The victims of the attackers' guns, tomahawks and scalping knives had had no part in those transactions, yet they became objects of brutality in a campaign of deliberate torture. 

Even today, many families in northern Berks County pass along stories about their ancestors who lived at the time of the French and Indian War. Bloody Spring Road and Fort Road in Upper Tulpehocken Township, as well as Fort Henry Road in Bethel Township, continue to remind local residents of that conflict.

from the article "Time of Terror in Berks County" by Barry Miller
The Historical Review of Berks County , Volume 85, Number 3, Summer 2019

Location

Upper Tulpehocken Township
6501 Old Route 22
​Bernville, PA 19506
Office: 610-488-7170
Fax: 610-488-6394
Office Hours: 
Monday- Friday
9:00am to 3:00pm
Evening hours by appointment
This website has been provided for the convenience for our residents. While every effort has been made for the  information on this site to be accurate and complete, the Township of Upper Tulpehocken is not responsible for any errors or omissions. Information displayed on the website does not replace official publication or legal advertisements, which are normally published in our newspaper of record, The Reading Eagle.
  • Home
  • Departments
    • Board of Supervisors
    • Manager Secretary
    • Township Solicitor
    • Township Engineer
    • Zoning Officer/ Code Official
    • Roadmaster
    • Auditors
    • Planning Commission
    • Sewage Enforcement Officer
    • Emergency Management
    • Taxes
    • Sunshine Law/ RTK Officer
    • Zoning Hearing Board
    • Building Code Appeals Board
    • Ag Security Advisory Committee
    • Vacancy Board
  • Documents
  • Meetings
  • Community
    • News
    • Recycling Center
    • Strausstown Lions Club
    • Strausstown Volunteer Fire Company
  • History
  • Strausstown Village
    • Strausstown Sewer
    • Strausstown Refuse Collection