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Family History Grows at Miller Farm

Posted on: Tuesday, 5 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

Jul. 3--Jacob L. Miller Jr. and Arlene M. Miller are surrounded by history.

Their farm, on Lake Road in Jackson Township, has been recognized as a Bicentennial Farm by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. It was one of four farms in the county to receive this honor.

Andrew Miller, the great-great-great-grandfather of Jacob Miller, began paying taxes on the property in 1804, an annual fee of $2.05 for 190 acres in what was then Paradise Township. The farm became part of Jackson Township when it was established in 1858.

Andrew Miller died in April 1835. That fall, a public sale of some of his belongings included horses and horse gear, swine, windmill, clock and case, stove and pipe, beds and bedsteads, table and chairs, household goods and linen cloth.

In the days before malls and online shopping, public sales were the source of a variety of items at a fair price. Newly married couples often depended on them for household goods needed to "set up housekeeping."

The brick farmhouse, built around 1835, was larger than many homes of the day probably because of the iron ore that was being mined in the surrounding hills, Jacob Miller said.

The home also served as a brethren meeting house. The first-floor rooms were separated by large folding doors that could be opened to create one large room where the faithful gathered for worship and prayer.

"People would arrive on Saturday night, they would stay overnight and church services were held Sunday morning. They came from all around -- from Adams County and York County and from Maryland," Jacob Miller said.

Many local brethren churches, including Black Rock and Pleasant Hill, grew from those early services held in the Miller home and other brethren meeting houses scattered throughout the area.

"In so many homes, the doors were removed and the walls were plastered. When we moved here, we were so pleased to find the doors were still available and could be used," said Arlene Miller.

A nearby smaller version of the family farmhouse was probably built in about 1895 for one of the grandmothers. "It is a lot like this house, only smaller," Jacob Miller said.

Jacob Miller, 67, and Arlene Miller, 61, met at Elizabethtown College, married and took ownership of the family farm in 1972.

They renovated and restored the original farmhouse and rebuilt the summer house using as much of the original material as possible and adding a stairway to connect it to the main house.

"The summer house is where they did their cooking in the summer, their canning and butchering; it's where they made the ponhaus and pudding, mush and souse, and where the vegetables like turnips and potatoes were stored for the winter," Jacob Miller said.

One can almost imagine the women talking quietly as they canned and preserved food to see the family through the coming winter or gathered to prepare meals for those who made the long journey to attend Sunday services.

New shutters and hardware were copied from an 1891 photo of the house that shows family members, neighbors and probably farm hands.

Lake PaGaHaCo, built in 1956 by the P.H. Glatfelter Co. in Spring Grove, now covers roughly 100 acres of the original farm, but thanks to an exchange of land the Miller farm remained fairly equal to the original 190 acres purchased by Andrew Miller.

The farm is home to deer and other wildlife, much as it must have been centuries ago when the area was home to Native American tribes. The land has shared its secrets, giving up glimpses of those who roamed the hills around Spring Grove long before Andrew Miller ever set foot in York County.

Jacob Miller has a collection of Native American arrowheads and spearheads and tools that a cousin, Henry Miller, found while working the land. Some of them are from tribes in what is now New York and date back several centuries.

Many stone chips found in one area of the farm appeared to be where Indians actually made tools and weapons. Unfortunately, that area is now underwater, he said.

While his ancestors, including his father, were born on the family farm, Jacob Miller grew up on Miller Plant Farm along Indian Rock Dam Road.

"My grandfather, Howard R. Miller, was a farm boy. My grandmother, Catherine Krape, was a city girl. Her family had a house on Roosevelt Avenue and in 1900 this area was the boondocks," Jacob Miller said.

Howard Miller bought land along Indian Rock Dam Road and started the plant farm operated today by his grandson John Miller.

"We feel so fortunate to be able to live here," said Jacob Miller, as he played with his first grandson, 10-month-old Alden Miller, the son of Jacob Miller III and his wife Emily Miller. Jacob and Arlene Miller are also the parents of another son, Thomas Miller, and a daughter, Alissa Miller Barshinger.

Jacob and Arlene Miller are retired and spend some of their time researching their family history.

"Our daughter is very interested in the house and the farm," Jacob Miller said. "She grew up with an interest in history, and we have talked about her living here someday."

BICENTENNIAL FARMS: The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture established the Bicentennial Farm Program in 2004 to recognize 200 years of progress in agriculture.

Recognition is based on the following criteria:

--The same family must own the land for 200 consecutive years.

--A family member must live on the farm on a permanent basis.

--The farm must consist of at least 10 acres of the original holding or gross more than $1,000 annually from the sale of farm products.

--The state recognized four Bicentennial Farms in York County and three in Adams County during the opening of the 2005 Pennsylvania Farm Show. Owners received a certificate presented by Gov. Ed Rendell.

--Statewide, the Department of Agriculture recognized more than 30 Bicentennial and Century Farms. A Century Farm must be owned by the same family for 100 consecutive years.

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

THE MILLER FARM:

Acreage: 168 acres

Produce: primarily corn, soybeans and green beans

Address: 1124 Lake Road, Jackson Township

Owners: Andrew Miller established the farm in 1804. He was the great-great-great-grandfather of Jacob L. Miller Jr., the present owner.

--John V. Miller, great-great-grandfather of Jacob Miller Jr., took ownership in 1837.

--John G. Miller, great-grandfather of Jacob Miller Jr., bought the farm in 1876.

--Howard R. Miller, grandfather of Jacob Miller Jr., bought the farm in 1915.

--Jacob L. Miller Sr., father of Jacob Miller Jr., bought the farm in 1945.

--Jacob L. Miller Jr. bought the farm in 1972.

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Source: York Daily Record

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