Submitted by Leona Baker, Historical Society of Salisbury Township

"Don't go there at night" was the admonition given not only to those who lived in Gap, but also in New Holland. "There," of course, was the Welsh Mountain area of Salisbury and Earl townships. The "mountains," outlying ripples of the Appalachians, lie north of the Gap flatlands.

Until fewer than 50 years ago it was the safe haven for descendants of escaped slaves and isolated Native American peoples as well as outlaws known to "borrow" from the valley people. Today, multimillion dollar homes dot the once forested land. New Holland watershed starts there. A roadside spring once gave forth delicious water to people who came from as far away as Philadelphia to fill their jugs.

The Historical Society of Salisbury Township has in its library several books by local authors about life in the mountains in the old days. Anita Wills has written extensively on her own mountain family, as well as the Awls, the Greens, the Bills, Laffertys, Marshalls, Haglers, Sandoes, Millisocks - all names still associated with Salisbury Township.

"Welsh Mountain Survivors of Poverty and Slavery" by Benuel Fisher retells many amusing as well as tragic tales of life on the mountain before 1950. The anonymously written "Welsh Mountain Story" has photos and tales of the gradual change in the social atmosphere of the mountain.

Moonshine drew valley people (mostly men) to the mountain from the earliest days, but there were no job opportunities. With no arable land to grow crops, and unable to get jobs among the white valley people, residents experienced poverty to a severe extent. Largely ignored until the late 1800s when religious groups noticed the abject poverty, the area had never experienced schooling or local health care. The school board finally listened to repeated requests and opened a permanent public school around 1900, which closed in the 1960s when Pequea Valley School District was formed.

Integration laws demanded a change in public thinking. The Welsh Mountain Clinic opened in the 1970s, sponsored by the valley community, offering much needed health care within walking distance of those living on the mountain; it still operates. Both social improvements changed the life and character of the mountain.

The Welsh Mountain Home was established in the early 1900s to care for indigents who had disabilities. The home originally had a shirt factory and a broom factory operating on the premises. Until the school board accepted the need for educating the poor children of the mountain, the home had a school for adults and children alike in what is now the chapel. The residents grew their own vegetables and even sold or gave away the bounty. Today, the home has developed into a well-respected retirement home for those with modest means. The clinic across the street serves not only the mountain people but others in need.

And the biggest change of all is the economic status of those living there, including salvage business owner Benny Green. Benny was proud of his home, having built and maintained it for most of his adult life. His "junk" business was just profitable enough to meet his needs. His relatives lived nearby and had jobs in the valley and Lancaster city.

Benny's property has been cleaned up now. After his death, many came by to pick through his collections. What was left has been carted away. The brush was cut, and the last shack on the mountain has disappeared.

Fortunately, the historical society was able to take many photographs of the property before any of the cleanup began. Many thought that there should be a marked place at the location commemorating Benny's perseverance of the old way of life.

Benny was the last of the old "mountain people" who lived, laughed and loved on the mountain for generations, forming a close and closed community with its own character.