Household Inventories Lower Allen Township: 1760 to 1780

Although the actual frontier or line of settlement of Europeans crossed beyond Pennsylvania during this time period, this study of the primary records of Allen Township demonstrates that the area retained a frontier mode of living. By the 1790's Georgian two story houses were built, but the majority of residents were huddled in one or two room log houses. The quantity of furnishings increased as the century progressed, but most items and tools were required for the necessities of food, clothing, and shelter. As the eighteenth century drew to a close, the two dominant groups, the Scots-Irish and the Germans, were assimilating ideas and artifacts to form a hybrid culture. 

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