Bittinger MD, ca. 1910.
The road you see is now Route 495 or the Bittinger Road. On the right you see in foreground the store and house of Oliver Buckel. Oliver was the grandfather of the current owner of the store, Gary Buckel. The store pretty much looks the same as it did when Oliver owned it. Beyond the store on the same side is first a house supposedly owned by a Bittinger and beyond that is the home of Chauncey Elithorpe and wife, Mahala Brodwater. Their daughter married Asa Orendorf. The Bittinger home is no longer there but Mrs. Roy Beitzel now lives in the Elithorpe house. On the left side of the road is the Jerome Emory House. As a young man Jerome loved to play ball with the local kids. One day he was hit in the eye with a baseball and lost the sight in that eye. In a short time the other eye also went blind. Since he could no longer see, his father in law, Thomas B. Wiley, financed and had built this home for Jerome and Laura Wiley Emory. The builder was Simon Brenneman. Jerome learned several new trades that could be handled by a man with no sight. His grandson, Bill Emory, now lives in the house. The man you see in the road was the Rev. J.B. Shoup, pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran Church. The Reverend's daughter, Ruth Shoup, married Oliver Buckel. You may not be able to see it but this is the crossroads where the Bittinger Road is crossed by Legeer Road on the right by the Buckel store, and by Brenneman Road on the left beside the Emory house. Brenneman Road is the location of Emmanuel Lutheran Church.
Many thanks to Margaret Brenneman H. Wagner for the copy of this postcard. This same picture appears in the last book of Leo Beachy's pictures underneath one of the same place taken by Leo. I called Maxine Beachy Broadwater and asked for permission to use it just in case Leo took both pictures. Also thanks to John Georg for helping get this scanned..he'll understand.
This German settlement first called the Forks was eventually named for Henry Bittinger. This tract of land was called "Briar Patch" and parts of military lots 2134, 2281, 2283 and 2293, which were allotted to Lt. Isaac Duvall for services in the Maryland Line. It was sold to Henry (Bedinger) of Somerset, Pa., who then became the first settler of Bittinger, Maryland.
Military lots 2409-10-11-12 were awarded to General William Smallwood, of the Maryland LIne, Revolutionary War. Smallwood was George Washington's neighbor and aide. The land was sold to John B. Armstead and in 1832 he deeded it to Henry Ruckle who then sold it to Peter Lohr. This is the land where the Bittinger Lutheran Church, the Bittinger Cemetery, the Bittinger Firehall are located at this time.
Other early settlers of this region included Henry and Catherine Buckle, George and Francis Stark, Peter and Catherine Lohr and the families of John Beachy and Joseph Buckel.
The first post office at Bittinger was opened in 1885, with Josiah Bittinger serving as the first postmaster.
The village then was comprised of maybe 10 homes, a general store, a shoemaker shop, two blacksmiths, a cooper shop, a church, a school and a one room building used for making commercial cottage cheese. Bittinger was then in its heyday. Clarence Brenneman ran a harness and shoe repair shop. "Professor" W.A. Althers taught singing.
Now, in 2001, the same families still live in Bittinger plus some newcomers. It's largely a farming area. The Bittinger Emmanuel Lutheran replaced their 125+ year old church with a new one to accomodate the newcomers, but the new church still sits on the lot that once belonged to General Smallwood. On two sides of the church are cornfields. Across from the church is the Bittinger Cemetery and to the left of the church is the Bittinger Firehall, which began life as the Bittinger School. The old school is still a part of this building.
Atop the Appalachian Plateau, Bittinger is subject to severe winter weather but it has yet to deter the people from turning out on Christmas Eve for Candlelight Service.
Just my opinion, but I truly believe God's presence is felt here as in no other place I've ever been.
Connie Beachy, cbeachy@gcnetmail.net
Buckel's Store Today-
The store was built about 1900 by Oliver Cromwell Buckell. It is now owned and operated by his grandson, Gary Buckel, and the interior looks much the same as it did when Oliver operated it. In one tiny corner is the tiniest post office still in operation in the United States. The pot bellied stove has been replaced by a more recent coal burning stove, but the locals still gather around it each day to rehash the latest news and gossip.
