Lemasters, Pennsylvania: 'A special little town'
Today as we're departing Chambersburg and traveling west on U.S. 30 in beautiful Franklin County, we come to Barnes Point and turn left on Pa. 416. As we travel south, we come to Parnell Drive and turn left, and after a short distance we arrive at the quaint, peaceful and distinctive town known as Lemasters.
This area was laid out as three tracts of land from Isaac Baird, Robert Newell and William Gardner. An early settler named Edward Parnell was the first to live in the area, and he was issued a land warrant on Oct. 11, 1730, for a tract of land approximately a half mile north from the area known as Lemasters today.
The Baird tract of land was eventually sold to William Wilson, and he had built a stone house on it circa 1804. In 1812, Wilson sold two tracts of land to Jacob Lemasters Sr., one 35 acres and the other 300 acres, for $5,300.
When Lemasters Sr. died in 1861, his son Jacob Lemasters Jr. became the owner of the stone house and property, most of which was used for farming. In 1872, the South Penn branch of the Cumberland Valley Railroad made its way through this area.
Lemasters' stone house sat next to the rail line and served as the ticket office and waiting area for the passengers. At this time, the area was known as Lemasters Station, but it was later changed to simply Lemasters.
Samuel Plum from Sinking Springs, Pa., bought 12 acres from Lemasters on March 26, 1874, and he immediately built a warehouse on the south side of the railroad. The new structure had a large capacity for storing grain and miscellaneous freight.
Lemasters and Plum went on to lay out building lots measuring 50 feet by 200 feet on each side of the public road, and Lemasters reserved the first lot where he built a brick home. He lived there until his death in 1900.
Plum's new warehouse now housed the post office and also offered passenger and freight service, with a waiting area for the customers. The first general store at Lemasters was opened by Jacob Grove in 1876, and it changed ownership a few times before being torn down by new owner Percy Smith. Smith built a new structure used as his home and general store in 1911. He also added a gasoline pump to accommodate automobiles.
Smith was also well known for his great-tasting homemade soda pop.
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During 1877, Plum shipped from his warehouse 600,000 feet of lumber, 600,000 shingles and a large amount of grain. It is without a doubt that 1877 was a very busy and prosperous year for everyone involved with the production, harvesting and shipping of various commodities.
The sound of music filled the air as the first band in Lemasters was organized in 1880 with 18 members. It was disbanded in 1890 due to lack of interest. However, the band was organized again in 1905 and went on to entertain until 1917, when unfortunately it again disbanded due to lack of interest.
In 1881, the first doctor, William O. Lantz, came to Lemasters. He would take care of many patients until his death in 1907.
The warehouse at Lemasters was sold in 1884 to the Diehl Brothers, and it was now known as the Lemasters Warehouse Co.
The residents of Lemasters witnessed disaster on June 6, 1905, when sparks from a passing Cumberland Valley Railroad work train set the lumber yard on fire.
The flames quickly spread to other nearby storage buildings, then to the warehouse. The fire then jumped across the tracks to the businesses of James Dunlap. In response to the fire, the Cumberland Valley Hose Co. No. 5 from Chambersburg was summoned with its 1903 LaFrance steam fire engine and firemen on a flatcar.
This train also had two water tank cars and it had arrived in only 23 minutes, but unfortunately all the structures were destroyed. It was within a short time after the mass destruction a new warehouse and grain elevator were built containing the latest machinery.
In 1914, the warehouse and elevator changed ownership and renamed the Lemasters Feed and Grain Co. In 1921, the business became the Lemasters Elevator Co. In 1985, the Snider family purchased the elevator and continue to operate it successfully.
A well-known local butcher, George Alexander, started his business in 1888, then partnered with J.W. Williams in buying and shipping livestock at Lemasters. The management of the Cumberland Valley Railroad saw the need to build two stockyards and ramps in 1908, and they were used until 1915.
The residents of Lemasters had electric street lights installed in 1904, replacing kerosene lanterns.
A bank was built in 1905 and officially opened for business on Oct. 17, 1906, as the Lemasters Bank. The bank was a small brick building next to Smith's General Store. The bank was busy and prosperous until it was forced to close on Dec. 9, 1916, due to misappropriation of funds to build a railroad across the Tuscarora Mountain in Fulton County.
A new bank, the Peoples National Bank, was started on Feb. 14, 1917, in the same building. The bank eventually merged with Valley National Bank of Chambersburg. In 1963, the Valley National Bank and the Old National Bank merged to become the Valley Bank and Trust Co. Eventually, the bank was closed due to reorganization.
The former bank building was home to J.D.'s Market, which has since closed. The Grove family purchased the property and is renovating the building into a deli and market. The name, appropriately, is Whistle Stop Deli and Market. I commend the family for their investment, hard work and commitment to this special landmark, and I look forward to visiting the new establishment.
Some of us might remember the last railway to operate at Lemasters, was known as the Mercersburg Railway, started in 1978. My brother Chris and I took a passenger train ride on this line in 1979 during the first anniversary passenger run from Lemasters to Williamson. It was a memorable trip.
Unfortunately, the rail service didn't last for too many years.
The next time you're out for a ride, why not drive through Lemasters, a special little town, and see one of Franklin County's treasures.
M.L. “Mike” Marotte III is an author and historian who writes about the history of Franklin County. Read more of him at www.vintagefranklincountypa.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Franklin County town a prosperous place in the early 1900s
