Town Histories

Quakake Valley

    George Klees and Daniel Heil were the first white settlers in the Quakake Valley, arriving around 1790.  Crossing the Blue Mountain from Berks County, they came north following an old road that had been built to a point a few miles south of present day Tamaqua. From there, they forged their own road to the Quakake Valley, where they built the valley's first sawmill.  The valley was heavily forested, and that bJune 13, 2011s that dotted the region were soon joined by grist mills when the cleared land was set to plow.  Later settlers followed the road cut by Klees and Heil, while other settlers came from the valley of the upper Lehigh Valley, following the course of the Indian's Warrior's Path, which later was used for the building of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Turnpike.  The forests soon were relegated to the mountain tops and deep ravines, while the broad valley of the Quakake Creek became rich farmland. Though some industry came into the valley, the valley was, and remains, primarily farmland.
Email: Jack Sterling.