PLEASE NOTE--DATE HAS CHANGED!!

The John Hyson House and Family: Cheaper by the Dozen (+ 2)

A presentation entitled "Cheaper by the Dozen (+ 2): The John Hyson House and Family" will be given by Dr. Donald Linebaugh on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at the Stewartstown United Methodist Church. The program will begin at 7:30 pm and will be held in the fellowship hall.

The early 19th-century John Hyson farmhouse, located in East Hopewell Township, was demolished this past year following the construction of a new house. Dr. Linebaugh documented the house with photographs and measured drawings as the structure was torn down. The house is one of several Hyson family properties along a one-mile stretch of Round House Church Rd., including the two Hyson Schools, the Robert B. Hyson House (John's brother), the Archibald Hyson House (destroyed by fire) (John's brother), and the Hyson Mill.

John (b. 1820; died 1892) and Margaret Miller Hyson (b. 1827; died 1910) raised an amazing brood of 14 children in the house, all of whom survived into adulthood and all of whom attended the nearby Hyson School. The children, 9 girls, and 5 boys, were born between 1848 and 1873.

The Hyson House was a two-story vernacular frame farmhouse with a rear ell addition. The structure was constructed using heavy "German" framing typical of the period, and the rear addition seems to have been added in the late 1850s to early 1860s, likely to accommodate the couple's rapidly growing family. Based on several design characteristics, the house was likely built by John's brother, local carpenter Archibald Hyson. Archibald built many farmhouses (Shaw Orchard Farm, Trout-Linebaugh Farm), churches (Lutheran Church, Shrewsbury), and schools (Hyson, Trout, and possibly Mt. Pleasant) across southern York County. 

Dr. Linebaugh will examine the architectural history of the structure and explore the work of builder Archibald Hyson within the context of farms and farmhouses in the area. He will also consider the multiple Hyson family properties and the family's deep connections to Hopewell (later East Hopewell) Township.