Submitted by Leona Baker for the Historical Society of Salisbury Township

The first settlers to what we call the Welsh Mountains were the Susquehannock tribes, who had a burial ground in the region.

Before William Penn's emerging colony's first abolition law (1780), Pennsylvania had a large slave population. Escaping slaves found haven within the rocky underbrush of the dense mountain area. Charcoal makers briefly plied their trade for the steel mills of Coatesville. Many stayed on after the forest supply was gone. The distinctive name of the area derives from those charcoal burners who thought the region resembled their former land, Wales. Unable to secure jobs in the valley, unable to raise crops in the dark, rocky soil, begging and bootlegging became the chief occupations, with thievery a close second.  

One man, Jonathan Pounder, particularly stands out in history: On the way to the "new world", he and a few others survived a shipwreck. Legend reports that when one survivor died, Jonathan carved him up, fed his companions, and saved the corpse's heart for himself. He earned a medical degree after reaching Philadelphia, then set up practice in the Welsh Mountains, becoming known for his expertise in herbal use. A sideline appears to have been boiling corpses for their bones to make skeletons for medical schools ... some say those corpses came from area graves.

In the late 19th century, wealthy gentlemen from Philadelphia built vacation cabins in the area, establishing a racetrack for weekend entertainment. When the racing craze faded, the cabins were abandoned, to be taken over by the mountain people. Few in the valley ventured through the forest at night.  

Over the next century, things changed on the mountain. Church influence with strong social justice leanings led to regular schooling, health care facilities, job opportunities and changing ideas on racial segregation. Today, the paved Springville Road (Route 897) leads north from Old Philadelphia Pike (Route 340) to the wide area known as Mt. Airy. New large homes set in well-kept gardens with wide lawns, sprinkle the mountainside. The last "shack" was bulldozed after its owner died just a year ago, but many still remember when that area was considered a place to be avoided after dark, unless one was "looking for whiskey and women."  

Before Buyerstown became known as such, in the early 1700s, John Byer applied for a "patent" (deed) from the Penns. By 1733, Samuel Blythe, recognizing there soon would be a need for a mill to process the products grown in the rich farmland in the valley around Gap, built near Buyer's land. Other settlers arrived. Soon, a village formed, eventually named after Jonathan and his extended family. Within a few years, the settlement boasted a post office, a general store and a coachmaker/wheelwright. Later, a cigar factory replaced the coach factory, and then it became a blacksmith shop. By the 1930s, that building had housed a car-painting business, a shoe-repair shop and finally an auto repair shop. The ancient building remains on the northwest corner of Newport and Amish Road in the tiny but energetic village.