History of the New Holland Area
By the time John Diffenderfer arrived in Philadelphia from the Palatinate region of Europe (modern western Germany) in 1727, William Penn’s invitation to those seeking religious freedom was already a few decades old. Nevertheless, by 1728 Diffenderfer and his family settled in the wooded countryside, near what would become New Holland, Lancaster County.
Other German farmers that followed Diffenderfer were spread thinly across the countryside of northern Lancaster County. When the county was created in 1729, from a slice of Chester County, the area around present-day New Holland, was named Earl Township.
Like Lititz and Ephrata and other towns in Lancaster County, many of the settlers who established New Holland had suffered from religious persecution in Europe. America had been advertised in Europe as a place where many freedoms were available but, in particular, New Holland’s settlers established churches. The imprint of their religious convictions still is evident in the number of churches that survive within the town’s boundaries.
Within a few years of the Diffenderfer family’s arrival, the town was the largest settlement in Earl Township and was often called Earltown. But it would have several other names before 1802 when the post office was established and residents settled on “New Holland” to honor the benevolence of people in Holland who offered assistance to the town’s settlers when they passed through Rotterdam on their way to the New World.
New Holland is surrounded by farmland but, in the early 1700s it was lush with verdure in the form of virgin forests of ash, oak, walnut and chestnut trees. Diffenderfer settled on a square mile of land just north of the present-day town and set about building a life in agriculture. It wasn’t until 1750 that Diffenderfer’s son Michael laid out a plan for a town he called New Design.
The plan drew upon a European style of development that is still evident today. The linear design placed settlements along a high ridge, which modern Route 23 follows. Houses lined both sides of the main street and each house was allotted a plot of land that was cultivated or used as a livestock pasture. One of New Holland’s other names, “Saeue Schwam,” meaning Hog Swamp, was derived when one area farmer used his plot, a low-lying swampy area, to graze pigs. The area became known as Hog’s Swamp.
New Holland’s agricultural heritage is responsible for making the town’s name known around the world for its farm equipment.
Abe Zimmerman, a 26-year-old village tradesman in 1899, opened a machine repair shop. Zimmerman’s New Holland Machine Works introduced a portable feed mill in 1899 and went on to produce other farm equipment innovations aimed at reducing a farmer’s labor. Throughout the 20th century, New Holland Machine Company was purchased by several companies such as Sperry-Rand and Ford.
Today, it is known as Case New Holland, the second-largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment in the world with more than 10,000 dealers in 160 countries.
From its inception, the rich soil of the surrounding countryside and the ample space for grazing livestock rooted New Holland’s economy in agriculture.
New Holland’s Sales Stables, for example, is a livestock auction and one of the oldest agricultural traditions, where animals are sold to the highest bidder every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and occasional Fridays. It is one of the largest livestock auctions east of the Mississippi River, selling about 10,000 head a week. Established in 1923 and located just south of Route 23, sheep, lambs, dairy cows, beef cattle, goats, hogs and Percheron and Belgian field horses are sold.
The sales stables attract visitors, buyers and sellers from all walks of life. In 1980, then-presidential hopeful Ronald Reagan campaigned at the auction. In 1996, working-class hero and rock star Bruce Springsteen visited to buy feed cattle for his New Jersey farm.
New Holland also celebrates its agricultural tradition the first week of every October at the New Holland Farmers Fair. Since 1927, the town fair has featured a slice of real hometown Americana with funnel cakes, barbecue, horseshoes and other simple pleasures. There also are exhibitions of arts and crafts, fruits, vegetables, wine, photos, needlework and quilting.
Part of New Holland’s small town charm is in its quaint traditions, like its community band, one of the oldest in the country.
It took just over 100 years after the first settlers arrived in the New Holland area for the town to have its first “band of music.” The New Holland Band dates from 1829 when town musicians formed an ensemble to provide music for the local militia, the 51st Regiment of the Pennsylvania State Militia.
The original fifes and drums of that ensemble were soon replaced by brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments, forming a band that would become known throughout the county, the state, and the nation. The New Holland Band is our country’s second oldest community band.
Through the years the band has provided the musical background for important events in the community and the nation. In 1856, the band entered the Civil War as the regimental band of the 203rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. More recently, in 1974 the New Holland Band performed in Paris and in New Holland’s twin city, Longvic, France. In 1976 it performed on the steps of the US Capitol in Washington, DC.
Today, the band plays an annual concert series from March through December, in solemn ceremonies honoring our veterans, and in parades and serenades celebrating the community. New Holland celebrates its band heritage with “The New Holland Band Collection” in the Steve Loewen Community Room at the Museum on Main. Exhibits featuring instruments, uniforms, photographs and more tell the story of the band and bands in Lancaster County.
Timeline
1727 – John Diffenderfer, an immigrant from the European Palatinate, arrives in Philadelphia.
1728 – The Diffenderfer family settles in what will become New Holland.
1729 – Lancaster County is broken off from the larger Chester County and established with Lancaster as its government seat.
1750 – Michael Diffenderfer, John’s son, lays out a plan for a town he calls New Design.
1787 – New Holland’s German Lutheran congregation establishes a free public school with English and German instruction.
1802 – A post office is established in the town now called New Holland.
1829 – The New Holland Band is founded.
1856 – The community’s band is reorganized and called the Earl Infantry Band.
1864 – The town band serves Civil War duty as the 203rd Regimental Band.
1873 – The New Holland Clarion begins publication.
1876 – Railroad service to Downingtown, Chester County, is established.
1899 – Abe Zimmerman opens a one-man, farm machine repair shop destined to sell its machines on every continent.
1900s – New Holland Sales Stables established as a livestock auction.
1903 – Zimmerman’s company, which comes to be called New Holland Machine Company, introduces a stone crusher.
1940 – New Holland introduces the revolutionary Nolt mobile pickup hay bailer which re-establishes the company as a leader in agricultural equipment following financially lean years during the Great Depression.
1947 – Sperry-Rand Corporation purchases New Holland to form a Sperry-New Holland Agricultural division within the Sperry Rand Corporation.
1975 – Sperry-New Holland grows to the fifth largest equipment company in North America.
1986 – Ford Motors wishes to expand to a full line farm equipment company and purchases New Holland from Sperry-Rand to form Ford-New Holland.
1990 – Ford Motors and Fiat agree to exchange Ford-New Holland for FIAT’s European truck line.
1996 – Garden Spot Village, a non-profit continuing care retirement community opens on a 220-acre campus in New Holland.
1999 – New Holland merges with Case Corporation under its parent company FIAT and forms Case-New Holland making it the world’s largest equipment producer.
2005 – New Holland Area Historical Society established.
2012 – Grand opening of the New Holland Area Historical Society Museum.
2013 – Liberty Fire Company and Blue Ball Fire Company merge to create Garden Spot Fire Rescue.
2025 – Transfer of the New Holland Band Museum into the New Holland Area Historical Society Museum.
New Holland Area Historical Society
Location: 207 E Main St, New Holland, PA 17557
Mail: PO Box 464, New Holland, PA 17557
Email: NHAHS@nhhistorical.com
Hours
Thursday & Saturday
10:00 am until 2:00 pm
Phone: 717.354.2049
Links
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