History Of
Porter's Sideling
More than two
hundred years ago the first white pioneers settled in a very
fertile and productive valley. The land was rich with many springs,
great trees, and a swift running creek. Ideal for raising crops and
building homes, it was called Grevious Valley. A hundred years
later it was renamed Porter's Sideling.
The early settlers were Michael and Henry Danner, Jacob
Rudisill, John Moyer, and the Thomans.
They built their homes over a spring to assure themselves of
drinking water in the event of indian attacks. The land was granted
to the pioneers by Thomas and Richard Penn for one penny sterling
per acre, with a six per cent allowance for roads. The deeds were
written on sheep skin parchments. The originals have been handed
down for 8 generations in the Danner and Thoman Families. These
deeds are legible and are in fine condition today.
The land for schools and churches were donated by
these early settlers. Among the subjects taught were English and
German.
The pioneers operated distilleries and sold the
whiskey at 12 cents a quart in Baltimore, to where it was hauled by
horse and wagon.
The first railroad in the community was built in 1852.
Several years later a merchant named Porter asked the railroad for
a sideling to ship grain to Baltimore. This is how Grevious Valley
was renamed Porter's Sideling. Later this same railroad was used to
ship ore that was mined in the community. These ore holes are
scattered about the countryside.
See: GCR9CC Iron
Hole
About this time the battle of Gettysburg was
being fought. The sick and the wounded were brought from the
battlefield in box cars. These trains often stopped at Porters
Sideling and the soldiers were given food and drink by the village
folks. In the fall of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln passed
through Porters Sideling to make his famous Gettysburg
Address.
In 1892, the railroad was built from Porters Sideling
to York, using migrant laborers. This work was done by hand and on
Saturday nights the workers would celebrate and great crowds would
gather to watch the migrant workers dance to music by the Porter's
Band. This band served the community for seventy years.
In the 1890's a brickyard was founded by Jacob
Brillhart. The bricks were made by hand and later modern machinery
was installed. Wood was used as fuel to harden the brick. The land
on which the first fire house was erected was the former brickyard
site. The land was donated to the fire company by Paul L.
Brillhart, a son of the late brick manufaturer.
Article written by the late Norm Danner and Frank
Luckenbaugh.