Landis Valley, a town (pop. 1,200) on the Reading Road, four miles northeast of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was started by "Schmidt Jacob" Landis (1780-1848), a blacksmith, a son of John of Dauphin, Pennsylvania. It is in Landis Valley, named for Benjamin Landis (1730-1787), a grandson of the pioneer Jacob Landis (1667-1730), who moved on to the Snavely holdings in 1750. The Landises of this area are of the latter line. "Smith Jacob" Landis Jr. (1813-1861) built the first hostelry in 1855, and when the post office was established in 1872, the older name was adopted and long after the post office of the stagecoach days, there is still a Landis Valley. The Reading Road Mennonite meetinghouse, now called Landis Valley, is in this village.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 282. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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