Quickel Church History - Zion's View
North Eastern York County History In Preservation NeyChip
"The Rev. Nicholas Hornell became the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in York in October of 1763, and at the same time he began to serve our congregation. It is from this information that the year 1763 was established as the beginning of Quickel Evangelical Lutheran Congregation. During this time and until the pastorate of the Rev. C .J. Deininger the congregation was a part of the Spring Garden Charge. Pastor Deininger is referred to as the founder of Quickel’s Charge. The first authentic records of Quickel Evangelical Lutheran Church are contained in a baptismal register dated 1765. ...It is believed that the first meetings of the congregation were held in the homes of the early German settlers in the community until the middle of the year 1767. At this time a stone school house was built on lands owned by Frederck Eicholtz, Ludwig Weir and Henry Shank, west of Mt Washington Church. This school house then became the seat of worship for the early congregation...In 1770, on land acquired from Michael Quickel and his wife Barbara, the first church building was erected. Obviously it is from this source that our congregation acquired the name of‘Quickel’...The records indicate that in 1793 this building was enlarged, but details are not available pertaining to the enlargement. This building housed the congregation in its worship and various services for eighty years, when it was replaced by the present building in 1850...It is the same building used for worship today, and to which additions and improvements have been made. The building originally was without a bell-tower, bell or steeple. Thirty-one years later, 1881, the building was remodeled and spire and bell-tower with a bell weighing about 1500 pounds were the major items of the remodeling.... In 1926 the church building had undergone a major renovation and face-lift. This included the installation of new floors, pews and the relocation of the old pulpit...On June 4, 1950, in the one-hundredth anniversary year of the erection of the original building, a Ground-breaking service was conducted. ..Services for the Dedication of the new addition, carpeting and redecoration of the existing building were held on November 18 and 25, 1951... [Additional renovations were made 1975 through 2011.]
Early history reveals that the Reformed congregation, which owned jointly with the Lutheran congregation the property and facilities, was organized in the year 1767. This union relationship continued until 1957. For several years prior to 1957, during the pastorate of the Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Hoover, many ideas were expressed and discussions held concerning the possible merger of the two congregations, and if this could not be affected then a fair means of dissolution would be sought. In 1956 the decision to dissolve the union relationship was made.
In 1797 the membership was 103, and by 1886 it had grown to 425 communicant members... Since the population during the early period of our congregation was all German, sermons and services were conducted in the native tongue (German). Catechatical instruction was also given in the German language. By October, 1890, when the Rev. Dr. Adam Stump became the pastor of the congregation two-thirds of all services, except for the singing, was in German. The use of the German language was discontinued before the close of the ministry of Dr. Stump, probably around 1912. The church has commonly been referred to during the years as Zion Kirche, The German Lutheran Church (Kirche), Quickel’s Lutheran Church, Quickel’s German Lutheran Society. The official name, however, is “Quickel Evangelical Lutheran Church” having been so named by the Articles of Incorporation dated August 13, 1956. "
Early history reveals that the Reformed congregation, which owned jointly with the Lutheran congregation the property and facilities, was organized in the year 1767. This union relationship continued until 1957. For several years prior to 1957, during the pastorate of the Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Hoover, many ideas were expressed and discussions held concerning the possible merger of the two congregations, and if this could not be affected then a fair means of dissolution would be sought. In 1956 the decision to dissolve the union relationship was made.
In 1797 the membership was 103, and by 1886 it had grown to 425 communicant members... Since the population during the early period of our congregation was all German, sermons and services were conducted in the native tongue (German). Catechatical instruction was also given in the German language. By October, 1890, when the Rev. Dr. Adam Stump became the pastor of the congregation two-thirds of all services, except for the singing, was in German. The use of the German language was discontinued before the close of the ministry of Dr. Stump, probably around 1912. The church has commonly been referred to during the years as Zion Kirche, The German Lutheran Church (Kirche), Quickel’s Lutheran Church, Quickel’s German Lutheran Society. The official name, however, is “Quickel Evangelical Lutheran Church” having been so named by the Articles of Incorporation dated August 13, 1956. "
Zion's Kirche (German for church)
Prehistoric Preservation Found in Our Backyard
A partial fossil footprint was found by Kathy Gordon in East Manchester Township, west of
Manchester north-northeast of York, all in York County, south-central Pennsylvania. This
happened as a trench was being dug on the Gordon property as part of an electrical upgrade
near the junction of Conewago and Little Conewago Creeks… This newly discovered fossil
footprint in the early Late Triassic New Oxford Formation appears to be the first known find in
the Gettysburg basin of a protosuchian or primitive crocodile, probably a species of either
Cheirotheroides or Batrachopus. A find like this should encourage people to keep looking for
more fossil footprints in the area and to call on professional geologists or paleontologists for
assistance if any are encountered. Pennsylvania Geology Spring 2017 Vol 47 No1
Watch video about this by Jere Jones: Ancient Crocodile footprint found near Manchester.
"Anyone from Conewago Township’s Zion View could locate their town by saying it was where the airplane beacon was located. That is, until 1970, when the tower came down. In “More about … the way it was, Zion View: a country village,” Norma Bear Gates explained that a Druck Valley farm equipment and machinery collector, Floyd Miller, cut down the tower and hauled it to his home. A farmer from Lancaster County later bought the tower, possibly to be used as a windmill stand. Miller kept two small lights formerly atop the tower, Gates wrote. "The large beacon light landed for use at the York Airport. That beacon might have attracted a small plane in distress seeking a safe place to land in post-War War II Zion View… ."
According to Gates, farmer Jim Hooper heard the roar of the plane and tried to signal a landing area on his farm. “Fortunately, a fence at the edge of the field sustained the plane’s left wing, saving the lives of two occupants (the pilot and his wife) who were enroute to deliver this newly-built plane to its purchasers in Maryland,” Gates wrote." It was Zion View’s first – and only – plane crash, Gates noted. The venerable beacon was designed to guide pilots on their flyways, she noted, but not in their landings." YorkTown Square
According to Gates, farmer Jim Hooper heard the roar of the plane and tried to signal a landing area on his farm. “Fortunately, a fence at the edge of the field sustained the plane’s left wing, saving the lives of two occupants (the pilot and his wife) who were enroute to deliver this newly-built plane to its purchasers in Maryland,” Gates wrote." It was Zion View’s first – and only – plane crash, Gates noted. The venerable beacon was designed to guide pilots on their flyways, she noted, but not in their landings." YorkTown Square
The Zion View Band organized in 1910 and played at countless community events until the 1980s. In 1927, they moved into a new band hall, still standing today. For years, it has been home of the York County Racing Club. In fact, the original band hall is standing as well. It’s a private residence at corner of Copenhaffer and Butter Roads in Conewago Township. Here, the band is seen in 1931. York Town Square
Ask anyone around before 1940 about the Zion View Band Hall, and you’ll get a story about the night that hall’s furnace exploded – or, as they say in Conewago Township, “blew.” Most of the crowd that night sat upstairs in the hall enjoying the entertainment. Exhibitors and a few stragglers remained in the lower level.
“Suddenly, for whatever reason, a huge ball of gas from the coal-fired furnace burst open that heavy stove door (as if it were made of cardboard) and flew in a straight line the length of the basement, striking one teenage gril in its path of travel,” Gates wrote.
The blast cracked some of the girl’s ribs, caused a lot of “burping,” and much concern. But there was no lawsuit. Just an unfortunate happening.
“And the show went on as usual,” Gates wrote. “I was that teenage girl, fortunately, and my dad, a member of the ZV Band, the MC for the show’s nightly entertainment, and dedicated promoter of that affair, never considered causing a stir about the “blowing” furnace. It just happened.” York Town Square
“Suddenly, for whatever reason, a huge ball of gas from the coal-fired furnace burst open that heavy stove door (as if it were made of cardboard) and flew in a straight line the length of the basement, striking one teenage gril in its path of travel,” Gates wrote.
The blast cracked some of the girl’s ribs, caused a lot of “burping,” and much concern. But there was no lawsuit. Just an unfortunate happening.
“And the show went on as usual,” Gates wrote. “I was that teenage girl, fortunately, and my dad, a member of the ZV Band, the MC for the show’s nightly entertainment, and dedicated promoter of that affair, never considered causing a stir about the “blowing” furnace. It just happened.” York Town Square
Here, the Young Peoples Society from
Quickel Church poses on the band hall’s stage.
Quickel Church poses on the band hall’s stage.
These paragraphs are from Quickel Evangelical Lutheran Church website.
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