For Lancaster County, it all began 300 years ago when nine immigrant families from the Palatinate section of southwest Germany staked their claim in what was then the wilderness of a British colony.

To these settlers, including the families of Hans Herr and Martin Meylin, their world consisted of 10,000 acres, stretching along the Pequea Creek from modern-day Strasburg to West Willow, connected by a trail we now know as Penn Grant Road.

Here, with the help of friendly Conestoga Indians, they lived, raised their children, worked the land and, eventually, were laid to rest.

From this small beginning of Swiss/German pioneers looking for religious freedom grew what we know today as Lancaster County: 984 square miles that are home to nearly half a million people as diverse as the world itself.

To commemorate the county's 300th birthday, Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society and 1719 Hans Herr House and Museum are sponsoring a yearlong celebration to honor the county and its people, past and present.

"I look at this as our gift to Lancaster County," said Beth Graybill, director of Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. "This 300th anniversary is important not just to the Pennsylvania German Mennonite immigrants who were the first settlers, but for any of us who trace our roots to Lancaster. We're all part of that story that started 300 years ago."

Graybill said the celebration is, in part, to acknowledge the arrival of the early settlers. But it is also about honoring the Native Americans who were here first, and helped Herr, Meylin and the others to survive.

"They had a very positive and very good relationship with Native Americans," Graybill said. "There are oral histories of white and native children playing games together. Hans Herr would leave his door unlocked on very cold nights for the natives to come in and huddle by the fireplace."

In exchange, she said, the Indians helped them know the best crops to plant and the prime places to hunt. They introduced the settlers to corn and "helped them survive that first winter."

"We can't do a 300th anniversary celebration without recognizing and celebrating those native connections," Graybill said.

To honor the Indian contribution, the organizers are working closely with Circle Legacy, a local, non-profit Native American group.

Many of the events scheduled are free. A few have fees and some of those are fundraisers that will pay for the construction of an Eastern Woodlands Indian longhouse on the Hans Herr property.

"Our goal is to have a dwelling and interpret their life and culture, their spiritual beliefs, what they ate, what they wore, how they hunted and what work they did," said Becky Gochnauer, director at the Hans Herr House.

She said the museum hopes to dedicate the land for the longhouse on Oct. 9.

Another goal of the celebration is to recognize the rich cultural diversity of those who call Lancaster County home today, through traditions, food and music.

The celebration kicked off Wednesday with a ceremony by the Lancaster County commissioners, and the first event will take place Jan. 31.

"The 300th only comes around once, so it's important to make it interesting and historically accurate," Graybill said.

Year filled with events

Below is a list of events commemorating the 300th anniversary of Lancaster County. Many are free, but some have fees and require registration. To register, contact Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society at 393-9745 or the 1719 Hans Herr House and Museum at 464-4438. For more details, see www.LancasterRoots300.org.

Jan. 31: "Festival of Roots and Music." Includes music by Ephrata Cloister Chorus, Old Order River Brethren Ensemble, Vietnamese Choir, VIVE (a Spanish worship team) and bagpipe soloist Tom Miller. Strasburg Mennonite Church. 3 p.m. Free.

Feb. 22: "1710 Pequea Settlement: European Roots and Life in America." New Danville Mennonite Church, 103 Marticville Road. 7 p.m. Free.

March 3: "Introduction to Pennsylvania Dutch." Mennonite Historical Society, 2215 Millstream Road. 7 p.m. Free.

March 21: "Celebrating Our Spiritual Heritage." Lancaster Mennonite School Fine Arts Center. 3:30 p.m. Free.

March 22-27: "Stitches in Time: Pennsylvania German Decorative Arts Exhibits." Display of antique quilts (at Mennonite Historical Society) and display of coverlets (at 1719 Hans Herr House, 1849 Hans Herr Drive, Willow Street). Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. $5 for one exhibit; $8 for both. Free open house at historical society from 5-9 p.m. March 26.

April 10: "Stories from 300 years of Lancaster Mennonite History." Yoder's Restaurant in New Holland. Family style banquet and program by author Steve Nolt. 6:30 p.m. Fee to be determined. Registration required.

April 25: "Many Voices Yet One Voice: Music & Drama Program." Includes "Seeds of a Nation" show by Theater of the Seventh Sister and Lancaster Mennonite high school's campus chorale. 3 p.m. (Site to be determined.) Pay what you can.

May 6 and Oct. 2: Field trip, "The 1710 Immigrant Route from Port to Paradise." Follows route of immigrants from Philadelphia to Hans Herr House. $95. Registration required.

May 7 and Sept. 25: Field trip, "Native Americans in the Lower Susquehanna Valley." Guided tour of local Indian sites and lunch at a historic inn. $50. Registration required.

May 7: Field trip, "Original 1710 Lancaster Settlement Tour." Explores the earliest homesteads and meeting houses in southern Lancaster County. $75. Registration required.

May 8: "Back to our Roots: Celebrating 300 years of Lancaster County History." Annual Lancaster Family History Conference. Speakers are historian Steve Nolt and Lancaster Newspapers' Jack Brubaker. 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Willow Valley Resort. $110. Registration required.

June 7: 350th anniversary of the publication of the book "Martyr's Mirror" (first printed in America at the Ephrata Cloister). 7 p.m. Christian Aid Ministries, 2412 Division Highway, Ephrata. Free.

June 12: "Lancaster County Food Festival." Cuisine from different cultures. 4 to 7 p.m. Hans Herr House. Free.

July 17: Herr Family Homecoming. Hans Herr House. 3-8 p.m. $15. Registration required.

Aug. 15: Wuppertaler-Kurrende German boys' choir concert. Mellinger Mennonite Church, 1916 Lincoln Highway East. 4 p.m. Free.

Aug. 28: "Heritage Trail" bike ride & walk along the length of the original Pequea settlement (from Strasburg to Willow Street). Refreshments at Hans Herr House. Fee to be determined. Registration required.

Sept. 18: Snitz Fest and Heritage Festival. Hans Herr House. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.

Sept. 27: "Pa. German Cooking with Phyllis Pellman Good." Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 31 S. Duke St., Lancaster. Free.

Oct. 9: Public acknowledgment and commemoration of Native American legacy. 10 a.m. Downtown Lancaster (site to be determined). Lunch and 2 p.m. dedication of Indian longhouse site at Hans Herr House.

Oct. 16: Self-guided driving tour of historic West Lampeter Township. 10-4 p.m. Hans Herr House. $8 per person, $4 children.

Nov. 1: "Native Americans of Lancaster County, discussion and history." Lititz Moravian Church, 7 p.m. Free.

Nov. 19: "Opening reception: Second annual show of Pennsylvania-German Folk Art." Mennonite Historical Society. 6-9 p.m. Free.

Dec. 3-4: Christmas candlelight tours. Hans Herr House. 5 p.m.-8:30 p.m. $6 adults, $3 children.

lalexander@lnpnews.com