Ancient Pennsylvania Landmarks Known to Leonhart Kegel, 1732-54 Era Oley Township, Berks County, PA Oley Township, a few miles east of Reading, in Berks co., PA, is te only township in America which has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, as an entire Township. Its settlement dates back as far as 1699, and it ancient German and French Huguenot homesteads have building standing dated from 1706. It was already a generation old, and a thriving settlement, when the Cagles arrived from Germany in 1730s; and was nearly a half-century old when John "Dutchman" Cagle lived in Oley in the early 1750s. Leonhart Kegel, the 1732 immigrant, and believed to be father of John "Dutchman" Cagle, acquired land in Oley Twonship in 1737; at that time, however, old Oley Township encompassed more territory than does the present Oley Twp., and section in which Leonhart lived was later made into Alsace Township. The economy of Oley Twonship was based, originally, on farming in the broad Oley Valley, and on iron-working in the scenic hills which ring the valley. Of the iron furnaces and forges in Oley, perhaps the most famous was that of Iaeger Family (later Anglicized to "Hunter"), headed by Nicholas Hunter. In an obscure court case, dating for 1753, Berks Co. records sho that Nicholas Henter, on one occasion, filed sutie against a JOhn Kegle, believed to be John "Dutchman" Cagle, who later moved to North Carolina in 1754-55. Oldest homestead in Oley is that of Johannes Keim, built 1706; he was the ancestor of the Kime family of Guilford Co., NC. Oley Township furnished a number of families to central North Carolina during the 1740s adn 1750s including the Keim, Cagle, and Stutts Families. (The Nicholas Hunter homestead in Oley Twp., neat the ruins of the famed Oley Forge. The Oley Lutheran Church stands nearby, but its early recors are lost. One of the most memorable sights in teh city of Reading, Berks Co., PA, is Alsace Hill in the northern part of town, capped by the twin towers of the alsace Lutheran and Alsace German Reformed Churches. The two churches, identical in construction, stand on either side of a common parking lot, and share a common graveyard. From date of founding in 1732, until construction of the present buildings in 1907, the two congrrefations worshipped in a single building, at alternatin times, under a "Union Church" arrangement. The Alsace churches stand on the homestead of Dewalt Baum, closest neighbor of Leonhart Cagle, during Leonard's period of residence, 1737-1748, in Alsace Twonship. The Cagles may will have been members of the Alsace Lutheran Church, but this cannot be verified, as early records of the Church have been lost. There is a replica of the original Alsace Church building, which served the congragtion form ca.1737-1753; replaced by a stone church in 1753. The log church was in use during the period of Leonard Cagle's residence in the township, and stood about a quarter-mile from his home. The present Alsace Lutheran Church, in use since 1907. and identical building, standing adjacent, is the German Ref. church. Here is a paragraph from the published history of the Alsace Church describes the expansion of the Church in the era of 1748-1754. In 1748, the year of the founding of reading, PA, Leonard Cagle, vacted his homstead in Alsace and move a few miles distant to Brecknock Township, in Berks Co. (I found this in one or the Cagle Journal of Historical Inquiry's,) (July 1987 pg. 2) by; John G. Cagle of Little Rock , Arkansas. I just thougt this was interesting. Nancy jane Tarzana, CA. April