The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1900-02-17
MAY REVERT TO THE STATE.

At Chambersburg, Pa, recently,
Judge Stewart granted a rule on the
trustees of the Seventh day Baptist
congregation, now in control of what
is known as s''The Nunnery" property,
located at Snow Hill, in Quincy town
ship, Franklin county, to show cause
why it should not revert to the State.
Last summer Auditor General Nc
Cauley was informed that the Mon
astical Society which had been in pos
session of the property was extinct,
the monks and nuns all being dead,
and that their was no heirs to the
property. According1yhe appointed
Chas. A. Suesserott, of Chambers
cordance with the duties of IN az
pointment Suesserott had a stirvey of
the land made by the county survey
or, and retained counsel to look after
the interests of the State. The sur
veyor found that the real estate con-
sisted of I67 acres of land, having
thereon the monastery, an old grist
mill, barns, shops, sheds and other
structures. If the proceeding result
in the sale of the property, two-ti1irds
of the proceeds will 60 to the Com
monwealth and the remaining one
third to the informer.
The seizure by the States recalls in
teresting history in connection with
the estate, which is situated not far
from Waynesboro, i'll the southern
part of the county. Peter Leh-
man was supposed to be the founder
of the institution, and his grave is
about one-fourth of mile north of
the main building. Lehman came to
the southern part of Franklin county
in 1865, or few years earlier. He
was descendant of the denomination
called Amish, or Omish, and adopted
the belief of the Seventh-day Bap-
lists, at Ephrata, Lancaster county,
The monastery was first built and lat
er the white church, across the creek,
where, on the Seventh-day of the
week, the members Of the community
aud white frairs would worship to-
gether.
Religious meetings, small and large,
have been held on the ground since
I775, and perhaps earlier, and are
still being held there. The first house
was of logs, built in 1865. The meet
ing house was built in 1929 by sub
scriptions from the public of $1,000.
Prior to the erection of the meeting
house the meetings were held in f6a
various houses constituting the non
astery The most prosperous peiod
of the nunnery seems to have t.n
from 1920 I84o. The number,f
persons residing on the ground dur
ing that period ranged from twe:.ty
1896, and s:<2SS tlse.t astS tl44ee
terry has been occupied only by care
takers, and its rooms are thrown open
only at the annual love feasts.
The Seventh-day Baptist denomin-
alton is by no means extinct in that
section of the State. Some Of the
thriftiest families in the Cumberland
Valley are members of the denomipa--
ton. They do not look kindly upon
the confscation of the property by
the State. They have been aware for
some months that the State had TAX
en- active steps to confscate and sell
the property. The trustees have not
yet taken steps for the retention of
the property. What they may do re
mains to be seen. Their ccnverva-
tism may prompt them to place no
obstacles in the way. On the other
hand, they may rise UP and wage
legal battle against what they term
unlawful seizure of their property.
Snow Hill and Ephrata, the latter
in Lancaster county, are said to be
the only two spots in this country
where a monastical order of a Protes-
tant Church was ever established.