Ann LeTort was something of a firecracker.

After fleeing from persecution in France for being a Huguenot, the name given to French Protestants, she and her husband, James, settled upon the banks of the Conestoga in Lancaster County around 1690.

Letort Elementary School in the Penn Manor School District is named for her. It's one of 37 schools in the county named after a person. But do you know who these people were?

Since a report by the Manhattan Institute of Policy Research has said that it's not so common anymore to name a school after someone, here's a brief overview of the people behind the names of local schools.

Two additional schools are included  in the New Era's list, making 39 schools, because their names are civic-minded. One is named for an invention and the second is after a president's mansion.

The districts excluded are Cocalico, Donegal, Eastern Lancaster County, Elizabethtown, Hempfield and Pequea Valley. All of their schools are named after locations.

School districts, the Columbia Historical Society and the Lancaster County Historical Society helped with the following information.

Columbia

Established in 1905, William G. Taylor Elementary School was most likely named for a local doctor.

Dr. William G. Taylor resided on Locust Street, according to a 1902 directory. In those days, many doctors served on school boards, a member of the Columbia Historical Society said.

Conestoga Valley

J. Elias Fritz was this district's first superintendent from 1958 to 1969. He died in service, and the elementary school was named after him that year.

Now closed, Penn Johns was named after William Penn, who provided a land grant to the Johns family.

Ephrata

A school district official said Fulton Elementary and Washington Educational Center were named for Fulton Street and Washington Avenue. One could assume these roads were named after the steamboat inventor Robert Fulton and the father of our country.

But no one at the school district or borough office could readily confirm that assumption.

Lampeter-Strasburg

Martin Meylin Middle and Hans Herr Elementary/Intermediate schools were named after the Swiss-German Mennonite pioneers who settled around Strasburg.

The Hans Herr House in Willow Street was built in 1719. It is the oldest surviving dwelling place of European settlers in Lancaster County.

According to legend, Martin Meylin developed the Pennsylvania Rifle, which has also been called the Kentucky Rifle. But there isn't a way to say that for sure or if he was even a gunsmith, historian John W.W. Loose said.

The school names were chosen in the early 1960s, about 15 years after consolidation, Superintendent Bob Frick said.

Lancaster

Buchanan Elementary was named after the 15th president, who is from Lancaster. It opened in 1920.

Burrowes Elementary was named for Thomas H. Burrowes, a state superintendent of public instruction in the mid-1800s, who helped lead the fight for the Free School Act of 1834. He's regarded as the father of free public education in Pennsylvania, Loose said.

He was born in Strasburg.

Carter and MacRae Elementary was named after Elizabeth M. Craig Carter and Iris Stella MacRae.

Carter was devoted to the children of the community. She was active in the USO during World War II.  She was also the director of the Crispus Attucks Community Center. The elementary became the first school in Lancaster bearing the name of a black woman.

Iris Stella MacRae was born in Puerto Rico. She led the district's English as a second language program.  She held numerous board positions in the community. She is retired but still active.

Fulton Elementary was named after the steamboat inventor, who was born in southern Lancaster County.

Hamilton Elementary was named for James Hamilton, who donated the land on which the County Courthouse, Old City Hall and Central Market stand.

"He's the father of Lancaster," Loose said.

He was also the mayor of Philadelphia and governor of Pennsylvania. He died in 1783.

King Elementary was named for the civil rights leader and Nobel Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr. in 1981.

Before that, the school was named after Elnathon Elisha Higbee a state superintendent of public education from 1875 to 1881.

Lafayette Elementary opened in 1951 and was named for General Lafayette, a Frenchman who helped the colonists defeat the British. He was also a life-long friend of George Washington.

Martin Elementary was named for Elizabeth R. Martin, supervising principal of the Lancaster Township District from 1927 to 1951. She was the first woman to be certified as a supervising principal in the county.

Price Elementary was named for John William Price, born in 1897 in Lancaster. He won numerous awards for community service. He also won a Citizen of the Year and Outstanding Teacher awards.

He was active in educating youth in natural history, Loose said. He was also a fireman. He gained a reputation as a paleontologist, Loose said. Franklin & Marshall thought so much of him the college awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Ross Elementary was named in 1924 for George Ross, the only Lancaster citizen to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Built in 1932, Washington Elementary was named for George, of course.

Wharton Elementary was named after Thomas Wharton in 1899. Wharton was the first president (like governor) of Pennsylvania. He was a statesman.

Wickersham Elementary was named for James Pyle Wickersham, the first superintendent of Lancaster County in 1854. He opened the Normal School in Millersville, which became Millersville University. He became the state superintendent in 1866.

Hand Middle School was renamed after Gen. Edward Hand.

Hand was an adjutant general in the Revolutionary War and was a trusted aide to Washington. Also a doctor, his home, the Rock Ford Plantation, is in Lancaster County Central Park.

Lincoln Middle School needs no explanation.

Reynolds Middle School was named after John Fulton Reynolds, born in Lancaster in 1820. The major general led the advance of the Union Army at Gettysburg, where he died.

Wheatland Middle School was named after President James Buchanan's home.

Buehrle Alternative was named for Robert Buehrle, who came to Lancaster in 1880 and was the district's first superintendent. He served for 24 years, Loose said.

J.P. McCaskey High was named for John Piersol McCaskey in 1938.

McCaskey spent 50 years teaching Lancaster's boys. He retired in 1906 to become mayor.

In 1939, after naming the high school after McCaskey, the district decided to name each of its elementary schools after either prominent Americans or prominent Lancastrians, Loose said.

Manheim Central

Burgard Elementary was named for Henry Clymer Burgard, the supervisory principal who oversaw the consolidation of the district with the townships.

Stiegel Elementary was named for Baron Von Stiegel, the founder of Manheim. He was not really a baron but was called that because of his "extravagant" lifestyle, Loose said. Stiegel lost both his glass and iron businesses and went bankrupt.

Manheim Township

Brecht Elementary opened on Sept. 4, 1929, and was named for Milton J. Brecht, the superintendent of Lancaster County Schools from 1883 to 1911.

Schaeffer Elementary opened on March 7, 1937, and was named after Nathan C. Schaeffer, the former state superintendent of schools.

Neff Elementary opened in 1941 and was named for John Henry Neff, the county's first physician around 1717. It's also how Neffsville got its name.

Nitrauer Elementary opened in 1964 and was named for William E. Nitrauer, a former superintendent of Manheim Township schools.

Bucher Elementary opened in 1973 and was named after Caleb Bucher, long-time principal at Brecht.

Reidenbaugh Elementary opened in 1993 and was named after a family who  had served the school district in a number of ways.

Penn Manor

Eshleman Elementary was named after Fred S. Eshleman, a school board member for 36 years. The original building was named after him in 1959.

LeTort Elementary was named for Ann LeTort in 1961. While her husband was away on long trips, LeTort continued trading and was known for her fair dealings with local Indians.

She horsewhipped two fellows who tried to entice some Indians to trade their valuable furs for rum.

Solanco

Smith Middle School was named for George A. Smith, principal of Quarryville High School in 1929.

He retired from education in 1951. His accomplishments are many, including becoming the editor of the Quarryville Sun-Ledger in 1957. He was the author of three nature books. The new middle school was named for him in the early 1980s.

Swift Middle School was named after the Swift sisters, who sold the property for the school.

Clermont Elementary was named after Fulton's first successful commercial steamboat.

Warwick

Beck Elementary opened in 1937. It was named after John Beck, who founded and was the headmaster of John Beck's School for Boys in 1815. He was a "powerful and devout educator."

Bonfield Elementary was named after John R. Bonfield in 1994. Bonfield was the superintendent of Warwick from 1977 through 1998. He lives in Lititz and works as an educational consultant.

CONTACT US: rmeadows@LNPnews.com or 481-6025