Life and Thought
the stuff you think about
In the Shadow of Mr. Lincoln
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is available on Amazon.
The characters of the novel are mostly fictitious, but Millerstown was a real place. It has been renamed Macungie, a Lenni Lenape word meaning "Bear Swamp". In 1860, Millerstown was surrounded by rolling hills and farmland. Even in my childhood, the area supported farms of wheat, corn, and soybeans. The Lehigh Valley as a whole has been developed; farmland these days is harder to find. Take a drive around the county, and you might see barns and houses like these. Here are some photos to help you imagine the era.
Barns built in the 1800s might be made of stone or wood. Most had some sort of bank, which allowed a wagon loaded with the harvest to drive into the barn for unloading.
As an aside, silos did not appear with barns until the late 1800s. Silos use an elevator system to carry grain to the top of the silo. The silo was not invented until 1873.
Residents of the Lehigh Valley often built homes out of the ubiquitous rock found on their land. The area has always boasted trees, which could have been used for construction, but if one needs to remove the rocks from the fields before they can be planted, one might as well use it for the house and various field walls. Often, the houses were covered inside and out with white lime to offer some protection from the elements. These homes often have window seats that are 18 inches wide. Most are two stories, but a few have three stories.
This is not the original building of the Baptist Church in Abby's Millerstown. The congregation was established in 1849, when congregants from the Lutheran and United Church of Christ broke away and formed their own church.
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A newer building was constructed in the 1990s.
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Today the church is called Macungie Christian Community.
Creeks and rivers crisscross the Lehigh Valley. Farmers rely on a ready source of water today; more so in the 1800s. Millers also needed the waterways to grind wheat into flour; and iron works, such as Lockridge Furnace in Alburtis, needed water for production.
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Above: This unnamed creek supported one of Millerstown's three grist mills. Across the street (this photo was taken from the bridge), you can still see one of the mill stones, partially buried.
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Right: Swabia Creek winds its way through the township.
I will be adding more photos later, so check back!