| On February 24, 1724, Eberhardt Riehm of Conestoga asked for a grant of 200 acres of land on a branch of that creek, inclnding a small Indian settlement called Cocalico." (Minutes of the Board of Property of the Province of Pennsylvania, Minute Book L). ,,He has the Indians' consent to settle and can pay the purchase money down." Eberhard and Anna Elisabetha Riehm settled their family on the banks of the Cocalico Creek. Their nearest neighbors were the Delaware Indians who lived in a village across the creek from the Riehms. The Riehm boys grew up with these peaceful Indians and hunted and fished with them.
Johann Eberhardt Riehm and his family were members of the Muddy Creek Reformed Church. Tobias Ream, a son of Eberhard, laid out a plan for a town to be called Zoar, located on land deeded to him by his father. This town was commonly called Reamstown even in the early days of the town's history when it was officially called Zoar. In 1803 the name was officially changed to Reamstown when the post office was established there. The town celebrated its bicentennial in 1960. (Source: http://users.legacyfamilytree.com/EvaGremmert/9972.htm) |
