A stone wall bordering a farm field shows its age.

The Manor of Maske was one of the largest manors in Pennsylvania. In 1734, the Penns authorized a Lancaster County surveyor and public official to issue what were call licenses to persons wishing to take up land west of the Susquehanna River. Two licenses were issued on April 8, 1735, for a total of 600 acres of land among the branches of Marsh Creek. The land that now comprises the center of Adams County was purchased from the Iroquois Indians by the family of William Penn in 1736. The Indian claims were settled, the temporary boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, was settled, and the settlers were being attracted to the area by means of regular warrants and surveys.
The residents of the Marsh Creek Settlement (synonymous with the Manor of Maske) were all, or virtual all Scotch-Irish. These Scots had lived in Ireland for a century or more. They were convinced that the British government had mistreated them. Many were embittered and had begun coming to Pennsylvania and Delaware in the second decade of the eighteenth century. They provided the largest number of pioneer settlers in what are now Cumberland and Franklin Counties, Pennsylvania. In the 1740's, there were many more Scotch-Irish in what is now Adams County, than any other ethnic group.

The pioneers in the Marsh Creek Settlement came in to the area in response to what they said was a governor's proclamation, calling for the settlements of unimproved lands west of the Susquehanna River. The Marsh Creek settlers became an integral and valued part of the society of York County, which was created in 1749. The Manor of Maske and the Marsh Creek Settlement was surveyed January 17, to January 30, 1766. One early settler, Samuel Gettys, established a tavern in 1761. By 1786 his son James had laid out a town of 210 lots with a central town square on the land surrounding the tavern. This town would become known as Gettysburg.

With the first Pennsylvania Frame of Government in 1776 and the Constitution of the United States in 1787, the growing population of the area decided they wanted to separate from York County. A new county was approved by the state legislature in 1800 and was named after the President at that time, John Adams. Gettysburg was chosen as the county seat.

Even before 1797, major changes had begun to occur in the ethnic composition of the manor, as descendants of many of the Scotch-Irish families, which had first settled there, sold their properties to German farmers and moved away.
By 1860 the town of Gettysburg had grown to 2,400 inhabitants with ten roads leading into the town, helping to create a few small but thriving industries. These roads and businesses would lead two armies into the county in 1863. At the time of the Battle of Gettysburg, there were about 450 buildings housing carriage manufacturing, shoemakers and tanneries as well as the usual merchants, banks and taverns of a county seat.

One Adams County resident made these extravagant claims in the late 19th century: "...it is not hazarding much in saying that, for domestic purposes, Adams County is the best watered spot on the globe. Certainly there can be none superior to it. Springs bubble up their sparkling waters everywhere; the silvery, cool, sweet mountain streams ripple; the clear valley brooks winding their way in the deep shade and bright sunshine are upon every side, all of clear, pure granite water...." To obtain water for domestic purposes, residents were dependent primarily upon wells and cisterns during the 19th century. As towns increased in population, the "clear, pure" water often became something less. Refuse water ran into the streets. So much so, that "the stench, especially in warm weather, is not only disagreeable, but dangerous to public health."

In 1832, largely through the efforts of Thaddeus Stevens, a water company was incorporated in Gettysburg, bringing water from a spring on the south edge of the borough (Marsh Creek). Improvements were made in the town's "waterworks," and a new company was formed. In 1847, the water company had 26 customers, including individuals, several taverns, a hat maker shop and the borough's hydrants.

Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th century, the county's newspaper reported frequently the "invasions" of typhoid fever, a disease frequently traced to impure water. The need to supply safe water for town citizens became increasingly apparent. Fearful of an outbreak of a typhoid fever epidemic in the summer of 1920, the county medical authorities prohibited persons from swimming in Marsh Creek above the Gettysburg Water Company pumping station as a preventive measure. Concern was heightened as a camp had been established along Marsh Creek by the construction company building the Lincoln Highway west of Gettysburg. "How would the people of the town like to drink water after several scores of men washed in it every night? ... We cannot afford to undergo the risk of a typhoid fever epidemic..." A watchman was stationed at the "Old Swimming Hole" to keep out the bathers, both the workers and the locals.

The town of Gettysburg and surrounding communities continue to depend on Marsh Creek for its water supply. The Gettysburg Municipal Authority (GMA) is responsible for providing water and wastewater services to the Borough of Gettysburg and portions of Cumberland and Straban Townships. GMA maintains its drinking water treatment facility along the Marsh Creek, just upstream of the old "waterworks."

Adams County Bicentennial Committee
http://www.gettysburg.com/adams200/tidbits/tabofcon.htm

Adams County Historical Society
http://emmitsburg.net/achs/