In this concluding column, we look back at the impact the Walking Purchase had on Colonial Pennsylvania. The new boundaries set by the walk were very beneficial to John and Thomas Penn but were a disaster for the Lenni Lenape tribe.

The Lenape were furious and did not want to move from their villages and hunting grounds. They were rapidly surrounded by new settlers, who wanted to farm the land.

Their pent-up frustration exploded with the advent of the French and Indian War, conflict between the English and French for control of Colonial America. Both countries attempted to enlist the tribes as allies in their struggle with the promise of restoring to them the land lost by the Walking Purchase.

All through the summer and early fall of 1755, there were increasing indications of Native American dissatisfaction. On the evening of Nov. 24, 1755, hostilities flared up and a Native American attack took place where it was least expected - the Moravian settlement at Gnaden-Huetten (Tents of Grace), near the present site of Weissport. The area was settled by both Moravians and Native Americans, who were converted to the Moravian faith. Eleven people were killed in the attack.

The attack shocked and alarmed the early settlers. Settlers from throughout the area fled to Bethlehem for safety. Residents of the Craig Irish settlement, which is present-day Weaversville, also left their homes for safety.

Militia units filled with volunteers were organized to protect the settlers. The man in charge of the Colonial Militia was Benjamin Franklin. He came to the area and rallied the residents to organize local militia units and construct a system of fronts to protect the frightened residents.

Two attacks occurred in present-day Allen Township. One was the attack on the home of John Stanton. There, Stanton and a number of militia men were killed. His wife and two children would all escape. Another was the death of Jane Horner, who was tomahawked while going to a neighbor to borrow fire as her home fire had gone out during the night. Her memory has been preserved at Horner’s Cemetery in East Allen Township.

Two Irish settlement settlers, Captain John Hays and Captain Craig, led a regiment of men from the Irish settlement, patrolling the woods to protect their neighbors from attack.

Two forts familiar to some of our local residents were Fort Ralston, built in 1757 on the farm of James Ralston, and the Wilson Block House, which is the present symbol of the borough of Northampton.

By 1758, the power of England ended the French challenge in North America. The French and Indian War was over. On the horizon was another struggle that would face Colonial America - the Revolutionary War!

***

More in two weeks.