The Geeting Farmhouse

The Geeting Farmhouse

The Geeting farmhouse faces towards the old Philadelphia Wagon Road on a portion of land first patented in 1771 by Joseph and James Chaplain. While tradition states George Adam Geeting may have lived on the property as early as 1759, official records suggest he didn’t formally acquire the land until 1777. The original part of the house is a small log cabin, but exactly when it was built is unknown. The log cabin was later lengthened and two separate stone additions were added to the back of the house, presumably to accommodate the growing Geeting family of 10 children. Over the years, the boundary of the original farm changed as the land was divided among family members and new land was added.

George Adam Geeting was laid to rest in the Mt. Hebron Church cemetery in 1812, and the main farm was handed down to two of his sons, Jacob and George Adam Jr. Eventually, the farm was passed to George Adam Geeting Jr’s son, Ephraim, but prior to the Battle of Antietam, he moved to the neighboring Russell property on Geeting Road. Ephraim‘s son, Emanuel, is believed to have lived in the house before it was passed to his sister, Ann (Geeting) Reel. The farm was later owned by the Potter and Athey decedents, but by the 1970’s, it had fallen on hard times. The original Geeting farmland was sold off, and portions of it are known today as Rockingham and Cannon Ridge.