Fort Henry & Fort Northkill & More! ~ French & Indian War in PA

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Mailing Address: PO Box 205, Womelsdorf PA 19567

[@thewanderingwoodsman7227]

This sticker has been found!

[@johndamms3567]

There is a marker for Fort Northkill is up one of the private driveways where you are. Want me to show you where it is?

[@Scorpio45Libra]

Pennsylvania has some really beautiful areas! We just need to get out and wander.

[@erickort1987]

beautiful coutryside at his old stomping grounds

[@hiworldstephensonultranate290]

Do please Go cause i can't brian Ireland

[@hiworldstephensonultranate290]

Sad myself But really Was Always Sad for those Native Indians where are their now ancestors? brian Ireland beautiful place beats cities for me by miles wr ate d birds n animals extinction?

[@WALTERZOLNA]

So much history, right underneath our footsteps...Its a blessing to be an American and live in a place that helped shape American, and world history...

[@waltglow6396]

I'm 70 years old, and I can remember my Father took me to Road Side America when I was 6 years old I feel sad that it closed up last year,another piece of history gone!

[@dwightminnich2722]

It is so sad. My parents also took me there as a kid. I in turn took my kids there when they were young. It was a regular stop on the way from Allentown to Hershey Park a long time ago.

[@douglaslangella7782]

So cool you found the cellar hole for the old fort. Must have been scary and lonely out there in the middle of nowhere. I live for this stuff!

[@dwightminnich2722]

Another great video. Your French and Indian War in Pa is an excellent series. And your video and audio quality is fine.

[@martyjones9374]

Beautiful drive. Your audio was great! Thank you for this very interesting history & telling us the story. Stepping back in time learning & imagining how it would of been to experience all of it. Amazing Cliff! Great place to leave another sticker. Will be watching who is lucky to find that one.🥰

[@josephmcgrath3152]

Thank you , these French and Indian war episodes are great .

[@SimplyExploVenturing]

Thank you for keeping us engaged in Pa History and showing us these places and how local history is alive if we give it the importance it deserves. It gives new meaning to why we are the " Keystone State".

[@jefffetzer8201]

Ft Wm Henry is at the base of Lake George in NY. Last of the Mohicans. an actual fort. Ft Ticonderoga also NY an actual fort. probably points on same defensive line

[@davidaustin4910]

Audio inside the vehicle was indeed better good job

[@pawadventures5544]

On the corner of Northkill and Bloody Springs.☠😨 I thought the headset mic did a good job canceling the vehicle noise making you voice clear and easy to hear. It takes a very disciplined person to not defend your and the lives your family for your religion. Good video as always. 👍🏻

[@coleswanger]

There was another massacre that occurred in Bethel Township during the war of the Kobel family that I heard a lot about growing up at the base of Little Roundpoint too. FYI that “beautiful old mill” you passed by and commented on is owned by my family and a very cool slice of Bethel Township history.

[@hiworldstephensonultranate290]

hi Happy Frogs Love Ye yere making me bit better 3000miles away irish brian tks Woodsman

[@jaytay8637]

The area was settled mostly by Dutch amd the word Schyll or Skyull pronounced now as kill means spring or clear water, so it is often found , at the end of a place name as in Northkill.

[@lindamccaughey6669]

Thanks so much for this Cliff. I so enjoyed that. Just gotta love history. You do live in a beautiful part of your Country. Thanks so much for taking me along. Please stay safe and take care

[@BonnieSauter]

My 6x grandparents, and all of their children except my 5x grandfather, were also killed by Native Americans in PA (in a similar manner). Thank you for bringing their history to life for me.

[@danielbrumbaugh9845]

Just to let you know the audio was loud and clear and the video content with the history was great.

[@ronaldroberts1992]

That had to be awful the slaughter s back then but history hasn't changed as we see horrific times today. Thanks Cliff very good.

[@verdashirk9819]

Thank you for this video. My ancestors were the Hochstetler family. I want to get to Northkill sometime to see the marker. There is a book called Jacob’s Choice that tells you more about the story. I am a descendant of Joseph so I think he went back to his Amish family.

[@nrev79]

Hi there cousin 😄

[@austingould8275]

While you said that your farm was probably not attacked as far as you know, there is a high likelihood it may have. At around 4:00pm on November 15, 1755, a group of Berks County Associators were ambushed on their way to guard duty at Dietrich Six's house (where Fort Henry would be built). From the source I have, one of the Associators was named Christopher Ury. Throughout the night the Native Americans burned quite a few barns and other buildings and there was quite a bit of fighting between Native Americans and settlers throughout the night, with I think the total death toll being about 15. Source: www.usgwarchives.net/pa/1pa/1picts/frontierforts/ff4.html

[@azzureasthesky]

Every time you'd say Dietrich Snyder I'd think Dee Snyder from Twisted Sister! Thanks, your videos are all interesting. So glad you went to Yellow Creek and Cook Forest recently. I'm all over the place watching these - no order at all, just what seems interesting at the moment. Found you originally when you filmed at a cemetery. I've been exploring them for over 30 years!

[@theodorerooseveltcharlesto1555]

I love Pennsyltucky my home State. A lot of great history and beautiful country.

[@waltglow6396]

Cliff did you ever do any arrowhead hunting on that farm you lived on ?

[@tylermartin5762]

Very Glad I found your video! One of my ancestors Johann Casper Spring. Was killed in November of 1755 on one of these indian raids. I have looked relentlessly on the internet and library research to find a general location of his attack “The Indians of Berks County” by DB Brunner describes that Fort Henry was also being called “Dietrich six’s”. Page 63 describes the company by ColonelWeiser coming into the area of Bethel after the Indian Raid. “…who marched on the Shamokin road to near Dietrich Six’s; about half a mile from whose house they found Casper Spring dead and scalped, and having buried him, they marched about one hundred rods and found one Beslinger’s dead and scalped” the details later go on to describe the pretty horrific mutilation of their bodies. I was just curious with you being local to that area and knowing so much about this subject if you had any insight to this account or the location?

[@SueGirling68]

Hi Cliff, some awesome history in that area and such a beautiful area too. Boy those frogs are so noisy bless them. Thank you for sharing, much love. xx 💖

[@smittysmitty481]

Interesting video, I enjoyed watching

[@ruthgoebel723]

The Kobel family also were massacred. Some of those that survived are buried in Rehrersburg, I believe. They were ancestors of mine.

[@tmpatklk]

Great video packed with history and beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing Cliff. My wife and I stopped at Roadside America when returning from our Poconos honeymoon in June 1970. It was a neat place. The narrative about the forts and massacres was informative and interesting.

[@ChrisSlowens]

Oh wow... there aren't many videos on this! I'm descended from the Hochstetlers.

[@buckmartin2525]

Another awesome job. I could sit and talk with you for hours about the French Indian war. Great job.

[@Carolbearce]

I did notice a difference in the sound in the car. It was much better. Thank you for taking us on this history trip.

[@annarmartin2713]

2 branches of my ancestors trace back to the Hochstetler family. Joseph went back and spent the rest of his life with the Native Americans. Christian came home and knocked on his Fathers door. He was dressed in full Native garb and his Father did not know him until he began speaking to him in Pennsylvania German. Then his Father recognized him.

[@jenniferbutcher8393]

Just loved the cabin and the time we got to spend in this area last year....so much to see and do....the history is so rich and the land is so beautiful. Thanks for showing us around and telling the backstory! 😊 it was cool to visit Ft. Deitrick Snyder, which was right at the top of the mountain where our cabin was. It was very neat to see the remnants of the fort and the hotel.

[@Azstaria]

Thank you for the walk through history - very relaxing to watch from my world in the Sonoran Desert 🌵 !

[@elizabethrowe7262]

Great story and yes the audio is much better whilst you are travelling in the car. Amazing history where you once lived on the farm and would say lots of stories to tell re the forts and massacres that happened. A time of uncertainty and fear of being killed with being the first settlers to live in and around this area. Thanks for showing this history Cliff.

[@kateclark7250]

Interesting video. I did not know much about the French and Indian War.. Thanks for the info.

[@harrytruax5195]

Another great upload Cliff! An idea popped in as I watched this - maybe also do some French/Indian war episodes from the native American viewpoint, prominent figures, how they lived, where they lived, things like that. Just a suggestion. Wander on!

[@timwalsh1511]

I always enjoy your videos

[@awizardalso]

I loved in Millersburg, Ohio from 1977 to 1980. Millersburg is the capital city of Holmes County. It was full of Amish and Mennonites. I worked at Castle Nursing Homes. They had 7 main buildings. They also hired Amish and Mennonites. I liked an Amish girl I worked with. She said if I want to marry her I'd have to sell my motorcycle. Well, I couldn't.

[@57Banjoman]

Very good, Cliff-thank you-the frogs were cool, as well!

[@jwright1253]

Love your fort videos

[@lerdawerd1933]

I know this video is old, but just FYI for the Northkill Massacre, the youngest son, Jacob Jr., answered the door and was shot in the leg. The other daughter, who is the Barbara you speak of, had moved out when she got married and lived down the road as well as the oldest son, John. John hid his family and then helplessly watched the massacre from afar. The mom, youngest daughter, and Jacob Jr, the youngest son, were scalped in the massacre. Legend has it that the mom denied hungry Indians food when they asked for help, and that is a possibility for why they were targeted. The lived peacefully among them for 15 years prior to this, so it very well could be true. Supposedly, Jacob Sr. and the boys filled their pockets with peaches and offered it to the chief of the tribe, which likely saved their lives because in the French and Indian War, it was known that prisoners taken captive by some tribes were made to "run the gauntlet". This meant that they had to run between two lines of Indians that all had sticks or weapons, and apparently some people would die. Christian (9 at the time of capture) was the one who was fully adopted into the tribe. 7 years later when he finally found his way home back to his family's cabin, Jacob Sr. saw him he thought he was an Indian, and offered him food. Christian took it outside to a tree stump and ate it, and when he finished, Jacob Sr. approached him and he spoke in broken German, "My name is Christian Hochstetler". He later joined the Tunker Church (German Baptist) and eventually became a Preacher. If memory serves, Joseph (15 at the time of capture) made his way home before Christian. Both were released after government treaties, and Jacob Sr. spent much of his time trying to find them and urged the government to search where he knew they were. They were gone for 7 years, and the Indians did not want Joseph to leave either. Even after his release from the tribe, he continued to have a relationship with them and would go on hunts. He was supposedly known in the tribe as one of the best hunters. He stayed in the Old Order Amish community, married, and had children. Jacob Sr. was a trusted captive that they would give a gun, powder and a few bullets at a time to get the tribe meat while they were on raids. He had to account for every missing bullet that did not bring back meat, yet he managed to lie and hide a few bullets and some powder to make an escape. He listened and studied maps of the rivers drawn with sticks in the dirt until he escaped, was caught by a lone Indian, then escaped again. He had no axe, but had to build a raft, so he burned downed trees to make logs to build his raft. Legend has it that he survived on a dead possum and maggots for 5 days while he hallucinated, until he was found by the military near a fort and was nearly dead. He couldn't even stand on his own. Thank you for telling this story and keeping it alive. These are my ancestors, I am a descendent of Joseph. He is from what I have been able to find, my 7x great grandfather.

[@darlenegood4101]

There is a large population of Amish and Mennonite in my area too.

[@johnd2042]

Good video. Hope you had good hike. Thanks for sharing.

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

There really was no Fort at Dietrich Snyder! It was just an old farm log cabin and was used mostly as a lookout point being it was on 1.5 miles up the mountain from Fort Northkill. The fort is listed on Historical maps, but Auburn Area Historical Society Chairperson Todd Graybill first cites all of the "proof" for its existence, then provides well-documented details which refute each piece of "evidence" to reach a definitive conclusion that "Fort Dietrich Snyder" never existed.

[@bekleidungu.ausrustung7068]

Real nice video!

[@jwon5614]

What a great day!!!! Beautiful area to grow up in🤗 The story was sad I have so much respect for the Amish and how they live. We could actually learn so much from them- they're good people!! Great history here😊

[@mgratk]

Great job yet again Cliff. Thank you sir.

[@karenpacker8862]

Thanks for making history come alive for me. Also seeing all the beautiful scenery.

[@paulamcmanus6398]

Barbara Hochstettler was their older, married daughter, married to Christian Stutzman and living on the farm next door, who witnessed the massacre. I am one of her descendants, so my gggg-grandmother was the fat lady who got stuck in the basement window - they scalped her because she wouldn't stop screaming -- and it's said they targeted that farm because she had refused them food in the past. My later ancestor, Anna Morell Gerber, ALWAYS fed the natives if they were hungry.

[@billbailey4943]

Great and interesting history narrative, video is one of your best!!

[@matthewweimer42]

Do you know much history about the dam/pond at the heirtlein campsite on the A.T.? I was always curious about it. Heard it was for hydro electric way back.

[@suengene]

I enjoy watching your videos. I use to live on Bloody Spring Rd for 14 1/2 years. Miss it there

[@nickmad887]

Thanks Cliff.

[@ejbehler]

Where are you in reference to the old scout camp Shikalemy?

[@hiworldstephensonultranate290]

man this d America I Love whow brian

[@millanjean-michel3817]

hi, my ancestor with his family arrived in pennsylvania in 1743...and fought the French...who were very bad....

[@trickychristopher]

I love all this history and I really love this channel. If you haven't subscribed yet you really should. Thank you Cliff.

[@mikeblair7614]

Great vid thanks for the history.

[@janetsides901]

This was interesting, thanks!

[@davidb.3786]

Do any of the private property owners give permission to universities to do research on the land like scanning and what not? Not to take stuff just to research and confirm.

[@ejbehler]

West of Hamburg the church is west of Hamburg.....ps I grew up in Hamburg

[@enrico7342]

Do you have any more information about the history of the blue Mountain hotel

[@angelofloveiam50]

How beautiful. As always. U look great

[@bonnie532]

Have you ever been to Fort Zeller?

[@dustin2dust351]

Wood frogs 🐸

[@matts4852]

You need an adventure or dual sport motorcycle to do motovlogs!

[@ducaticanine]

cool video man! think you’ll ever move to another state someday or another country?

[@katiefyock9607]

The Amish have gotten into the MMJ and hemp business. Green Corn.

[@lisasmith7854]

To bad native americans didn't know what NO trespassing signs were way back then. We were the enemy sorry... Love the history stories though.

[@iignorerepliesfrombores4010]

Our ancestors didn't honor the treaties, so they would have ignored the signs, too. 😪