Editing Palmyra, Pennsylvania (section)

===Early settlement===
The land on which Palmyra rests was originally home to the [[Lenape]] and [[Susquehannock]] tribes. The first European explorers and traders came to the region around 1650. Settlers were drawn to the area because of its rich land and abundance of fish and game. Additionally, being part of [[William Penn]]’s colony, his charter providing civil rights and religious freedom also attracted settlers to the area.<ref name="This is Palmyra">{{cite book|last1=Bowman|first1=Ray S.|title=This is Palmyra: 200th Anniversary|date=1960}}</ref>

In the beginning of its colonization, many of [[Pennsylvania]]’s settlers occupied the land not through acquiring the legal rights, but by building on any unclaimed land they found, or [[squatting]]. The squatters came to the Palmyra area between 1717 and 1740. Because the squatters had no official documents stating when they came to the land, it is difficult to precisely trace family migrations to and from the area. From looking at what records do exist, and by the people still living in the Palmyra area, it is clear that the first settlers to live near Palmyra came from two distinct nationalities, the [[Ulster Scots people|Scotch-Irish]] and the [[Palatinate (region)|German Palatinates]].<ref name="This is Palmyra" />

The Scotch-Irish immigrants left their homelands due to a number of political, economic and religious reasons. As expected, they were clannish, and tended not to mix with the other ethnic groups settling the area at the same time. They were also politically minded, and became involved in local governments quickly after settling in the area. A majority of the Scotch-Irish were [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]], and they established several churches as they moved westward across the state. Examples of the churches they built include Derry near Hershey, Donegal in [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster County]],  Paxtang near Harrisburg, and Silver Spring near [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania|Carlisle]]. As the years passed, many of the Scotch-Irish continued westward, leaving the Lebanon Valley.<ref name="This is Palmyra" />

Of the first Scotch-Irish settlers in the Palmyra area, the surnames of Aspey, Campbell, Caruthers, Ewing, Galbraith, McCallen, McClure, McCord, Mitchell, Sawyer, Walker and Wilson are recorded.<ref name="This is Palmyra" />

Grouped with the so-called [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] (for having originated in the historically disjunct German-/"Dutch"-speaking sphere), the German Palatinates had similarly left their homelands, and for a number of reasons. Politically they had been oppressed in the old country, and economically they were poor. They were also gravely persecuted for their religious beliefs. Like the Scotch-Irish, the Germans kept to themselves and did not interfere with settlers of other backgrounds. Throughout the parts of Pennsylvania that had already been settled, German was the prominently spoken language, surpassing English. This encouraged more German settlers to lay down roots in Pennsylvania more so than in the other colonies. Most of the German settlers were farmers, and they flourished in rural areas. These Germans saw farming as a way of life, and tended to be conservative, religious, frugal and hard working people. Unlike the Scotch-Irish, the Germans were not politically minded, and they had no qualms with the English governing them. A majority of the Germans did not leave Pennsylvania, but stayed to work the rich soil.<ref name="This is Palmyra" />

Of the first German settlers in the Palmyra area, the surnames of Bindnagle, Bowman, Carmany, Deininger, Early, Forney, Gingrich, Hemperly, Hetrick, Kettering, Killinger, Naftzger, Nye, Ober, Ricker, and Zimmerman are recorded.<ref name="This is Palmyra" />

The Palmyra area, as well as the entire western edge of the European colonies, was susceptible to attack from the tribes of natives living in the region. In their histories of Lebanon County, Rupp and Egle note many raids that took place in what is now northern Lebanon County. In 1756, the Provincial government decided to build a chain of forts stretching from the [[Susquehanna River]] at Harrisburg in the west to the [[Delaware River]] at [[Easton, Pennsylvania|Easton]] in the east. These forts were built at regular intervals, roughly ten to {{convert|15|mi|km|spell=in}} apart, and in any major gaps along the mountains. One of these forts, Fort Swatara, was built by Capt. Frederick Smith near modern-day Inwood where the Swatara Creek flows through the [[Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania)|Blue Mountain]]. By the end of the [[French and Indian War]] in 1763, the frequency and intensity of native attacks diminished.<ref name="This is Palmyra" />

[[Johannes Palm]], whose name is often anglicized to John Palm, is given credit for founding Palmyra. He was a prominent figure in the early days of the community, serving as a doctor and soldier in the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. In June 1766, Palm secured the 100-acre plot of land originally surveyed for Johannes Deininger in 1951 and previously owned by Conrad Raisch. This plot was roughly bounded by the present-day Railroad Street, Maple Street and the Dauphin County line. By 1776, Palm had drawn up drafts for a settlement he called “Palmstown”, with his residence located on the 100-Block of West Main Street.<ref name="This is Palmyra" />