Lancaster County PA Realty Check: Pennsylvania: Manheim

The town of Manheim dates back to before the American Revolution.  In 1734 a tract of land was given to William Penn's secretary, James Logan, by William Penn's widow Hannah and sons. The tract, in Donegal Township, which in 1741 became part of Rapho township, was purchased by Henry Stiegel in 1762.

Stiegel, who was a successful ironmaster, laid out the plan for Manheim, with an open space in the center of town which is now known as Market Square.  On the square Stiegel built a mansion, and also a manufacturing plant where he experimented in glassmaking.

Glass was blown in this factory from 1764 to 1774.  Stiegel had customers in New York, Boston and Philadelphia as well as throughout eastern and central Pennsylvania.  He became so successful and had such an elaborate lifestyle that he became known as Baron Von Stiegel.  By 1775, the coming revolutionary instabilities caused financial reverses, and Stiegel left Manheim.

In 1777-1778, the mansion that Baron Von Stiegel had built on the square was used as the home of Robert Morris, an unsung hero of the American Revolution who financed Washington's army, and lost his own fortune and his own grand home for the cause of  American independence.

The Mount Hope Estate and Winery is located off Route 72 just south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  Home of the well known Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, its scenic grounds were once home to five generations of the Grubb family.

Peter Grubb established an iron furnace in 1784.  His son, Henry Bates Grubb, built the original Federal style mansion in 1800.  The estate's name was inspired by nearby Hopewell.  Daisy Elizabeth Grubb enlarged and remodeled the mansion in 1895, giving it its present Victorian look.  She was the last of the Grubb family to live in the mansion.  After Daisy Grubb's death in 1936, Mount Hope was subdivided and sold out of the family.  35 acres remain in the present estate.

Mount Hope today is a pleasant day trip for central Pennsylvania.  Tours can be taken through the grounds, and in the fall many events are planned around the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.  Wine and cheese tastings, the wine shop, and concerts are scheduled in the warmer months.