Lancaster / Pennsylvania / United States
For over 200 years the Lititz Moravian Church maintained the Lititz Springs Park and kept it open to the public. However, over the years, the maintenance of the park became an increasing burden to the congregation. The park grounds were turned over to the community of Lititz, Pennsylvania through a Declaration of Trust on October 19, 1956. This placed the management and operation of park in the hands of a 12 member Board of Trustees comprised of representatives of various local churches and several members-at-large. Today, Lititz Springs Park, Inc.is a non-profit organization and is not supported by tax revenues. Consequently, the park is maintained through volunteer help; conducted by the trustees; and the rental of park facilities. The annual 4th of July celebration and annual antique shows are the only fund raising efforts that keep the park thriving as a beautiful centerpiece to the town of Lititz. In 1994, the care of the Lititz Memorial Square was added to the responsibilities of Lititz Springs Park Board of Trustees LITITZ SPRINGS PARK HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS SCENIC SERENITY Veiled in the mists of the dim, ancient past, the seven-acre expanse that became the Lititz Springs Park was traversed and inhabited, many centuries ago, by Native Americans. The area, endowed by Nature with extraordinary beauty, was initially a watering place for cattle in the neighborhood. The Lititz Creek, flowing through the Park, was known for many years as Carters Run, named after Richard Carter who, emigrating from Warwickshire, England, in 1729, was one of the regions earliest settlers. In Carters day, the headwaters of the Springs were marshes fed by several converging, underground streams that, originated in the hills to the northwest of Lititz. Describing the limited social activity at the time, a community observer wrote that "there lived on Owl Hill an old man, one Daddy Huhn, who remembered going, as a small boy, to the Spring to fetch home a horse that his father had bought from the Indians living there. That was in 1730." The first reported use of Lititz Springs Park as a pleasure place was in May of 1778 when Tobias Hirte, a local music teacher, and a small orchestra of the towns young men gave evening concerts. This lively entertainment was viewed as trifling and too worldly by the "Aufseher Collegium, " the said Moravian governing authority. But, the soldiers of the Revolutionary War battles of Brandywine and Germantown, convalescing on the hospital at the Moravian Brethrens House, immensely enjoyed the concerts. In 1780, the basin was surrounded with a rough stone wall. A broad swamp extended several acres on the northern side, and "in the springtime the water was of sufficient depth to admit boats being rowed upon its surface."However, it was not until 1792 that a meeting of Lititz citizens was called to take additional steps to improve the Springs. The town fathers, who were afraid that such a "Lustplatz" would encourage too much worldliness, reluctantly gave their permission to use an acre of ground around the "Big Spring" and to begin work, thus providing a location for recreational activities. Trees were planted, arbors were built and walks were laid. Also at the same time, the arched stone bridge was constructed. As the Springs became an increasingly popular gathering place, the need for additional upgrading of the environs was recognized. In 1810, the young men of Lititz "planted an avenue of locust trees leading from near the Springs head, on the south side, along a lane by the base of the hill to the Manheim road." It was not until 1835 that further efforts were initiated to improve and beautify the spring and the grounds. The town committee gave its approval for fences to be built by voluntary labor. The cost of construction was thirty dollars. "Work was done each year, " an interested resident observed, "and from 1835 to 1840, first one thing and then another was added to the place, which was already becoming
